Professional Beauty Warpaint 2014

 

The day finally came, the day I would be taking part in my first ever makeup competition. Today I headed down to London, makeup kit in tow with my model Beckie Bayliss. It was a journey and a half after not being able to park at Epping and having to drive further down the road to South Woodford instead. Then forgetting to take enough change for the car park and when we finally arrived at London Excel I found out I needed a pass for my model to get in, nobody informed me of that earlier! Somehow we got to the competition area with 20mins to spare. Though it was so hot while we were waiting to go in that poor Beckie almost fainted and we had to call a medic. After being removed from the area to help her cool down and give her the once over the medic said she was good to go ahead with the competition, she was such a trooper!! We were told the area would be quite chilly compared to the rest of the show so made sure to wrap up but it was quite warm to begin with as everyone was so busy.

 

I was in the Editorial category which meant I had to focus on perfect skin and contouring. The overall theme was Summer Holiday. I was inspired by the German photographer Agnieska Doroszewicz of created a series called Candy Girls. I used candy inspired by summers spent at the seaside to create my look.

 

I set my kit up and waited for the countdown to start. I made sure my table was kept tidy and I sanitised my hands throughout the 2 hours we had to create our look as I was being marked on hygiene. The judges came round several times and asked questions. I was the calmest I'd been all day, I find doing makeup so relaxing and it makes me incredibly happy to see it come together.

 

The brief for the show didn't state that an outfit was needed, nor accessories, but I created a headpiece, nails, and shoe decorations. The outfit was a last minute thought and in hindsight I should have spent more time on it. The hair was fashioned into an Afro style to resemble candy floss and took much longer than I thought to finish. I ended up using the entire 2 hours to create the whole look. We then had to wait an hour for the outcome. I received many amazing comments about the final look from the other competitors, judges and general public passing by.

 

I was gutted when my name wasn't called for 3rd, 2nd or 1st especially with all the work and thought that went into it. I stuck around though to receive feedback. I picked up my score sheet and was pleasantly surprised, I'd expected to see mostly negative comments but it was anything but.

 

"Best idea/inspiration I have seen. Amazing idea and inspiration, beautifully executed! Would be great to hold back slightly on one of the stages - less can be more - more attention to detail of the outfit and overall appearance." Judge Dani Guinsberg

 

"I love your reflection of the theme and it's great to see so much time, planning and thought has gone into the hair to complete the look. I really think your model's look could work with a major fashion house such as Mui Mui. I would have recommend a different dress to complete your look as this would have made your overall finish exceptional." Second judge, name note noted on scoring sheet.

 

Overall points I received..

16 Exceptionals

4 exceeds requirements

2 meets requirements

 

I am actually OVER THE MOON about those marks. Basically those 2 last points meant I just missed out on third place and it came down to my work station/hygiene (I didn't have a bin with lid on the floor and table could have been tidier). My makeup application, design, choice of model, blending and contouring received all exceptional marks. Not winning does not matter, knowing that my skills are good enough to compete in this strong industry is great news and will push me harder to make this my full-time career.

 

oX Wendy Xo