MUA High Summer/Beach Development

Summer means bright colours, and I mean BRIGHT! In the summer, it is almost an essential to wear something neon, or close to. Whether this neon is a handbag, shoes, or the makeup! A high summer/beach makeup look instantly makes me think 'glossy', 'sun-kissed', 'bright', so for this look I will be looking at MUA's brightest products, highlighters and skin products, to produce the perfect summer glow with a pop of colour.

MUA's latest posts on their inspiration board show bright pops of colours on the eyes. They have also re-pinned Vogue's cover with the bright eyes and lips, which could possibly indicate their thoughts on future summer makeup trends. The yellow has appeared a few times, which I am really enjoying here. The bright primary colours make statement looks. 

Pinterest, (2015). Inspiration. [online] Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/muamakeup/inspiration/ [Accessed 7 Mar. 2015].


A bronzed look is an essential for summer and the warmth of summer sun and more skin on show creates the perfect excuse for a darker complexion. To create the perfect summer skin, MUA produces many products to perfect that glowing finish. Their products range from various bronzing and highlighting products.

Undress Your Skin Illuminating Foundation Golden - £5
MUA Luxe Bronzed Shimmer - £4
Undress Your Skin Baked Bronzer - £3
Mosaic Bronzer Shade 1 Natural Glow - £2.50
Bronzed Perfection - £3
Shimmer Kiss Bronzer Bronzed Shimmer Kisses - £3

As it is clear that MUA have been looking at bright colours for summer, the look that has stood out for me the most recently was the look at Peter Som's Spring 2015 show. The fresh and dewy faced models wore minimal impacting makeup with a bold dash of orange on the eyes. This simple yet effective look is the pinnacle summer look. Teamed with this statement look is a wet, slicked back hairstyle which graduates into a simple plait. The plait is the perfect poolside solution to controlling your hair under the summer sun and is the ideal style for a high Summer look.

Vogue, (2014). Peter Som Spring 2015 RTW – Backstage. [online] Available at: http://www.vogue.com/slideshow/1068665/peter-som-spring-2015-rtw-backstage/#1 [Accessed 21 Apr. 2015].

MUA's makeup artist tried a similar look, inspired by Peter Som, for herself using MUA products to create the fresh look skin with the orange eye detail. It is clear that MUA keeps up with current trends and likes to keep the customers up to date with what's being seen on the catwalk. For the orange, the product used was Bright Orange Intense Colour Eyeliner.

Facebook.com, (2015). Make Up Academy (MUA)'s Photos - Make Up Academy (MUA) | Facebook. [online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/MUAmakeupacademy/photos/pb.183271198377030.-2207520000.1429628920./812872078750269/?type=3&theater [Accessed 21 Apr. 2015].


Another example where MUA's makeup artist has experimented with bright eye colours is this look, inspired by Lupita Nyong'o's Oscars look. The electric blue on the eyes creates the focus and really compliments her hair colour and complexion. The lips are slightly darker than her natural lip colour but compliments the blue nicely.

A very similar look was created by Pat McGrath at Anna Sui W/F12 show. The electric blue block coloured eyes with the delicate dot on the lower lids are teamed with a fresh face and untouched lips. The makeup is bold and creates a great statement with minimal effort.

Facebook.com, (2015). Make Up Academy (MUA)'s Photos - Make Up Academy (MUA) | Facebook. [online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/MUAmakeupacademy/photos/pb.183271198377030.-2207520000.1429628921./809738265730317/?type=3&theater [Accessed 21 Apr. 2015].

29secrets, (2012). Bold Makeup Trends To Try This Fall. [online] Available at: http://www.29secrets.com/beauty/bold-makeup-trends-try-fall [Accessed 22 Apr. 2015].

As previously seen on MUA's 'Inspiration' Pinterest board, it was noticeable that they were including lots of images with bright yellow in them. This image from Lela Rose's Spring show in 2013 shows a vibrant splash of colour applied to the inner corner of the eyes. The makeup is kept very simple throughout and the yellow completely transforms the entire look. I love how the yellow has just been applied to the inner corners rather than applying a highlighter, or applying the colour across the entire lid. The yellow looks bright and edgy, which I believe is ideal for a high Summer makeup.

StyleBistro, (2015). Lela Rose, Spring 2013. [online] Available at: http://www.stylebistro.com/Best+Spring+2013+Runway+Makeup/articles/hzJ33YACbK_/Lela+Rose+Spring+2013 [Accessed 22 Apr. 2015].

MUA provide lots of eye products in bright colours to achieve similar looks to the ones above. The Poptastic palette is a fantastic value for money at just £4 for 12 shades. The colours are perfect for creating a vibrant look an the price gives the customer the ability to experiment with these guilt free. To take these looks even further, there are a range of eyeliners and coloured mascaras to add depth and detail to your look.

12 Shade Poptastic Palette - £4

Matte Eyeshadow Shade 18 - £1

Eyedust Shade 3 - £1

Intense Colour Eyeliner Pencil Bright Orange - £1

Liquid Eyeliner Shade 2 - £1

Mascara Shade 7 Hot Pink - £1

When I think of lip shades for a high Summer look, I instantly think of orange/coral/fuchsia tones. These colours suit various different skin tones but create the same impacting pop of colour. In my opinion, pink tones suit a paler complexion and more orange tones for a darker/olive complexion. The lip colour at Tanya Taylor SS15 is the perfect example of a bold summery lip. The matte orange lip creates a beautiful contrast to the fresh and dewy finish of the model's skin.

Najlakaddour.com, (2014). NARS SS'15 make-up looks from New York Fashion Week -. [online] Available at: http://najlakaddour.com/nars-spring-summer-2015-makeup-looks-new-york-fashion-week/ [Accessed 22 Apr. 2015].

MUA's makeup artist shows her lovely coral lip to compliment her olive skin tone in this image. Her hair colour also compliments the lip colour, making her looked tanned and summery. She has used Red Drama Lip Liner and Juicy Lipstick.

Facebook.com, (2015). Make Up Academy (MUA)'s Photos - Make Up Academy (MUA) | Facebook. [online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/MUAmakeupacademy/photos/pb.183271198377030.-2207520000.1429628783./829563127081164/?type=3&theater [Accessed 21 Apr. 2015].

This video shows one of Karla Powell's videos of an ombre lip demo where she uses a bold coral red and a fuchsia, keeping with the bright summer lip! In this video she uses MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer in Atomic and A Flush.

YouTube, (2015). Matte Ombre Lips. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyDMVSXXcDY [Accessed 21 Apr. 2015].

MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer Atomic - £3
MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer Criminal - £3
Lipstick Coral Flush - £1
MUA Power Pout Justify - £3
Sweet Sheen Lip Balm Rouge Rumba - £2
MUA Luxe Whipped Velvet Lips Ritzy - £3

Make-Up Mood Board:

For my chosen look, I will be creating a beautiful summer glossy skin, which is dewy and heavily highlighted. The eyes/lips will be bold in colour to make a statement with an edge. In addition to the makeup, I would like to demonstrate use of coloured nail varnish to compliment the look.

Testing:

Dewy Bronzed Skin:

For a the perfect summer skin, I have created a very dewy, highlighted and bronzed skin coverage. For this, I have used a dewy foundation, contoured using bronzing powder which I have also applied to the majority of the pace. I have then used a light shimmer colour from an MUA eyeshadow palette to the cheekbones, brow bone, nose and cupid's bow. I really like this beautifully bronzed look and will be using this for my final look.

Matte Coral Lips:

For this look, I have kept the above foundation coverage with highlight and contour and added MUA Luxe Velvet Lip Lacquer in Atomic. This shade is unbelievable and creates such a summery feel as it's so bright. The colour pigmentation of this product is so strong that it creates such a statement look. The matte finish creates a nice contrast to the dewy skin and looks beautiful with a bronzed complexion. With this, I have left the eyes soft and untouched to make the lips the focus point of the look.

Although the texture of the lip product creates a an interesting textural difference, I think for the look I am going for I would prefer the lips to have a gloss finish. The wet look is more suitable for the beach. This look is something I could imagine for a day time summer look, but I am looking to create something 'high summer' which I believe needs to have a sexier, wetter look.   

Bright Glossy Lips:

For these look, I have creating something very similar to the above images but the lips here have a glossier finish. To create these I used a glossier lipstick in very bright colours. Again keeping the theme of sun-kissed skin and bright lips. The texture of these lipsticks are glossier and more suitable for a High Summer/Beach look. MUA provide lip products to create a 'sheen' finish which will be perfect to create this look for the MUA customer. Both these colours are very summery, but combined they will make a brighter coral which I think will be ideal. 

Bright Orange Detail:

This look has been inspired by Peter Som's SS15 look as discussed above. The makeup has been kept to a minimum with a slightly bronzed finish to the coverage and heavily concealed around the eyes. The lips have a small amount of moisturising balm mixed with a nude lip tone for a natural effect. The eyes have a small amount of bronze added to the crease and blended upwards. This has added dimension to the eyes and compliments the green eye colour well. On the lower part of the inner eye, I have created a bright orange brush stroke using the Aquacolor palette by Kryolan. The pop of bright colour looks edgy and summery.

Bright Yellow Detail:

This look has been inspired by Lela Rose Spring 2013 look with the yellow on the inner corners of the eyes. I love how subtle the yellow is and works really well with a bronzed look. To recreate the look I also added bronze to the outer eye and smoked this outwards. A small amount of mascara was applied to create definition of the eyes. The lips were coated with a pale shimmery lipstick as shown in the image from Lela Rose.

The yellow is very similar to what has already been seen in MUA's previous inspiration so it only seems fitting to include this in my final look. What I would change would be the lips. For a high summer look I think bright lips are an essential to make a striking makeup look. There needs to be stronger highlighting and the yellow needs to be bolder.

Face Chart:

The final makeup for this look will consist of a warm dewy skin which is heavily highlighted for a glossy finish. The eyes, inspired by MUA's inspiration and Lela Rose, will have a burst of yellow at the inner corners of the eyes, finished off with black mascara. The lips will be a glossy vibrant coral/red and the eyebrows will be naturally fill and brushed through.

Products:

·      Illamasqua Primer

·      Screenface Foundation Palette

·      Crownbrush Concealer Palette

·      Contour Palette

·      Illamasqua Cream Blusher Dixie

·      MUA Matte Palette

·      MUA Undress Me Too Palette

·      Kryolan Eyeshadow Yellow

·      Maybelline Mascara

·      MAC Face & Body

·      Barry M Lipstick Shade 151

·      MUA Lipstick Persian Rose

·      Carmex

Hair Mood Board:

For the High Summer/Beach look, I think something wet look/glossy would be ideal. When I think of summer, I think of heat and sunshine, so a sexy, slicked look would be suitable. As previously discussed at Peter Som where the models sported wet looking hair which was slicked back into a low plait, I believe this is the perfect concept to suit the chosen makeup look. I like the idea of 'just out of the pool' hair where the hair is wet and straight down the back. I also love the idea of a very tight updo, where it be a bun, plait, or ponytail. The addition of accessories will add glamour to this look to create a Marbella/Ibiza feel to it.

Testing:

Similar to Marc Jacob's Fall 2015 hair, this look consists of the hair being structured into an extremely high ponytail, almost at the very front of the head. The hair is then twisted into an obscure shaped bun and secured with a grip. For the best results, mousse would be combed through the hair and fixed with hair spray plus a finish of shine spray.

To create this look, the hair is yet again pulled up into a high ponytail. This time, I have created a bun by curling sections of hair round and securing with grips. This is a very large bun, and I feel that it looks like it would be suitable for a dance performance, rather than for a fashion forward beauty look. The bun is too over the top and not ideal for the makeup.

This bun has been created by plaiting the high ponytail and twisting it to for a knotted bun. This look has been inspired by various images in the mood board above. For best results, the hair would contain smoothing and fixing products to produce a clean finish. If I were to alter this look, I would potentially add more hair into the plait to create more volume and shape. I also think that material or accessories could add to this look.

This look is simple yet effective. The hair is a simple high ponytail with very sleek hair. The hair will have a slight wet look with additional products. This tight ponytail will create a focus on the makeup and will create a face lift like look to the model's face. In addition to the ponytail, I believe that an accessorised hair tie will be necessary for such a simple look. This would add the needed detail, rather than over complicating it which may detract from the makeup.

Recently I saw this look from The Blonds SS15 show, which I thought was absolutely incredible! The attitude the models carried with this look was perfect for the concept I am trying to portray in this look. The hair has the heavily slicked hair into the ponytail. This then leads into an extravagant hair piece shaped into a very large plait. With this look, there are multiple gold accessories which add intricacy in unusual ways. The colour theme adds to the usual 'over-the-top' look from The Blonds, which I simply cannot get enough of!

makeupbybarbz, (2014). LFW SS15 Beauty Roundup. [online] Available at: http://makeupbybarbz.com/2014/09/19/lfw-ss15-beauty-roundup/ [Accessed 21 Apr. 2015].

The look from The Blonds as shown above has been a large influence to this style. Here, I have created a high ponytail which will have lots of fixing and shine products to create a very sleep and wet looking finish to the hair. The hair will then be plaited, using a model with naturally long hair. Although I love The Blonds hairstyle above, it isn't very suitable for MUA which I believe to be more of a natural brand, and therefore would only like to use the model's natural hair. To finish this look off, I will use a gold accessory around the ponytail to hide the hair tie and to add to the glamour.

Hair Chart:

This is the chosen hair design for the MUA High Summer/Beach look. It has a very stylish and edgy feel to it to ad to the bold yet understated makeup look. The hair will have a very shiny and wet texture and will be finished off with a gold accessory.