Caterpillar brows experiment

As soon as I clamped eyes on the December 2012 British Vogue with its feature "Vogue goes POP: An explosion of fashion and fun" I knew I'd be going shopping for cosmetics for the first time in ages, perhaps years. Not having read a proper fashion magazine in as long, I clearly had a lot of catching up to do on my face. It was the eyebrows, you see, lovely caterpillars of seafoam green and papaya on a couple of the models. I HAD TO HAVE THEM, and have them I did.

I have always been interested in image and its impact on how others perceive us and how we perceive ourselves. As some of you may know, I admire American artist Cindy Sherman, whose photographic works of herself in guises of every description are an exploration of these same questions.

For me, dressing is a dance of masking and revealing. Now that I have loaded up with new cosmetics, makeup is also part of my little life polka.

I call this high-brow exploration CATERPILLAR BROWS.

Top left: Neutral; Top right: Look, I'm Cindy Sherman!

Middle left: Super-silly-us; Middle right: I'll pray for you, dahlings.

Bottom left: "???"; Bottom right: "Oh, Poirot, I've lost my poodle in the Nile. Can you find it?"

None of the characters/looks above were thought out - they grew as my shoot progressed. I chose to work with my big groovy hat, sequin tube top, colourful scarf, and peach peignoir (the former all thrifted), and a red wool hat, gift. The white knit top, very tattered but comfy, and grey T-shirt underneath are fine examples of my home schlep-wear (say that five times very fast).

It was hard not to do faces with this look.

Second row left: Ms. Bean-Bagg or Ms. Bagg o' Beans

Mr. Bean and Ms. Bagg tie the knot. Won't our children look gawjus?

The eyebrows are MAC chromacake, blue and yellow mixed. The eyeshadow is yellow cake with a sprinkling of glitter, which I completely love, then a little, rather, a lot of dusting of blush on the cheeks. Finally, MAC Yum-Yum matte pink lipstick with liner and lots and lots of mascara on my upper lashes.

I wore this exact cosmetic look on my inspiration walk downtown a couple of times last week, minus the bright red cheeks. Then on another day I did my brows in papaya. I also wore the big hat downtown, stuffed with the scarf to keep it from falling over my eyes.

Oddly, this look in public did not make me feel clownish in the least. Sometimes I even forgot that I had green eyebrows and glitter yellow eyelids. But there was no escaping how swell I was feeling. I'm surprised those little brow worms didn't turn into butterflies and fly straight away.

Have you been thinking of mixing up your cosmetic palette? Would you try this in your free time?

One head four ways - wigging out!

Who are we? Are we defined by our hair, our makeup, our clothes? Of course, the answer is that we are defined by the intangibles, but I heard this from a woman I style-eyed recently: Nobody ever crossed the street to meet a personality. Our looks and presentation form first impressions and our personalities make or break them.

This post is a continuation of my investigation into women's identity and style, very a la Cindy Sherman, the New York conceptual photographic artist. The first post I did in this project was called "One face six ways."

The Investigation

How do our perceptions of people change with different kinds of hair?

How much does hair affect our behaviour? 

For this study I applied heavy makeup and tried on three wigs: Ginger, Annette, and Tina. 

NATURAL (below): Wigless is my natural state but I wasn't used to this much makeup. The makeup served as a cover so I felt freer to do things outside my usual self and it exaggerated the transformations.

GINGER (below): I felt vixen-like but overwhelmed by the hair! I dressed as Ginger for two parties about 12 years ago and really disliked the attention. I was the bone to a bunch of hungry dogs! I rarely spoke all night - I was in shock. 

 

ANNETTE (below): (The cone is misshapen after 14 years in a drawer!) This woman is from the sixties, say, Elizabeth Taylor Cleopatra. In kitten heels I walk a poodle in a diamond collar, go to a party and do the twist, and wake up in the morning with smeared makeup, stinking of booze, ready for a fresh martini and a gherkin.

TINA (below): This is the wig I have always disliked most and it is the one that made me feel like I lost myself the most. I don't really see myself here and yet I enjoyed the discovery process of the transformation.

These are closeup summary shots of the personalities that emerged in these wigs with this makeup.

In every wig I tried on, I had a sense of being someone else. Considering that a wig is really just an extension of a hat, our cultural interpretations of hair elevate the wig far beyond mere body adornment. For example, when I wore Ginger my personality was unable to live up to the expectations that the hairstyle invoked. Even hair colour has deeply ingrained stereotypes: ditzy blond, fiery redhead, white- or black-haired crone.

I once saw a movie in which women cancer survivors attending a conference joyously doffed their wigs; they threw them exultantly into the air as a symbol of empowerment and liberation. At the same time, I have seen women with deliberately shorn heads treated with derision or bewilderment. Throughout history, the cutting of a woman's hair has been punishment for a lapse in morality. Even biblical Sampson lost his strength when his hair was shorn.

I'm wondering, what's your relationship with your hair? Do you change your hair style to reflect or even evoke big changes in your life? Do you wear wigs? If so, do you mix them up depending on your mood or outfit? Do you wish wigs were more commonly worn? Do you think that hair colour affects how people perceive us? How does hair length affect perception? I'm just curious.

Have a good weekend everyone!

One face six ways

New York-based photographic artist Cindy Sherman specializes in dressing as different characters, male and female, then taking self-portraits in her exploration of women's place in society; she recently appeared in a MAC cosmetics campaign and you'd probably recognize her if you saw her.

I am interested in how people respond to others based on what they wear, at least at first glance. This topic has been a subject of my artwork on and off again for years and has been growing again since I began blogging.

In January I decided to use photography for the first time in exploring this idea, so I gathered up a bunch of stuff and headed to my studio where I tried to create different versions of me with a handful of accessories. How many illusions could I create with these few things? The shoot took about two hours and it was pretty chaotic since I'm not used to self-portraiture. This is the result.

This is me BEFORE, the way I look when I'm painting.

This is me AFTER.

Accessories

3 hats, 2 light scarves, 1 burgundy winter scarf, 3 pairs of gloves

some bangles, 2 pairs of earrings and a necklace, a fur collar with ties

Cosmetics

foundation, white powder, blush, lipstick (exaggerated bow lips)

Clothes

my ratty studio shirt and grungy brown hoodie

I am wondering how much women question their image decisions and how many wish they had taken other paths presentation-wise. Do you think it's possible to consciously alter your image after presenting the same version of "you" for most of your life? If you push your boundaries of style, does that push your personality as well? Is that artificial? Are there parts of you that you would like to express but don't? Why not? I am interested in your views on any of these points.

Thanks for stopping by! By the way, let me know if you think of any funny captions for any of the photos - some of the looks are...interesting.


This last photo is my friend Sandra after her first cosmetics lesson (true). Her beautician couldn't stop laughing. I know why!

PS March is a crazy time for me and I won't be able to post very often or respond to your comments right away, but I will check in as often as I can!