Makeup Artist Watch & How To : Golden Goddess Look by Illamasqua's Creative Director Alex Box

Makeup brand's Illamasqua's creative mind Alex Box is without a doubt a makeup artist extra-ordinaire. She has collaborated with some of the best of the industry creating a continuous streak of breathtaking images and products.

This month she keyed a team of makeup artists at the Myer Fashion Parade in Sydney, Australia, designing the looks for the show including the beautiful Golden Goddess look for the 10 models opening the show.

Sneak a peak into Alex's box of secrets ... check out the behind the scenes photos from the show as well as the How To Makeup Breakdown authored by the master herself.

Alex Box on the Gold Goddess SKIN

Illamasqua Satin Primer was used all over the face for a dewy, fresh base. As all the girls had had spray tans prior to the show, a Illamasqua Cream Foundation in a shade a couple of shades darker than their natural skin tone was used and blended and buffed to perfection using an Illamasqua Highlighter Brush.

After dusting off any shine using Loose Powder, contour the face using Illamasqua Powder Blusher in 'Rumour', 'Spite' and 'Disobey' depending on the model's skin tone. This was applied using Illamasquas Blusher Brush II, using the tapered edge to smooth color under the cheekbones, down the sides of the nose and from the eye lids up to the temples to create an architectured face.

Next, use a small amount of Bronzing Duo, using the darker shade to enhance the contour and the lighter shade to add a touch of creamy highlight to the top of the cheekbones, down the centre of the nose and across the hairline.

Revert to an old trick and apply soap to the eyebrows to flatten them against the skin until they seem to disappear to keep the focus on the smokiness of the eyes.

Alex Box on the Gold Goddess EYES

To define the eye shape, Powder Eye Shadow in 'Wolf' re-exaggerated the shape initially created using Powder Blusher in 'Disobey'. Alex used an Illamasqua Eye Shadow brush to press on the color and blend it high up beyond the crease using Blending Brush I.

A Medium Pencil in 'Sophie' was used for an inky black smudge along the waterline and under the lashline, and Powder Eye Shadow in 'Gimp' used on top to build color intensity and to allow for a gentle fade out to deep grey.

'Gimp' was also used on top of 'Wolf' on the top eye lid, almost up until the brow and blended out again. The lid and outer third of the eye should be the most intense areas.

Spatter Liquid Metal in 'Solstice' into the inner corner of the eye and roughly blended into the eye color not further than 1/3 of the way onto the eye lid, with the concentration of color being at the inner corner. Alex used her fingers and an Illamasqua Lip Brush for a more defined shape to apply the 'Solstice'.

A sprinkling of Pure Pigment in 'Marvel' adds a shimmering yellow tone to the gold and is also used with Blusher Brush I to dab the color onto the temples and on the upper third of the cheekbones.

After using a coat of Volume Mascara in 'Harness', False Eyelashes No. 13 were used for a kitten look, and fastened to the natural lashes using another coat of Volume Mascara.

For a final shot of glimmer, add a touch of Pure Pigment in 'Android' to the outer corners and along the lash line to blend the line of the lashes and the smoky eye color.

Alex Box on the Gold Goddess LIPS

For a gentle, dewy highlight, a 50/50 mixture of Liquid Metal in 'Solstice' and Satin Primer was applied to the top of the lip.

The lips were blended out, to keep the focus on the super-smoky eyes, using a touch of the Cream Foundation used for the skin and a touch of Sheer Lipgloss in 'Brilliant' to the centre of the lips.

Alex Box on the Gold Goddess FINAL TOUCHES

Gold glitter (for example from Mac) was pressed onto the skin for a bold look, like the modles had been rolling about in gold sand.

It is impossible to keep anything in relation to Alex Box short and sweet ... her creativity is so far reaching and her mind never seems to rest from seeking inspiration, hence a couple more of her legendary works to enjoy.

Photo Credits: http://illamasqua.blogspot.com and www.sassisamblog.com

Video Credit: www.youtube.com

Makeup Artist Watch: Kabuki

Kabuki, must be one of the most courageous and inventive makeup artist in the fashion industry. With a little spirit gum, wax and a bald cap this artist continuously transforms models into beings from another planet ... inhabited by only the most beautiful creatures.

Originally from the north of England, he landed his first job in New York as a textile designer, where his unique flair for outlandish dress and makeup led him to the then-flourishing New York City club scene. It was here where he was noticed by editors for his crazy makeup, who then asked him to transform their models during fashion shoots to similar unreal & unusual beauties.

In this video Kabuki is working with Swiss photographer Patrizio Di Renzo on the Swiss Jewelry brand Majo Fruithof's advertising campaign.

Enjoy some more of Kabuki's beautifully creative mind, take a peek at some of his earlier work. I think, like many other makeup artists I have spent many an hour staring at Kabuki's work trying to figure out how it was done ...

Video Credit: www.youtube.com

Photo credit: www.kabukimagic.com and narcissist anatomy

Artist Watch: Creative Director of Chanel - Peter Philips

The closest most of us get to owning a piece of Chanel, one of the world's most successful and fiercely guarded luxury brands, is its lipstick, nail polish or a bottle of its bestselling No5 perfume. So the person who creates those desirable items is, in artistic terms at least, in charge of the greater part of its business.

Peter Philips is exactly this person, the current global creative director for Chanel Makeup, belgian born he studied Graphic Design at Antwerp's prestigious Royal Academy of Arts. Philips abandoned fashion design to take up a career in make-up after working as a "dresser" backstage at the prêt-à-porter shows in Paris. After graduating in 1993, Philips built up his book doing test shoots with aspiring photographers and stylists, among them Willy Vanderperre, who recently lensed the Jil Sander campaigns.

He first became famous as a makeup artist for his use of unusual materials, at times he incorporated feathers, pearls and fabrics into his looks, which today seems to be the norm, but back then certainly wasn't. After a decade at the top of the industry, he had gained a reputation as one of fashion's best avant-garde talents – albeit one associated with menswear shoots and the edgier style magazines. Forget cover girls with pretty-pretty pink cheeks and smoky eyeshadow; the pivotal moment in Philips' career came at a Raf Simons shoot, when he drew a Mickey Mouse face onto a model. "It was spontaneous," he recalls of that session. "But when we showed the picture to other people, their jaws just dropped."

Philips told Vogue in August 2008, shortly after becoming Chanel's Global Creative Director, " I would like to shake up the brand a bit but not break it, and offer a nice palette, nice tools for women to use". Any visible changes to the brand will be "very subtle – unlike the other beauty brands, Chanel doesn't have to reinvent itself every five years, because it's so classic".

Highly regarded he is said to have been able to infuse high fashion with surprising influences and new ideas all with cutting edge sophistication.

It comes as no surprise that Philips is the creative mind behind Chanel's beautiful temporary tattoos, when you see the below images from pre-Chanel fashion shoots he masterminded. His graphic design studies come in handy at times.

Take an in-depth look at Philips' work below and enjoy his incredibly creative mind.

www.wikipedia.com

www.independent.co.uk

www.models.com

forum.fashionspot.com