Truly Inspirational - Alex Box

Q: Which make-up artist do you find the most inspiring? 

A: mmm, there are many inspirational make-up artists out there, but, for me, it would have to be Alex Box -creative director of Illamasque.

Alex Box is considered by most a ground breaking artist with a strong alternative voice. 

Above: Alex Box, Make-up artist
and creative director of Illamasque

Alex Box explores the relationship between the body and the environment, art, nature, science and the magical through her work. Alex has since become one of the most influential make-up artists of our time. She works alongside designers such as Karl Lagerfield, Stella McCartney, McQueen, Peter Johnson and Gareth Pugh. Her work is also regularly seen in the titles including Numero, W, Another Magazine, Dazed and 10. 

Out of the many beautiful images that Alex creates, this is one look that has a very dear place in my heart. I adore the dewiness of the skin combined with bold, striking statement lines. 

The lines create a two dimensional look, she looks like a character from an 80s comic book or a girl who has just jumped out of a Roy Lichtenstein poster. The structure of the lines also remind me of the MAC face-charts and plastic surgery outlines. 

There is a very limited colour palette, the pale skin and bright fushia lips contrast greatly and thus creates impact by emphasising the lips and the cheeks, giving the look more dimension and shape. 

If I was to wear this look out, it would be to beauty con as I feel that the look symbolises idealistic beauty: artificial beauty. 

I find that this look is reflective of my personality and aspirations; I wear makeup to emphasise my features or to create features that I am not naturally blessed with, such as long eyelashes, a larger double eyelid crease and higher cheekbones. I also think that the boldness of this look reflects my efforts to stand out and make a statement regarding my image and presentations. 

Here is my re-creation

 When reproducing this look, I encountered a number of difficulties. First of all, COVERING EYEBROWS is a nightmare, it look me a couple of tries to get a smooth surface and full coverage, especially as my brows are very dark. If you are curious, I used the glue stick method. I found this youtube video by Skarlet Starlet particularly helpful, as it is a step by step guide to covering your brows: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxGzhrCrWDc

The second obstacle that I encountered was creating the brows. The brows in the original look are very straight with a soft curve, but I found that that shape was not as compatible for my face structure; instead I followed the natural curve of my eyebrow and brow bone to create a more arched shape. 

To begin with I outlined the lips following the natural contours and edge of my lip, but standing back and looking into the mirror again, I realised that the lips looked way too big and clown like. As a result I slimmed down my lips using concealer and drew on a smaller lip. 

For the hair I simply pulled it all away from the face into a low side bun and created volume at the top of the head to create a sort of romantic quiff. The makeup is outrageous and bold, and requires a softer, elegant updo. 

As for styling, I laced up into a black fluffy bralet and I chose to expose the neck and shoulders because I think that it keeps everything clean and crisp and helps to achieve a sexier more feminine silhouette.

This look took me approximately two hours to achieve. I hope I can adapt this style with looks that I create in the future. 

Photographer: Rhys Holmes