It’s time to announce the winners of our Fashion Week Makeup Contest!
But first, we would like to extend a huge “THANK YOU” to all our participants, the semi-finalists, finalists, and our judge!
This year, our fabulous judge, Nathan Johnson, created a personalized scorecard for each finalist to determine the winner.
Judge: Nathan Johnson
Designing for the Runway is an AMAZING opportunity. This is a moment to create a look that will impact trends around the world for years to come. I want to congratulate everyone who participat-ed. There was a lot of amazing work here and it was very difficult to choose the finalists. I do want to let you know, that finalists were not chosen by popular vote alone (as Facebook can be a popu-larity contest based on number of followers, etc). My input was also used to choose these finalists, so have no fear about the fairness. And when it comes to the winner, it was chosen exclusively by me and my dear friend Ms. Leanne Marshall. And, not once, did we check to see how many likes any of the images received. I will be including some comments from her with some of the finalists. The decision for the winner was chosen entirely based on the criteria I listed and whether or not the look could actually be used at a Leanne Marshall NYFW show!
Here’s what Nathan was looking for:
- Face chart: A face chart that is clear and representative of the look. Feel free to make notes in it explaining your choices if you desire.
- Creativity: A creative look that complements the collection. Think outside the box and create something wonderful and new. NYFW is where trends in hair and makeup are born, so make some magic.
- Application: Precise application. Remember, this is the global stage for fashion and beauty, so your application should be perfect and symmetrical (unless your look is clearly designed not to be).
- Photo quality: Clean, clear, and well lit photos are a necessity. You’re putting so much work into your design, so make sure you capture it well!
- Final note: At the end of the day, it’s most important that you have fun. If you remember that the clothing is the star and you are there to complement, it will be easy to succeed! Do your best!
Fashion Week Makeup Contest Scoring:
Artist: Megan Brown
- Face chart: 3/5
- Creativity: 2.5/5
- Application: 4/5
- Photo quality: 4/5
- Total: 13.5/20
Comments: In your description, you say that you want to play with shine and color to balance nicely with the elegance of the clothing and the designs. I think you created an interesting look, but it is more of an Instagram look than it is a NYFW look. As lovely as it is, this look would overpower the elegance and easy flow of Leanne’s designs. A big part of designing for a designer means doing research. Now, I did not tell you that Leanne does not like a strong cheek, but had you looked up any of her past collections, you would have immediately seen that. My advice would be to do as much re-search as possible. To your credit, I believe that you used strong application skills (The skin is gorgeous, the lip is precise), but it is just far too aggressive of a look to compliment one of Leanne’s collections (they are known for being delicate and ethereal). Had you taken down that cheek by 3/4, and gone a bit softer on the eye, we may be having a different conversation. Leanne felt that the eye and lip were too strong so she would not have picked this look to compliment her collection. The face chart is also done well from a color point of view, but the excessive writing would make it impossible to be used at a show. Simplicity is important….overall excellent work.
Artist: Karessa Johnson
- Face chart: 2/5
- Creativity: 3/5
- Application: 4/5
- Photo quality: 4/5
- Total: 13/20
Comments: I will start by sating this is an eye catching look. It is extremely precise and detailed. The look has near perfect symmetry, which is very difficult to achieve. The write up of your face chart is one of the best of all the submissions (clarity, simplicity, typed), but the illustration is not present. As I said earlier, a face chart is a road map for your team of artists, if you do not do one that is complete and correct, you are not preparing your team for success. You’ve created a lovely look, and I commend you on it, but I would also encourage you to do a bit more research into Leanne. You mention that “you kept the face soft”, this is actually a very heavy foundation application and Leanne is always less is more when it comes to skin. She likes her models to look ethereal, with softer, more natural skin. She also like focus to be in only one place. Leanne said, Karessa “has some skills on the eye! I love the eye. I just wish she would have left the lip minimal though.” This is a gorgeous make up application, but with the heavy foundation and the gilded lip, it is more appropriate for Instagram likes and followers than it is for the Leanne Marshall show. As I mentioned earlier, take the advice of Coco Chanel and take something off. This is beautiful work. Congratulations.
Artist: Annette Silvestre
- Face chart: 4/5
- Creativity: 2/5
- Application: 4/5
- Photo quality: 4/5
- Total: 14/20
Comments: I will start by saying that this is a beautifully applied look. But, it is also a look that has been done many, many times. If you look through Instagram or YouTube, you will find countless how to’s that the illustrate applications that look just like this (maybe using different colors, but the essence of the look would be the same). So, as lovely as it is, that makes it a bit forgettable. To make a look for the runway, it has to be novel. In a way, this seems like a recycle of what is currently popular on Instagram. I do not want to suggest that you didn’t do a beautiful job, I just want to see your voice as an artist, and a bit less of the heavy Instagram influence. You are very talented, and that is evident in the gorgeous skin, the symmetrical eyes, the nuanced lip, and the well-blended cheek. But, I want to start to see your voice as an artist shine through. You are more talented than most of the folks getting paid millions to do how to’s online…I want to see your true voice now, instead of versions of what is already out there. You are on the brink of greatness. Stop watching Instagram and YouTube, and allow your own imagination to inspire everything you do. With your talent, you can do anything you want…and I know you will, once you trust yourself. You are capable of extraordinary greatness…and I am ready to see you shine. As a note to the face chart, it does not truly represent the application, for example, the smoke on the bottom lashing is extreme in application, but not present in the chart. A face chart has to be precise because it is a road map for your team of 20+ artists.
Artist: Deahnna Dunstan
- Face chart: 2/5
- Creativity: 5/5
- Application: 4/5
- Photo quality: 4/5
- Total: 15/20
Comments: Leanne said, that this look was her “favorite one at first glance. It’s a look I would choose for a col-lection.” And I have to agree. This look makes strong use of a collection color in an interesting and very high fashion way. A runway look needs to be strong, but quiet at the same time. Strong enough to make an impact, but quiet enough not to distract from the designs. You achieved that balance. BUT, the great Coco Chanel once said, “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take at least one thing off.” I think that would have served you very well in this instance. Brushing the eyebrows up was fine, not totally necessary given the strength of the eye, but putting a glitter orange powder below it took the high fashion look and added a level of cheapness to it. In the future, trust that what you did on the eye is enough. The lips and cheeks look great. Besides editing the brow, I would recommend more precision in the eye. In your chart, there are crisp, beautiful lines, and there is a very bright use of color on the lid. In your application that crispness gets lost a bit and the bright shade on the side is lost a bit. I think a bit less blending would have given you the crispness of the face chart, and the brighter pop on the lid would have made the look even more impactful. This is excellent work. But, a proper face chart is very important. By not filling out the product details, you would leave your team in the dark and that could cause a backstage disaster. With a touch more precision, the editing of the eyebrow, and a proper face chart, you very likely would have been the winner.
Artist: Diana Martins
- Face chart: 3/5
- Creativity: 5/5
- Application: 5/5
- Photo quality: 4/5
- Total: 17/20
Comments: This look is inventive and striking. Leanne said, this look “is original and I like that alien, high fashion look to it. Well Done.” And I totally agree. Choosing to keep the skin natural and fresh and put focus in only one unusual place, was a brilliant idea and it makes for a makeup that makes a statement while not taking away from the collection. This is what I would call a true compliment to a collection. I adore the dewy, perfect skin. And I just LOVE the use of stark color being primarily on the eyebrow. For this season’s collection that showed a week ago, the look I designed for Leanne put no color on the lid, it only used color on the brow bone! You are thinking outside the box, but doing it in a quiet way! Bravo! That is how you design for a designer. Congratulations. This is a very exciting look. As for the face chart. A face chart is not a painting. It needs to be very clear to show artists how to duplicate the look. Yours is very, very confusing with the skin fully colored in (remember models at a fashion show will be in all skin tones). The black lines around the lips are also confusing. Clarity is essential. The write up is clear and easy to follow, but the illustration makes it very difficult to follow as that will be their primary resource. Congratulations on some inventive and exciting work.
Final notes from Nathan: Creating a look for the runway has its own set of guidelines. You need to deeply research your designer, you need to make a statement without overshadowing their collection, and you have to create something that will inspire women around the globe to either be fascinated by it, or want to wear some version of it. Congratulations to all of you, but especially to our winner Diana Martins.
Congratulations Diana for winning our 2017 Fashion Week Makeup Contest!
Diana wins a Cover FX’s “Illuminating Prime and Set Kit”, as well as Tarte’s “Tarteist™ Pro To Go Amazonian Clay Palette”.
Congratulations Deahnna for winning the 2017 Fashion Week Makeup Contest First Runner-Up Prize!
Deahnna wins a Urban Decay’s “UD Jean-Michel Basquiat Tenant Eyeshadow Palette”!
Congratulations Annette for winning the 2017 Fashion Week Makeup Contest Second Runner-Up Prize!
Annette wins a QC Makeup Academy’s Travel and Expandable Makeup Palette!
Student Prize Winner
The lucky winner of our student prize draw is QC Makeup Academy student Inelda Santana! Inelda wins a Wander Beauty’s “Secret Escape Kit”!
Thank you to all the artists who submitted entries for the contest! And to the 5 finalists, you should all be very proud of your work. Once again, congratulations Diana for winning the 2017 Fashion Week Makeup Contest!
