Trip to London

We were fortunate enough to visit London on Friday the 10th of October in order to visit the National Portrait Gallery and numerous makeup stores such as MAC, Illamasqua and Charles Fox who also gave us a generous discount.

The Gallery:

It was very harrowing being so close to such old paintings that were in possession of famous people in history such as people like Elizabeth I, Henry VIII, John Donne and William Shakespeare. Unfortunately we were unable to take photos inside the gallery but witnessing them in real life was a brilliant experience.

This is Henry VIII by an unknown artist dated between 1540 and 1550. He is holding a gold sword, and it is noticeable that there is gold littered around his clothing. This represents wealth, power and connections with different areas of the world where he can access Gold. There is a small demon behind him which is also below, and this can suggest that Henry was the protector from such evil and since Royals were seen to be just below God in the tudor times, it is a sign that people should respect him for the holy figure he is. This would have also aided in his converting of the country completely to Catholicism. It is apparent that he is in his late 40's/ early 50's because of the grey hairs in his beard that have carefully been drawn on, and the intricate detail on his hands. Lastly, his stance is authoritative, strong and confident, which was expected of a king. I particularly love this portrait because of the elaborate clothing adorned with fur and numerous jewels and gold, along with the oriental-type rug that he is standing on.

Elizabeth I's coronation, painted in approximately 1600 by an unknown artist. I thought this painting was particularly eye-catching due to its unrealistic positioning. For example the cape is perfectly draped across her, her waist is eye waveringly thin and she seems to be holding the globe with ease, but this is what drew me to the painting because it is a representation of her perfect abilities and undoubted royalty. I noticed while looking closely that not only is she deathly pale but the painter even drew blue veins on her forehead; a trend during this period. Interestingly her hair is down and unstyled, which was probably because this was during her coronation and she had not yet fully adopted the image and routine of a queen, and also had not yet found her true style.

Elizabeth I by Nicholas Hilliard, 1575. The hair piece in this portrait is notable as she has a veil type accessory draped across to her shoulders. Again, she has the tiny waist and has almost completely white skin, which shows she wanted consistency in what she looked like in her portraits and wanted to be the exact desirable image during the Elizabethan era. Like the portrait of her father, she has large shoulder padding which can signify dominance and prestige. Much like the other paintings I have mentioned, I love the detailed, textured fabric of the clothing and elaborate jewellery. Elizabeth's hair in this is very tightly curled in a corkscrew fashion which was stereotypical during this time.

Elizabeth I by Marcus Gheeraerts, 1592. Elizabeth is visibly older in this painting, shown by the frailness in her face, her sunken eyes and (minimal) wrinkles. The pale skin is obviously a consistent look that Elizabeth had throughout her years because she still has it within this painting. Again, veins on the forehead have been painted on which make her look old and frail, however this was not how it was seen at the time. There is clear symbolism here, she is standing on the world which tells the viewer that she is extremely powerful, and the painter has made counties of the UK visibly clear, making it obvious which country she rules. I chose to talk about this painting because I was drawn to how her 'cape' looks like wings, and the overall large padding of her clothes.





Makeup stores:

Unfortunately due to time constraints, I was only able to visit the MAC Pro store and the Charles Fox store. Despite this, I was still able to fully look around and be in awe of all the fantastic products available.

It was fascinating being able to visit a Charles Fox store in the flesh rather than trawling through their website where I was able to have a look at the vast amount of products and ask questions. There was an array of brushes on a large section of one wall which blew me away; I never knew there could be so many brushes available but there were so many to choose from I ended up not even being able to make up my mind. I love that in this store there is makeup for a multitude of purposes, such as scar covering, prosthetics, beauty, drag and many more.

Image taken from Google as I was too flabbergasted
 by the store to remember to take a photo!

Admittedly, I enjoyed my experience in MAC more due to my love for their products. I love the professional, clean look of MAC's packaging, their advertisements, their stores, array of purposeful products and minimalism. I appreciate the fact that they have foundations and concealers that have a multitude of colours and consistencies for all types of skin. Moreover, their more over top of the products like the glittery pigments (one of which I purchased- a white glitter that reflects pink) are particularly appealing to me, and the fact that they have so many colours and consistencies of them enables for diverse looks. There are many products that I would like to purchase from the pro store, such as multiple colours of their 'Face and body foundation' and 'Pro Longwear concealer'.