Evaluation of Year one

 My Evaluation of Year one 

Finally, I have completed my first year of the life changing HND course. Doing VTCT last year gave me a taster of what this HND course would entail and I realized that this is what I would like to do next. Being a student of West Thames College for the past 5 years in hair and beauty and VTCT I would not have thought to do this course anywhere else other than this college.

Having being selected onto the course was a step closer to achieving and working towards my dream of becoming a successful make up artist who in time would be recognized for her unique styles and work. This in itself was the biggest motivation to do my utter best in this course and shine through.

At the start of the course, I must admit I was lost. There was a lot of information to digest. I achieved skills, which I struggled with a lot at the beginning of the course in my period lessons. I do not think this would have been possible without Samantha and Denise who have helped me. I found this very challenging and overwhelming as I suffer from dyslexia and found it difficult to work on my logbook but managed in the end as this course has helped me with time management and note taking skills. I am truly proud of how distributed my time between working and studying, with no days off in between. There were moments of sleep deprivation but in the end I have gained and learnt so much. Samantha has been amazing as she taught different techniques in a way which made it easy to follow with her detailed instructions. As well as Samantha, Denise also pushed me to my limits to be able to achieve how to do different lip shapes, eyebrows and blusher error changes which I found hard at the beginning. One thing that Denise used to do is be able to point the most tiniest detail such as a glitter on the face which should not have been there, I hated but also loved this as this taught me how such a small error could affect the whole image that is being created.

Theatre lessons with Tanya were very challenging as well this being the bald cap and aging make up. However, Tanya helped me learn several little details and her knowledge of the theatrical industry was amazing. She acted as a friend not just a teacher, which made her very approachable and she went out of her way to help.

Fiona’s lessons were thoroughly enjoyable for me as her historical knowledge like Tanya’s theatrical knowledge was amazing. Fiona was very detailed and created what was of a bible to me on Moodle. Her passion for art and craft was very inspirational and I can confidently transfer what I have been taught to others.

 I do not believe that I would have achieved the skills I have learnt and knowledge I have gained had it not been for Branka. She truly is an inspiration and an amazing educator. She has built this relationship of trust between her students and her. I personally felt comfortable to speak and approach her for support at any time I required without hesitation.  Branka uses her own skills and knowledge to teach her students. Personally, I remember one particular advice she gave me in relation to using the special effects to create your ideas and develop your skills. She said, when creating, the sky is the limit, you can achieve your desired look and much more with a can do attitude and creativity. The simplest idea can be taken and advanced in ways that are unimaginable.

I never truly appreciated the impact of fashion on the make up industry. I have learnt so much about the historic impact of fashion on makeup and hair. Fashion is very influential to make up and special effects. Special effects in particular as it is created through fashion, it is what we associate to that particular look. Through my research and the knowledge of fashion in historic eras, I have discovered that my preferred fashion trend is vintage and any look with a fashion twist.

Personally, I do not think I would have pushed myself to the best of my ability and skill had it not been for Branka urging and pushing me to unlock the hidden skills and creativity I did not believe I was capable of achieving.

I must admit that my favourite assessment of the year had to be the Cover Girl assessment. I used all the skills and knowledge bestowed upon me by Branka to accomplish my final product. My favourite aspect of this assessment was the chance to use the skills and apply it to an independent piece of work. I had to plan, create and budget every step and aspect of my assessment on my own. It gave me a unique insight to the life of an independent freelancer.

I appreciated the time and effort that incorporated in every look whether it is simple or extravagant, whilst baring in mind the limit of your budget. I also had the responsibility of finding the model and photographer. My model was the amazing Alicia, who was a star. The photographer was recommended and she truly captured the beauty of my look but I of course directed her as a team to achieve the particular look and effect I desired.

I am most grateful to Branka for introducing me in the world of Blogging. She taught me the importance of building an audience. I will appreciate the advice she gave me in relation to products and kits, their maintenance and collection build up. In particular the must haves of all make up artists.

Branka is absolutely amazing in contouring and smoke eyes as well as colour contrasting. She taught me a vital technique in achieving the smokey eye look in the simplest way. Branka has also introduced me into the world of colours. She taught me how to blend colours, in particular how you can create the most beautiful colours using colours you would not usually blend or match together. 

There were three techniques in particular; I gained from Branka, which I incorporated into my final assessment. These were mask making, fig lace and the fashion twist of black lips. I used my mask making techniques to create a mask I could not be prouder of. Using the technique of accessorizing to manipulate and create a specific look for example the ball shaped texture of the eye area of my mask. Additionally, the fig lace to attach gems and feathers. The gems gave my final look the uniqueness I was hoping for.

The hair workshops with Emma were much more soothing, hair is an area I feel more comfortable in. I thought I was capable of creating hairstyles but Emma introduced me to the techniques for more adventurous hairstyles.

I particular loved Emma’s approach and enthusiasm to different hairstyles. She taught me that you could use absolutely anything to create a hair accessory in order to create a look, for example cardboard to create a bow and socks to create a doughnut bun. It was the influence of Emma’s amazing guidance that gave me the idea of using my old doughnut buns to create bigger ones for my particular look in my final assessment.

Overall, I think the areas I need particular improvement on would be more sufficient time management and the application of lipstick. I think I need to practice my lipstick techniques and also apply it much faster.

This industry is a very difficult to work in, you can never anticipate what you may be required to create. I never thought I was capable creating such beautiful work and I would have never unlocked my skills had it not been for Samantha, Denise, Fiona, Tanya, Emma and Branka.

I am confident and bursting with knowledge and skills, I say bring on year 2.