A Summer Of All Work And Little Play!

So due to having no money I had to go back to work this summer as a waitress again but I had rent to pay on my new accommodation so it was a must! However I have had a great summer visiting places around the UK such as Plymouth, Dartmouth, Yorkshire and The Midlands. I have visited Ruined Abbeys, Art Galleries in little picturesque villages and stared out into a never ending ocean! 

I have also set up a Professional Facebook page as I found my personal account was not professional. I have started to construct a website which is coming along brilliantly and finally I have started my very own Blog/Instagram account where I am posting product reviews, how to's, fashion and beauty news and much more. I have spoken to so many great people and I haven't got that many followers yet but this is something I have found I enjoy so I plan to continue blogging and instagramming! 

Concluding On A Year Of Changes, Experiences and Testing Times.

I previously mentioned that coming to University was an escape and a chance to figure out where I want to be and to expand and practice my skills more. I can't begin to explain how much I have changed as a person firstly, the confidence I now have compared to one year ago is unbelievable and I never imagined I would be in the position I am now. Self confidence was a big issue for me before coming to university but the moment I received an email confirming my place at Southampton Solent I cried happy and sad tears. Happy because I knew I had what it takes to be a student here and sad because I didn't think I would make it, I thought I would fall at the last hurdle and not end up going all because of my low self confidence. Fast forward to the 17th September 2014 and I am stood in a small room I will be calling home for the next year watching my grandparents from the window as they left and I sat there and cried because I wanted to go home but something inside of me wouldn't let me get in my car and leave. 

The first day I went to class I met some amazing people and tutors who made me feel at ease and its thanks to those people mainly Sharon, Lottie, Teri Wheeler and Georgina Clayton that I came back the next day. The next couple of weeks were very difficult for me, My cousin Ben was critically ill in hospital and I got the devastating news he had passed away meaning I needed to go home for a couple of weeks, something I thought would ruin my first year and I would have to do it all over again. When I was home I continued to do my blogging and I was determined I was not going to fail and I didn't. I got back to University after 3 weeks I slotted right back in and I continued with my studies, Those initial weeks living alone in Southampton and not having a support network close and those 3 weeks I had to go home changed me, I suddenly had confidence in myself and my abilities. I knew I was doing the right thing for me. 

My studies during the first year were challenging. I found so many aspects difficult and I tried my hardest not to give up and sometimes I did and the failure I felt made me even more passionate to try again and some times that passion enabled me to complete things I initially failed at! 

One major difficulty I had was Hair Styling. I always struggle with hair and I even struggle with my own hair which is probably why I got so annoyed and angry during class when I failed time and time again it wasn't until Lottie explained to me that if I carried on while I was frustrated that I would always fail, I would always get frustrated with hair styling because I had never enjoyed it. She told me that the moment I start feeling any anger or frustration towards a task to stop, take a breather and start again and it really worked even if it did take till semester 2! I finally started to understand hair, not enough to take it as an option but I started to make progress, my curls were improving, my up-do's and historic hair styles were better which I am really happy about, However I believe I still need to practice more which is why I hope we can concentrate on hair styling a little during the next academic year! 

Days out visiting buildings, galleries and museums are a hobby of mine but due to my slightly embarrassing fear of  public transport I was unable to participate on trips to London, Paris and the exciting trip this year and my absolute dream... NYC. I am so gutted I couldn't experience all the things other students did but I have tried to make up for it by going on as many trips to different places this summer. I plan to get help on my fear this year and hopefully I can celebrate with a weekend trip to Paris or Milan next summer, this is a major thing for me and I really want to conquer it this year! This is also an area I found surprisingly inspiring. During a project I had to look at Architecture and I was so astounded by how much I LOVED it and sad that I have actually experienced some great architecture but never fully appreciated it but never the less I now open my eyes to the wider world and find so many things inspiring and I have truly enriched my life after one year at University. 

Overall, I am so pleased I passed my first year with some fantastic grades. I only gained one A BUT I am OK with that, It means I have room for improvement academically and I love learning so this is another self goal. I want to achieve at least 3 A's this year particularly in Editorial Writing.   

To Improve You Must Reflect On Success and Fails!

So I am now a SECOND year student at Southampton Solent University, eek! I can't quite understand how quick this year has gone, which is scary, So much has happened during my first year I probably wont be able to document it all without missing certain points.

Firstly, I came to university as an escape, time to learn and consider my future and the first thing I was told by Sharon 'You will come here wanting to be a Make Up Artist, some of you will change your mind before the end of this year' and she was right. The first stage in my new adventure was confusion, self doubt and panic, what if I don't want a career in make up at all? what if I have spent 2 years already learning and training to be something I don't want to do? and in all honesty, these questions still invade my head from time to time but what I have come to realize is... I DO want to be in this industry and whether it takes me 10 years to figure out what area I want to be in then so be it.
Sharon inspired me to think about other jobs and careers rather than having a set goal. I now have knowledge on other industry jobs I would love to try.
Another experience that sent me into a whirl of panic towards the end of the year was Sue asking if I would like to be a Teacher one day, Me? a teacher? HA! Your having a laugh, I couldn't do that job at all but then I thought about it, maybe I could teach one day and if I got the opportunity to I wouldn't say no to the experience. So what I am trying to explain here is my first year opened my eyes to experiences, things I doubted I could do and things I would be to scared to do and that is down to the Staff at Solent who inspired me to open my eyes to a wider picture so Thank You!



As mentioned above I came from a Make Up College before university where I had NO clue what I was doing, I applied for this course on the basis that I LOVED Make Up products and how they made me feel when I applied them. This course taught me the basics of being a make up artist and looking back I can see how far my application and skills have come.... lets take a look back!

2013 Images from College- Left image was a little make over for a friend and the right image was shot by Alistair Cowen for a Fashion shoot and images were on display at Clothes Show Live 2013.

                                      

The above images able me to look back and see how my work has developed. The change is subtle but there is still a change. While in college my main skill was always eyebrows and this is still a positive skill of mine! 

Success is powerful...

The image above is of my last Digital Image Production assessment and it is by far my best work to date I am proud and even surprised at the comments and praise I got from tutors on my Post Production Skills. During the first year we had to post produce our own work and as soon as someone mentioned Photoshop I was scared. The last time I used photo shop was in High School and I was pretty crap at it but never the less I wasn't going to not have a go. I now LOVE post production and all things Adobe, I find it very therapeutic at times but also it can be very frustrating but I have learnt a new skill and that makes me extremely proud of myself and I now have the basis to extend my skill in this area if I wish to! 

Now onto one of the real change and successes of my first year. Before starting University I really struggled with complexion. I would try different techniques and try them on myself and friends and they would never turn out how I wanted but perseverance is key! After a couple of weeks I finally started to understand and I listened and asked questions and I now feel more confident in this area and I still get a little buzz inside when I look at images of my work and the skin looks great! 

I have spent the summer researching and trying out different brands of foundations, concealers and powders such as MAC Face and Body, Ben Nye HD Foundations, Revlon Color Stay, MUFE HD Foundation, Estee Lauder Double Wear, Stila and Too Faced.  I can now say I need more storage and my bank balance is severely damaged but it's all in the name of learning.

 Trying out all these products has taught me more about the look I want and what products I have to use to achieve this, During my learning stage I found there was so many brands offering so many different products that I would forget to concentrate on my client or models skin so I have now started a diary listing what products were suitable for certain skin types, this is to aid me in creating a beautiful complexion without panicking and making mistakes! 

Failures are potential successes in disguise... 
Eye make up is my worst skill, nothing infuriates me more than this. I spend hours applying, wiping off and trying again and I still fail. I watch endless 'How To' Videos and practice but I still can not even slightly perfect this. I have found if I work with certain Eye shapes I am a little better especially if a client or model has deep set eyes and a well defined socket which is probably because they are the easiest to make up never the less this is still a skill I desperately need to improve on immensely as I find myself not applying for certain jobs offered to us through the University or jobs I am offered through personal contacts because I am not confident in every area of make up artistry so one of my main goals this year is to not perfect but be at least confident in eye make up application.

This is an image of my last eye make up practice within the studio, I do have to say I think my color palette worked well but I need to sort the placement of colors and work on blending as I find the look has harsh lines which look awful. 

From Old To New- The Start Of Something Beautiful.

Only The Beginning... 

September 2014 to September 2015 has been a massive change for me as a person. I am now a confident young woman with the ability to explore everything around me with no hesitation. 

This blog is to document my journey and experiences as a University student, to reflect on situations that have challenged and changed me as an artist and to also teach me to be critical about my work as well as giving myself a pat on the back when I do something great, which is something I never do very often! The next year is about taking what I have learnt and input it in my next stages of studies to make my learning more of a success. 

'Path to Success'