The Armada Portrait

Queen Elizabeth I (1588)
Elizabeth had great control over her portraits, demanding she had to approve all of her portraits before they were released to the public. The Queen saw her portraits as a window of opportunity to show others her control and ambitions as the Queen of England.
One of the most symbolic paintings of her Majesty was the 'Armada Portrait'. The artist for this portrait is unknown but the various symbols held within the portrait have made it one of Elizabeths most iconic images.
One of the most obvious symbolisms within the portrait, and the reason for the portraits name, is the image depicted in the windows behind the Queen. The sight refers to the Queens triumph over the Spanish Armada in 1588, on the left is the English fireships who defeated the spanish fleet, shown broken and battered on the rocky english shores in the right-hand window. This symbolism represents one of Queen Elizabeth I's best triumphs and victory throughout her rule of England.
In addition to this the Queens hand is resting on a globe, over America, showing her domination of the seas and also the source of Spain's gold - again a reference to the power the Virgin Queen possessed.
Many of the other symbols held within the portrait were regularities in Elizabeth's portraits, for example the crown resting on the left-hand-side of the painting behind Elizabeth, referring to her status as Queen. The large quantity of pearls were also common for Elizabeth, used to represent her wealth as well as purity, however the pearl necklace worn by the Queen is said to be the last present she ever received from Robert Dudley, insinuating the importance he served to her and his heavy involvement in the Queens life.

Artist : (attributed to) George Gower
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Elizabeth_I_(Armada_Portrait).jpg

Charles Fox (Covent Garden)

I only visited two of the three stores on our trip to London recently, the second one being Charles Fox in Covent Garden. This was my favourite part of the whole trip because of the welcome and service we received from the staff in the store. When I arrived there was already a large number of students taking over the store, however this did not appear to faze the staff, instead they looked excited to be able to offer us their services. The store began by giving us a tour around the whole shop, explaining each of their products in just enough detail for the pace to remain upbeat but provide us with all the key information. One of the amazing things about the Charles Fox store is the endless list of products they have for each different makeup industry. 

When walking around we were introduced to a whole airbrushing line for photo shoots and fashion, special effects products for film and TV and various other items of makeup that can be included in a makeup artists kit. The staff explained to us what products were preferred for different uses, for example the thick coverage face makeup was often used for Asian weddings as it provides the brides with the flawless doll-like look that they seek.

I enjoyed this part of the trip the most because I feel I learnt so much and everything was so interesting. I ended up purchasing a number of different brushes to add to my kit and will definitely be going back to get some more products to start building up my kit. 

MAC (Covent Garden)

The only MAC stores I have visited are those local to me in my home town so it was a great experience for me to visit a different store. I'll start by saying how the size and product range in the MAC store in Covent Garden was much bigger than what I'm used to seeing. Not only did they have their range of usual make up products - foundations, cover up, powders, eye make ups - they also had a wide range of 'fashion' make up products that were great to experiment with and learn about. 

A key feature of the Covent Garden MAC store that I feel is  important to mention is the level of service provided to us as students. The store had a large quantity of our university's students going in and out all day but throughout the staff remained kind, polite and extremely helpful. They were only to happy to help us find a product we were looking for, advise us on what products were best for our course and explain how each of the products is used and works.

Overall I would recommend this MAC store to anyone and everyone thats interested in makeup, I learnt so much in such a short visit. I ended up walking away with a number of fantastic products and at an amazing discounted price, needless to say I was a very happy student.

The National Gallery

The National Gallery is an art museum that was founded in 1824. It holds a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating back from the mid-13th century. Visiting the gallery was a huge help when gathering research for both my makeup and hair assessments, based on the Elizabethan era.

Artist: unknown / Sitter: Queen Elizabeth I
This painting is known as 'The Coronation Portrait' and shows Queen Elizabeth I with her crown, orb and sceptre - showing the symbols of her authority and position within society. The gold cloak she is wearing was known as 'the cloth of gold' which she actually wore for her coronation on 15th January 1559 and was previously owned by Mary I. This is one of my favourite portraits of Queen Elizabeth I because it shows her young and fresh faced. The portrait shows her innocence before she became enveloped in the politics of ruling the country.

Artist: unknown / Sitter: Queen Elizabeth I
This is one of the many portraits of Queen Elizabeth I however research into the painting resulted in many interesting revelations. Firstly this painting was completed after the Queen had died in 1603. In fact this was not all painted at once, it was actually a 17th century portrait that was painted over in the 18th century. Despite this I feel that this portrait represents the Queen perfectly. The orb and sceptre showed her authority over society, whilst the pearls and detailed fabrics of the dress show the Queens wealth. The Queen is portrayed as flawless and strong, exactly the way she demanded herself to be painted.

Artist: Nicholas Hilliard / Sitter: Queen Elizabeth I (1572)
When speaking about the portrait, Nicholas Hilliard (who became Queen Elizabeth I's painter in 1570) explained that the portraits of Elizabeth are not designed for likeness but are instead a representation of the monarch through the emphasis of jewels and the rich material of her clothes. For example in this image the jewel above Elizabeths hand is a phoenix., a mythical bird reborn out of fire. This offers a reference to the Queens unmarried status and her virginity. In addition to this she is also holding a rose with bares reference to both the Virgin Mary and  the ancestral line of the Tudor monarch.

http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/hilliard-queen-elizabeth-i-l00128
National Portrait Museum 

Tudor Makeup & Cosmetics - The Elizabethan Era

The use of cosmetics was not common in the early tudor times under the reign of King Henry VIII.  Instead much of the inspiration for makeup in the Tudor period came around under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. It wasn't long before society was labelling her as the 'ideal woman, her pale skin and rosy cheeks and lips were craved by women throughout society and as a result they went to extreme lengths to achieve this image.

Foundation 

The ideal face complexion was to be as pale as possible, this was associated with wealth as poorer members of society had to work outside and could not help catching the sun and gaining tanned skin. To achieve this pale look the tudors favoured a makeup called 'ceruse' - a mixture of white lead and vinegar. This provided great coverage of the skin, an especially important factor for Queen Elizabeth when covering up the scars on her face from when she had small pox. Unfortuneately this mixture concocted to provide the snowy-white complexion was poisonous and as a result, the persistent use proceeded to make the women very ill, it turned the skin grey, dry and leathery as well as causing some women to loose their hair and teeth. After some time the women realised the negative effects of the product they were applying to their face and eventually opted to make a face paint out of crushed up plants and beetles, which was much more harmless and a lot better for the skin.

Lips, Cheeks & Eyes 

 In order to achieve the rosy cheeks and lips, Tudor women used a rouge known as 'cochineal' to stain the skin. This was made by crushing certain dried insects bodies such as beetles. This provided a reddish substance that was then applied to both the cheeks as a blusher and the lips as a lipstick/lip colorant.

In some cases the Tudor women used kohl to darken their eyelashes, however this was not a factor Queen Elizabeth I used for her own make-up, choosing to remain with her light strawberry-blonde eyelashes and eyebrows.

Hair Dye 

Just as it was for makeup, Tudor women were inspired to dye their hair to be just like their Queen. Elizabeth I had strawberry-blonde/ginger hair which resulted in many going to extreme lengths to achieve the same fiery colour. This routine consisted of making a yellow hair dye from a mixture of saffron, cumin seed, celandine and oil. However just like the makeup the ingredients in the hair dye were detrimental to the health of the women's hair and often resulted in their hair thinning and falling out. This is is how wigs became so popular throughout the Elizabethan era, especially with the Queen herself who had a wide variety of wigs and hair pieces, her collection reported to exceed 80 at least.



http://www.sixwives.info/tudor-make-up.htm
A Deadly Fashion: Beauty and Cosmetics 1550-1950 (A Review)

New Elizabethan - The Power Couple

This contemporary portrait/photograph of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, to me, oozes wealth. At first glance it is evident that the couple are well off from their outfits; the material of Angelina's dress looks extravagant and the style makes her look sophisticated. Brads bow tie and suit are also an obvious sign of wealth, an outfit usually considered to be expensive and smart, used to create a look of debonair for formal occasions. However when you look deeper into the photo it is clear that the couple are wealthy in a number of other ways ... 

Angelina Jolie's pose with her shoulders pushed back, her head up straight and her leg strong and visible show her to have a wealth of confidence and a strong character, this could be considered a reflection of the character of Queen Elizabeth I as well. 

In addition to this the closeness of the couple, with Brad leaning in and the strong clasp of their hands shows a rich relationship between the two of them and most would consider this a great wealth and attribute in life.

Image - http://www.instyle.com/instyle/package/oscars/photos

Contemporary Elizabeth

The model in this photo - Lilly Cole, holds the perfect complexion and hair colour to make the Elizabethan era instantly recognisable in this photo.The make up is quite subtle, the orange blusher helps to highlight the paleness of the skin. The pearls on the earrings show wealth and was a common occurrence in Elizabeth I's wardrobe. The materials in the gown also help to portray wealth but most importantly the abstract headpiece acts almost like a crown, showing her stature and role within society. 

photographer unknown, Source of photo unknown, make up artist for shoot also unknown.

http://www.pinterest.com/brystalrod/2014-show/