Researching the Brief

I’ve got six themes to pick from so I thought it would be best to research all of theme before I finally made a decision on which one I wanted to use for my article. Let’s start with the first one on the list:

1.     Ageless Beauty.

One thing that I have learnt so far is that is pretty difficult to find information about these themes. As soon as I had typed in these words all it seemed to be links to ageing products. I remember a time where all the adverts on the television just seemed to be for ‘X anti-ageing cream’ with one brand even boasting the ability to make the user look ‘ten years younger’. Now the adverts are no longer as insulting as they used to be. There’s just lots of science thrown into now because we live in a day and age were we demand proof to believe in a claim. Where would I even start? It seems as though we are trying to make our older ladies into iconic ladies and I’m cool with that, as beauty doesn’t expire.

2.     Real Beauty.

Interesting, it seems that Dove dominate the first 2-3 pages of Google search for this. It’s their campaign that I can’t stand. I can’t even really explain why either. Never really been one to play attention to trends but what I have found that what is most likely to happen is that after the really make-up heavy year (2016) I think that we are likely to see sheer coverage foundations, dewy faces and natural make up. Another way to look at Real Beauty is an unfiltered version of someone. Models who work at Ugly Agency I would be happy to argue are some of the pioneers of Real Beauty. I think this covers quirky make up as well as someone who looks pretty without a painted face.

3.     Wellness Delivers Beauty.

This is something I shy away from as I don’t have the healthiest diet. I guess my definition of a balanced meal is when I pick up the plate that it doesn’t all fall off one side. It’s become a really common thing now to see people turning to healthy living to promote healthy skin. Herb Life, Boo-Tea, [insert more peculiar teas that people drink]. I have to admit that I did noticed that drinking more water and less sugary drinks made my skin clearer and less dry. I guess this is a topic I’d probably shy away from because I’m not that clever on the science side of things. I can say though that having a healthy state of mind delivers beauty.

4.     Natural and Organic Beauty Products.

This one sparks an interest for me because I have a friend who is just starting up her own soap and cosmetic company. She runs it on the side as a second job and I have been loving watching the progress. We prefer to try and use natural products because we know that some chemicals are bad. Shops like Lush boom in times like this because their products are unique, cruelty free and natural. I remember meeting someone when I was 15 who didn’t wear deodorant and when I asked her why she told me it was because the aluminium in them were really bad for you. So, some people take this as gospel. I think I’d like to shoot some images for this one using the Natural elements as inspiration (Water, Fire, Earth)

5.     Gender Neutral

With sexuality becoming a slightly less taboo subject than it used to be the standards have changed. It is more common to see Gender Neutral fashion and almost Gender Neutral models. I really like this idea because it sometimes hard to break the barriers that have already been made. If a guy wants to wear a skirt who am I to judge? If a girl wants to look like James Dean why should your opinion of the norm stop her? I’m not really sure how I’d shoot this I guess I’d have to put some more thought into it. As it’s really popular at the moment I wouldn’t want my photos to look like a knock off. I guess looking at trends such as the undercut hair, bushy products, top knots, barbering for women and male icons wearing make up (Jeffree Starr and Manny MUA)

6.      High Tech/Beauty Innovation

This was the one I was most drawn to start with the more I tried to read into it though the more I felt lost. I just didn’t really know where to start. New products and new techniques to me, are what pave the way for modern beauty. Products that can be used in multiple ways or in ways that have been found by thinking out of the box make for some of the most interesting looks that we have seen so far. When googling this something I found interesting was that a common theme from this was high end skin care products popping up because of their ‘ high tech formulas’