My Make-up with Marilyn

I recently watched the Oscar nominated film "My Week with Marilyn", and then came across this excellent and incredibly thorough tutorial on Marilyn Munroe's iconic makeup look from UK makeup artist Lisa Eldridge.

Marilyn Munroe

Actress Michelle Williams transforming into Marilyn for "My Week with Marilyn".

Lisa Eldridge's Marilyn Munroe - Iconic Make-up Look

Not only is this tutorial well produced and shot, all the techniques are excellently demonstrated and explained by Eldridge. Eldridge has obviously done her research into the specifics of how Marilyn's look was constructed, and reveals many of the interesting tricks used to produce Marilyn's signature style. I was surprised to learn that Marilyn's make-up artist, Whitey Snyder, created the illusion of extremely full lashes in part by drawing in a false cast shadow on her lower eye line. Other, less theatrical tricks revealed by Eldridge could be used in everyday make-up, such as highlighting around the nose to create the sense of broader cheekbones.

Another aspect of this video I appreciate is the historical and personal context Eldridge gives us about Marilyn. It is well narrated and interesting beyond the expert make-up application.

J

Adora BatBrat

This is Adora BatBrat. She is a goth, although I am not 100% sure exactly what is and isn't a goth* just as I'm not 100% sure what is and what isn't a hipster. To me Adora looks like a dark fairy, not so much a vampire, although of course, our idea of vampire, as well as goth is changing. 


Ah well, here she is on the cover of GOTH magazine so we'll go with that. Oh and in her adorable Swedish accent she refers to herself as the Goth makeup queen of YouTube.


*if any readers out there know more about Goth, please, feel free to educate me.

Adora BatBrat is from Sweden, does make-up tutorials on YouTube and has her own website as well. Her look may not be one that I will ever adopt but I have to admire her creativity. I thought I took a long time to get ready in the morning but this makeup must trump my time.

Her look is a combination of fantasy, fairy and goth and she transforms herself into an otherwordly creature. Although, I could never make my self look like this without being in costume, I can't fault her passion or her creativity. There is something lovely albeit dark and strange about her looks and I admire her vision.

So what do you think? Is this your style? Does Adora BatBrat scare you or inspire you?

C.