Materials

"Welcome to Makeup 101. Today we will be learning about the characteristics, durability, and clean ability of materials and their effects to cosmetics."

This was the introduction to a studio class at SCAD the fall of 2011. The ten of us in the class went to the materials room on campus and sat around large flat surfaces to dive into what this entailed.
99% of the class were females, 1% men. This being noted, there was a plethora of options for makeup. Those who had access to the cosmetics were asked to bring them to class. The nine women brought in the daily cosmetics they use. This entailed foundation, mascara, lipstick, etc. We then as a group selected materials from the selection offered at SCAD to test these cosemetics on.

The selection of materials varied. Some where harder surfaces,
some fabrics, vinyl, glass, the list goes on and on. We wanted to test the
cosmetics on the most diverse selection of materials to provide
the most accurate response for our research.

A photograph of the classmates testing
their products on the materials

The relevancy of these tests came about with the assignment we were currently working on. The project was a cosmetic fixture for a chosen brand of cosmetics. Some of the brands chosen were Dior, Chanel, Illamasqua, Art of Shaving, Elizabeth Arden, and NARS. Individually we pursued these projects to ultimately create a fixture that was no bigger when expanded than  3' X 3' X 7'.

Here is a maquette of the final product alongside
dimensioned sketches of the fixture. The design needed to be realistic
for the specific brand, and by understanding the brand we
understand the proper proportions and dimensions required.

Front Perspective

Back Perspective

Below is a final rendering of what the fixture would look like when built