Alice in Wonderland - with a twist!

I love Alice in Wonderland. It's my all-time favourite childhood story/film and I recently watched it again after pretty much a decade (at least) as my wonderful boyfriend got it on DVD for my birthday! x I still find it inspiring and as fun as I did when I was little. The story has even inspired me to create my very own (photo shoot) interpretation one fine day...

Funnily enough some wonderfully talented people have done that very thing and I stumbled across these shots after having just written yesterday's entry on Gwen Stefani's makeup! The link: When Gwen Stefani went solo for the first time, her debut single 'What You Waiting For?' music video featured herself playing Alice in an Alice in Wonderland fantasy world.

I came across these shots from a photo shoot produced by makeup artist Sarah Terry, photographer Rebecca Parkes, hairstylist Sean Butt and designer Bibian Blue. This dark vision of Alice in Wonderland was created with the Victorian and Edwardian eras in mind when it came to Sarah Terry's makeup of contrasting "creams and golds with reds and smoky blacks". The detail from the costume to the hair right down to the very appliqués and feathers is wonderful! Enjoy...

All photos by Rebecca Parkes

The Aviator - Gwen Stefani makeup

I watched the Aviator for the first time the other day and had completely forgotten that Gwen Stefani had a starring role alongside the likes of Leonardo Di Caprio, Cate Blanchett and Kate Beckinsale.

Gwen plays the famous Jean Harlow, who is at the time a waitress that catches (Leonardo's character) Howard Hughes' eye one night at dinner. On seeing her he realises she'd be perfect for his lead female role in his first epic Hell's Angels. There I was watching the scene thinking A) She's stunning and B) She looks familiar...

In Gwen's first scene she hasn't the blonde locks that we all know and love and is instead a brunette, so it's not immediately obvious it's her! Nevertheless I fell in love with her makeup! It's typical of the era the film is set in - the 1920s which is one of my favourite periods to date - it's when makeup went wild!

Back in the 1920s after World War I when the men returned home, their respective wives, lovers, sisters and daughters who'd been worrying sick and working away back home felt an urge for freedom. This time things would be done on their terms! Girls chopped their hair boy-short, wore the reddest lips ever seen and lashings of dark eye kohl. Previously "nice girls" hid their makeup away from their male counterparts, so coming out with this new approach to beauty was very revolutionary and brave indeed!

And that was just the makeup and hair - fashion and even etiquette both took a massive turn too! The girls made no effort to hide the fact that they wore makeup - quite the contrary. Out came the first compact mirrors at the dinner table where lipstick would be unashamedly reapplied and the first powders came out at parties! Away went the conservative dresses and restrictive corsets - women's skirts were going short like their hair and a more masculine look was adopted in a big way when it came to clothing.

It was definitely a most exciting time for fashion and makeup, a time that influences us greatly today and one that is perfect for fancy dress which is why this will be my first choice of looks to try out next.

I'll be posting the pics and all the details in a week to share with you, I can't wait - watch this space!! : )