Assessment - Tara as Designer and Me as Stylist

This week, I completed my timed hair assessment with Tara's New Elizabethan design. It was completed within an hour and a half and overall both Tara and me were very happy with the outcome!

The first step of the hair style was the messy french plait across the top of her head behind her fringe. I feel I achieved the style Tara was looking for by pulling at the plait once it was in place to create the loose and varied texture throughout the plait. Tara also asked me to have some fabric running through the plait for the final images and as this was the first attempt at weaving it through the style I was a bit apprehensive but when I decided to thread it through the hair after I plaited it, it worked out successfully and Tara was pleased we went ahead with the adornment. 

Following the plait, I created the backcombed back section. In the final photos, I love the shape from the sides as it shows the volume and texture the design asked for. From the front, the middle is not as rounded. If I were to re-create this again, I would make extra effort to backcombed her middle parting behind her fringe even more so than the rest as I feel the way her hair naturally falls works against the the technique I was using. However, overall I am please with this section as her desire to have a messy look has been embraced from behind and stray hairs and frizz adds to Tara's character design. 

Finally, the plaited bun with pearl adornments was created. Unfortunately, I feel this was the least successful part of the final look. The reason for this being that in the final photos one pin had not been secured properly and one of the plaits became loose making the bun uneven and unintentionally messy-looking. I have inserted a photo of the bun after I have completed in the studio when I was much happier with it as it symmetrical and much more how I planned it to look. I do think the plaits could be more defined and visible as the centre of the bun does not clearly show the plaits so if this were to be done again I would probably leave more hair for the plaits to make them bigger and more obvious. The pearl adornments were also requested in this assessment and I am happy with the placement as it pulled the look together and added the Elizabethan touch that this modern look needed. Yet, like I mentioned I would make sure they are more secure so the final images would've been neater! This error would be avoided if I had the chance to do it again as I would know how to insert these pearl grips properly.

After completing this assessment, I feel my strongest part of this look was the french plait as it was the most accurate to Tara's design and most polished aspect of the final attempt. I knew how to produce a french plait beforehand so I feel this definitely gave me a slight advantage and make this part of the process easier! My weakness was my backcombing skills. It took me a couple of practise sessions to find the right technique for this look and I am frustrated with myself that the centre of the backcombed does not have the height from the front that I would have wanted. 

Tara was a great partner for this assessment as she was very clear in her designs and the exact style she wanted. She was prepared for many practise sessions to help me get to grips with her look, she was always open for my questions and pointed out any issues in a friendly way!! Also, outside of university we communicated a lot with any issues and helped each other resolve problems out of class time. I would love to work with her again and I have a lot of confidence in her to complete my New Elizabethan hairstyle.

Leave a Comment Outcome

Share: