Dior Hypnotic Poison

Dior describes the fragrance as "The magnetic seduction of Dior, heightened by sensual and captivating vanilla." Dior seem to have created a product that has elements of traditional Dior such as seduction but they want to make it more extreme and dramatic and more fantasy based. In the products information Dior also use words such as mystery, magical, femininity, boldness, intoxicating and bewitching which I am going to use as inspiration for my looks.

The three main notes out of these are the vanilla, Sambac jasmine and almond.

"The bottle of Hypnotic Poison—fragrance of mystery—is an absolute icon. A sultry incarnation of the forbidden fruit. Tempting red apple. Its glass appears possessed with molten lava." This is how Dior describes the bottle of Hypnotic Poison.

The phrase tempting red apple reminded me of the story of Snow White and how she is tempted to bite a poisoned red apple that harms her. Therefore I had thought of using Snow White as inspiration for my advert, maybe with the idea of the perfume replacing the apple and that when the girl wears the perfum she changes from the innocent, pure traditional Snow White character into a more seductive women.


I did a bit of research into the meaning of hypnotic:

Hypnotic- "A drug or agent that induces sleep" or " Inducing or like something that induces hypnosis." according to http://www.thefreedictionary.com/hypnotic

Hypnosis- "An artificially induced trance state resembling sleep, characterized by heightened susceptability to suggestion." According to http://www.dictionary.com/browse/hypnosis

Hypnotist- "A person who uses hypnosis as a form or treatment or sometimes entertainment." according to http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/hypnotist

Poison-" A substance that causes injury, illness or death especially by chemical means." or " to have a harmful influence on: corrupt" from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/poison

https://uk.pinterest.com/explore/dior-hypnotic-poison-923136642072/

http://www.thenonblonde.com/2013/09/dior-hypnotic-poison.html

http://reflexions.ulg.ac.be/cms/c_347557/en/from-the-odour-of-sanctity-to-the-perfume-of-advertising?portal=j_55&printView=true

In my advert I think I want to have the model being a hypnotist and her actions being hypnotic and use the idea of her being powerful and able to control people. I looked at some of the Hypnotic Poison adverts that have already been created and I think the bottom image works the best to create a striking look that is a bit different from the type of advert that Dior normally produces as the make-up, hair and styling are a bit more avant-garde than the other adverts. Therefore I am going to use this as inspiration for the mood of my advert.

Red- Makes me think of danger, blood, love, passion, drama and passion

"Red is the colour of life. I love red and think it suits almost every complexion." Christian Dior, 2007, The Little Dictionary of Fashion.

Black- makes me think of mysterious, dramatic, strong, powerful and elegant

"Black- The most popular and the most convenient and the most elegant of all colours." Christian Dior, 2007, The Little Dictionary of Fashion.

Below are some images of John Galliano's fashion designs and Pat McGrath's make-up designs  that I used as inspiration for the look they are from the Dior Spring/summer 2011 Haute Couture collection.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/john-galliano-dior-blue17-co-uk

Karlie Kloss for Dior

http://yovaniturner.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/john-gallianos-dior-haute-couture-2011.html

http://www.que.es/moda/fotos/nueva-coleccion-john-galliano-para-g14739.html

http://www.dior.com/beauty/en_gb/fragrance-beauty/fragrance/womens-fragrance/poison/fragrances/pr-poisonfragrances-y0063401-eaudetoilette.html

Dior Pure Poison

"Once upon a time, there was a fragrance that was innocent yet captivating, sincere yet mysterious… Pure Poison incarnates seduction in its purest state by exploring its duality and irresistible alchemy." This is how Dior describes the fragrance Pure Poison. Dior also states "This delicate yet generous modern potion reveals the seductress within." I like how they have made the branding of this product different to the other poison perfumes, instead of being in your face and really dramatic it is slightly softer and draws the consumer it by being mysterious.

The main scents in the fragrance are orange blossom, amber, gardenia, sandal wood and jasmine. 

White makes me think of purity, innocence, cleanlinesses and clarity.

"White is pure and simple and matches with everything." Christian Dior, 2007, The Little Dictionary of Fashion.

Purple makes me think of mysterious, dynamic, powerful and wealth.

"Purple-King of colours." Christian Dior, 2007, The Little Dictionary of Fashion.

Pure- "Free from anything of a different, inferior or contaminating kind" according to http://www.dictionary.com/browse/pure

Pure -"Without any extraneous and unnecessary element" or "Free of any contamination" according to http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/pure

Poison-" A substance that causes injury, illness or death especially by chemical means." or " to have a harmful influence on: corrupt" from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/poison

http://www.nstperfume.com/2006/05/19/the-christian-dior-poisons-part-3-pure-poison/

The image above is an advert for Dior Pure Posin. I think the contrast between the darkness of the model's hair, the jewelery and the background with the paleness of the model's skin and the perfume bottle work well to create a striking look. This is emphasised further by the use of dramatic lighting to create harsh shadows.

In my advert I am going to try and use a model with dark hair to create a contrast to the white or purple clothes my model is going to be wearing. I think the white and purple of the bottle creates a good colour scheme that could create a visually interesting look which is why I have chosen them. I want to try and represent the perfume transforming the person wearing it and to show visually how the perfume could change the way a person acts. The Dior adverts have the model's wearing clothes that are sophisticated outfits with fashionable hair and make-up which makes them fit into daily life as they look like they are going out in the evening by the way they are dressed. However in my advert I want to create something that looks more fantasy so that the Dior women stands out and is individual which I think will suit this perfume.

http://www.argep.hu/trend/DIOR/Dior-pure-poison-elixir.html

The advert above is for Dior Pure Poison Elixir. I think the lighting is effective because the purple areas that are created stand out especially on the eye area which is also assisted by the use of dramatic make-up. I purple tones make the skin look a little bit unatural which I think makes the look interesting and captivating and so I am going to either use coloured lighting in my looks or in the make-up and hair.

These are some of John Galliano's fashion designs that inspired my look and some of Pat McGrath's make-up designs.

Lily Cole for Dior Autumn/Winter 2007
http://christopheruveniodesign.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/blog-post.html

Autumn/Winter 2011
http://www.ladyblitz.com/fashion/without-galliano-dior-not-the-same-177/

Technical File:Assessment photographs

In the practical assessment I had two hours to complete my hair and make-up look, photograph it and pack away my stuff. In the assessment I think I used the time well as I managed to complete my look without having to rush and as I had practiced my look I knew how long the different element of the look were going to take.

I was pleased with my application of the base make-up as I think I matched my model's skin tone well and I think the shade of foundation looks good on her. My model had some acne so on some areas of the skin I had to to a thicker base than I would of liked which unfortunately did show up a bit in the photographs. I would have preferred slightly less shine on the forehead so perhaps I should of used more powder to make it more matte of changed the position of the light so that it did not reflect as much. However I did like the slight dewiness on the cheeks which is what I was aiming for, I wanted the look to be between matte and dewy because this is a look Dior often uses.

I was happy with the eye make-up because I managed to apply the blue neatly so that it was only in the eye socket and the mascara had no clumps. I was happy with how I filled in the eye brows as I think they make a good feature in the look but they still look quite natural. They lost some of their shape as a few hairs moved out of place and so I think I should of used a stronger brow gel to keep them completely in place. I was pleased with the lipstick as I think I created a nice shape with clean lines and the colour was how I wanted it to be. 

I chose blue because it is a big catwalk trend this season and also because according to Dior "Blue- Among all colours, navy blue is the only one which can ever compete with black, it has all the same qualities."Christian Dior, 2007, The Little Dictionary of Fashion.

I was pleased with the hair because the hair laid flat against the scalp and there was not any bumps in the hair and I created a sleek look that was still soft and not too harsh which is what I wanted. The plait turned out how I wanted it to as it was not too tight and have a nice amount of volume making it good to shape into the bun. When shaping the bun I did it a couple of times before completely securing it into place as the first time the shape of the bun was laying a bit too low so I did it again and was a lot happier with the shape as I think the positioning of it is flattering on my model.

I think the outfit worked well to complete the look because the blue eyeshadow matches one of the blue tones in the top and also I think works well to stand out from the dark blue of the jacket. I did the lip colour brighter and more red than the very dark red/maroon in the top so that the lips stood out of the look and became a focal point. Overall I feel the clothes complete the sophisticated look I wanted to create. 

I was pleased with my choice of model for the assessment because Sarah did everything I asked her to do such as looking in different directions when I was applying her make-up and sitting still whilst I was doing her hair. She gave me positive feedback about my work and said that she liked the look and thought I had done well in the assessment. Before the assessment day she allowed me to practice the looks on her and she tried on several different outfits so that I could choose the best one.

Dior Day Editorial

Creative Director, Make-up and Hair Artist and Model- Myself

Photographer- Sarah-Louise Leftly

Assistant- Isabelle Greer

I used inspiration from the Dior spring/summer collections for this look. There were several jackets with collars and big buttons used in the collection and so i decided to incorporate a more wearable version into my look. Although coats are not traditionally spring/summer they were used by Dior and as we are in England where the weather is quite bad in spring and sometimes summer I thought it was acceptable to use a coat in my editorial look. I chose a navy blue trench coat because the style is similar to some of the coats and jackets that were used in the collections and also because navy blue was used as a staple colour in the collections.

"Coats can either be fitted or loose, whichever is your personal choice. But above everything they must be practical. Practical in colour and practical in style." Christian Dior, 2007, The Little Dictionary of Fashion.

I chose the top because it has white, blue and black in it which were colours that Dior used this season and also Dior used some patterned pieces in the collections so I thought this top looked like it could of been in a Dior collection. I then chose a black skirt because in this seasons collections Dior used similar styles of skirt and used a lot of staple pieces that were one colour so I thought this skirt worked well. I used pearl earrings because Christian Dior liked women to wear delicate earrings and also I thought they worked well to bring the look together.

"Ear-rings- Except in the country I always like to see women wearing ear-rings. They give a nice finishing touch." Christian Dior, 2007, The Little Dictionary of Fashion.

The hair in the Dior spring/summer ready to wear and haute couture collections had a sleek but soft texture and was tied up at the back. Therefore I did a similar texture in my hair and I did a strong side parting because this was used in the haute couture catwalk show. In the ready to wear collection some of the model had their hair in a sleek ponytail so I used this but tied the hair back more tightly to give it more structure. I also wrapped a piece of hair around the hairband to cover it because the hair accessories usually can not be seen in Dior looks.

The make-up design is a natural look because Dior often uses flawless skin that has a slight glow. I defined the eyebrows to frame the face which again is a technique used by Dior and I used some subtle contouring and highlighting to give a bit more structure to the face without looking to heavy or fake. I used soft browns and natural tones on the eyelids to define them but again I wanted the look to be soft and glowing. In order to add a bit more glow and shine I used a lipstick and lipgloss that was quite glossy. The spring/summer trends I used in this look were a strong parting, a ponytail, glowing skin with light contouring and nude lips.

Second Editorial

Creative Director, Make-up, Hair and Photographer- Myself

Model- Anna Maria Stavrou

I decided to re-shoot one of my editorial looks because I decided I didn't want to be my own model for two of my looks I thought I would be a better way to show my skills in make-up, hair and photography if someone else was the model. The hair and make-up look I kept mostly the same, I just changed the parting in the hair from a side parting to a middle parting because I felt this was more flattering on my model. This still works with Dior because some strong middle partings were used in their ready to wear catwalk this season. The dress is still black but a different style that I thought looked better on my model but is still quite structured so still fits in with Dior. I also tried a white jacket in some of the looks instead of a coat like I wore to try and create a more sophisticated and tailored evening look. I thought the style and colour of the jacket could easily work with the Dior spring/summer collections which is why I chose it. I tried taking photographs from several different angles and with my model in different positions to see what worked the best and I think these poses suit the Dior brand better.