The Makeup Box.com a sponsor of this year’s Gothic/X-Men Mutants student makeup competition at IMATS ’09. Held at Alexandra Palace 24-25 Jan; IMATS the most significant annual event for the industry, brings together specialists and industry professionals from the world of stage & screen, including Oscar & BAFTA winners, to showcase the latest makeup techniques.

 

 

Each year sets a new standard of excellence by the next generation of talent. With more than 2000 applicants only a handful of extremely gifted makeup artists competed in the final competitions held on the Saturday and Sunday.  


Gothic Beauty

‘Gothic Beauty’ reflected the recent trends and catwalk shows - with the focus on the more stylised and picturesque gothic, rather than the outwardly gory or grotesque styles. Think cabaret's darker sequel or Underworld meets Chicago! Ideas ranged from snaking black veins, Victorian elegance, jewels to ruby red blood stained lips, the overall look finished with stunning costumes and hair design.


1st place ‘Emily Jayne Dowdeswell’

 The Runner up ‘Leah Mabe’

 

 

The inspiration for Emily’s stunning 'Burlesque Showgirl' winning make-up design, outfit and hair were attributed as part gothic beauty and part ‘Dita Von Teese’. Emily applied the makeup freehand, only using a template with an airbrush to get a smooth oval shape on the face. Her chosen makeup mediums were Bobbi Brown, Merron Paradise paints, Supracolour, Greasepaint, MAC and Barry M as her chosen makeup mediums.

X-Men Mutants
As technology and the media industries change, so too does the cosmetic industry in order to accommodate. The finalists’ makeups in this year’s competition were outstanding. An interesting mix of terrifying warriors and walking dead were meticulously crafted from an inspirational blend of prosthetics, F/X makeup and contacts. 

1st place was awarded to 'Misa Ikeuchi.' (centre) The elaborate latex and leather clad warrior costume and oriental hair design only enhanced the evil, red eyed warrior persona. The Runners up were 2nd 'Yukiyo Kitado' (left) and 3rd place 'Mai Endo' (right).