The make-up style of the 1920’s was a very heavily made up and specific look. This style focuses on novelty and change and was a stark contrast to the modest female of before. They wanted to be seductive and their features to pop, so there was a lot of dark make-up used around the eyes and on the lips. Another reason that women wore make-up is to make themselves looked fierce and strong. This helped their confidence while competing with men for jobs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For this project I chose these six products to design; lipstick, eye shadow, mascara, nail polish and blush. These items were chosen based on asking consumers which products they use often and working with what the brand usually offers in their limited edition lines. 

 

In the initial stage of form exploration I took the inspirational pictures I found during the previous few weeks and implemented many of them in a few different ideas for what direction I could take the line. These designs were influenced by art, style, design, architecture and entertainment trends that were prominent in the twenties.

Here I took the directions that were favored in the week before and further explored them. These particular designs are primarily influenced by art deco pattern, the fan shape often used in art deco, the chrystler building and the bullets used by the gangsters that were prominent in this era.

Here I explored further with the previous design. I also decided to take the square art deco pattern and begin making them become the outter package that these cosmetic peices will be placed into. I thought this would be a good way to incorporate two of my favorite designs. At this stage I also began trying different finishes and embellishments on the designs.

For this week we were fortunate enough to have Jen Smoot, a marketing professional from Smash Box Cosmetics visit our class. She was kind enough to give us a presentaion for how her company does marketing and packaging for cosmetics as well as listen to our concept pitches. I was told that my line would work well as a “color story” or “limited edition line” for the industry. This week I also began making 3D mockups of my design. This gave me a better idea for how the pieces felt in my hand and how the embellishments might look on them. I really enjoyed the way that the fan shape of the blush and eyeshadow fits in one’s hands, as well as the way the nail polish form looked in 3D. These particular pieces were made by laser cutting acryllic. 

Around midway through our project, our instructor, Gerardo Herrera, set up a 6 week workshop to learn solidworks with Javier Palomares. This was my first time working with solidworks or any 3D rendering program and it was great to see my peices begin to come to life on screen.

At this stage I worked with laser cut acryllic again to make another round of 3D mockups. This time I explored more with color by placing colored gold, red and grey scale papers bind the various pieces and make up “pots.” I also tried using the embossing on the back pieces, the pots and the clear lids to see what looked best. I decided I really liked the patterns on the make up pots, as well as the lids. 

During week 9 of the term, I experimented even more with my 3D mockups. I, again, decided to laser cut the pieces but this time I used MDF board so I could later paint them gold. I also explored with rasrering the starlets images on the peices. I was pleasantly surprised with how they came out, even when painted gold. I used two different spray paints, a brighter, more glossy finish and a matte finish. I ultimately decided to go with the brighter and more polished look. 

Here are what the pieces looked when I used CAD design to 3D print them.

For my line I decided I want to highlight the women who inspired women of the 20s to adopt the style they did, the starlets. To honor these beautiful women I wanted to incorporate three different lines named after three of the biggest actresses of the 1920s; Greta Garbo, Louise Brookes and Clara Bow. Each actress will have specific colors in the line that are inspired by their unique style and personality. 

Clara Gordon Bow (1905 - 1965) was born in Brooklyn, New York. She is known as the original “it girl” due to her performance in the 1927 film, “It.” She is considered the actress that personifies the roaring twenties and is it’s biggest sex symbol. Bow began her career at age 16 and starred in 46 silent films and 11 “talkies” in her lifetime. She died of a heart attack at age 60. 

Mary Louise Brooks (1906 - 1985) was born in Cherryvale, Kansas. She was generally known by her stage name Louise Brooks and was an American dancer and actress, noted for popularizing the bobbed haircut. Brooks is best known as the lead in three feature films; Pandora’s Box (1929), Diary of a Lost Girl (1929), and Prix de Beauté (Miss Europe, 1930). She made her debut in 1925 and starred in seventeen silent films and eight sound films before retiring in 1935. She died of a heart attack at the age of 78.

Greta Lovisa Gustafsson(1905 - 1990) was born in Stockholm, Sweden. She was a huge international star and icon as an actress in both silent films and “talkies.” She was nominated for 4 Academy Awards and recieved an honorary one in 1954 for her “luminous and unforgettable screen performances.” She appeared in 28 films before retiring at age 35. Many people attempted to lure her back to the silver screen but she opted to live the rest of her life privately and quietly. She passed away at the age of 84 due to pnueumonia and renal failure. 

The outter boxes have an art deco pattern printed in black on the outside of the box and a colorful art nouveau pattern on the inside of the box for a pop of color. 

In these renderings, I came up with 3 different material palattes for each of the actresses. I also experimented with using two different color scenarios for the compacts vs. one. I knew I wanted Clara Bow’s hero color to be gold but I also tried using a black material for the back/bottom piece. I made these renderings using solidworks.

I knew I wanted Louise Brook’s hero color to be black but I also tried using a gold material for the back/bottom piece. I thought that this contrast helped convey the edgy, vixen personality that I wanted her line to have. 

I knew I wanted Greta Garbo’s hero color to be silver but I also tried using a gold material for the back/bottom piece. I also tried black but found that to be too harsh for the softer, more reserved feeling that I wanted her lne to convey because she was known for wanting her privacy.

 

For this class we also had to design point of purchase displays for the retail environment. The following are counter top displays that would house each of the collections.