Beauty and the Brand

Saturday, 2 May 2015

Final Word

"I don't really think you can put a definition on beauty, it is more of a state of mind than just an external thing."

- Francois Nars

References

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For Beauty and the Brand I decided to focus on the brand Nars. I chose to look into this brand because it was one that I had heard of but wasn’t familiar with. The research I have carried out has given me a better understanding into the brands style, ethos and products.

I started my research by looking at past collections. This helped me to find the style of the brand and to see what the message was that they are trying to portray in the advertisement campaigns. Firstly, the makeup style is very natural and basic focusing on either the eye or lip. The skin is always fresh and flawless creating a canvas for the application of colour. Even though Nars was sold to Shiseido, Francois Nars still acts as the creative director, mainly photographing the collections and models. The input Francois Nars has in the brand is great to see as sometimes the brand created changes with a change of hands. The input that Francois Nars still has on the company allows the style he created for the brand to live on. The style here is being clean and fresh. Francois Nars is a firm believer in playing with colour and textures creating an appeal to the consumer. This appeal comes in the form of the names that the products have; each one their own individual character.

The collections brought out always have flawless makeup and tones that work well with the model and surrounding. Nars are creating a high end persona about the brand and this appeals to people who enjoy makeup and don’t mind spending that bit more on quality, which is what you receive at Nars. The advertisements are on a high end scale with the mood of the images, the styling and background being anything but cheap. Nars would do this to appeal to the higher end market for which the brand is a part of.

Through my research I brought a few items from Nars so that I could understand the quality of the product. The products available are versatile, for instance the Dual Intensity eyeshadow and blusher can be used wet or dry depending on what look you want to create. A versatile product like the Dual Intensity is a great idea as it saves the customer from buying two different products to create looks. This product will save on money and space in the makeup drawer. I think its refreshing to see a brand thinking of new ways to create exciting products that can be used in different ways. As well as creating fresh looks in their advertising they also create fresh products. The collaboration collections that Nars bring out are so vibrant and interesting, especially the Andy Warhol collection and most recently the Christopher Kane collection. These collaborations link the brand in with fashion and art and show to the consumer what inspires the brand. The collections show the inspiration from the brand and in turn creates an inspiration for the customer.

Researching into the brand made me realise how important every aspect is, from packaging to the design of a website. Nars has managed to create a consistent brand. Consistent being that the products are always to a high standard, new packaging is introduced to appeal to a wider audience and the standard created is always pushed and explored. Although Francois Nars is now the creative director and produces the photography for the brand, he has managed to set up an experienced team around him who share the same values as Nars. I think the introduction of Andrew Gallimore as brand ambassador will help to continue spreading and showing what Nars can do. Gallimore is a trusted Makeup Artist with a huge following, therefore will bring possible newcomers to the brand.

Overall, I am glad that I chose to research into Nars for Beauty and the Brand as it has introduced me to a brand full of interesting products and concepts. Francois Nars has created a inspirational brand that not only focuses on the quality of makeup but also on other aspects like art and fashion. The brand is one that just gets better with each collection and idea that comes.

Project Evaluation

When I carried out my initial research into Nars I thought that the makeup looks created were always natural with earthy tones and dark lips. However, with more research I came to realise that the brand have a love of colours and textures. Therefore I decided that for the images that I wanted to create based on the brand needed to have a range of textures, use of colour but also create the natural, flawless makeup that Nars produces.

For every look that I created I decided to use dewy skin to give the models a healthy glow but to also give the final images a high finish to them. The high finish was something that always appeared in Nars advertisement campaigns as they want to advertise to the high end market and appeal to those who enjoy makeup. To create five looks really increased my skills and engaged me more as I had more looks to think about and plan. The amount of photoshoots also helped to create contacts with photographers and stylists.

The first look I did was Daytime. I decided for this look that I wanted the attention on the eyes and the skin. This shoot was after my initial research into Nars where natural eyes and attention to the skin was the main point. The hair for the shoot was also natural, I wanted to show the modern woman who wouldn't have hours in the morning to prepare her hair. The background was a dark green to bring in some earthy tones that represented daytime. The colour of the background contrasted well with the colour of the eye makeup which helped bring the image together. I was pleased with how this look turned out as the lighting caught the highlight in the eyes and on the face nicely. The team I used was very professional and helped me with what would work well with the poses and how the lighting would effect the makeup style I wanted to create.

The second shoot was evening look. The idea for this look was to take the daytime woman and move her effortlessly into the evening. For this I placed the hair into a twisted fishtail plaited bun and had brown eyes lined in black with dark lipstick. The lighting consisted of red gels over one light to create this red hue across half the body and face as though the model has gone out and is being illuminated by the club lights or lights in the street. I am happy with how the shoot came out but think that the lighting could have been a darker shade of red and also have a light on the background because the background was grey which didn't contrast well with the red. I also think that the lighting gels blurred out the makeup a bit and didn't show the highlight that I had created.

My third shoot was a skincare shoot. The concept for the skincare shoot was clean and freshness. As Nars packaging for the skincare is all white, I thought it was best to follow this and create a fresh feel. I brought a variety of bath bombs from lush so that I had multiple colours in the bath. My original idea was to just have cloudy water but when we were shooting the cloudy effect didn't last long and didn't appear very well on camera. So we added some more bath bombs until we created a dark blue colour. It was best to add a swirling effect by adding a new bath bomb just off camera. I enjoyed this shoot as it was something I had always wanted to do but never had done before. The only thingsI would change for next time is probably to shoot from above so that I could get a front on shot without the model being angled. Also, I think I would chose a model with longer hair so that I could style that more and get some more texture into the image. Overall I am pleased with how they turned out especially as we only used natural lighting, which I thought would make the images look too flat.

My high Summer shoot was inspired by Nars love of colour. I wanted to bring the background into the makeup so that the image worked. I used orange and pink tones and create highlighted skin. I wanted the images to have a high end feel about them to reflect upon the images that Francois Nars creates. My model had short hair which I intended to put into a roll at the front however on the day I decided that sleek hair would suit the finish I was aiming for. These images came out well, however, if I was going to re-shoot I would try and find a better quality orange eyeshadow as the one I used was hard to build up to darker shade and didn't stay in place for long.

My final shoot was Spring / Summer. At the last minute my model pulled out which meant I had to find someone and quick. The makeup was made up of pink tones and dewy skin. However, because I used natural lighting it dulled out the highlight that I had created. The hair was long, dark and left natural which worked well against the dark green textured backdrop. I think that this shoot made me realise that sometimes it is better to shoot in a studio and incorporate the background later in photoshop because the lighting available to me blurred out the makeup I had created. I found that the pink smokey eye and highlighting around the cheeks was lost. I am disappointed with this final image but it has taught me that sometimes natural lighting will work and other times it wont. Next time, I would need to find a more reliable model so that the design I created would work better.

Overall, I am pleased with the work I have produced and have learnt many things. I found that sometimes the eyeshadows needed to be of better quality so it was easier to build up and not so time consuming when I have a time scale. I think that I have used my time wisely, creating images that I think reflect upon the brand Nars. The project has taught me new skills and has made me more organised. I am glad that I chose the brand Nars because they create interesting advertisements that have inspired me to push myself a bit more.

Francois Nars

In 1994, french born Francois Nars created the brand NARS after becoming frustrated in his profession as a makeup artist with the lack of product available. Nars released twelve lipstick shades, a far cry from the over forty that are available today. Francois Nars built up a celebrity following before launching NARS by working with Vogue and Elle. NARS are featured on the catwalks of one such celebrity who follows and has supported nars since the beginning, Marc Jacobs. NARS is now owned by Shiseido, however Francois Nars still has input into the company by acting as creative director and the photographer for the advertisement campaigns. By taking a step back this has allowed Francois Nars to move to a beautiful island in the French Polynesia where his love of photography takes up most of his time. Francois Nars has since made four books based on his photography and love of makeup.

Price Point and Packaging

Nars is a high end brand therefore their price point is a lot higher than highstreet brands. The cost of some products could be a shock to some people, however for what you receive I think that the price is reasonable. The products last for a long time if used correctly making the amount you pay for it worth it.

Lipsticks and Lip liners range from £18.00 - £24.00. The prices seem quite steep, however the prices vary on the quality you are paying for. I found that the packaging on £24.00 Audacious Lipstick is a lot better than that of a £20.00 lipstick. The finish on the packaging is of a better quality than that found on the lower end of the spectrum. The lower end price range packaging comes in a smaller size in a plastic casing. The rubber packaging that is normally found on Nars products isn't there, however the casing can still become very dirty whereas the Audacious packaging stays clean. I do however think that a lip liner for £18.00 is quite steep and I'm not sure how Nars can justify this other than the quality of the liner that you receive. I think if you looked hard enough you could find a cheaper, yet same standard liner on the market.

Blusher sells at £23.00 and £30.00. £30.00 for a duo of blushers and £23.00 for a single. I personally would not spend £30.00 on a blusher however you do receive two colours that work well together creating form on the face. £23.00 for a blusher is a lot to spend. The blusher comes in 30 shades. A lot of option to choose from. The packaging for the blusher is plastic with a rubber coating. Nars signature packaging.

Foundation sells at £23.00 - £33.00 depending on what coverage you want. The foundation comes in a glass container with the rubber lid. Unfortunately Nars do not have a pump with their foundations so you have to buy one separately. This means however that you are unable to take the foundation with you, so if touch ups are needed you simply can't. The packaging is heavy but the glass makes it seem as though there is more foundation in there when there isn't. The bottle is too bulky to fit in a makeup bag so it needs to last all day without the need for touching up. Considering the blusher sells at £30 I expected the foundation to cost a lot more. The quality of the foundation is good with build-able coverage.The tinted moisturiser is a lot easier to carry around because it comes in a small tube made up of the same texture as the rubber packaging.

Eye products range from £18.00 - £25.00. The lower end of the spectrum for single eyeshadow, shadow pencils, eye paint and primer. The higher end of the spectrum for duo eyeshadow. The pricing for the eyeshadow seems reasonable because Nars are know for their high quality eyeshadow. There is such a selection of colours, finishes and forms that the pricing makes sense. Although there are so many shades to choose from it would be hard to decide what to spend the money on! The packaging for the shadows is the same as the blush, plastic with the rubber coating. Signature Nars!

Overall, the price point for Nars is quite steep. For example, it is unusual to find a blusher costing the same as a foundation. I believe the higher the price, the higher the quality and quality is what you receive. For a high end brand such as Nars the price point is normal and as to be expected. The packaging Nars uses coincides with their clean image. Simple yet practical. The only downside is that the rubber gets dirty quickly with other makeup and foundation finger prints. Yet overall as a brand the whole image is of quality in every aspect.

Review: Nars Catfight Semi Matte Lipstick

Nars Semi Matte Lipstick in Catfight is my go to nude daily lipstick. The texture and colour is rich creating a beautiful semi matte finish. I find that this lipstick require no touch ups and lasts for a long time. No bleeding into the lines of the lips occurs which is a plus for a daily lipstick. The lipstick is nourishing, the nourishment lasting even after the lipstick has gone. The Semi Matte Lipsticks come in 15 shades, limited compared to the audacious collection which is a shame for someone who prefers the semi matte. The colours though are equally gorgeous, coming in the usual plastic rubber casing. Once again the casing can become quite dirty so cleaning is a necessity unlike with the packaging from the audacious collection. The lipstick sells at £20.00 which is a lot for one lipstick, but for the finish and quality you receive, it is money well spent. Catfight has lasted a long time for me as well even though I use it daily, which makes it's value for money astounding. The Catfight colour creates a natural pink shade which compliments many different skin colours. A quality so rare with bare lipsticks. One of my favourites from Nars!

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