The last of the Greek Goddess challenge. All Greek Goddess Posts: Pheme, Aphrodite, Iris, Peitho, Nike, Terpsichore, & Gaia.
Gaia: “Mother Earth”
To attempt a “Mother Earth” photoshoot was a big undertaking. I found these gorgeous images online and wanted to recreate them in my own way. When I was at Michaels, the bags of moss available did not look like the ones recommended in the video. There were none with extra leaves. Since I only needed the moss for this photoshoot and it was my first time applying an object to my body, I decided to go with the clearance moss.
Makeup Inspiration:
I felt incredibly blessed that a makeup artist found the same inspiration image that I did and created a video on how to make the look. Before I found her, I had no idea where to start.
From this photoshoot challenge, I confirmed the theory that spirit gum is hard to work with. As I was applying the moss, it kept falling off or not sticking at all. I worked on trying to make it stick for at least a half hour before deciding to use the moss minimally for my attempt. One way I tried to make it stick was to keep my head parallel to the ground for several minutes. This method only worked marginally.
Also, for the cardboard piece, I used gorilla glue (to attach to cardboard, not my face). I am definitely interested to try another look with spirit gum. I will probably try it closer to Halloween or on Halloween, so my hard work can really pay off.
For the Nike photoshoot, I had purchased gold paint which came in handy during this makeup look. Another consideration I will have to make when mirroring these makeup artist videos is coloration. The woman pictured below is more tan than I am, so the gold really shines. In my look, it would have been more compelling to use a different color.
Hair Inspiration:
All I cared about for hair in this photoshoot was keeping it back. I did half-up half-down, but wish I teased it a little more to make it voluminous.
Pose Inspiration:
The picture on the far right is what hooked me into this makeup idea. If she doesn’t look like Mother Earth, I am not sure who would. There was one of my images where the pose was perfect, but the moss had fallen over. I admittedly photoshopped to fix it.
Obviously, my look is way more toned down and does not include horns. Her use of her hands to show that the moss extended there is truly a challenge in itself and one that I will be looking to do again. Not necessarily with spirit gum, but I want to create a look that extends to all parts of your body and then create a pose which incorporates it.
While I love being at my parents house, one small issue is that there are no white walls. My house is warm and filled with color, which is wonderful for living, and not as wonderful for photoshoots. I tried to embrace the yellow wall to tie into my green & blue makeup look, but in the end, I think it is cause for distraction. It also impacted the way I was able to edit these pictures. It may be time for me to invest in a backdrop, so I have access to white wherever I go.
Outfit Inspiration:
I wanted the outfit to blend in and not take away from the makeup look or pose. There is only 1 option that made it to the finals in my original outfit: a tube top. The images all looked like I wasn’t wearing a shirt and that was distracting from the moss I had applied to my head. It sounds impossible that anything could distract from moss being stuck to a person’s head, but believe me, it did.
In this post, I agreed to do a few things again. I will attempt another spirit gum look. I will create a look that extends to multiple parts of my body and attempt to capture them all in a unique pose. Lastly, I will look into buying a back drop. This last one likely won’t happen for a while, but I can start my research. If anyone has any suggestions, please email me (pearlselaina@gmail.com)
With Gaia, my Greek Goddess photoshoot challenges are complete. I am so happy I was able to stick closely to a schedule and create these intricate looks. My biggest learning was that I need to break my challenges up into smaller pieces. It is so hard to commit to 7 weeks of intense beauty looks and poses without knowing what your life will be like.
When I started this commitment, I was still unemployed. Now that I have started a new job, it is harder and would be incredibly strange if a last minute meeting was added and I had to show up with moss glued to my forehead. As always, I am open to hearing about any challenges you would like me to try. We are about to start traveling around the US and my content will reflect.
Challenge:
Stick to a commitment that is hard by adjusting and adapting to your new circumstances. The reward feels more impactful when you have to work for it a little more. Once these challenges became harder for me to schedule, I took a step back and evaluated how I was spending my time. With more planning and awareness of my routine changes, I was able to move tasks around to create a wide open window for my Elaina Pearls looks.