Solent students win style stakes
Thursday 27 October 2011
Two Southampton Solent University students have scooped top prizes in an international make-up competition.
BA(Hons) Make-up and Hair Design students Kat Vogart and Sasha Wren confirmed their cosmetics cache when they were named winners of the Distinction in Make-up Artistry Awards, run by luxury brand, Illamasqua.
The students clinched the award after their stunning designs were put forward for a public vote by a prestigious judging panel of industry experts - including Dazed and Confused’s Senior fashion Editor, Katie Shillingford, Academy and BAFTA Award winning make-up artist and hair designer Christine Blundell and Illamasqua Creative Director, Alex Box.
As part of the company’s international hunt for emerging talent, the Solent University students took part in a live competition and images of their made-up models were uploaded on to Illamasqua's facebook page so that the public could vote for their favourite.
Twenty-three year old Kat was voted best in the Foundation and Second Year Student category for the harpy-inspired face she gave to her boyfriend, a Southampton waiter.
She said: “I wanted to recreate the mythological harpy – half-bird, half-woman - and my boyfriend, Matt Wegner, was happy to be my model.
“The whole effect took just under an hour and a half, but I did do a lot of thinking around it. It required very careful brushwork.”
Kat’s ambition is to work in the film industry – but she says the fantasy-look should not be consigned to the stage. “I’m always looking for new ideas and doing something a little different and exciting.”
BA(Hons) Make-up and Hair Design for Music, Film and Photography graduate Sasha Wren won the Final-year Student category. She said: “I’ve always seen make-up as an art form and have pushed the boundaries with texture and colour. The face is an interesting canvas and the impermanence of cosmetics provides an intriguing creative platform.”
Solent University course leader, Clementine O’Hara said: “The team is thrilled at the strong presence of Solent students. They are challenging the contemporary role of the make-up artist."
Both Kat and Sasha will attend a prize giving ceremony at the Illamasqua Flagship Store in London on Tuesday 1 November 2011.
Between them their prizes include: a day assisting Illamasqua Creative Director Alex Box on a Dazed & Confused fashion shoot published in early 2012, a two-week internship at Illamasqua, £3,500 cash, £1000 to spend at the make-up brand’s flagship store and £4,000 worth of Illamasqua products for the University.
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