Brand Evaluation | Giorgio Armani Beauty

Giorgio Armani, a brand that is most commonly known for it's clean cut staples, and perfectly tailored menswear, and was founded by the silver fox himself, Giorgio Armani. Armani was born in  small and quaint Italy circa 1934 where as a fashion designer he developed by combining authentic Italian quality with modern day fashion. Giorgio Armani as a brand, has excelled in quality and diversity over the years, with such a successful name, Armani caters to a range of fashion essentials, including Menswear, luxurious Womanswear, a line dedicated solely to Jeans, Makeup, Beauty and more infamously, perfume for both men and women. As he progressed as an designer and a profound business man, Armani ventured out and not only creating a line dedicated to sale items (Armani Exchange, Project AX 1991), but also begun to target a younger client base and audience. Making his brand immediately more complex and leaving his overall brand in extremely high price margins.
To pin-point Giorgio Armani's target audience would be easy in regards to class, but not so much age and gender, as just an example of the sort of money you need to purchase a garment from Armani fashion. In 1982, a reasonable and fashionable jacket by Armani would retail for around $250-400, making it a more luxurious fashion statement of the eighties. By 1988, a fabulous Giorgio Armani suit would acquire an uncomfortable $1,800 price tag- although I hear that the suits were very comfortable in material and quality, a more relaxed vibe.
More relevant to this unit, and my course in general is the underestimated, and unappreciated Giorgio Armani makeup and beauty collection. A collection so sleek and trendy, the packaging and products sit somewhere in between a combination of MAC Cosmetics and Chanel. Their price points are standard fashion makeup price, and the perfumes are expensive, much like Guerlain Fragrance prices. Whilst being a premium makeup brand, there are some reasonably affordable luxurious products that are available internationally, and more specifically to the UK, Armani Beauty is available only in high market department stores- which also adds to what kind of image the brand is portraying.
Promotion has been key for Giorgio Armani beauty, because it's important to get away from the fashion path when it comes to makeup, you really create based on trends and popularity. With this in mind Armani has worked with well-known models, and more importantly for their success- many celebrities. Having Megan Fox as the face of their beauty campaigns, triggers circulation to their brand from all ages because lets face it, every women wants to be Megan Fox. In regards to promotion and advertisements, Armani has worked with Beyonce, Victoria and David Beckham, Kate Blanchett and even Cristiano Ronaldo.

Overall, Giorgio Armani nearly 80 years on is still keeping up with trends, continuously working on their brand and furthering their target market- making them more current than ever! Their clothing and perfume line needs no justification of price and popularity because the quality and legacy speak for themselves, however I personally think the Makeup range will blossom into the new generation when it comes to purchasing elegant products and will eventually become just as popular as the other segments of the brand.

"Giorgio Armani." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 5 May. 2015<http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

n/a. (2015). Giorgio Armani Biography. Available: http://www.biography.com/people/giorgio-armani-9188652#personal-life. Last accessed 24th Feb 2015.

n/a. (n/a). Giorgio Armani Beauty. Available: http://www.armanibeauty.co.uk/make-up/face/spring-glow.aspx. Last accessed 16th Feb 2015.

Nail Ad Photoshoot + Critical Analysis

PHOTOSHOOT + ANALYSIS

CRITICAL ANALYSIS & OVERALL THOUGHTS

This shoot by far took the longest to plan, and achieve. As you can see from the images, the gobo lighting looked incredible and really gave that Armani Beauty factor that I wanted. My model was a natural beauty with flawless freckles that added such depth to the final images and overall look. The makeup compliments the model's eye and face shape, and more importantly adds such glamour to such a dark but fabulous concept. The lips for this look stayed on through coffee, fidgeting and eating- what are models like? The red shades against her pale skin worked in my favour to compliment the shadows, and stand out amongst all the lighting and darkness business. Like everything, there is plenty to criticize. The nails and hands of my model were difficult to work with because they are not very feminine and the nails that my model already had on were fairly long and see-through. When applying colour to them the thin, plastic nail design was still visible underneath three coats of OPI red. 

Overall, I feel the outcome of this shoot is well thought out, I have considered all aspects of design, including what positions to place darkness in, what patterns to create gobo light with and how choosing red would not only radiate my models skin, but compliment the light and shadow of the photos.  

Nail Ad Hairchart & Practice

HAIR CHART + PRACTICE

• Hair Protector and Shine Serum.
• Straighteners.
• Paddle Brush and Comb. 
• Hairspray.
• Hair Donut.
• Hair Grips & Coloured Hair Bands.

For my Nail Ad design, I really wanted to channel that inner hair stylist that I knew has just been dying to come out. This isn't something we learnt in class or even something I had done before, but by looking at it, the structure and precise hairs that ravel into a bun- I knew it would be perfect for creating something sophisticated. In a way, it's not about the hair being seen, but knowing that I am developing in skill and trying new things should really show how much thought I put into this design. The hair will be slicked back out of the face, which fall into one with the shadows of the gobo lighting and frame the face of my model. 

Upon reflection, I feel that the plait works nicely incorporated into the bun, adds a little something extra, don't you think? More than anything, I need to work on making the style as smooth and slick as possible, as I don't want baby hairs to be peaking through the light and shadow of the gobo shoot. Although in the final shoot, I need to work as much as possible in styling the hair to get a straight finish, I think this hair design is sleek and perfect for my Giorgio Armani Nail Ad. 

Nail Ad Design + Moodboard

FACE CHART + MOODBOARD

I really want to make it clear, that I completely understand that people would expect me be to be doing a perfume ad to represent my chosen brand- Giorgio Armani. However, why would I want to do what people expect? Planning this shoot in particular required the most thought and really challenged me to think of something different and unique. I wanted to inc-operate shadow and bright colour, as used in previous lip campaigns I have researched. With this I had in mind a concept that was coordinated in lip and more importantly nail colour, as this will in fact be a nail ad. 

GOBO GALORE

Gobo lighting is a concept that me and my chosen photographer had discussed but are hesitant to use, simply because there is only one gobo light as university amongst thousands of students. If this wasn't tricky enough, we also need to decide on a whole concept, pattern to create shadow with/ against. It takes a lot of planning and work to get the shadowing right, and the lighting at the right balance. The reason I want to really use this photography technique is to create a striking shadow, some texture in the shadows and more importantly, to really make my design pop.

LADY IN RED

This whole concept and idea of using red initially, came from being inspired by the Giorgio Armani lips advert that involved beat boxing (see previous posts). I want to really bring out the coordination of lips and nails for the ad, and make them stand out in the shadow. For the lips I will be using a matte red lip colour, that will vary in tone according to my model's skin colour. Ideally I would like to use a pure red, that isn't dark but isn't a brick red with blatant blue undertones. To match this I will be using a pure red nail polish and  a minimal, soft brown cut crease look- very Miss Monroe. 

DONUT & PLAIT

For this design, I most definitely want the hair out of the face, but still looking chic and slicked back. Although the hair won't be the main focus of the shot, I still would like to experiment with my hair skills, show development and show that I know, what works best with what. Although the hair looks reasonably easy because I will be using an accessory, it in fact challenges me in regards to getting it up in the right position, making it slick as possible and most tediously- dealing with baby hair.

Despite the hideous smudge you can see quite obviously on this face chart, it is in fact the design I chose to go for, for my Giorgio Armani Nail Ad Shoot. The skin will be matte and slightly more flawless in coverage in order to create the perfect contrast against the gobo lighting and shadow. I will use a powder bronze shade to contour the skin beautifully, and sculpt it as my model has a fairly rounded face. For the eyebrows, I want them to be full but not a scouse brow in any way, shape or form. MAC 'Cork' or 'Espresso' are usually a perfect combination for filling in medium to dark hair. The eyes will be primed with MAC 'Painterly' paint pot, which will act as a base skin-tone colour for the lids. I will be cutting the crease with a mixture of both 'Soft Brown' and 'Espresso' by MAC.. again- can you tell I like these shades? I want the lid to be completely bare to contrast the crease, almost like an old Hollywood eye look. Monroe eat your heart out. The lashes will be wispy with a light coating of mascara, a natural flare that will still add length and volume.  Finally, for the lips I will be using Kryolan Aquacolor red shades mixed to create a perfect matte red shade for my model's skin tone. I chose to use aquacolor because it stays in tact for a ridiculous amount of time, doesn't look pigment or finish AND applies precisely to create shape. 

Overall, I am very pleased with the outcome of my design, minus the large black smudge. I feel like this whole look comes together really nicely, and adds a more glamorous effect to my Giorgio Armani portfolio. I felt the choices I have made are very appropriate to my chosen brand, and more than anything I actually gained inspiration for this shoot first and foremost, from Giorgio Armani beauty, and their products. I feel the red is a great link to the Rouge Ecstasy and Lip Maestro range, coordinates with these red packaged products and can be associated with that infamous red lip.

Summer/ Beach Photoshoot + Critical Analysis

SUMMER/ BEACH PHOTOSHOOT + CRITICAL ANALYSIS 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS & OVERALL THOUGHTS

More than anything, I am so pleased with the thought and planning put into each outfit, these outfits are very much inspired by the Giorgio Armani Spring/ Summer 2014 collection- sheer materials and pattern galore. The beautiful model's skin is bright and radiant against the whitish/ beige backdrop. As you can see from the final images, my model's hair was insanely thick and long which leads to the criticisms of this final look (in regards to the hair anyway). The hair was successfully somewhere in between straight and wavy, as planned and even had that sea salt spray/ beach texture BUT, was extremely hard to cover the hair completely, and and actually keep it in style throughout the photo shoot. The top half of the hair is what I wanted to achieve through scrunched and applying styling products, but the bottom half is very blatantly more straight than planned.

Overall I felt my design was subtle, effective, radiant and very reminiscent of my own take on previous Giorgio Armani looks.  The eyes are perfectly bronzed with an 'eye and lip gloss' applied over to create even more shine to the lids, and the lips are a perfect tone of pink to compliment my dark-haired model and her porcelain skin. I feel like the whole organisation of this shoot, the styling and photographer, and even the fan used to add a wind-swept effect to the hair have all been thought about in depth and have helped towards the final outcome of the images. 

Summer/ Beach Hairchart & Practice

HAIRCHART + PRACTICE

• Hair Dryer.
• Diffuser.
• Moisture Spray/ Curl Spray.
• Mousse.
• Sea Salt Spray.

For this style, I didn't want majorly curly hair but more so, somewhere in between curly and straight- but still wet. I feel this hair style is appropriate because it centres around that theme of high fashion/ beach concept and also, natural beauty hair is something that Armani have shown in previous campaigns. I gained much inspiration for this from a mixture of the catwalk clothing/ style and makeup, and the hair was inspired by the Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gioia Perfume ad where the hair of the model is wet-look and is just fabulously not in place. 

Upon reflection, I actually really like this idea of wispy, wet hair, that just looks like the model has come out of the ocean, laid in the sun for a bit and been photographed. For this look I really need to focus on the messy structure of the hair, and see how it sits and photographs. A problem I had when trying to re-create this hairstyle was actually maintaining the curls, and wetness throughout the procedure. This means that throughout the photo shoot and when finalizing the look and taking images, I will have to have the sea salt spray mixed with moisturizing spray and water at hand, ready to re-apply and mess up. 

Summer/ Beach Facechart Designs + Moodboard

FACE CHART DESIGNS + MOODBOARD

When designing my beach/ Summer high fashion shoot, Beach was quite clearly a very prominent word to consider. I wanted this design to give off not only a very beachy, tousled hair, shimmer galore concept, but also wanted the designs and styling to capture how Armani would really do Summer fashion- and it doesn't include your stereotypical beach shoot. When researching I found that in previous Summer Campaigns, Armani either channeled perspiration made glamorous or high fashion, sheer material and a pretty face.  

BRONZED EYES

Although many would have gone for the wet look, beachy vibe. More than anything what was important to me, was the bronze factor of my design. From the get-go I knew that MAC 'Amber Lights' combined with 'Satin Taupe' would be me go-to shimmer/ frost shadows for this look. I almost have a smoky eye set up in my mind, but the twist is there will no dark or smoky shades, just bronze and shimmer based shadows smudged on the lid- all the way up to the crease and on the lower lash line to really brighten the eyes and make them pop.

PINK LIPS 

The idea of a pink lip combined with a bronze shadow look, will compliment each other perfectly and hopefully make the face radiate with beauty and dewiness. Whether or not the lips are dark or light, maybe even somewhere in between, they will still be pink and of a glaze finish to compliment the highlighting I will be doing on my model. 

WET-LOOK, SCRUNCHED HAIR
For this hairstyle I really want to create natural beauty hair with a slightly wispy/ wet look finish. In order to achieve this hair I think it will be important to play around and work with different styling products and most of all.. salt spray. This way styling will be made easier and that beauty natural wave will be more achievable.

The two face charts for this design have started out very similar, but the tones and colours used are different in both. Design #1 is somewhat smoky in the way the technique is applied around the eye, but minimal in regards to the mascara. For the skin, I have gone for a more bronzed base, with plenty of highlighting involved, using both cream and powder highlighter layered to achieve that radiant Summer glow. The brows will be filled in but kept very natural with this face chart design, the hairs will be emphasized through the use of brow gel and Vaseline, giving them that natural wet and glossy finish, perfect for a beach inspired shoot. the lips are dark bright pink, think NYX 'Louisiana' lipstick applied generously and finished with Jemma Kidd Eyes and Lip Gloss. 

Design #2 is quite clearly more put together, although it's not as minimal as #1, it is still effective in portraying that beautiful bronzed concept. The skin is slightly less bronzed than #1, and more contoured in order to frame and show depth in the makeup. The brows like #1, are lightly filled and glossy using either MAC 'Cork' or 'Espresso' shadow to fill in sparse areas. For the eyes on this design, I applied a mixture of two eye shadows, both shimmer to the lid and blended them generously around the eyes. Using a bronzed and shimmery shade such as MAC 'Amber Lights' all around the eye will add shine and a beautiful glow to the eyes when photographed. Mascara is more apparent in the design, to add more of a flare and volume to the look. For the lips, I went with something slightly lighter in tone than #1, just to add a more subtle effect to the overall look.

Overall, although these two facecharts are very similar and involve some of the same tones and techniques, I do feel like design #2 will cater to more skin tones and different features. The first design uses a shimmery shade quite low done smudged into the lower lash line, and this can often make the eye area darker and older, as apposed to bright and glowy.