A few months back I was asked to be part of the team for an underwater photo shoot with celebrity Elen Rivas. The shoot was for the front cover of Holistic Therapist magazine.
Underwater make-up was certainly a brand new experience for me, and great fun! I have to say a tricky make-up to master in terms of coverage, a second go round I would have worked much more lightly, however, even make-up artists never stop learning. Beneath the water lighting was set up much the same as it would be in a studio environment, when applying the make-up I needed to consider both the intensity of the lighting and the reflection from the water which would diffuse the colour of the make-up thus making it appear less. The biggest thing that I learnt from this shoot is that in-fact make-up could be applied with the same intensity as you would use in a studio environment, which would have been totally visible enough. I also had to consider my products, water would obviously melt away standard make-up within the first few takes, so
I opted for Kryolan grease-paint make-up which is waterproof and oil based. I also used an oil based foundation.
I applied waxy lipstick to the lips which was fab, followed by glitter which was tricky because it kept coming off in the water, I had to re-apply it after every dip!
I applied a baby blue grease-paint all over Elen’s eyelids up to the brow bone, a dark blue in the crease, and a gold highlight in the inner corners of her eyes. I wanted to mimic the colour and texture of the water and also tie it in with the hair piece and dress.
I applied Navy blue to Elen’s lash line and finished with clear mascara.
I applied a pink waxy lipstick to Elen’s lips, and then pressed a purple/pink gltter on top of that.
I used the same pink lipstick on Elen’s cheeks.
Vicki Lord was the amazing hairstylist on board, and Nina Sober’s supplied the gorgeous dress.
Elen did fabulously, firstly the water was pretty cold even though it was shot in a swimming pool! The fantastic model that Elen is had to concentrate on ensuring that her hair was beneath water, that her pose was perfect, and hold her breath at the same time! Very talented indeed!
The whole team worked amazingly, finishing at around midnight after a very creative few hours 
Roll on the next underwater photo shoot!
Emily Rose x
www.emilyrosemakeupartist.co.uk
