Condragulations Lady Dee! We expect to see great things from you in Cycle 8, and each and every single one of the deans want to thank you for your persistence in getting better in your craft and applying the critiques week after week. Don’t let us down girl!
As for Sugar, it may be a bitter sweet feeling to come in second, but please do not give up! You have grown just as much as Lady Dee and you should be proud of your accomplishments in such a short amount of time. You are a part of the TDR family regardless of making the cycle or not, we love you and hope to see great things from you soon!
You ladies have submitted impressive videos for your final test, and you have shown us Deans that you are both able to grow week after week given our critiques. Looking back at your auditions, there has been amazing progress and we could not be prouder of you both, however only one queen can be crowned as the winner of Charm School. After reviewing your portfolio’s and your grades for each of the tests, we have come to a decision. The winner of Tumblr’s Drag Race Charm School, the girl who is guaranteed a spot in Cycle 8, is………….
going to be announced at the start of Tumblr’s Drag Race Cycle 8. You all must have known this was coming! You’re gonna have to sit back and take a breather from all the hard work that you have done and stay tuned for one more week as we crown the winner of Charm School!
This week’s test was to provide us an alluring lip sync based on the tips and tricks given by our Dean of Lip Syncing | Harper Valley Let’s see how they did!
(please click each student’s name to watch their videos)
Lady Dee
Welcome to Pawnee! This week I was inspired by one of my favorite fictional characters of all time, Mona Lisa Sapperstein from the television show Parks and Recreations. Mona Lisa is trashy, skanky and crazy, and that’s what I tried to convey in this look and sync. The choice of “Blah blah blah” reflects mona lisa’s don’t care, sex crazy, self obsessed attitude, which I REALLY identify with.
Harper: FABULOUS choice for a mix. Mona Lisa is a very original and genius character to incorporate into a drag routine, and I think you did a great job there. The only glaring error with your video was the fact that it was filmed vertically rather than horizontally. But with that being said, you were he appropriate distance from the camera, you were well lit, and you did a great job lip syncing. I could tell you knew the words and your acting really added to the mix!
In regards to your look, you've made a lot of progress and it shows! Things are definitely looking more symmetrical and the shapes are getting refined! A few recommendations: continue your nose contour up to your eyebrows, as it just seems to abruptly stop in the pictures. I'd also recommend a darker brow. A good rule of thumb is to match your roots, but you don't have to. Personally, I think nude lips with nude eyebrows washes you out a little bit. If you want to keep them light, try lining the bottoms a darker color for some more depth. I think you could take your eyes to even bigger proportions with bottom lashes and a thicker crease, but that's just my style! I think your outfit was great, you really nailed Mona Lisa! Overall, great work! I'm really proud of your growth during charm school, and I'm here to help you in any way I can moving forward! Congrats!!!
Sugar Monroe
For this week, aesthetically, I was going for rock candy. Still Sugar, but badass and edgy. And I achieved that. I made the faux leather skirt and paired it with the cropped blazer and light purple shirt. The asymmetrical purple/silver bob, paired with the combat heels and fishnets brought the edge to this look that I needed to get from cute to badass.
Harper: Yes, mama! I can tell you are feeling yourself this week, and I am feeling it, too! Great mix, although I would have liked to see the clips more integrated throughout the songs. Realistically, I know that's a bit more advanced so I'm not counting it against you! You did a great job moving and showing enthusiasm, as well as showing off what Boxxa taught you last week! One thing I did notice is that your hair kept getting in your face, and it seemed to distract you a bit. Make sure you are using hairspray/pins to keep it in place while you're dancing! Another tip would be to move closer and farther from the camera during the mix just to make it a bit dynamic, although you were a perfectly fine distance during the video. I appreciate you listening to critique and adding the overlay, as well as the other technical stuff. Framing and lighting are both great here!
You came into this competition with a more refined look than some of the girls, but that hasn't stopped you from learning and growing every week! I see it and appreciate it. That wig is super hot (I want one), and the makeup looks right. I love the bolder brows on you, but I'd make sure you are thinning and tapering them a bit towards the end. Make sure that under brow highlight is nice and smooth, and that it complements the shape of the brow. I liked the outfit, but the jacket was a little too business casual for this choice in song, imo. A leather jacket or even some studs added to this one would help the badass vibe you're giving off! Overall, very nicely done! I have no doubts that you are going to kill it moving forward, and I'm very proud to see everything you've done so far in charm school. I'm here for you if you ever need anything! Congrats!!!
For your fifth test here on Tumblr’s Drag Race: Charm School 2, you’ll be creating a mix and a lip syncing music video to accompany it. The mix must contain audio from at least three different sources, including one spoken word selection. The video must be shot in ONE take, but everything else is up to you. I want to see you at your most creative!
This is the final test before Finals, hennies! In addition to evaluating you on the skills you learned in this week’s lip syncing lesson, we will be looking at your hair, your makeup, your acting, your wardrobe, and your general performance. This is a great opportunity to show off what makes you unique, so make sure to choose a performance where you can really show off what you’ve learned so far. For extra credit, incorporate your audio clip from the homework assignment into your mix!
For this assignment you are going to have to balance a couple challenges: creating a mix, developing a concept, executing a look, and creating a finished video product. If you don’t have software that will allow you to edit audio, I highly recommend checking out audacity. It’s a free program that you can use to create mixes and because there are tons of tutorials and walkthroughs on youtube, it’s relatively easy to pick up. I would also encourage you to think of how you would execute a look based on your mix prior to creating it! Sometimes it’s easier to start with a look or an idea in mind, and build a mix around that concept. Either way, I want to see you fully execute your interpretation of a song!
Having a mix already in your pocket is a GREAT thing for a beginning drag queen. It’s always good to have a performance that you can perform at a moments notice that is uniquely you. In addition, creating awesome lip syncing videos is a great way to gain exposure, which is invaluable for someone looking to perform! The more entertaining you can be, the bigger the payoff. Keeping that in mind,
For this week’s test, please include:
• Two headshots of the makeup (one must be front on)
• Three photos of your hair (front, side, back)
• Two full-body photos of your costuming
• One Video of your lip syncing music to your new mix!
• A list of the songs/clips used in your mix, and a brief description of your concept.
Your tests are due no later than 6PM EST on Monday, January 25th.
This is your last chance to show us what you’ve got before finals, ladies: DON’T flunk it up!
This week’s homework assignment was to give us a lip sync based on the tips and tricks given by our Dean of Lip Syncing | Harper Valley. Let’s see how they did!
(please click each student’s name to watch their videos)
Lady Dee
Harper: I appreciate you putting together a look, gurl! I think you did a great job with this assignment. It was a fun choice, and you really nailed the lip sync! You were well lit, and I appreciated that you did the overlay, too. My only comments would be to try exaggerating your face and gestures a bit more. It will seem like it’s too much while you’re doing it, but it really will help create a more dynamic performance.Overall, great job!
Sugar Monroe
Harper: WHERE IS THE OVERLAY, HENNY? I will forgive you this time, but I want to see it on the test! You had a super fun choice, and you very clearly knew your words! One thing to look out for, though, is nailing your cues. Even though you knew the lyrics, it seemed like you weren’t exactly sure when you were coming in, which I know is especially tricky for spoken word. In the future, just listen to the song or audio a few more times just to make sure you have all of your entrances down. I really liked that you brought in an actual prop - a shady prop, which is my favorite kind - into your performance. I think you could have taken it another step further with stuffing a granola bar into your mouth and spitting it! Overall, your acting was really great, but I want to see you go bigger next time! Nice work!
First of all, my apologies for the late posting. Now that we’ve covered acting with Dean Boxxa Vine, we are going to incorporate those skills into every queen’s moneymaker: the lip sync. More specifically, the lip sync video! Using the skills that I picked up during my time on Lip Sync for your Life with fellow TDR alumni Erika Klash and CC Candypepper, I will walk you through my list of Do’s and Don’ts in this week’s video lesson. Take careful notes, because in Tumblr’s Drag Race a lip sync has the power to make or break you!
For this week’s homework assignment, we will be tackling spoken word. Students must choose an audio clip from a tv show, youtube video, commercial, podcast, etc., and film themselves lip syncing to it. The audio should feature one main speaker, and be roughly 1-2 minutes long. For reference, I’ve included an old lip sync video of roughly what I”m looking for here. We are not requiring drag for this challenge, but it is always welcomed. The lip sync must be done in one take with no edits beyond trimming and audio overlay.
For this lesson’s submission, you must include:
• ONE video no longer than 3 minutes that shows you lip syncing to the spoken word selection of your choice.
Your submissions will be due to this blog by Thursday, January 21th at 6:00PM EST. Good luck, have fun, and don’t flunk it up!
Test #4: All Right, Mr. DeMille, I'm Ready For My Close Up.
This week’s test was to give us all the drama using techniques based on the tips and tricks given by our Dean of Acting | Boxxa Vine and utilizing the critiques from Headmistress Liz. Let’s see how they did!
(please click each student’s name to watch their videos)
Camila Styles
Has left the competition due to personal reasons. We wish you the best of luck dear!
Lady Dee
This week, my look was inspired by the fabulous Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford in the iconic gay cult classic Mommie Dearest. I wanted to give power bitch, with a touch of unhinged to match the Sissy character. I intended for my Charles character to come across as more a villain, since I actually DONT think I belong here in Missoula and intend on leaving ASAP- therefore, anybody trying to drag me back here is a bit of a baddie in my eyes. I absolutely love acting, so this was a bucket of fun for me. And one more thing- I’d better NOT find your dress on a wire hanger, Christina!
Liz: I apologize for not having critiques, some things came up in life this week which I am unable to give you any. Keep up the good work ladies and listen to your critiques this week as well as all the other weeks.
Boxxa: I'm going to first touch base on the earlier lesson tips and tricks before the video with your photos. Lighting is essential in TDR for photos, if you cant see what your look then we cant judge it. Bring light coming from the back really ruins a photo and creates too much darkness in the front so we can't truely see the details of your work. Position your self so all lights are in front of you to illuminate you not distract in the photo of cause extra shadows to hide the work you did. You focused on the camera quite well but I think it would have been better to not just sit in front of the camera (while I understand limited work space it would have just brought it up another level). In the video I loved your inspirations I wish you had channeled them a bit more in the voice especially for the female part of the video. No one can forget that shrill yelling tone to that Faye Dunaway brought to Joan in Mommie Dearest and it almost seemed at times you were whispering. Speak up especially in the reading section when you spoke about the judges, each dig at someone get a little louder and more outrageous. Bring level to the characters more then just saying the lines in the script or the ones you've come up with. A lesson I didn't touch on especially with comedy is the rule of three. Punch line, one up it, one up it one more time and move on. After three it gets redundant and tends to reduce the comedic level of what you're saying. I know what you were going for but next time bring more punch to the reads with volume and maybe use your hands more to bring something more then you talking directly into the camera. The ending was very confusing as well, I'm not 100% sure what was going on so make it more noticeable what you're doing to draw in the viewer.
Maeve Bitchcraft
Has left the competition due to personal reasons. We wish you the best of luck dear!
Sugar Monroe
This week was super hard for me because one of my biggest flaws is anxiety being on camera. Like, I hate my voice in videos and I just get super uncomfortable. So working through that has made me realize that it’s not too bad. You just gotta have confidence in yourself and push through. And I did that.
The aesthetic I was going for for Sissy was a “star” in the making, someone who only wanted to be loved and adored. In the scene, she was getting ready for bed and in walks her twin brother, Charles, unexpectedly. (I say twin brother because let’s face it. That little gay boy couldn’t pass as straight if his life depended on it.)
The aesthetic for Charles was Sugar’s… I mean Sissy’s, twin brother, come to take her home, where she belonged. I couldn’t butch that part up if I tried. I don’t even own butchy type clothes to fake it. Haha so he was her cute little gayboy twin brother.
Liz: I apologize for not having critiques, some things came up in life this week which I am unable to give you any. Keep up the good work ladies and listen to your critiques this week as well as all the other weeks.
Boxxa: I'm going to first touch base on the earlier lesson tips and tricks before the video with your photos. The lighting was good overall and you really put your focus properly as Sugar but as a boy it almost came off like you didn't want to be there. While I understand your bit of stage fright when it comes to making this video but it really hindered your performance. You really raced through the script with little extra additions or personalization injected into it. To me the best part was definitely when you ad libbed about belonging. You really showed passion and intent in that moment and I wish you had even gone longer. You really started to bring out your inner diva but you have to bring that same energy and channel it into the boy aspect of the performance. The bottle throwing and it hitting you was hilarious. The last point is the hair did start to get in the way near the end but you just left it instead of constantly trying to get it out of your face which was great but we lost view of half your face which we wanna see. Play to the camera at all times, when you sat on the floor and cried it would have been the perfect moment to lift your head up towards the heavens as you cry to both show your face and be more emotionally poignant. The sections when you made it your own were the shining moments so know you can do this and not to fear the camera because it's your friend. If you're scared the camera can tell.
Test #4: All Right, Mr. DeMille, I'm Ready For My Close Up.
For your fourth test here on Tumblr’s Drag Race: Charm School 2, it’s time for you to give us a fully-realized acting scene. You may recognize the scene from Season 7 of RuPauls Drag Race so theres a few examples out there of how this scene has been done!
This exam is cumulative, which means we will be taking your makeup, hair, and costuming into account when giving out grades. We want to not only see you apply the skills you learned from Lesson’s 1, 2, and 3, but we also want to see actual progress for hair, makeup, and costuming since you’ve now been given sufficient feedback from both homework assignments and tests.
The best way to shine in this test is to truly inject your character into the scene. Improv is your best friend. The script below is the most basic form of the scene to follow. Please improv, ad lib, and make this scene your own. Many of the tips from the homework will really help here too like making sure you're properly lit, where your placing your focus when filming, and making sure to be engaging and not going on for too long.
Please give special attention to the feedback you were given for this week’s homework assignment. If you choose to ignore anything specifically asked of you, that will be automatically reflected in your grade. The challenge of this lesson is not just speak the script, but to interpret the scene in your own way and show us your inner actress; if you want to succeed in TDR Charm School 2 and potentially on TDR Cycle 8, you need good basic acting skills and this is the best way to test them out. Feel free to contact Dean of Acting | Boxxa Vine at anytime for more acting tips, tricks, and to run anything by her you're thinking about.
Note: This scene has two characters and you will be playing both. The scene calls for one male and one female character. Make sure both characters are not you just simply speaking the lines but have some character to them in all the ways you've been taught before. Beat your mugs (for the male maybe think about facial hair), think about your hair in terms of the character you're creating, and costume yourself within the character.
SCENE: (Example video provided by Boxxa Vine)
Sissy: Charles! What are you doing here?
Charles: I cam to take you back to (insert hometown) where you belong.
Sissy: Belong? I don't belong there! (use this area to improv)
Charles: If you can't love yourself, how the hell you gonna love somebody else. Sissy: Charles! Have a drink on me (another good area for improv, original scene calls for a bottle to be thrown by Sissy at Charles but feel free to do it a different way)
Charles: I can see now that (your drag name) is DEAD. Sissy killed her. So goodbye, forever.
Sissy: Sissy, I'm sissy goddamnit (another great area for a improv. Supermodel of the WORLD!
For this week’s test, please include:
• Two headshots of that beautifully improved mug
• Three photos of your fabulous hair (front, side, back)
• Two full-body photos that make us gag on your flawlessly executed look and rockin’ body
• One Video of your acting scene.
• A written description/reflection of the look and aesthetic you were aiming for for both characters.
Your tests are due no later than 6PM EST on Monday, January 18th.
No laziness with this test ladies, so these words ring truer than ever: DON’T flunk it up!
This week’s homework assignment was to give us a faux audition based on the tips and tricks given by our Dean of Acting | Boxxa Vine. Let’s see how they did!
(please click each student’s name to watch their videos)
Camilla Styles
Liz: You were very cute and adorable in your video, the one thing I will say is that you seemed very timid and shy. Maybe this is because you were quiet, but we want to see more of your personality out! You lit up so much when you began talking about your goals and how you want your cosmetic line and we want to see more of this! I think the one thing to also consider is when you talk about your interesting facts, think about something really unique instead of talking about being self taught because most baby queens at the moment are! This is an audition so we want you to wow us with what you are able to offer to the table! It’s great that you talk about how you want to grow as a person and as a queen so just open up a bit more! Great job this week dear!
Boxxa Vine: The lighting is good, the room wis well lit as in your face. While you focus your attention at the camera you still come off very timid especially in the beginning, later you start to get a good flow but you want to start with that energy and keep it up throughout. Grab a cup of coffee or a redbull if needed to make sure you have that energy right off. Costume wise you listed to having a accessory to make the look more exciting but the t shirt falls a little flat (I do understand full drag look was not required but you seemed to do a full look from the neck up so net time just think about neck down). The hair is long BUT doesn't get in your face so its great, there was a few hair flips but they were very natural and added to the video for the most part. I caught a few umm's but they were more hidden and not distracting. Your editing and flow of questions is great. Having the splices of takes was perfect and not overdone and added to the video in a good way. Time limit wise you did go over the time limit. First things first in TDR read and follow the challenge outline, going over a time limit can cost you the win or put you into the bottom two automatically so watch that. That being said you talked and engaged the entire time and I didn't get bored listening to you which is an amazing quality to have.
Lady Dee
Liz: This was a pretty good submission from you this week. I really enjoyed the 3 interesting facts, especially your name. You were personable, but also funny with some of your lines that you gave like the Ava one, or the Adrena one. Some people think that they need to be constantly funny throughout the video and that comes off desperate, but you really avoided doing that. I am glad that you were able to get into face for us, because practice makes perfect, and I know without TDR in my life I would still look a hot mess, so good job for putting in that extra effort for us. Good job this week, and good luck with your test!
Boxxa Vine: Your lighting was a bit too strong actually, its placed in the proper area but your a bit to close to the light so it creates a large white spot on your fore head so next time put the light slightly further away from you. You keep a great focus throughout the entire video and it really comes off very conversational and like it comes easy to you. Costuming wasn't something required for this test but in the future make sire theres more of a wow factor in the look your presenting, a few accessories go a long way, a string of pearls and matching earrings would be perfect. The hair was perfect to keep it from your face as well as frame it for the close up shot and I didn't catch you using umm at all and the flow between that and you knowing the questions really created an amazing flow to the overall video. My one critique really falls in the time limit area. I wanted more actually, you're very engaging and entertaining and your little hidden jokes really helped show off your comedy chops as well as show off your personality which is great. A few more of those would have been amazing and the best place to drop the joke is at the end of what your saying. Like the Ava joke, you put it in the middle of listing people you look up too but if you had listed them all and then ended with the joke it would have been the perfecting ending to the section.`
Maeve Bitchcraft
Liz: I must say, this was probably one of my favorite auditions this week. You were really relatable in your video and you could tell you were very sincere about your progress and growth you have made. You gave excellent interesting facts because they were unique to yourself but you also explained them out and what they mean to you like when you mentioned traveling to japan and such. We really got a chance to see what kind of personality is behind the queen and we appreciated that, so good luck with the rest of your journey! Great job this week!
Boxxa Vine: First off lighting was pretty good, the room was well lit and you sat in a good position to focus on the camera. Your focus was great and you don't talk at the camera but really engage with it as you explain and answer the questions which is great. Costume wise you took into consideration even just filming as your boy self about having a few accessories to make the look more interesting like the hat and the necklace which is perfect. You did not use umm BUT the editing was a bit choppy. That way of cutting up what you've said is a good way of editing but you had a few to many cuts which made it kinda choppy especially when you make cuts in the clips too close to a word and it cuts of part of what you're saying its a dead obvious cut, so aim for a more fluid editing next time. Try to get more takes where you get all the information out so you don't have to make as many cuts. Last thing is really the time limit, you took almost the whole 5mins which is okay but there was a few too many sections you went into too much detail like when you were talking about Fame era Gaga. Get the information out and don't dwell too long or talk in circles because it just eats up time and the more you dwell the more likely people are to tune out. The three facts area was perfect, that flow to you just talking is the flow your entire video should have as.
Sugar Monroe
Liz: I really enjoyed your video, like some of your sisters, you made it more like a conversation with us than just talking to the camera if that makes sense. You should prepare your questions outa bit more because I did notice that you said um a bit and it’s better to have a template to kind of go off of, but also don’t read it line by line like a robot. Your personality reminded me of Lacy Lane and when we would kiki and talk, you have a good sense of who you are and are confident on what you had to say. You were sincere and we appreciated that! Let’s see if you can bring this personality with the test this week!
Boxxa Vine: The lighting is good and so its your focus of where the camera is but you also seem to focus on spitting the answers out as fast as possible. You did quite a few times exactly what I said to avoid and thats saying umm between questions because you're unsure what to say as well as not being prepared with your three facts. No one knows you like you do so speak about yourself with confidence especially when you mention your tattoo, having tattoos isn't the most exciting fact if you just state you have them. Tell us what they are, why you have a certain one, something interesting and engaging. Back to umm, you almost every segue used umm to switch to the next question while laughing, skip the umm and just let out a laugh about what you said. Laughing at your own jokes often comes off as endearing and is a great way to shift from one question to the other but with the umm in there it comes off like you don't know what to say or whats coming next. Take the time to prepare what you're going to say before you say it and be confident in what you're saying. Near the end you get in a better flow answering the questions. Just focus on knowing the questions and preparing answers for them instead of winging it. Being late can cost you a win or place you into the bottom so please submit in a timely matter.
Hello from the other side of week three! You've now created a head to toe look with critiques on what to work on from there so lets go forward from just looks into producing content. Acting covers a wide spread set of things you will do if you get a spot next cycle from acting challenges, improv, acting like you really read the critiques each week, and most of all learning how your specific drag character acts in a multitude of experiences. The base of acting is nailing that audition to get the part so thats what we will be focusing on this week.
In the video HERE I give 7 tips and tricks to creating a professional looking and sounding audition. Lighting, focus, costume, hair, umm, questions, and time limits. Take all of these tips in really think about creating a poised sounding and looking audition. For this lesson’s homework assignment, you will be making a faux TDR audition video: you DO NOT need to be in full drag for this challenge but its always better to get some extra practice in! You have a time limit of 5 minutes to answer these 10 questions.
Again no makeup or hair are required for this homework assignment per se, but please feel free to use this assignment as an excuse to get all dolled up.
QUESTIONS:
1. State both your regular name and your drag name
2. State your current Tumblr URL
3. State your current age
4. Tell us where you live
5. Tell us the biggest inspirations for your drag (people, places, designers, other entertainers)
6. Describe your personality with three interesting facts about yourself
7. Define your drag style in three words
8. Describe in deep detail an adventure you long to go on
9. Tell us about your progress so far in Charm School
10. Tell us what it would mean for you to win Charm School
For this lesson’s submission, you must include:
• ONE video no longer than 5 minutes in length answering all 10 of these questions uploaded to your personal YouTube
Your submissions will be due to this blog by Thursday, January 14th at 6:00PM EST. Good luck, have fun, and don’t flunk it up!
Test #3: Won’t the Real Slim Shady-Lady Please Stand Up?
This week’s test was to get your body in check using techniques based on the tips and tricks given by our Dean of Costuming | Lacy Lane and utilizing the critiques from Headmistress Liz. Let’s see how they did!
Camilla Styles
Liz: Everything from the neck up is absolutely perfection. You really have mastered your mug in such a little amount of time! The one thing I will mention is again the nose needs to not come down on your nose as much as you have it now! The brows are a much nicer shape this time and I think you should continue doing this from now on! As for the rest of the outfit, it falls apart, which sucks because it seems like it is the same submission from your homework. We need some more accessories going on, some more of that color in your hair would have made this such an outstanding look, whether it was same colored nails, some tights, or even jewelry. Hopefully with the upcoming assignments you can really get into the groove with what your sisters have been submitting. Good luck!
Lady Dee
Hey, big spender! This week I decided to take what the judges suggested and really run with it. I absolutely agreed that the blue in my bracelets really popped, so I went out in search of that same color to tie the whole outfit together. I was so pleased to find my thick, beautiful blue boa- definitely a statement piece! After I picked that up, it was clear where I wanted to go- the showgirl look, which meant I needed a headpiece of course. I found these children’s fairy-wings in blue and with sparkles, and immediately thought of making them into a fan for the back of my head, ala Vegas in the 60’s.
I really feel this week has been immensely important to my growth as a queen. Usually, when making an outfit, I would stop after what I did on the homework- that “good enough” moment. But thanks to the judges and my own personal reflection, I was able to conceive a look that really pushed me into fabulous, over-the-top drag queen territory, which I absolutely love! I’ve learned that I need to go that extra step to arrive at something truly special. I am very pleased with my performance this week and hope you all like it too!
Liz: You really took your critiques this week and amped up the flame with your submission and I couldn’t be prouder! I think you are finally getting the hang of your eye shapes, now it’s just about making sure all your lines are nice and sharp, like under your brow and darkening them up a bit so that they are defined. You went a little dark on the contour this week, it’s not bad, but if you are going to go darker make sure you blend it out just a bit more! The lips are great, just make sure they are a bit more even! You can take some concealer or foundation and go around your lips to clean it up, and if you are going to do a drastic lip liner and lip do this, if not just blend out the liner a bit more to get a nice ombre effect going on! Your body looks great, the accessories all work very well, you brought in more of that blue which is great because it creates a story with your look and that’s what we wanted to achieve! NAILS, thank you for this small detail, you didn’t need to get them, just as long as we saw some color but I’m really happy to have seen this! Overall great job this week with your submission! Keep it up!
Lacy Lane: Lady Dee, I must admit that my absolute FAVORITE part of your submission this week was what you wrote. I nearly teared up reading about how you pushed yourself to do something great and how you became something absolutely fabulous! I was more than excited to help out with Charm School because I really wanted to give young queens the advice I wished I had when I started out, and that fact that you took this week’s tutorial and ran with it really meant something special to me! And quite frankly, I’m glad you listened because your submission is truly wonderful!
I’m not the Dean of Makeup or the Dean of Wig Styling, but I want to get a quick critique for these out of the way. This week’s paint is very similar to last week’s, but I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. The exaggerated shapes you create work well with your features, and with a little refinement, I think you’ve found your sweet spot. To help tighten up this paint job, I’d say to be conscious to angle the inner corner of your crease down toward your nose a bit more. I’d also suggest practicing blending your lip liner into your lipstick so there isn’t such a harsh contrast there. Oh, and you also need to blend out that jawline contour! But other than that, your mug is angelic, cartoony, and beautiful, and I like the direction you’re headed! I also give you mad props for the wig styling this week! Wig styling is something I’m super uncomfortable with, but you seem to be getting better, and even better than that, you seem to be taking risks and practicing. That will get you far. Overall, you did a really nice job here!
As for the costuming: yes ma’am! I suggested you go with a statement piece, and what did you do? You gave me two! YAS! I love love LOVE all this blue as well! I’m gonna get the obvious out of the way and repeat (as I said in the homework) that this dress is TOO short (I can literally see your vagina). However, I’m willing to overlook this detail this week because you did a really great job of elevating this look. I want to commend you on creating a truly unique headpiece as well! I absolutely adore it and can already envision a plethora of looks for you to create around that piece in the future! My only critique is that you don’t really have any accessories besides the glamorous statement pieces. Don’t get me wrong: they’re fabulous. But a statement piece (or two) alone is not a reason to forgo the littler accessories. In particular, your bare neck stands out to me. But hey, in due time you’ll acquire a lot of necklaces to be able to pull out and use as you need them! But overall, really nice job here.
Your body is also still quite incredible and impressive. I’m glad to see that you’ve expanded that bust line! I think it’s still a tad too small for the size of your hips and the comparison to your waist, but I would imagine you’d have more room to play with in an outfit with a less-revealing neckline. These small details will take your look a mile in the right direction, and before you know it, you’ll be UNTOUCHABLE!
You have so much to be proud of this week. I’m honored to have been here to help coach you and get you to this new place in your drag progression! Keep up the good work! You’re going to give those other girls a run for their money! <3
Maeve Bitchcraft
For my look this week I went for demonic warrior princess. She may look cute at first, but just wait until she unleashes her arsenal on you! 💁🏻✨ I embellished on the gothic flowy look from before, cinching myself more and adding pops of color… and props! In addition to my accessories, I used two child-sized tutu’s as a faux underskirt, and I’m happy with how it turned out. I tried to tease my wig out bigger than last week and ended up spraying it into a swoop over my shoulder. I would also like to note that I did try some super duper cheap lashes but I couldnt figure out how to keep them on, so I stuck with mascara again. I had fun putting this all together, and I look forward to crafting more dark and demonic looks in the futuree~ 👹💋
Liz: This is already so much better than your homework submission! The pops of color work very nicely, with the red in your eyes, to the belt, to the trim on the skirt. The one thing I would change would be to raise up the skirt just a tad bit more as well as the belt so you are cinched more at your fake waist than your actual one. As far as the makeup goes, it is better but I still have similar critiques as beforehand. Your nose needs to be contoured darker just like what you have on your cheeks. You keep putting the contour on the sides of the nose but you need to put it on the top to fake that your nose is actually smaller than what it really is. The crease is doing better, just make sure blend it out more towards your brow. Speaking of the brow, it seems like with your current eye shape you have going on, you should pull them down slightly at the beginning because it makes you look really surprised. One last thing would to mention would be to overdraw your upper lip just a bit more so that it is proportional with your bottom lip since you have a pretty juicy bottom lip! Overall good job this week, keep up the improvement!
Lacy: I’m seeing some steady improvement from you, Maeve, and I’m very happy to see it! However, I want to be blunt with you: your improvement is slightly overshadowed by the drastic improvement of your competitors this week. I hope you don’t see this as me trying to be mean; I really just wanted to call this to your attention so that you’re sure to kick it into gear as the competition gets closer and closer to its close. I truly see A LOT of potential in you and the character you’re creating for yourself, and I’d hate to see you fall behind because I wasn’t honest with you!
I’m not the Dean of Makeup or the Dean of Wig Styling, but let’s start here. Your makeup is steadily improving, and you should be really proud of that! In particular, your blending is becoming much better, especially in your crease! My words of advice: watch out for those eyebrows! You need to bring the inner-corners of your brows down closer to the start of the inner-corners of your crease! Without that relation, you’re left looking eternally surprised, and unless that’s the look you’re going for, you’d do well to switch this up! I know you talked about your struggle with lashes this week, but your paint is in DIRE need of some huge lashes. Honestly, that will change your face COMPLETELY! I know it doesn’t seem like much, but please please PLEASE invest in a couple pairs of 301s to stack! You absolutely need them if drag is something you want to continue! As for your hair, I’m honestly not seeing much difference. I’m assuming this wig is your trusted Ol’ Faithful, but I’d love to see a different color and/or shape on you. Once you get some spare coin, that would be another good thing to invest in.
Looking to your outfit this week, there are a couple of wonderful pieces that stand out to me. I love the juxtaposition of the biker jacket with the tutus. Albeit a bit overdone at times, I think this contrast works really well for your character! I would maybe suggest injecting some color in more than we see here. I also love the use of props! I knew that would be a strong suit of yours! Keep experimenting in this direction because I see awesome things coming from you!
As for your body, I think we need to work on waist cincher placement. I like that you’re getting some shape in your body, but I think the cincher is too low. Try pulling it up a bit. As I mentioned in my tutorial this week, you need to find the fleshiest part of your sides because that has the most give. You also need to add some hip to help smooth out the transition of the new waist so you don’t look like an indented box. It all comes with practice though!
Overall, steady improvement! You’re definitely headed in the right direction, and I’m super proud to see how well you understand how you want to display yourself as an artist to the rest of the world. Like I said: I see a lot of raw potential in you, so please keep up the good work! I’m rooting for you!
Sugar Monroe
Diabetics Beware! Miss Sugar Monroe is serving up candy shop realness! :3 For this look, I was going for a 50’s inspired candy shop worker. But she’s gotta let everyone know that she’s a f*cking princess. Hence the crown. ;) I made the skirt and the head piece and had so much fun doing it. I learned a lot about myself this week. I learned that my aesthetic leans more toward the adorable side. And that circle skirts are a girl who can’t sew’s best friend. Hahaha but yeah, here’s my candy shop princess look. Hope y'alls sweet tooth can’t handle it. ;)
Liz: This is such an adorable submission you gave us this week! Soooo much better than what you gave us with your homework this week. The circle skirt was such a good idea because it is able to give you a nice shape, without the need of worrying too much about padding. The hair is cute, and it is pretty big and voluminous to proportion your head. I would have liked to have seen some of that darker pink you have in your crown throughout the whole look, just a subtle thing that could have pushed it a bit more. The accessories are great, and I love that the top is a bit shear, but you combined it with that pink bra so it works really well! As for your mug, it is getting so much better, your top lip could be a bit larger to proportion it with your plump bottom lip. My biggest concern would just be cleaning up the brows underneath with a highlight or concealer and then blending it with the colors used in your crease. Overall excellent job this week!
Lacy: Oh. My. Gosh! SUCH an amazing turn around for you from the homework to this test! I must say that I’m pleasantly surprised and so very proud of you! The fact that you were able to flesh out a story for your character and then SHOW me that is what I was looking for, and you succeeded with flying colors! And on top of that, you were able to discover a little bit about yourself moving forward: you’re an adorable queen with an edge! I absolutely love that and am super excited to see where you take that in the future :)
I’m not the Dean of Makeup or the Dean of Wig Styling, but I must say that I’ve noticed a steady improvement in both. This is by far (in my opinion) the best makeup we’ve seen from you so far! My only real critique for the makeup is to be sure that you’re blending blending BLENDING that cheek and jawline contour; some of the lines are still a little harsh here. As for the hair, I think it’s wonderful to see an intentional and adorable style on you! This style also frames your face well and could be a great look for you to continue using in the future!
Now onto this week’s spotlight: your outfit! Omg YES! Like I mentioned earlier: I see a TOTAL turn around! Even at it’s simplest, this outfit is miles ahead of your homework assignment. The interest in the tailored top and the adorable skirt alone is leagues ahead of where you were before. Then, to top that off, you accessorized very well this week! I see a solid injection of life into this look, and I think the necklace and bracelets you’ve invested in here will serve you well in the future! Obviously, my favorite accessory is the headpiece because I’m a headpiece queen myself ;) But that for me is what really ties this look together and makes it a complete story. My advice: I think we should have more contrast between the necklace and the shirt because it’s kind of lost in the wide shots. As well, this look is SCREAMING for a belt! Thick white patent leather belt perhaps? Just keep on experimenting and I’m sure you’ll be a pro in no time!
As for your body, I think you’re smart to stick with circle skirts until you perfect that body, but I do want to see you to continue practicing with those shapes in the future! I’m also curious to know if you did the panty hose trick for a waist cincher this week? Regardless, I think you’d do well to invest in a $20 corset in the near future - especially if TDR8 is in your future! And based on this week’s turnaround performance, I’d say that’s a definite possibility!
I am so incredibly proud of you, and you should be proud of yourself as well! This week was a stellar moment for you moving forward, and you should be very proud of what you’ve accomplished! So glad I could be a part of this progression - congratulations! <3
Test #3: Won’t the Real Slim Shady-Lady Please Stand Up?
For your third test here on Tumblr’s Drag Race: Charm School 2, it’s time for you to give us a fully-realized, head-to-toe visual representation of the queen you are working to become! This exam is cumulative, which means we will be taking your makeup and hair into account when giving out grades. We want to not only see you apply the skills you learned from Lesson’s 1, 2, and 3, but we also want to see actual progress for both hair and makeup, since you’ve now been given sufficient feedback from both homework assignments and tests.
Critical in succeeding in this test is that the words you use to describe your drag character are clearly exemplified in the way you style and present yourself this week. There’s no hiding behind basic boringness; you all could benefit from a solid and intentional injection of life and energy into your looks. Please give special attention to the feedback you were given for this week’s homework assignment. If you choose to ignore anything specifically asked of you, that will be automatically reflected in your grade. The challenge of this lesson is not only executing a beautiful head-to-toe look, but also thinking hard about who you are as an artist; if you want to succeed in TDR Charm School 2 and potentially on TDR Cycle 8, you need to be more than an “anything goes” queen. No excuses.
For this week’s test, please include:
Two headshots of that beautifully improved mug
Three photos of your fabulous hair (front, side, back)
Two full-body photos that make us gag on your flawlessly executed look and rockin’ body
One+ close-up photos of the accessories you’ve used (and maybe even created?) to push that look over the edge
A written description/reflection of the look and aesthetic you were aiming for and of what you’ve learned about yourselves this week
Your tests are due no later than 6PM EST on Monday, January 11th.
No laziness with this test ladies, so these words ring truer than ever: DON’T fuck it up!
This week’s homework assignment was to give us the best body proportions you have and a full outfit/costume based on the tips and tricks given by our Dean of Costuming | Lacy Lane. Let’s see how they did!
Camilla Styles
I know this looks basic af but I was running on literally no time. But this is my submission. Honestly, I’m going to go 10x harder in the test cause I want this to work. I’m gonna reinvent this dress. And I’ll wear pads this time I promise.
As for my drag style, I consider my style to be everything in drag. They’re endless possibilities you can go with drag and that’s exactly how I feel about my style. For crying out loud, my name is Camila STYLES haha. So my drag is basically all types of drag. I don’t want to be limited on just one style
Liz: It was a bit disappointing to see this submission, so I really hope you step it up with the Test as you have said. For the test I would like to see more accessories, nails aren’t important but if you can paint them they always hide the illusion of your boy self. I relate to your description of your drag style because I don’t like to be put into one certain box so we have high hopes for you, good luck!
Lacy Lane: Camilla, I had such high hopes for you and was so excited to see what you’d turn out, but you’ve really let me down with this submission. While I can appreciate the fact that we all have lives and you were busy, it’s painfully clear to me that you didn’t even put *any* thought into what you wanted to submit for this homework assignment. There is nothing unique or redeeming about this submission, so I don’t really have much to critique. You’re wearing a basic dress, with minimal/no accessories (can’t tell if the belt is attached to the dress or not), and a pair of heels. That’s it. You also didn’t give me the opportunity to help you figure out how to create a body in drag, let alone give me an idea of the shape you would like to go for. Overall, this homework assignment was to be used as an opportunity to give it all you’ve got, try new things, and then have the opportunity to gain feedback so you can do well on your Test! Without that, all I have to say is: good luck.
What I can say is that, while I appreciate you not wanting to limit yourself and to show diversity in drag, I would still encourage you to find *something* that makes you different and unique. I made sure to include both blunt, extreme character drag artists as well as a couple queens with a more subtle signature, hoping to speak to any queen trying to figure out who she is. Without direction, your growth and progression could be severely stunted. I intentionally made the point in my video that previous TDR queens, even with the most extreme and specific of personal styles, have all shown a tremendous amount of diversity. Don’t confuse having a “brand” as being limiting. Think of it more as a challenge to push yourself in that brand to tap into creativity you didn’t know you had. With that, I expect you to come up with some sort of signature and represent that to us in your Test. Let’s get this ball rolling!
Lady Dee
Somebody break out the fire hose! This look is inspired by Marilyn Monroe in the movie Niagara. My personal drag aesthetic tends towards all things vintage. I especially love the 50s and 60s aesthetic. I like to think of Dee as an overburdened house-wife who finally had too much, snapped and left her family on a delusional pursuit of fortune and fame. She may not have been born pretty, but she’ll paint, pad and pinch every inch of her body until she becomes a bombshell!
Liz: I was shocked to have seen this submission Lady Dee! That body looks so on point! I don’t think I had my body right until just recently, so kudos for that! The one thing that I would like to see is possibly a bigger bosom on you to accentuate your waist just a tad bit more. The accessories are nice, I think you could have used a bit more blue around the neck, or a blue pump, something to kind of tie in the colors all (even some sort of hair piece could do the job, or even some blue painted nails). Overall great job with this lesson, we just need to elevate it just a bit more!
Lacy Lane: Okay, seriously, your body is KILLING me! You did an incredible job! That waist-to-hip ratio is quite impressive, and I’m super proud of you! My only piece of advice for the body: you need a larger bust. I’m not sure what you use to pad your bra, but you really need to focus on filling out the sides of the bra as well so that we get a nice hourglass figure. I have a feeling that *may* have been a smidge difficult in that dress, so I’m not going to hold that against you here. I just wanted to point that out so you can appropriately apply that to your upcoming Test!
As for the style you’re going for, I think you’re on the right track! Having a personal aesthetic that is “all things vintage” is quite vague, but it’s just specific enough to be recognizable if done correctly (and also super fun!). I would suggest focusing on gathering a collection of huge, vintage statement pieces that really help mark you in that brand. Overall, the execution here of the costuming is decent. One concern is the length of the dress, but I think you have a good eye for coloring when it comes to accessorizing. I’m particularly enjoying the blue bracelet with the pink of the dress. I’m enjoying it so much, in fact, that I would’ve liked to have seen even more of it! I do think there was a missed opportunity here to incorporate something on your head though! It’s our responsibility as queens to elevate our looks as much as possible, so that’s going to be my challenge to you for the Test this week! Your best bet would be to find or create a signature, stand-out piece of vintage gorgeousness and really have that be one of the focal points of your costuming. Your performance here has me VERY excited to see what you turn out! You can do this!
Maeve Bitchcraft
Maeve, as my drag character, is a young witch that became possessed by a demon when messing around with magic she really shouldn’t have, so she walks on this dichotomy of youthfulness and agelessness… of sexual naïveté and total dominance. Here I’m more on the younger side, with the short belted dress and “Coven”-style hat, but then I used the jewelry to age her up a little, especially the gold necklace with jade pendants and pearls. Ultimately, I would like to explore the facets of a glamorous demonic style while still keeping some of Maeve’s humanity intact. (Whatever that ends up meaning to me.) 👹💖💋
Liz: I really enjoyed this look that you gave us because it was simple, but yet put together. I would have liked to have seen a bit more of that blue, whether its tights or painted nails, just a pop more to really pull it together since I know this is mostly a witch like persona you have. You could use a bit more padding to give you a bit more of a figure or just cinch that waist a bit more. An easy way to get around to not wearing pads is also wearing things like circle skirts because it’s tight at the waist but then opens up and gives the illusion that you are more shapely than what you really are. Decent job this week, step it up for the test dear and show us what you got!
Lacy Lane: It’s clear to me that you’re a queen with a concept, and that’s great! If you keep moving in this direction, you just may be included in a future Lacy Lane costuming video about creating a signature style because that’s definitely the direction you’re headed! That being said, what you’ve said about your aesthetic is much more vibrant than what you’ve given us. As a broke baby queen, that’s totally understandable (we all start somewhere!), but I just wanted to make that point in case you were thinking otherwise. I was very excited to read that you want to include more demonic details in your looks in the future because that’s exactly what I want to see more of! The “Coven” style of drag has been done to death (no pun intended), but that demon spin on the styling will really help set you apart! So I say go for it!
I can’t see much of your body in this look, but I’m not exactly sure if that’s a bad thing. I’m curious to know: what type of body are you hoping to go for? I think a more linear shape with open, flowy garments could work well for you, but if you are hoping to go more shapely, I would definitely challenge you to bring that to the table in this week’s Test so that we can get the proper feedback to you so you can improve :)
And lastly, for your accessories, I think you definitely did the better than your competitors this week. Your pieces are cohesive, and we have some wonderful standout pieces like that gorgeous necklace and the hat. Something tells me you’re a queen who would also do well to incorporate hand-held props in her costumes as well. I’m not sure what those props may look like (and I don’t want to tell you what to use), but I would like to see if you can maybe come up with something like that for your Test this week. My only real critique would just be to push the envelope here. We need something “wow” from you, but I have no doubt in my mind that you’re fully capable of having that “wow” moment!
Sugar Monroe
My personal style is Target Couture. Lol But seriously, I'm not 100% on my style just yet. Sometimes I'm bright and bubbly, sometimes I'm dark and witchy and sometimes I'm simple and sparkly. Hopefully, my time here on charm school will help me finesse my style into something that screams Sugar Monroe!
Liz: This submission seems to be a bit of a lack luster in comparison to your other sisters. It is very simple and minimal with the description you gave us of your drag character. I’ll start off by saying that your current pads are way to low for your proportions on your body, they need to come up higher and be smoothed out when they start and end because it is a very abrupt contrast with what you have now. You can easily solve this by using full body spanx so that they don’t fall down with every pair of pantyhose that you put on. Once you do this I also feel like it would give you more of an hourglass shape that everyone is trying to achieve. As for the accessories, we want to see more! Whether it’s bracelets, painted nails, headpieces, or even a nice belt, we need something to have the lewk look more completed rather than just if you will “pedestrian” like. Hopefully with the test coming up you are able to bring it and sell it to us, good luck!
Lacy Lane: Unfortunately, Sugar, you’ve fallen into a similar boat as Camilla: I’m really not left with much to critique with regards to your outfit. That outfit and accessory (that’s right, I can’t even say accessorIES) are plain at best and doesn’t leave me feeling very excited and would unfortunately get you overlooked in a club setting time and time again. However, I really appreciated your honesty about your uncertainties for the direction you want to head in, and you’re totally right: Charm School is an opportunity to try and figure that out! But guess what? That time is NOW! A huge part of this week’s work is mental: you need to really *think* about the character you’re trying to portray to the world and see what makes you, well... YOU! I’m not telling you to pick an aesthetic and stick to it for the rest of your life. In fact, I spoke to the contrary in my video this week when talking about my progression. I had a very drastic character shift after doing drag for almost a year and a half. You’re progression will happen, but it’s up to you to get that ball rolling! For our Test this week, I need to see *something* intentional from you! Don’t fade in the background!
As for your body, I commend you for just GOING for it! THIS is what I was hoping to see from each and every girl this week: a girl who is trying! Did everything turn out perfectly? No. But guess what? You gave us a starting point to help push you in the right direction! I can tell that you took my tutorial to heart, and I just LOVE seeing that you want to go for curves, curves, CURVES! Yas, bitch! A queen after my own heart. You’ve made yourself a nice pair of hips, and I’m thinking those will work well for you. What you need to work on now is matching your bust to your hips. They really should be similar in size, and right now, I don’t see much padding on the upper-half of your body. I also struggled with this as well; I couldn’t believe how much padding it took to get the right shape, so my recommendation would be to look in the mirror and just add more until they look right! We also need to work on bringing in that waist. I wasn’t expecting you girls to just have a corset on hand, but I do hope you purchased one! In the mean time, I would suggest taking an old pair of tights, cutting of the waistband, tying a not in them to make them smaller, and placing that on the fleshiest part of your waist (like I explained in the video). This will at least help us get an understanding of what your body will look like once we start cinching, and that should work for the Test this week. I’m so excited to see what your body looks like next!
Hello, ladies! First of all, congratulations on making it through your first two lessons! Both makeup and hair are drag ESSENTIALS, so I hope you continue practicing your craft and getting better! I already love the improvement I’m seeing from all of you!
My name is Lacy Lane, first runner-up on both Cycle 3 and the All-Star Cycle of Tumblr’s Drag Race! During my time on TDR, I really discovered who I was as a drag artist through exploring the intricacies of what we’ll be covering this week: costuming!
You’ve dressed up your head, now let’s dress up the rest of your body! I know the word “costuming” brings on a lot of pre-conceived notions and judgments, but I’ll be using “costuming” as just that: a way to explain completing your look as a visual drag artist!
I’ve put together a video lesson for you all to watch (and take notes on) here!
For this lesson’s homework assignment, you will be doing two things: putting on your best body and dressing yourself in an outfit/costume (including accessories!) that speaks to who you want to be as a drag artist! I also want to hear what you were aiming for so that we can help push you in the right direction in preparation for this lesson’s test! No makeup or hair are required for this homework assignment per se, but please feel free to use this assignment as an excuse to practice everything! Practice makes perfect!
For this lesson’s submission, you must include:
Two full-body photos of your entire outfit/costume, head-to-toe
One close-up photo focusing on your accessories
A written description of what your personal style is or where you’d like to see yourself be in the future
Your submissions will be due to this blog by Thursday, January 7th at 6:00PM EST.
This week’s test was to improve your mug and your hair styling techniques based on the tips and tricks given by our Dean of Hair, Tatiana Mendez and utilizing the critiques from Headmistress Liz. Let’s see how they did!
(please click each student’s name to watch their hairography videos)
Camilla Styles
What I decided to do was put these cute pearls as almost like a holder for my “ponytail”. & I decided to tease it just a bit more, to make the hair very BIG haha.
Liz: Your mug has gotten so good, so keep up the good work with that! I would like to see the tip of your nose contour to come up a bit higher not so far down on your nose and thinner, because currently it goes from thin to wide to thin and it needs to be more consistent to hide the illusion of your boy self. Try to blend your contour on your cheeks up a bit more so that it doesn’t look like brown lines on your cheeks, and add just a tad bit more color to the apples of the cheeks! Your eyes, lashes and crease are beautiful, I can’t really say much for your eyebrows because of the bangs but if you mess up the brows bangs are always a nice way to go (not saying you messed them up btw). I am glad you brought some hair out on the side, however you didn’t do it on the other side to make it even! The pearls were a nice accessory, one thing that you could have changed is just lifted the hair just a bit higher because when you were performing, it looked a bit droopy. So the bigger the hair the better! Good job this week!
Empress: As Tati mentioned in her homework critique, having the ponytail/fall portion at a higher angle would definitely help in terms of movement. Since the fall was so low, you could only really do one movement with it, which was turning your head from side to side. Which was cute, but kind of the only thing you could do. Basically what I’m saying is that you limited yourself a bit, but you looked like you were having fun and feelin your gig so I can’t be too bad bout it. As for makeup, you’re a quick learner and seem to have a good grasp of what you’re doing! Keep it up!
Lady Dee
Welcome to the valley of the dolls! This week I was very inspired by a 60s kind of visual aesthetic. Those women knew how to do hair! My luxurious platinum locks make me the perfect plaything for a Madison Avenue Ad Man, president Kennedy, or any other powerful man- maybe in the end, they’ll be MY playthings.
“My video was unviewable due to copyright on the song I did! I didn’t foresee this and so I just took the audio off. The song is “tell it to my heart” by Taylor Daine and I thought you could just listen to it while you watch my video?! I’m super sorry!! I hope this works.”
Liz: Honestly I am so surprised by this submission, you have really taken the techniques and really made some drastic changes with your mug and hair. The lashes are a bit uneven, so make sure you even them out before posing for your pics! You can also benefit from adding a pair of them to get a really big lash going on there for you. The lip color and shape are absolutely amazing, so keep this up! The eye crease is nice, I suggest just blending it out just a tad more so it’s not straight up black and more of a color transition to the blue and then to the white highlight, you can always add a darker blue in there to make it easier. Your nose contour is better, however it looks like it is getting pinched so tiny at right between your eyes, make sure you open it up a bit more and keep it even because it makes your nose look a bit crooked! As for the hair, the only thing I would change is just brushing the wig out a bit more so that the hair isn’t so separate from one another. As for the performance, it was great, although it did suck that it the audio had to be taken down, but I played the song along with it so we can just say it worked for us! Great job this week!
Empress: One thing I noticed was that you kept moving just your head, and not incorporating the rest of your body in the movements, which looked a bit too wooden. Loosen up! Just cuz it’s hairography doesn’t mean you can’t use your whole body! As for makeup, I’m impressed! You’re definitely taking our critiques well and have improved ten-fold. One note would be to take a bit more time to make sure everything is fairly symmetrical though lol. All things considered, this was a good submission!
Maeve Bitchcraft
Liz: It seems like you have ran into a bit of a standstill with your progress dear! We need to elevate it a bit more to catch up with your sisters! Those brows are to die for, they are drawn on so nice!!! Your cheek contour seems to need a bit darkening up a bit, the color you have kind of makes you look ashy, and I would like to see some blush on those cheeks dear!!! You have some but you need to make sure it's not completely white under the eyes! The nose contour needs to be darker so that you can define it and make it slimmer, don't forget to highlight the nose as well! Typically what I do is add a bit of shimmer to the tip or bridge so it catches the light and highlights it even more. lashes lashes lashes! We need to see some lashes to get that dramatic eye from you! If you are low on cash then cake on a bit of mascara because it will definitely define the eye more. The black you currently are using for your liner seems a by dull, try getting some nyx powder since it's pretty dark or if you like a gel liner try inglot 77. I'd like to see that crease blended out a bit more, don't be afraid to use various shades of color to get it to blend towards your brow and highlight! The hair does not seem to have changed to much, although the bangs do seem to have been moved around a bit, just make sure to comb it maybe one more time to really get it nice and smooth! We would have liked to have seen some accessories so keep that in mind for future lessons as they all add up! As for your performance, it was great, you chose a good song to whip that hair around to so good job! Overall you did an okay job but we want you to step it up dear!
Empress: Granted, we never specified what “making the wig your own” meant, but I kind of expected you to do more to the wig rather than just putting on a full look. There was just a lot I think you could have done more to the wig itself. But besides that, I think your performance was good, but didn’t really show much actual hairography until the very end. As for makeup, your lips and brows look great, but I’m a bit worried about the other aspects of your face. Besides not having lashes on (girl…what’s that about???) there’s a noticeable part of your real lashes and upper eye line with no makeup. If anything, at least get some mascara! As for your crease, it definitely looks better, but the actual crease line you’re making needs a bit more drama. More black eyeshadow blended into the edge of the crease line would help define it more. Also, don’t be afraid of contouring your nose. You could go a lot smaller. Experiment with that a bit.One thing I noticed was that you kept moving just your head, and not incorporating the rest of your body in the movements, which looked a bit too wooden. Loosen up! Just cuz it’s hairography doesn’t mean you can’t use your whole body! As for makeup, I’m impressed! You’re definitely taking our critiques well and have improved ten-fold. One note would be to take a bit more time to make sure everything is fairly symmetrical though lol.
Sugar Monroe
A short description? Lol well, I made this wig my own by making it a hot ass mess, because, let’s face it, so am I. :D
Liz: That nose contour is impeccable, keep DOING THIS. As for your contour on your cheeks, I think you should blend it out a bit more and add the blush closer to the apples of your cheeks. I always smile as big as possible to see where it is and apply it and blend it up towards my temples. Your eyes are doing much better. I will have to say to clean around the edges of your eyebrows to make them more defined. Typically when I have done eyebrows, I define the bottom with my highlight and a nude color since I don’t want a highlight all completely underneath it. I wish we could have had a better image of your accessory, but next time you perform be careful it does not fly off!! Good job this week!
Empress: Wasn’t quite feeling the color choice at first, but the performance aspect made it work. Also, just a side note, make sure to get at a few pins into any typa headpiece/accessory you’re putting in your wig cuz if you don’t, there’s a 9/10 chance it’s gonna fly completely off lol. Other than that, your hairography looked very natural, worked with the song choice, and didn’t look like you were purposely trying to show us your hair. Like, your movements had purpose with the song, so good job! One little note though, when adding roots into a wig, don’t be afraid to be a bit messy. The root line doesn’t have to be completely even throughout the wig part. Actually, having it be a bit messy can help to give a more realistic look, but yeah. As for makeup, I adore that nose contour. As for everything else, I think you just need to take some time to soften your cheek contour and blush application, as well as spending a bit more time to make your brows a bit cleaner, shape wise. All in all, good job!
Hi, I have a couple questions about the exam. Does the video have to be exactly one minute or can it be longer? And are we expected to do full body or just neck up? Are we allowed to include a full body shot in the sync? Thankksssss :)
It does not have to be a minute long! You can go over a bit! And we just want to see it from the neck up, as for the lip sync we would like to see the hair in motion so you can be full body or neck up:)
TDR Charm School Cycle 02 @tdrcharmschool2 - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
