Georgie Kennett
Iridescence
Iridescent Feathers
The best known example is the gorget (throat feathers) of many hummingbird species. The iridescent colors of the gorget are the result of the refraction of incident light caused by the microscopic structure of the feather barbules. The refraction works like a prism, splitting the light into rich, component colors. As the viewing angle changes, the refracted light becomes visible in a glowing, shimmering iridescent display. Many species of birds have feathers that exhibit iridescent colors, including the Purple Gallinule and Tricolored Heron.
Something that is irridescent shows luminous colours that change when looked at from various angles. The bird of paradise ribbon tailed astrapia is just that. When looked at from one angle its body and feathers appear black but from another angle the colours show up various blues and greens. Below is a diagram to understand irridescence and how it occurs.
In order to replicate this colourful shimmer that the Astrapia bird displays it is possible that I can find some makeup products that are highly pigmented and are either irridescent or metallic which appear very similar. I think the make-up look could be great with lots of light reflecting products. Below is some inspiration I have found.
