Hey everyone and welcome to this week’s What The *Bleep* Am I Doing?! Albeit a few days late, but better late than never as I always say! Anyhoo, for this week’s article, I’m going to be starting in on talking about Cosplay Makeup! So, it will be a bit of a series if you will. Kind of like how I did for explaining EVA Foam. First off, we’ll be discussing the ever-confusing terms that come along in the world of cosplay makeup and a quick and dirty run-through of how to get started with each and every one of them! I know I was put through a loop when I first started out. So, let’s get started, shall we?
The Double Eyelid
Ooh boy, this one sure gave me a run for my money when I first started cosplay. I always saw so many “pro cosplayers” copy what was called a double eyelid so very well. I personally, had no clue what it was till I not only studied it by looking up the different looks of cosplayers and the anime characters they cosplayed as, but I literally looked up the term as well.
“Double eyelids are eyelids with visible double creases”
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Essentially, that’s exactly what it is. It’s the extra crease in your eyelid. Most common with people from Asia. Hence why in anime you almost always see a small extra line on their upper eyelid. So many cosplayers try to recreate this and when done correctly, it looks phenomenal.
Although, it isn’t the only way to do eye makeup it still makes it look pretty cool and lifelike so-to-speak. Like you’re making the character you’re cosplaying come alive. Then again, this isn’t the only way to do so, it isn’t everything after all cosplay should be fun and not hypercritical. But I digress.
A good way to create the double eyelid effect I find is to use a smokey eye pallet and apply them sparingly so you can make it appear like you have a double eyelid through a shadow/contour-like effect. Later on, I’ll have a full-on tutorial to better explain this so, be sure to be on the lookout for that!
Anime Eyes
Now, this may sound a little more confusing than it actually is. What I mean by “Anime eyes” is the way you contour your eyes with eyeliner. Plain and simple as that my friends! With eyeliner, you can control how your eye looks with ease. You can make them look sharp and angled, all the way to looking big and doll-like! It’s really something else, what a simple thing like liquid or pencil eyeliner can do. And I highly recommend using both black eyeliner and white eyeliner. These two will provide a great highlighting and well, for lack of a better word contour effect! With the white eyeliner being the highlighter, and the black providing the contour and shaping effect.
Contour
Basically, this term is pretty fast forward in the makeup world in general. But I’m sure there are some of y’all out there who were like me that when you first started out with cosplay, you’ve never touched a makeup pallet nor brush in your entire life.
So, to help all of my fellow makeup-challenged friends out there, let’s explain contour, shall we? To sum it up it’s essentially what you do to practically change your face structure.
Want to make high cheekbones?
Contour.
Want to make a fake Adam’s apple to cosplay a male character?
Contour.
Want to change or sharpen your face shape?
Contour.
Basically, if eye makeup is king in the cosplay world, contour is the queen. But it can become quite confusing if you don’t know where to put the correct shades and how to blend. So that’s where I come in! Thus, stay tuned for that article, my friends! You’ll see the link pop up here when it does. Or if you’re already following this blog, you’ll get notified right away!
And last but not least we have probably the most annoying yet important-ish (Because I know a few tricks around it, and as I have said perfection is not cosplay, this is only a guide to help with technical work that some cosplayers do for their cosplays. Not needed for fun, just something to think about) But I digress once more.
Eyebrow Blocking
This is probably the bane of almost every cosplayers existence…Which is why I found a way around it occasionally. Only if you don’t want to go for exact. Anyhoo. Eyebrow blocking is what you do so you can cover up your eyebrows to the point of them being practically invisible. This helps you make eyebrows look exactly like the characters’.
My way around this when I don’t want to go through the whole process of glue, powder, glue again, and contour–it’s a long process trust me. I just simply go over my eyebrows–with the grain of the hair of course, with white eyeliner, smooth it in, and then use whatever eyeshadow color on it that matches the color of the characters’! Simple yea? But you’ll see how to do the long way soon enough my friends.
With that, I believe that covers terms! If you guys have any questions don’t be shy to ask! I’d be more than happy to answer! And expect the rest of the cosplay makeup series realllly soon!
Rebel out!
The Rebel Fae 