Disclosure: We are NOT makeup artists. Not even close. The following article documents a series of experimentations that have occasionally led to successes (and a few “Sorry, did I accidentally blind you? My bad” moments.)
Cosplay, for us, is all about the details. The closer you get, the more we want you to discover. Whether that is in the form of hand-brushed paint work, embroidered hems, or hidden foam bits, the goal is to make the costume an adventure for the eyes.
With that, the adventure continues into makeup, prosthetics, wigs, and hair. Like so many cosplay-related skills, we entered this realm with a limited skill set but a lot of excitement and ambition. Oh, and a ton of beauty makeup accumulated over the years, with a sprinkle of Halloween stuff. So, one could say we had enough on hand to make a mess and accidentally make something cool.
Since then, we’ve talked to experts who recommended products and techniques. We’ve watched a LOT of YouTube videos. We’ve tried and failed. Then tried again and got a little better. When we couldn’t find a “pro” option, we looked around the workshop and tried stuff that DEFINITELY was not meant to be used on skin. And lived (?) to tell the tale.
Fast forward a bit and now we’re playing around with “prosthetics”. And yes, that word is in quotations for a reason. In no rational world would anyone use that word for what we were doing. We glued EVERYTHING to our face — foam, plastic, actual glue — and hoped for the best.
Then, we spent a little time with actual makeup experts who told us about Pros-aide adhesive, rigid collodion, 3rd Degree Silicone modeling compound, and other crazy cool materials that helped us jump to the next level.
It’s a work in progress, to be sure. And we are continuing to challenge ourselves and learn new techniques. And isn’t that what this crazy cosplay world is all about?
