Con Notes: Cosplay by Strawberry Censor

So, first installment of my convention notes from the past school year! I went to 4 conventions (Anime iCon, Dickens Fair, a local con, and Kraken Con), and have notes from three of them. Yep! So to start off, here are my notes from Strawberry Censor's cosplay panel at iCon! (the main topic was makeup). I'm going to write my side notes in italics. 

• Always wear makeup, regardless of your gender or your character's. Why? Well...
• Pictures- it is easy to look washed out or for blemishes to show 
• Character accuracy- even if your character doesn't wear makeup, using a bit can make you look more like that character
• like if you have a round face, you can shade your face to make it look more square or whatever you need for said character.
• most characters (especially in anime) have flawless skin
• Makeup Basics
• Keep your face clean. This is not only helpful in cosplay, but in day to day life, as well ;)
• Moisturize! 

• Use primer [I have actually never done this and don't feel the need to. I honestly think it's a waste of time/money]
• Contouring/ highlighting your face can give a better illusion of the character your trying to cosplay (especially if they have a different face shape than you)
• Just don't over-do it. Too much can look caked on and "fake"
• this is also very useful for crossplaying. You can easily make yourself look more masculine/feminine with the right shading
• Where to get makeup?
• Sephora
• Urban Decay (they have a 120 color eyeshadow set that is great for cosplay)
• Really there is no need for brand name makeup, local drugstore makeup works just fine!
• Face
• Lots of concealer can cover up droopy eyes
• an inverted triangle of concealer helps hide dark circles
• Potatoes or cold spoons help get rid of puffey eyes. Just stick the spoons in the freezer overnight, and hold them over your eyes in the morning
• Simulate puffy eyes by using lots of eyeliner and then smearing it a little
• Use a spray to seal makeup
• Use liquid latex for scales
• Doing a zombie? Use diluted jello mix, let it dry, and then make it crack.
• Eyes
• Highlight your eyes
• It draws focus to your eyes, and helps to avoid making them look strange in photos
• you can use makeup to narrow/widen your eyes, which is especially helpful with anime characters.
• Eyelashes
• thin lashes look more natural
• larger eyes means you can wear more lashes
• they can either make your eyes pop or make them look more narrow
• it is more comfortable to put false lashes a little higher up than you're actual lashes
• as i am typing this i wonder "why do we call them lashes? it makes no sense..."
• Using Contacts
• Great not only for changing your eye color, but can also make your eyes look bigger
• You can order prescription contacts from some companies
• Get a prescription if you are getting contacts. Most problems that you hear of from color contacts don't come from the contacts themselves, but because they don't fit right.
• Effects contacts can add a lot to a costume (such as white mesh or full color, whatever fits your character) but they can be hard to see out of, and uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time
• Lips
• To create the "perfect cupid's bow", here is a good tutorial
• To make lips look thinner
• use concealer to make your lips relatively invisible
• color darker in the center, in order to draw attention to the colored part, not the concealed area
• To make lips look fuller
• line lips just on the outside of your lip line
• highlight on upper lip (especially cupids bow)

So here I combined both- used concealer over my whole lip, and then used liner around part of my lip to create the "porcelain doll" look
• Other
• Guy Makeup
• Thicken your eyebrows. I personally use an eyeliner pencil a shade darker than my eyebrows
• No eyeshadow or blush
• a bit of eyeliner (NOT A LOT) helps the eyes stand out
• Nude lip! Use a bit of concealer if you want!
• Eyelash glue is great for not only keeping eyelashes on, but putting any other objects (such as rhinestones) on your skin!
• Coconut oil or egg yolk work as moisturizer
• Use brown sugar + olive oil to exfoliate/ moisturize
• Make a face mask out of egg whites
• To get rid of stretch-marks / scars: put bio oil over the marks after showering

Alright, there you go, the first set of con notes! Hope this was helpful for any of y'all that cosplay!

~Shaak