Our 1st Makeup Tutorial Blog

    After taking 3rd place in the Stockton-Con costume contest a month or so ago as Poison Ivy & Mr. Freeze, and now hosting a workshop on “Cosplay Makeup/Bodypaint” for KrakenCon this coming weekend (here's the link to the panel: http://bit.ly/1xiAIPG) – we want to share a little of what we’ve learned about our makeup application over the course of evolving our Poison Ivy & Mr. Freeze makeups. 

Still awed that we placed at all. Such great cosplays there!

    
    We are still so honored to be asked by beginning to well known cosplayers about what we use, how we use it, & our techniqes. We were astonished to hear from a few people that when they’ve reached out to other cosplayers they’d get no response or that the cosplayer wouldn’t share with them their “secrets.” If you read this and have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to us via our facebook page. We only want to share our experiences! 


1. You will need to try multiple types of makeup – unfortunately. 

    Makeup is not a 1 size fits all deal. Some makeup brands work better for other people’s skin types & so on. Doing a small “skin test” is helpful to check for allergies, but when it comes to seeing whether the makeup will last for 4-8hrs…we kinda just experimented with each event/con we’ve attended basically – and there may be failures SO BE WARNED. The 1st time we introduced these cosplays at NYCC 2013 Sean used a MAC chromacake makeup while I used a different brand. After HOURS of being in makeup his was pretty great, while mine was flaking off – I was unhappy. Now I’ve shifted into MAC chromacake as well and so far so good.

* We are both using MAC chromacakes, which are sold in select MAC stores. BUT you can get these cakes online for WAAAYYY cheaper. Try eBay & Amazon –give yourself time for longer shipping timeframes. But go to the stores that hold your desired makeup brands (you don’t have to use MAC) to do initial “color” test(s) for color & allergies.

We currently are using & loving Our MAC chromacakes.
But YOU don't have to use MAC. Try the other brands out there. 

2. Teach yourself how to stipple, brush, stipple, brush, etc. 
   

 Personally I think the actual application is up to the person, but from our own experimentation to get the best coverage we do a combination of stippling, brushing, stippling, then brushing. You will need the makeup sponge that works best for your type of makeup and a good makeup brush (which we decided to splurge on & get) to help with coverage. Sean has actually gotten very good at giving us nearly FULL COVERAGE. You can even try giving yourself different types of texture by being creative with the way you stipple & brush. This is very important as we’ve seen how the makeup eventually is wiped off by my wig & vines, so this last time we tried a whole NEW trick.  Which is the next tip!

* We are both using MAC makeup brushes, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find a good theatrical makeup brush somewhere else online. But we have learned that the better the quality of the tools, the easier makeup application becomes. 

* ”Stippling” for me may not be the official makeup term…but stippling to me is using a sponge and quickly pressing the makeup covered sponge onto yourself over and over again to cover your desired area with makeup. Here's a quick instagram video clip of me doing this technique.

3. Try layering with CHEAP DOLLAR STORE HAIRSPRAY. Layer of hairspray (to help the skin become tacky), layer of makeup, layer of hairspray, layer of makeup, layer of hairspray, continue.

    I’m sure makeup gurus out there will give us flack for this, but I researched the hell out of it and didn’t see anything that said I’d die from a few sprays of hairspray…so we tried it for Stockton Con (combined with light powdering at the end with regular makeup setting makeup from a drugstore). The other plus to this tactic is that dollar store hair spray is A DOLLAR, while makeup fixants are super duper tiny bottles that cost from $25-$60! We were very happy with how our makeup felt, looked, & how long it lasted! We felt more “dry” than previous times, our makeup had a more matte look, and it lasted for a whopping 12 HOURS! Mind you I’m actually counting our 1 ½ drives up and back to Stockton, con activity, and even partying after the con- all in 90-degree heat! Even though this worked for us it may not work for everyone, so you’ll want to test this on a small area first (allergies and such) like your arm and see how it feels, looks, & lasts.  

WARNING: For those who need to hear this, DO NOT do this on a regular basis. Wearing ANY makeup for long periods of time is never healthy, so please be smart and take care of your skin on a regular basis. 

*We are all for finding the cheap real life ways to make things work for any of our cosplays (we’re not getting paid to do this, we have a son, money doesn’t grow on trees) and this trick worked for us, but we plan to also pony up some dough to try out one of the expensive makeup fixants to be able to share the difference.

* Between my costume/wig wiping against my makeup & Sean having over active sweat glands, this trick really helped to maintain our makeup for the 12 HOURS we were in our cosplays! We barely had to do any touch-ups! We actually entered the after party’s costume contest and our makeup was still amazing – at 12AM. We were also thrilled to receive a 1st place best duo prize at the after party. ☺

Yes, this photo was taken at about midnight that day!

4. Highlights & shadows! That means having multiple complimenting colors for your makeup! 

    I do not spend billions on my makeup, I actually have a crazy amount of random makeup of all price ranges. But for any of my makeups I try to make sure I pull together my base color (for Ivy I use 2 colors to reach my fav color of green), a darker color for the shadows, and a brighter/lighter color or even a highlight powder for the highlights - these could easily be cheap eye shadows. Highlights go on the raised parts of your face & body (or where you want it to LOOK raised) and the shadows go on the recessed parts of your face and body (this could help give you muscles if you wanted). The parts that seem to make the most difference for photos are: your cheeks, nose, eyes, and jawline.  

    The stronger the highlights and shadows, the better your photos (even if you think you look silly in the mirror). Flash tends to make you look flat/washed out so take this chance to sculpt your face into something that will be seen from any angle & light. 

HIGHLIGHTS: bridge of nose & nostrils, tops of cheek bones, inner corner of eyes (this helps brighten the eyes), under and above your eyebrows, your chin, and your jawline (all the way up to where your ear meets your jaw)

SHADOWS: sides of nose, hollows of your cheeks (suck in your cheeks to find this placement), the outer crease in your eye (find your orbital bone and that recess is the shadow), the area right under your jawline and chin



* Don’t forget to blend out the sides of these highlights and shadows! Treat your makeup like art, and/or as if you’re painting any of your pieces of armor – those techniques are the very same!

    These are the major tips I’ll share today, and maybe one day I’ll do a longer video to show our full transformations. I hope this is helpful, and we are always more than happy to collaborate on ideas, suggestions, & cosplay brainstorms! 

Share with us your makeup projects on our Facebook page: Dynamic Cosplay Couple 

Can’t wait to see what you all accomplish! Good luck!

<3 Super Lani