Cosplay female makeup tips!
No matter what gender you are, female characters are a huge part of cosplay. Whether it’s looking fabulous as Ahri from League of Legends, or Amber from Genshin Impact, there are so many amazing female characters to cosplay. And one great to way to look as great as possible is by using makeup.
What are the most important things you should know about female cosplay makeup? That’s what this article is about.
In this post, I’ll give you 9 cosplay female makeup tips you need to know! With this tips, you’ll be able looking as best as possible.
Without further ado, let’s get started.
1.Lipstick makes all the difference.
When it comes to cosplay makeup, wearing lipstick is one of the easiest ways to look more feminine. Lipstick by nature is more feminine, and it’s probably the easiest thing to apply! So when if your character has a distinct mouth color, then go ahead and put on some lipstick.
You can either use a liquid lipstick that has staying power; Sephora, KVD, and Maybelline all have excellent options in a range of colors. Or you can just use regular lipstick; although they tend to smudge and can bleed, they are more comfortable to wear. Just be sure to reapply the lipstick after smudging (e.g. after you’re done eating at a convention).
2. Contouring is essential.
For those who don’t know, contouring is a technique to sculpt your face so that it highlights the “good” parts, so to say (e.g. strong jawline, nice cheekbones). No matter which gender you are or trying to portray, contouring is a HUGE skill to have for makeup. It can really make you look like the character you’re trying to cosplay.
With feminine characters, you’ll generally want a smaller jawline since bigger jawline = more masculine. But it really depends on the character.
For feminine faces, contour the face in the shape of a 3: forehead, under cheek bone, chin. I like to keep my contour very light on my forehead, since my forehead is short and I don’t want to lose any of that real estate. I contour super heavily on my chin since I want it to be more defined than real life. Remember to blend into your neck to avoid harsh lines. Noses can be contoured to look more sharp, shorter, narrower, or crooked. Look at your character and decide how you want to portray them. Do they have blush on, or are they more stark and dramatic?
Masculine faces are sharper and less soft. I contour masculine faces more angularly. Think of an L shape for your chin, an angled \ shape for your cheek bone, and straight down your nose. Masculine brow bones are usually stronger and you can achieve this by contouring under your brows as well.
3. Concealer is your friend!
Concealer is a makeup product used to hide your not-so-flattering features on your face such as pimples, acne, scars, dark spots and more. It makes your face look soooo good! And if you use the right color for your skin tone, most people won’t notice you’re using concealer because it blends right into your skin.
As a male cosplayer myself who doesn’t use that much makeup, I will say that even I use concealer. It works great to hide some of my pimples and acne I have. And it’s so easy to apply on.
Concealing is also an important skill to have. Have a pimple? Conceal it. Have dark circles? CONCEAL IT. IT IS MAGIC LOL.
4. Cosplay female makeup does take long, so be patient and take your time!
I remember when I was talking to a friend about her casual Pokemon cosplay. I asked her how long it took for her to get ready for me. To my surprise, she told me she spent at least a couple of hours getting it ready.
I asked why it took so long.
She said that it was not the cosplay itself that took long. It was applying all the makeup for the Pokemon cosplay that took forever.
I was surprised but I learned something new that day. Female cosplay makeup can take a long ass time to finish! I’ve seen my female room mates spending a very long time in front of the mirror doing their cosplay makeup.
Male cosplay makeup can usually be quickly done; you may just be applying a touch of foundation and powder, and some concealer and that’s it! But with female cosplay makeup, you may be applying several different products, not to mention doing things for your eyes (which I’ll talk about later in this post).
So my point is, give yourself lots of time when it comes to female cosplay makeup! Especially if you’re preparing for a cosplay photoshoot (more info on that here).
5. How to use blush for cosplay makeup.
Blush can really put the finishing touches on your cosplay character! Especially if you’re cosplaying like a cute Anime character.
Blush colors are highly dependent on the character and their hair color. Are they light and bubbly? Maybe a bubblegum pink. Do they have fire engine red hair? An orange/ bronze might be perfect.
6. Your eyes are important for female cosplay makeup.
Doing makeup for your eyes can make a HUGE difference; just a shimmer of eyeshadow can completely transform your overall look. Especially in cosplay where Anime characters with big eyes are popular (if you want to learn which cosplays are popular in general, click here).
With that said, doing makeup for your eyes is definitely not easy! It requires a lot of practice and precision. So once again, take your time with it!
Here’s what Qfacepaint Cosplay had to say about eye makeup:
I start my eyes with a primer which helps to keep your eyeshadow from creasing. Then I use an eyeshadow shade the same as my skin-tone on my lid.
I follow the rules I learned from doing theatre makeup in school; to get the audience to see you, they need to be able to see your eyes. Keep the lid light, the crease dark, and highlight your brow bone.
To make your eyes look bigger, either use a white or your skin-tone color eyeliner on your lower waterline (the area closest to your eye) and contour your lower lid to give that doe eye effect. Blend using a small clean fluffy brush and use light circular motions. I have quite small-hooded eyes, so I use darker shades of brown and taupe to contour my lids and I blend it out into a cat eye shape for a larger eye illusion.
7. How to do eyebrows for female cosplay.
Eyebrows are another important aspect of female cosplay makeup. Shaping your eyebrows or even hiding them, can totally alter the look of your cosplay in a beautiful way!
Eyebrows are a key to your cosplay and they aren’t the easiest thing for everyone since some people have thicker brows and can’t just draw new ones on like that.
So we suggest using a glue stick over your brows first (it will make the surface of your eyebrows flat an easy to draw on), let it dry then use an orange concealer since orange cancels out brown and apply a good amount on, then use normal concealer that matches your skin tone and let that dry too!
Draw on your brows according to the color of your character’s hair and there you go! Drawing brows ain’t easy, so we suggest watching tutorials on life hacks to drawing your brows!
8. How to do cosplay makeup eyelashes.
Eyelashes are also another aspect of female cosplay makeup, so you may want to do those as well for your cosplay.
Look at your cosplay character, what kind of lashes do they have? Big and sultry, or round and cute? There are so many options for lashes, and they all do something different.
It’s important to curl your lashes, use mascara & eyeliner before putting on your lashes! It makes your real lashes blend with the fake ones. If you don’t do the first part and just put lashes on., you can see the awkward space between your real and fake lashes.
9. Have a good skincare routine
Last but not least, I wanted to talk about a skincare routine.
This is beyond my general expertise, and I’m no doctor or dermatologist. But in general, you want to have a good skincare routine so your face looks as beautiful as possible. You should look for your skin type (e.g. dry, oily skin) and use products that cater towards your skin.
I have many cosplay friends who are very well-versed in skincare, and it makes a HUGE difference in how they look with a proper skincare routine. Practice good grooming and cleaning skills. Don’t skip out on it!
I then do a 3-step cleanse: Toner, Serum & Cream. These products help my skin have an even/smooth/healthy complexion, repair damaged skin & moisturize it since I have very dry skin; I don’t want the makeup crack my skin during a shoot at all. If you have oily skin, I suggest using products that help with that; you don’t want your makeup melting off. Sometimes I replace Serum with a facemask if my skin needs serious repairing (if I look tired/dead, dark circles, lots of acne). You’ll want to use lemon facemask if your face looks dead. Cucumber, seaweed or aloe mask for dry skin or rice. Shea Butter or avocado mask for oily skin!!
-My friend’s skincare routine
Summary
To summarize, here are the 9 cosplay female makeup tips you need to know:
- Foundation is always important.
- Contouring is essential.Cosplay female makeup does take longer though.
- Concealer is a very useful makeup tool!
- Female cosplay makeup does take time, so be patient!
- How to use blush for cosplay makeup.
- Doing makeup for your eyes can make a HUGE difference.
- How to do eyebrows for female cosplay.
- Don’t forget about lashes
- Skincare is always important, no matter your gender.
And there you have it; 9 cosplay female makeup tips that’ll help you out immensely!
If you have any questions or suggestions, leave them in the comments below!
My name is Roger Senpai. I’m a cosplayer that’s been in the community for well over a decade now. I’ve traveled all over the world to Anime and Comic conventions and hosted my own cosplay events. Now I’m writing articles for new and experienced cosplayers like you to help inspire, save you money and improve your cosplays!
