Cosplay male makeup tips!
So you want to make your cosplay look masculine? Why not!
After all, there are many beautiful male characters worth cosplaying. And doing the right makeup will help you accentuate that masculine look. Whatever gender you are, just know that with the right makeup techniques, you can look as beautiful as possible!
In this post, I’ll go over 5 cosplay male makeup tips you need to know! I’ll go over things such as techniques that will help you more look masculine, to the type of products you should use.
Without further ado, let’s get started!
1. Contouring is everything
Of all the cosplay male makeup tips you should know, contouring is by far the most important aspect of looking like a guy in cosplay! What is contouring, you ask? Contouring is a technique to sculpt your face so that it highlights the “good” parts. In this case, we want to use contouring to highlight the more masculine features of a face.
Primarily, you want to focus on contouring these three areas:
- Jawline (stronger jawline = more masculine)
- Nose (bigger/stronger nose = more masculine)
- Cheekbones (bigger cheekbones = more masculine)
In general, masculine faces are sharper and less soft. You should 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.
Once you use contouring to accentuate these features, you’ll definitely notice a huge difference!
2. How to shape your eyes for male cosplay makeup
Believe it or not; your eyes also play a pretty big role in terms of looking masculine. Fortunately, you have a lot of control over this, even if your eyes naturally look feminine (whatever gender you are).
If you are a guy, I would suggest not using any makeup for your eyelids, since it would probably look more feminine on you by adding any sort of makeup. But if you are a female or you’re a male that still wants to use makeup around your eye, then you generally want to go for darker colors as that will highlight your eyes and give a more masculine look.
Eyeliner comes in many forms, but I have found liquid pen eyeliner to be the best for defining cosplay eyes. You can get a super sharp cat eye and draw on details like lashes or tattoos. I use pencil eyeliners for my lower lash line because they are good to blend and smudge out. And I still use eyeliner for masculine looks, because it is important to define the eyes either way. For that I use reddish browns on myself and coffee browns/ eggplant purples on darker skin tones.
3. Shaping your eyebrows
Eyebrows are definitely another facial feature will help you look more masculine. Generally speaking, the shorter and smaller your eyebrows look, the more feminine it is. And the longer and more defined your eyebrows are, the more masculine you will generally look. So you can use makeup to make your eyebrows look bigger and longer, creating that masculine cosplay look.
Masculine eyebrows are usually much more blocky and thick. If not straight across, they have a sharp angle. Feminine eyebrows run the gambit of size and shape; and changing the shape of your eyebrows will change the framing of your face. Blocking out your eyebrows is a method used by cosplayers and Drag Queens forever, and it’s a little hard to master. There are a million tutorials on the internet to try, and practice, practice, practice.
Eyebrows change for every character; what color, shape, size are they? I start with a brow pencil and start making small hairs to fill out the shape. I set my eyebrows with a clear gel so the hairs don’t wander. Changing their color can be tricky, so I start with a white cream eyeliner to give myself a base. I use eyeshadow with an angled brush to pack on the color. You can always skip that step if you have light colored eyebrows. I sometimes use colored eyeliner, but find that the eyebrow method gets me bright colored results.
4. Don’t forget your lips!
You might think that your lips don’t have much to do with looking masculine, but in fact they do! In particular, if you’re using a lot of the lipstick products, it will make you look more feminine. So in terms cosplay male makeup, we want to avoid that.
The easiest way to accomplish this; don’t wear any lipstick or use any lip-products on your face at all (including lip balm). But if you’re doing a cosplay photoshoot, then perhaps having no lip products is not an option, since you want your male cosplay makeup to be a complete package (i.e. having nothing on your lips could look weird in the photos). Lip color makes sure you can see your mouth in photos.
Generally speaking, if you want to use lipstick while retaining a masculine look, try to find a tone that looks natural with the character. For natural “no makeup” looks, you usually choose a slightly darker shade than your own skin tone; taupe for masculine looks. Dark skin tones look amazing with chocolate browns and nudes. Even purples give amazing definition and classic reds are classic for a reason. Don’t shy away from color!
5. Avoiding feminine features and products to create masculine look
Finally, when it comes to cosplay male makeup and looking more masculine, you can simply do so by avoiding feminine features and products. Similar to male cosplay, there is also a distinct look when it comes to female cosplay. And there are also products you’d use to look more feminine.
Here’s a table showing just some of the things you can avoid if you’re going for a masculine look:
| Feminine Features | Feminine Products |
| Mascara (definitely a more feminine makeup) | Smaller jawline |
| Lipstick | Smaller eyebrows (or no eyebrows at all) |
| Blush | LONG eyelashes |
Summary
To summarize, here are the 5 male cosplay makeup tips you should know:
- Contouring is #1
- Eyes are important
- So are eyebrows
- Don’t forget about your lips
- Avoiding things that would make you look more feminine
And there you have it; 5 cosplay male makeup tips for you!
If you want more cosplay makeup information, check out these articles below:
I hope you found this post useful! If you have any other questions, or have any other tips on how to do the male cosplay makeup, 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!
