Cosmetic Cosplay Tips!

I said almost 2 years ago I was going to start doing more tutorials and progress logs. Well…here I am finally trying to pick up on that promise.  I’ve had a lot of questions in person about how I curl my wigs. So I figured this was as good a place as ever to start! Image heavy under the cut!

Wig Styling: Working with Foam pt 3 - Wrapping Flat Objects and The Wonders of Clear Glue

Wow I sure did forget to post this in a timely manner!  This is the third part of our guide to working with wigs and foam, and lately it’s been my favorite!  This is a great method to use on wigs like Ivysaur, which require a lot of clean, flat-ish shapes.  While I could technically use the hot glue wrapping technique covered in part 2, this is a bad choice for a number of reasons.  First, the edges of my object are not hidden, which means I’d have a big, visible hot glue mess at the edge of my weft.  Second, it’s difficult to keep hair taut on a flat or gently curved object, so I’d have a hard time keeping the tension up while gluing the hair down.   And third, this method is just plain nicer looking.

Instead I used 100% tacky glue on this wig.  I recommend this method whenever possible because it is VERY clean, very secure, and mistakes are easily fixed.  This is a difficult method to use on a bun or round object because you’re fighting against gravity, but you could always use tacky glue after hot gluing down your edges.  Instructions under the cut:

[ Working with Foam part 1 / part 2 / part 3 ]

[ More tutorials on Tumblr ]

[ More tutorials on Patreon ]

OK so I posted this on twitter yesterday and it got A LOT of traction and my friend reminded me that maybe I should Post it here in case someone reposts without credit so!! I’m the creator of this tutorial thank u if this does get thrown around without credit ;~;

Wig Hack Wednesday #7!

So, many of you guys are probably familiar with the wire+tape method to make drill curls in wigs. But did you know you can also use wire+tape for spikes? You can get more natural-looking spikes that won’t flop over time with this method. And you won’t have to spend hours glueing hair down on a foam core. This method is good for long spikes that stick outward like Axel from Kingdom Hearts, or Aigami from Yu-Gi-Oh! In this tutorial, I used a Vegas base wig in Dark Blue from Arda Wigs Here are the steps:

- Section off hair for the spike. Cut a piece of floral wire in the length you need for the spike plus extra 1 inch (you will know why later). And sandwich the wire between two strips of clear heavy-duty packaging tape. Trim the tape down to long triangle shape - Divide the hair you parted eariler into two sections and clip them away (make sure the top section has more hair than the bottom). Stick the end tip of the wire into the wig cap and have it poke out below. If you need to, use your shears to punch a small hole in the wig cap so the wire can poke through - Bend the end tip of the wire up into the main wire to create a triangle leg that will help support the wire’s position. Hot glue part of the wig cap to the wire inside the leg to secure it - Tease the inner layer of hair from each half of the spike with a teasing brush or fine-tooth comb - Comb out the outer layer of the spike to clean it up. Put glue on the wire and press down the top section of the spike first - Do the same for the bottom section of the spike - Trim more layers near the tip of the spike to create more dimension - With a flat iron on medium heat, flip the end of the spike to shape it, hold until it cools - Comb the outer layer of the spike, spray it in place with Got2B spray, and use Got2B glue or Tacky glue to secure the tip

Throwback Thursday styling tips! Since I wasn’t feeling well and missed the chance to upload this week’s Wednesday Wig Hack, a friend of mine suggested that it would be a cool idea to talk about some wigs I have styled in the past. I have gotten questions about how to style “wavy spikes” like I did for my Dio (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure) wig so here is a little demo. You can also use this technique for characters like Nagito Komaeda (Dangan Ronpa), or Lancer / Diarmuid (Fate/Zero). :)

- First, you want to make your spike. Follow countless of spiking tutorials online for this step. :P Don’t apply too much hair product though because we will use heat on it so it still needs to be sort of soft and flexible - Use a flat iron, with the medium heat setting (I used 380 F for this), grab the spike where you want the wave to start. Bend you wrist so that the spike point downwards. Keep in mind, for this kind of wavy spikes, the pattern of wave will be down>up>down - Let go of the flat iron after a few seconds and immediately use your fingers to catch the spike to hold its shape until it cools down. (Use gloves if you’re sensitive to heat. My hands can’t feel a thing because I’m used to heat tools) - Go at it with the flat iron again! Grab the spike a good distance from the first wave, around 1 inch and a half for me. Then flip your wrist so that the spike points upwards - After a few seconds, let go of the flat iron and catch the spike with your hand again. If you want extreme curve near the tip, you can push the spike in towards the wig. Once it cools down, it should hold the shape - Now you can go in and “puff” up the spike by squeezing the sides. I use Got2B spiking glue on my fingers to lightly coat the spike throughout - Touch up the tip by adding another wave with the same steps as before. Use Got2B spray to seal the style. And you’re done! (Just kidding you have to do like 30 other spikes. Good luck 👌👌 )

thanks so much !! you’re so sweet. sorry it took so long to answer you. i’ve been very busy and saved this for when i was planning on doing another lapis makeup test. thankfully, that night was tonight! so here’s a quick n dirty breakdown of how i did this! 

first thing’s first: you may have heard of Snazaroo face paint on some cosplay forums. it’s cheap and easily available at michael’s crafts, so it’s very tempting. refrain from temptation. Snazaroo looks terrible. It’s meant for children’s face painting for parties, not for a whole-face makeup base. 

personally, i use Ben Nye creme color in Sky Blue for my face and Kryolan’s Aquacolor in the shade B1 for my neck/chest/skin that touches clothing. a friend told me he really likes Mehron’s paradise face paints, but i haven’t personally tried those yet, though it is a water-activated product like the Kryolan one I use!

and as always: invest in ben nye sealing spray and ben nye neutral setting powder. we all must learn from the homestuck fandom’s mistakes.

i’ll include basic steps and photos under the cut, so read on!