I don’t think I need to tell you that I LOVE doing stuff with makeup for cosplay. But sometimes, you don’t even need to be caked in layers to get a certain result.
If you’ve seen any of my past tutorials, I like to get straight to the point and make things as clear and concise as possible. Mostly because, in learning how to achieve certain effects, I’ve had trouble trying to find easy-to-read tutorials in the past. So let me get right to it and share with you how you can alter and contour your face to look like a guy (if you’re not) or enhance your own features if you are a guy.
Yep, that’s me, Kind of a big difference, right? I mean, disregarding the fact that I’m covering my hair in a hat and wearing baggier clothes to hide my assets, I could probably pass off as though I were going to audition for a boy band, if those were still a thing. And I did this with only four pieces of makeup. That makes it super easy and inexpensive for men to dabble in putting their best face forward as well. Plus, the techniques are interchangeable between the genders.
I didn’t bother showing the first step in pictures, but start with priming your face and apply some foundation to achieve a nice, evenly toned complexion. Using an eyebrow powder, stick, or pomade (your choice on your preferred application method), fill in your brows but not too heavily. Ladies, this means filling in the arch you’ve sculpted. Generally speaking, men’s eyebrows do not have much of an arch and do not come to a defined, pointed taper on the outside like women’s eyebrows.
Next, lightly blend a cool brown (meaning grey-toned) eyeshadow onto your eyelid, starting from the tip of the inner brow straight down to the inner eyelid and along the lash line. You are basically making a triangle shape. This will add depth to the inner part of the eye, generally opposite of the part normally accented by more feminine styles of makeup.
Taking the same shade of eyeshadow, blend in colour along the side of your nose to define the shape. You’ll also want to use a larger brush and contour the sides of your face. Ideally, you’ll draw a straight line from the temple straight down to the sides of your mouth. A light brushing with your makeup and blending it out is the most important factor here. You don’t want the colour on your face to be too heavy or streaky.
Finally, take a nude lipstick or pencil and mute the normally flush colour of your lips. You want this look to basically look as though you have no makeup on at all.
I’d love to see how you do achieving this look, no matter what gender you are. If you have any other tips that might help that you want to share, post them in the comments!
J. Tanooki is a Contributor for AYBOnline.com. She has been a lover of cosplay for over ten years and regularly works on new and exciting cosplay projects. She actively posts about her cosplay plans, progress, and random shenanigans on her Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram. Her opinion is her own.
