Thursday, April 28, 2011

Tips & Tricks for Cosplay : Skin Care and Critical Basics!

Please do know these are the tips and tricks I usually do for myself. Whether you agree, want to do, is all up to you, I am just sharing what I feel is important when you attend conventions and/or cosplay.

For everything listed here, always make sure you have washed your hands and it's clean! That is a very important step to everything you do.

1. Basic Care :
(If you take care of your skin regularly, you do not have to worry about this step. However if you are lazy/forget/too busy try your best to take care of your skin at least the week of before a convention. We all know how tired we can get from sweatshopping the night before and even the whole weeks before a convention! A few things you can do to really boost up your face.)
-Always wash and clean your face with an exfoliating face wash! You don't do it both day and night, you can choose a regular face wash for whichever works best for you. But you want to do it at least once or twice a week depending how your skin type is. However, yes, washing your face is so important! It's not something you should be skipping out on, it's like brushing your teeth, you don't want to be skipping out on it.
-Next is apply moisturizer lotion! I don't care if you are female or male. Everyone can apply moisturizer to their skin to take care of it. Honestly, I feel that the bias of only women taking care of their face is kind of outdated by now... especially all of the "Men" products now a days that is produced just for males. Best is to choose by which type of skin you have, dry skin/combination/oily etc. Make sure you buy both face washes and moisturizer lotions that is fitted for "you" if you get a wrong type it'll have an opposite effect in helping you. (We don't want that.)
-Before going out to the con, apply sun block lotion or even just moisturizing lotion that has UVA/UVB block all over exposed parts of your body. Many people believe only when the sun is out, that is when you will need protection. Technically, it isn't true, you can block sunburns yes, but everyday you will still get the same outdoor exposures which causes Age Spots / Redness etc. If you care about your skin (and don't want to cover up with make up all the time.) Using caution is always good, plus lotion is always good for your skin anyways, just be sure to choose the right one for you.
-Every day at the convention, please remember to apply perfume/cologne/deodorant. This should be self explanatory, you don't like smelling sweat and odor, and you don't want to be the one people are avoiding either. So just before you leave your hotel room door, remember to apply enough for the day! (If you can carry it, it'll be better but if you use an all day one, it should last you.)

TIP : If you are one of the all nighters, use a mask before the con! There are many to choose from but using one before a con really gets you prepped before the big event. Always drink enough water even if you are sweatshopping! And most importantly remember to eat your breakfast before a con, even if it’s just a bread, egg, fruit and nuts. You want something in your body to start the day, or else you’ll be tired before the end of the day.


CRITICAL : Always take a bath/shower! No one can look awake if you haven’t showered or bath for a few days. (not even deodorant can save you…)

2. Wig :
-Putting On A Wig : I don't remember how many people has asked me before, but it is so important to wear wigs with wig caps. It keeps your wig sturdy on your head more and it keeps your wig more clean vs. if you were to wear it without a wig cap. (Especially if you wear wigs without washing your hair...)
-When taking off the Wig : Please do not put it back into a bag or store it on wig head right after you took it off your head. I can't explain how much wigs actually need to breath after it's been on your head for the day. I usually lay it flat on a clean table or cloth when take it off so it can breath before I put it back into a bag.

TIP : After a while for a few wears, be sure to give your wigs a bath. I usually use wig shampoo and a clear tub to clean them. Then let them air dry. I usually wash them after 5 wears or judge by stench. Do NOT comb them though when it’s fully wet. Always make sure they are completely dry before storing them again.

3. Make Up
-It’s super important that you have your daily face moisturizer on before you put any make up on. (Yay if you have one for UVB/UVA protection.) If you are prone to acne, dab a little of your favorite acne cream in the spots you have acne before applying make up.
-For long wearing make up all day, I really suggest in wearing primer for both face and eyelid primers for long wearing make up. There are plenty of cheap good drugstore primer if you are on a budget. I can suggest that if there are requests for that. (Maybe show you differences if you are interested.)
-If you do not own primers, I suggest a setting powder to be your next alternative for your face and for your eyeliner you can use matching dabs of eye shadow to set your eyeliner. I would suggest setting sprays last because usually it's more cost effective just using things that can last you longer vs. liquid sprays. (This is purely my opinion. You can totally love setting sprays if that is what fits you most.)
-Also remember to keep your lips moist. Always have a good lip balm to condition your lips, there are many drugstore and department store brands out there. Find out what works best for you!

TIP : There are many brand make ups, always follow what your skin type is, this is also just a basic list of tips. I will be more in depth in videos and/or upon request and people asking. My honest opinion, Drugstore  brands and Department brands all have their goods and bad. Just because something is more expensive doesn't mean it's good and things that are much cheaper doesn't mean it's bad. This works visa versa too. I am no expert but I have tested many brands and learned from friends who are make up artists so I have my own set of experiences. Things that work for you, may not work for others, so always remember to keep an open mind when someone strikes an opinion about make up.


CRITICAL : When you are done for the day, take off all your make up. Use what works for your face the most for make up remover and wash your face extra if you have to. You do NOT ever want to sleep with make up on your face. This is something so important that people sometimes forget.

4. Contact Lenses :
-If you get contacts fresh from those tubes/boxes remember to at least soak the contacts in contact water hours before you wear them. I do not suggest people sticking it into their eye once it comes out of the fresh package.
-When your contacts are stored, I always tend to like giving them a clean every 3-4 months. The water usually gets bad after a while and to promote the longevity for them I clean the case and contacts with contact water.
-Always clean your contacts with contact water before you wear them and after you wear them. You're sticking these in your eyes, it's not something you should just do whatever to it. Please do NOT use tap water to clean your lenses. Tap water has a lot of bacteria that can harm your contacts over time and it doesn't clean it.

TIP : Before putting contacts in after you clean it, I usually like putting a drop of contact lenses eye drop on the lenses and make sure that drop gets all over the lens by moving it with my fingers. When I do this, I noticed I feel little to no discomfort when placing them in my eye. It also lets it last in my eye much longer compared to when I put it in normally. I have really sensitive eyes so I have tried many ways to make it most comfortable for me haha. This is my favorite thing to do during the contact process because it actually feels good (imo).


CRITICAL : Usual contact wearers know how critical it is to take out contacts before you sleep, but since a lot of cosplayers use for fashion, may not know everything. Take those out before you sleep. There has been incidents where the contacts has risen into the eyes causing perm. damage. You don't want to try your luck on that.

5. Other Important Etiquette :
-If you can, always carry a Anti-Bacteria wipes/bottle hand gel. It's not about being super nit picky clean, but you know how many people there are at a convention. (and conSARS) You don't want to be the victim of getting sick/ill right after you had a fun con. Just staying safe before you eat and drink goes a long way.

Thank you for reading this post all the way! I hope this helped some who wanted to hear some advice about conventions/cosplay in general. If anyone has questions you can always feel free to ask me. I'll be back with more updates soon! 

No comments:

Post a Comment