Let's Talk About Cosplay Makeup for People who Hate Makeup

Do you need makeup when you cosplay? No! Absolutely nothing is required, and you should enjoy your hobby how you like.

That said, do I think people should wear makeup in cosplay? Unless there’s a strong reason to not do so, and there will always be such edge cases, yes, absolutely. This goes for all genders and presentations, not just women or people wanting to cosplay as women.

This is for two reasons, and neither has anything to do with fitting into beauty standards or being attractive. The first reason is that cosplay typically involves things you don’t normally wear and that are larger than life. Even if it’s a relatively toned-down costume, wearing wigs, strange clothing, and bright colors will wash you out. Makeup helps your face to not get lost under the costume. Almost every cosplayer has a story about doing their makeup, thinking it’s too much, putting on their wig, and then going back to add more makeup. Even if your costume and wig are muted colors, it will still be *more* than what you usually wear. If you don’t wear makeup in daily life, your face looks perfectly fine in that daily life. But as soon as you put on something that’s exaggerated, like a cosplay, your face won’t stand out how you presumably want it to.

The second reason is photography. In real life, our eyes see faces in a particular way, and in a camera, the lens sees faces in a different way. Cameras will often find blemishes, blood vessels, blotchiness, and other perceived flaws that are invisible in person, and this goes double for if bright photography lighting is used. Skin is slightly translucent, moreso the less melanin it contains, but even darker skin will show what is underneath when bright lights or photography flashes are used on it. Photography, especially with bright lighting, also tends to tone down the appearance of features, and makeup such as mascara can make it show back up on camera. ​

If you’re a makeup-skeptical cosplayer or just starting out and don’t want to buy a lot of makeup and learn to use it when you don’t use it outside of cosplay, know that you don’t need a lot of makeup or makeup skill and don’t need to spend a lot of money in order to counteract these effects. ​

I would recommend just a handful of products as the “bare minimum” for cosplay makeup: foundation, a lip product, and mascara. A slightly above bare minimum would add a concealer palette, a blush, and a nude eyeshadow palette (whatever nude means for you). A rainbow eyeshadow palette also comes in handy, if for nothing else but coloring your eyebrows. These don’t have to be expensive, but should be good enough quality that you won’t be fighting the products while learning to use them. Look for liquids in airless pumps and pressed powders that can be sanitized with sprayed alcohol to keep them lasting longer in between cons.

Foundation is what it sounds like – it’s the base that goes on before the rest of your makeup. This is a product that is the same color as your skin and makes your skin an even tone. Typically, this is applied with brushes, sponges, or fingers. These also come in multiple finishes and coverage levels, so test a few out (be sure to either buy from a place that gives samples or from a place that allows returns on opened makeup) to make sure it works with your skin type. I would recommend a satin finish and medium coverage as the best middle ground for working on most people. Check the color when worn in several lighting conditions and throughout a full day, if possible, as something the formula can break up o your skin, settle oddly, or oxidize into a different shade altogether.

Lips can often read as either too pale or too red on camera, so a lip product will help prevent this. If your character visibly wears lipstick, you’ll want to get a product that matches that color, but if not, look into MLBB (“my lips but better”) products. If you aren’t used to wearing lipstick, a lip tint or stain will last longer, but it won’t provide as much coverage and typically tends to be a bit more saturated in color just because of the nature of the product. There are several tints out of Asia (mostly Korea) that dry down in a way that won’t smear easily and are good MLBB shades, though these tend to cater towards people with lighter skintones. I would recommend satin finishes without much shimmer, especially if cosplaying male characters. Too matte can be drying or look too much like lipstick but will last longer, and too shiny will also look like lipstick and will fade faster.
If you mostly cosplay characters that don't wear makeup in canon, I would invest in a single MLBB shade that can work for all of them. If you tend to cosplay a lot of cuter girls, though, even if they don't appear to wear lipstick in canon, getting a soft pink shade or something a bit glossier can help sell the cute look. This is especially useful for idol type characters who would have a bit of sparkle to them even if their makeup is otherwise simple. A bonus: if you get a pinkish gloss with a bit of shimmer, you can apply a dab to your cheeks and eyelids to create a bit of extra shine. On the lids can be a bit sticky and slip around, but it can add to a cute look with fewer products. If you do go this route of using the same product on multiple areas, especially on your eyes, be sure to always apply it with a separate brush for each part of your face as to not potentially contaminate your eyes, especially if it's a wand type applicator rather than a squeeze tube. You can always wipe a hard plastic tip down with alcohol, but you can't easily sanitize a fuzzy textile applicator that always sits and marinates in the product!
Some of my favorite brands: Girlcult, Lily by Red, Romand, Etude, Peripera, and believe it or not, Revlon. Revlon keeps a lot of their vintage colors around, which can be great if you're doing a character from an 80s anime or such.

Despite most Asian beauty catering to lighter skin tones, some brands have shades, like Peripera's Ink Velvet in Cocoa Nude, that are a perfect MLBB on medium to deep skin tones. Sheered out with a bit of lip balm or even a bit of foundation to tone it down could also work to tone down lips for masculine styles on lighter skin tones.

Essence Lash Princess False Lash Effect (in regular or waterproof) is about 5USD and will create massive anime lashes.

Disposable spoolie brushes will help keep your mascara fresh. These are made of bamboo to make them a bit more sustainable than plastic.

Mascara is applied to the eyelashes to darken, lengthen, and/or thicken them. Different formula and brush types will have different effects. If cosplaying female characters, go with a black mascara, and use brown if you are cosplaying male characters or otherwise don’t want your lashes to be prominent. This will make your eyes more defined on camera, and a formula that looks fairly natural will enhance enough to have your eyes not get lost under your costume but won’t give you super prominent lashes. Of course, if you're doing a cute character or someone who otherwise has prominent eyelashes, go for a mascara that gives more oomph. I recommend getting cheaper versions or travel size versions and using a fresh wand each time without double dipping (so that nothing that has touched your eye goes into the tube) because mascara is the makeup product that needs to be replaced the most often due to bacterial growth. These methods, if you aren’t a regular wearer, will help keep the mascara fresher longer.

Blush is a cream or powder product that adds warmth and pinkness back to your skin after applying foundation. The heavier the foundation coverage, the more you need to add a bit of color back to restore the depth that skin has without makeup, as foundation is all one color, unlike real skin. Even just a little bit that isn’t super visible will help prevent you from getting washed out on camera. This is good to have but not entirely essential, since you can use a dab of your lip product as blush. If you cosplay male characters, look for a pink with brown undertones, and look for a brighter but neutral pink for female characters. Match this to the depth of your own skin tone so ensure it looks natural. Canmake cream blush in Clear Red Heart is one of the most universal blush colors I've ever seen, and while it's a strong color (neutral red pigment in a clear base), the way it imitates blood under the skin creates a natural flush. This is better for cuter characters.

Cream blushes can often also be used on the lips!

A concealer palette will have several colors of cream products that are thicker than foundation and allow you to better cover blemishes, dark circles, and other perceived flaws. This allows you to cover just the spots that need it, rather than packing on more foundation, which will end up looking cakey, or getting a heavier coverage foundation, which can also end up looking cakey or be too much if the rest of your makeup is minimal. Typically, a concealer palette will have a few unnatural colors in addition to a few skin tone colors. Look for one with colors in a depth that will match your own skin tone. These bright or pastel colors are for color correction, where you use the opposite color as the part you are trying to conceal (yellow, peach, or orange for dark circles, green for pimples, etc.). Mix the bright color with the skin tone closest to yours and use the smallest possible amount of this to cover what you want to before you apply your foundation. For light to medium skin tones, I really like the three color concealer palettes from The Saem. For darker skin, it’s a bit more expensive, but I’d recommend the Undercover Hoe palette from Kim Chi Chic. You can also purchase a few individual liquid concealers from a brand like La Colors and mix them as needed.

Nude eyeshadow palettes have several shades of brownish eyeshadow powder that are meant to coordinate with skin tones. These will range from light to dark. Such a palette can be used not just for eyeshadow, but also for contouring your face and also to create soft-looking eyeliner looks. I recommend one that has grey undertones, like the Romand Better Than Eyes palette in “Dusty Fog Garden,” especially if you have light skin. You don’t have to learn full drag eyeshadow or know what a cut crease is, but adding a bit of a lighter tone in the center of your lid, a medium shadow-like tone at your crease, and a bit of a third, even darker shade with a tiny brush along your lashline will look natural while defining your eyes. You will want three eyeshadow brushes at minimum: a dense brush for applying color, a fluffy brush for blending (basically sweeping the brush lightly back and forth to soften edges), and a small, flat brush for lining. If you get more heavily into cosplay eye makeup, you can add colors, glitter, and more complex shapes, along with actual eyeliner, but this is the one notch above total beginner look. Practice a bit before your event to make sure you are comfortable with putting things near your eyes and that you get the shapes correct. Following the shape of your own eye is a great starting point.

Almost anything with mostly browns from Juvia's Place would be a good, inexpensive choice for a nude palette for darker skin. Their Coffee Shop Palette is pictured here.

I have light skin and mostly use Romand's Dusty Fog Garden palette for nudes. The grey undertones mimic natural shadows.

Add paragraph about brushes and applicators

If you’re looking to get heavily into cosplay, let me also try to convince you that learning makeup is like learning any other crafting-type skill. Yes, makeup has a lot of cultural baggage around it, and I can understand if you want to avoid it for personal reasons. You don’t have to wear it outside of cosplay, I promise. But some people enjoy the way that it can help sell a look or a feeling in costume. Some people go full drag queen and use morphing their face to look as much like a character as possible as an artform. Some people like using beauty makeup to try to look how they feel their best is. Some people do the bare minimum to make their face hold up to photos and costumes. Others, like myself, are a mix of these or somewhere in between. I personally enjoy cosplay makeup as an artform, and like matching my makeup to what the character would wear, but stopping short of full face morphing. You don’t have to love doing makeup normally, but you have to admit that doing makeup well is a skill, and it’s a skill you can learn. ​