Galaxy Fairy: Lessons Learned

Don’t wear glass accessories

• Being a fairy, one photographer very reasonably asked me to jump in the air to catch the fae in motion! When I did, the lovely air plant in Spanish moss that had been living in a tear drop terrarium leapt right off my hip and shattered all through the leaves. (worry not, we scavenged all the shards out!)
• The shock of feeling such a thing happening threw off my facial expression too, so I look less “happy in the air” and more “Eek! Shark!” Not worthwhile, my friends. 

Don’t try for two events in one day 

• Getting up really early to load on all your body paint on a weekend is not relaxing – it’s super exciting and fun! If you have full weekday schedules like you do, you probably enjoy weekends as a time to catch up on sleep…
• One event, lasting an action-packed 5 hours, has that make-uping 3 hour start, plus driving and hour or so each way, so you end up having a physical and emotional 10 hour day at least!
• The second event would not need the up-making, but would require another round of commuting, and cost another $50 for tasty treats, and by then, I could’ve kept up the fiery fairy spunk, but it would not have been my best face. I’m sorry we didn’t make it to Art All Night with the troopes of circus folk, but we did feel better for passing out with chamomile tea and some Rick & Morty cartoons. 

Avoid lip stick and mouth painting if possible

• I did this right and will try to do it right again next time! Slurping up oysters and swilling down beestings is sloppy work for a lip-sticked moue, and I’m happy to not have fallen into the touch up trap. 

 

Blue Fairy: Lessons Learned

Lesson 4: Get picture of your beautiful wings!

1. Body painting ain’t as hard as I thought!
   
   
   Use Cream Paints! I will never buy water based face paints again!!
   Applies to skin better
   
   
   Blends with other colors and mediums (like eyeliners and lipsticks you may use to augment your face paints)
   
   
   Doesn’t dry out in its container, like traditional water-based face paints, which may otherwise result in panic and despair at 7am on a Sunday morning…
   
   Stays on skin longer and looks better generally
   
   Get someone to help you paint those hard to reach places like your back. Thank Yous to my handsome husband Billy will never cease, and this help is one of the reasons.
   
   All sorts of makeup products can interplay with face paint! I had a host of eye liners and shadows, some lip liners and sticks, and if there’s a part of your face or body that should be left your natural skin tone, use concealer to blend in.
   
   Keep better track of tanning…I didn’t think I had tanned over the summer at all until I was standing in front of my mirror trying to make myself blue! I’m now applying my SPF moisturizer all over those exposed bits of body we often forget about – clavicle, back of neck, forearms, and shoulder tops. This is probably a best practice anyway – ward off the cancer.
   
   Here’s the best tutorial – you shouldscope it out. 
2. Fairies are an almost universal creature!
   
   
   

   Everyone I talked to, had a different theory on who and what the costume was! Because I didn’t have any preconceived notions about specifically mermaid or nymph or fairy, I was able to make everyone’s guesses correct! It was great to see all the parents be affirmed for the “correct” guesses in front of their awestruck children. Super uplifting and life-is-good affirming.
3. Wing assembly should take the actual act of dressing into account.
   
   
   No one can drive and wear giant, inflexible wings at the same time, so neither can I, so super handsome Billy had to help me into my wing & bra harness in a handicapped porta-potty at the Ren Faire. Those things are graciously spacious.
   
   
   Front clasp bras are hard to find nowadays.
   
   
   Pushup bras are overkill when you’re wearing not much more than paint, cellophane, and flowers.  

Baltimore ComicCon: Scarlet Witch and Black Widow

Joining us yesterday at Baltimore were Spiderman, Aqua Lad, and an Evil Morty.

This con was full of amazing art. We bought so many delicious art things. It's only a matter of time before our walls are all filled up. Truly, we're going to look like members of the Victorian Royal Academy.

Tragically, SW and BW missed the costume competition, by 10 minutes. No matter, we'll get there. We saw a lot of great costumes there -- several good Batmans and Darth Vaders, one Dr. Strange , one SPECTACULAR Tank Girl, and so many Harley Quinns (we counted well over 100) that SW lost a bet and had to buy everyone shots.

Our first cocktail was a Gin Cooler -- gin + "cooler", I suppose. It must be something like cranberry and sunshine because they were light pink and bright. It had ice, good for outdoor relaxation, and costume watching. We had front row seats to ppl watching as they exit.

Lessons Learned:

• Make a meet up plan in case of separation!
• Know when the Meet Ups and Competitions are before hand.... 
• Bring cash
• Make sure your biz card is understandable English -- that cocktail glass was messing ppl up! Is it an "I" or "Y" or not even a letter... There is only one answer that makes any sense, but that did not stop ppl from not getting it.... 
  

Scarlet Witch: Lessons Learned

Full outfit including hand magic

1. Reusable is the best!
   
   I wear this dress to work, these necklaces with almost all my normal day outfits, Looking forward to wearing the super badass red and black leather jacket all through the fall!
   
   Because of the coloring, the jacket could definitely double for a Harley Quinn costume.
   
   The only thing that isn't immediately reusable is the wrist cuffs....and surely there's going to be a costume that needs some.
   
2. Simple is often best.
   
   The red magic hands turned out being just a great length of 75 cent netting from Walmart wrapped around all my fingers, hand, and wrist.
   
3. Must learn how to make a lace wig out of regular cheap-y one...
   
   This wig is deceptively simple – kind of wave and long single shade of brown, but in reality I spent two days trying to naturalize it and it still wasn’t up to what I wanted….
   
   
   First I soaked it in fabric softener, as many cosplayers before me have recommended. DO NOT do this with scented softener….unless you really really really like the scent. I have learned to despise the smell of pine trees.
   
   Then I got into the cutting -- a lot of the front, and feathered all around the full head to make it look more natural – and plucking – to make the part look natural.
   
   Sewing several of the front strands back away from the face and onto the lace netting at the ears made it look like I'd been playing with it all my life....
   
   Lastly, I pulled out some of my natural (and naturally blonde) sideburn hairs loose from the wig cap and colored them brown with my brown pencil. Seems anal, maybe, but gave a subliminal reality to it!
   
   I’ve looked all over the internet since this point to try and find a tutorial on how to make a lace front wig out of a cheap one and haven’t found one. I’ll experiment on my Scarlet Witch to see if I can develop one. Hopefully it’ll get posted here soon! 

   

   Not a ad finished product, but it'll definitely be better next time!! Stand by....