Rituals is a monthly column that appears on the obscure beauty routines and sacred acts of self care that different professionals practice as they prepare for a typical event. Born on the South Coast, West Sussex, 22-year-old aspiring model Roxanne Manuel has been cosplaying seriously for 3 years now. From applying her look – which may involve painting her entire body and applying rather a lot of prosthetic glue – to how she chooses her characters, here she shares her experiences. 

Growing up, I used to be very much into video games and the occasional comic and loved the thought of dressing up as my favourite characters. I believe having an older brother helped. I used to look at him playing video games, eagerly waiting till I used to be in a position to play them myself. 

Like most women my age, I used to decorate up as fairies and mermaids. But I’d all the time add in a knight’s sword or helmet in order that I used to be a badass, warrior mermaid. Halloween was my favourite time of 12 months – still is – and I’d think all 12 months about what costume I’d wear to go trick or treating.

I went to my first Comic Convention with my parents and brother on the 2010 London MCM within the Excel Centre, once I was around 12. Each convention is barely different but normally there are panels, celebrity guests, cosplay competitions and a number of stalls full of wonderful stuff to purchase. At this convention there have been people dressed as Spiderman and Black Cat – all childhood favourites of mine. I loved it a lot I ended up cosplaying at the identical event two years later with a friend. I remember throwing together random stuff from my wardrobe. It barely looked like a fancy dress, it was awful. But I enjoyed every minute. Once I made my first costume a couple of years later, based on Lady Sylvanas from World of Warcraft, it was so rather more fulfilling. The pride in wearing something I had made completely by myself made the entire experience so rather more fun.

Nowadays, each time I prepare it’s a special routine. It totally is dependent upon the character I’m cosplaying. That said, within the cosplay community, we do have a few funny ‘guidelines’ for after we go to conventions, reminiscent of: use a number of deodorant and an honest wig is every part. I normally use lace front wigs to make sure it’s probably the most natural looking, which implies quite a lot of time is spent on gluing it to my head. I believe the longest it has ever taken me to prepare is once I cosplayed as a personality called Widowmaker from the sport Overwatch. It took about 4 to 5 hours, but that was because I needed to do full body paint.

Setting spray or hairspray can be vital, in order that your makeup doesn’t slide off. The identical for using talc powder to set your body paint. The issue with dressing as characters that aren’t real is that the costumes might be very impractical, so there are quite a lot of clever securing, body taping, and gluing processes that go on behind the scenes. Considered one of my favourite products that I take advantage of is Prosaide – a prosthetic glue that I take advantage of to stay my wigs on. It lasts all day and night. I also love Eyelure false eyelashes.

A part of the enjoyment I get from making my costumes is ensuring they’re accurate – the sheer triumph of ending a fancy dress that you just’ve been working so hard on. It’s that moment where you are taking a step back and have a look at what you’ve made. It might probably be really overwhelming, however it’s a tremendous feeling, which continues if you wear it for the primary time on the convention. Essentially the most difficult part is the actual making, where you is perhaps using recent techniques and run into obstacles. That might be very frustrating. Getting the makeup right may also be frustrating. Everyone’s face is different, so it will possibly be hard to make yourself appear like a personality that has been portrayed by an actor or actress. With some characters I prefer to use my on a regular basis makeup, because it already suits them or else simply to feel more comfortable.

Every character I cosplay feels different, but I are inclined to gravitate towards the badass heroines and powerful female leads. I like the sensation I get when cosplaying them, it’s very empowering. Mystique is one in every of my favourite characters. She’s sexy, badass and powerful. The primary time I wore her was around August 2017. When entering into my Mystique costume, I normally start with the blue face paint as that is my base and takes the longest to do. I then layer on my makeup, eyes and faux eyelashes, make my eyebrows red to match the wig and red lips too. I then prepare my hair able to put the wig on, tying it into two plaits and pinning to my head. Then I placed on my dress, tights, and wig (securing it with pins and sometimes wig glue or tape), followed by my shoes, gloves and accessories.

Once I’m in costume I normally feel like myself. But when posing for photos, I channel somewhat of the character, it’s easier to pose that way. When people scream or shout your character’s name, it feels great. I definitely feel most beautiful at an event once I’m in one in every of my favourite costumes. I’ve been cosplaying seriously for 3 years now, and it’s my life. It’s pushed me from once being super introverted to now being super extroverted. Cosplaying has given me the most important confidence boost, I’ve made a few of my best friends and dearest family members through cosplay and meaning every part to me. It’s my world.