Part One: The Corset
Part Two: The Skirt and The Boots
Part Three: The Main Armor Pieces: The Breastplate and the Backplate
Part Four: The Accessory Armor Pieces: The Shoulders, The Armbands, and the Kneeguards
Part Five: The Weapons
Part Six: The Hair, The Eyes, The Makeup and Playing The Part ***You are here***
This is likely to be a short post. Technically, none of this step is necessary, if you want to rock your own look in a badass warrior outfit, then fucking rock it. I believe Xena would agree. If you specifically want to look like Lucy Lawless then a few more tweaks can be made.
First of all, the hair.
Now, I was lucky enough to be born a brunette with a preference for keeping my hair long. And a few years back decided to get bangs and found out that I have just the best face shape for bangs and so have kept them. I also have developed a definite hatred for wigs based on past experiences. So when I realized I had the same basic hairstyle as Xena, I decided to just roll with it.
I had about half a bottle of Arctic Fox semi-permanent hair dye in Transylvania left over from my chain chomp cosplay back in March. So I dyed my hair black. Trust me on the brand, too. I tried a few others previously and none covered as nicely and as darkly as that one. And semi-permanent is nice if you're not looking to commit to color. I knew it would just wash out after a few weeks, and since my hair is already fairly dark, it would just be a gradual graceful fade.
Xena's hairstyle varies slightly, sometimes it's half up, sometimes it's got a few decorative braids. My favorite is the braided headband style. I'm sure if you're talented enough you can use your own hair to braid a headband across the top of your head. I am not that talented. Hair styling is definitely a weakness of mine. So, I bought a fake hair braided headband:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Women-Girls-Braided-Faux-Wig-Elastic-Rope-Pretty-Plaited-Hair-Band-Headband/162266321538?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
Once my hair was dyed, all I had to do was make sure my hair was straight, which is as simple as blow drying it after showering, I didn't even find it necessary to use a straightener, and then put in the headband. Ridiculously easy. And then I didn't have to worry about fighting with a wig!
However, if you don't have the right hairstyle already, or just don't want to dye your hair, then I suppose you'll need a wig. I'd suggest not getting a cheap ebay wig, I've done that a few times and it's never a good idea. www.arda-wigs.com is a pretty well regarded site, although I can't say I've ever bought from there. You're welcome to get your wig wherever you like. It just needs to be somewhere just around your shoulder blades in length, and it needs to have bangs, which you'll have to trim to suit your own face. This is a pretty good basic tutorial for trimming wigs if you need more help:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-qLiicy3Yo
I'd still suggest getting the braided headband and wearing it over the wig, wigs aren't really suited to braiding.
That's it. The hair is really pretty simple.
Next, the eyes.
Now, I have naturally light greenish eyes, so I wasn't going to worry about the eyes originally. I figured I was close enough. But then I started watching the show. And I realized that the show just loves to give long lingering shots to her staring intensely with her absurdly vibrant blue eyes. So I decided I needed colored contacts. www.uniqso.com is my favorite site to buy colored prescription contacts, and the ones I got are here:
https://www.uniqso.com/products/sweety-k-crazy-lens-platonic-aqua?variant=13156465704983
So, here's the thing. I bought those in an effort to save a few dollars, they were cheaper than most of the others I looked at at the time. However, these were SUPER INTENSE. In fact, they were really a bit too much, and rather cartoonish.
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| Yeah, it's got a bit of a filter on it. It's a selfie, sue me. The eye color is accurate. |
I ended up wishing I'd gone for something a bit more natural. The other not so fun part of those contacts is that the blue part was a solid opaque ring, and I could see it out all around the edges of my vision. After a few hours I'd gradually stop paying attention to it, but it was super annoying for a while. They will, however, completely cover your natural eye color, if you happen to have dark eyes. But there are also lots of other more natural options if you have lighter eyes and just want to make sure they're blue. Or maybe you already have blue eyes, you lucky bastard.
That website also allows you to easily select your prescription strength for each eye, if you need that. But I think they only go up to something like -12 or so. Works for me, but not everyone.
And then the makeup!
Yes, you should wear makeup. You're in costume. Why leave your face plain when the rest of you is dressed up? The good news is Xena's look is pretty subtle.
Now, I do wear makeup regularly, and my normal look is pretty neutral, but I did reference this post for extra tips:
http://gildedlilybeauty.blogspot.com/2013/11/xena-warrior-princess-make-up.html?m=1
My own process was very nearly the same as my daily makeup. Primer, foundation, concealer, powder. Contouring is definitely a good idea, Lucy's got some pretty bangin' cheekbones. I'm super bad at this, I added a little, but I was afraid to go too far. I'd suggest looking up some other makeup tutorials on that subject if you need it, it's an easy google search.
For my first Halloween party I didn't do much more than eyeliner and mascara but ended up feeling like my eyes were too plain. So the second time I kicked it up a bit. Liquid eyeliner along the top lid, and pencil liner from the center of the bottom lid to the outer corner. Neutral color all across the lid, and then a dark brown or black on an angled brush to blend upwards from the top eyeliner. Then just a little of the same dark eyeshadow blended into the crease. A few coats of mascara was all I needed to finish. The only thing that was different from my usual look was I didn't add the eyeliner wings I usually like to do. So that was easy enough for me.
I didn't even bother with lipstick. You could probably wear a nude lipstick if you wanted, but I was going to parties where there was going to be drinking, why worry about reapplying a lipstick when I just needed my natural lipcolor?
Xena's look is really a pretty simple one. Even if you don't wear makeup you can totally handle this.
All you need now is the attitude. You don't take any shit, and you laugh in battle. You find short irritating blondes irresistible. And of course, the warcry. You know the one. I just screamed "AIYIYIYIYIYIYI!" At the top of my lungs, as high and loud as I could. It's a real party stopper, let me tell you what. Unfortunately I never did learn how to do those crazy flips.
And that's it. It's kind of incredible after all this time and work, it kind of seemed like it was never going to end when I was working on it. But I did eventually finish. And now so have you! Enjoy your amazing new costume and all the admiration and compliments you're about to get. And for god's sake, put on the knee guards and boots before you put on the corset. Trust me on this.
Kick ass, warrior princess.
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