This Halloween dark gothic style Original Character Cosplay styling has finally been finished shooting. Actually, the inspiration this time originated from the concept of 'Devil Whispers'; I wanted to make a demon girl roaming on the edge of the night carrying a hint of danger. Because it's a self-conceived character, I put a lot of effort into the makeup and styling. For the base makeup, the lightest shade was deliberately used to pursue that bloodless, BJD-doll-like pale feel. Eye makeup is the absolute centerpiece of the entire face; to present the odd-eyes effect, I wore one red and one blue-gray contact lens. For the left red eye, I used a large amount of red eyeshadow for smudging, layered with dense and slender false eyelashes, and pasted rhinestones under the eyes to simulate a blood-tear-like effect, adding a touch of brokenness; the right blue eye was kept relatively restrained. Lip makeup chose a dark red-to-purple matte lip tint with edges slightly smudged out, which, paired with black manicures, instantly brought out the cold vibe.
In terms of wig styling, I chose a silver-white long straight wig, trimming blunt bangs and sideburns along both cheeks to flatter the face shape, making the face look smaller in front of the lens. To pursue that messy beauty of a passing breeze, I deliberately used hairspray to pinch out a few stray strands so it didn't look rigidly pasted against the scalp, giving it more realism. The headpiece added fluffy white animal ears, along with an exaggerated large black bow lace hair accessory on one side, neutralizing the darkness with a bit of cuteness. The large black lace bow also had its angle adjusted several times during fixation to ensure it played a great embellishing role whether shot from the front or side, while not stealing the focus from the facial makeup.
The costume consisted of a black lace-material bustier paired with a matching lace choker, fitting the overall gothic style. The black lace choker around the neck not only elongated the neck line but was also the finishing touch that made the overall dark gothic style more complete. When shooting this set of photos, the props were actually very simple—just a vibrant red rose. However, within the overall cold-toned frame of black, white, cyan, and blue, this red rose became a very strong visual center. To make it look more textured in front of the lens, I picked an artificial flower with the truest color and the fullest petal shape. Different ways of holding the flower presented different emotions. Sometimes I placed it close to my lips with my gaze fixed straight at the lens; sometimes I held it with both hands looking down, or blocked it in front of my eyes.
During the shooting process, to present different frame tensions, I tried multiple interactive methods. For example, the posture of half-covering the face with fingers in picture four was actually meant to break conventional composition, utilizing the rose as a foreground to increase the layering of the frame. Both the bending arc of the fingers and the coordination of the gaze required repeated practice and adjustment to achieve that visual effect which is both aggressive and carries a mysterious allure. During shooting lighting, I used cold blue light on the background, on one hand to set off the chilly and eerie atmosphere of Halloween, and on the other hand, highlights made the skin tone look more translucent. A very soft top light was also cast on the face to ensure facial features still appeared three-dimensional under heavy makeup. Although this styling is a Halloween special, I deliberately avoided conventional elements like pumpkins and ghosts during design, focusing instead on abstract themes oriented towards psychological suggestion like 'Devil Whispers', attempting to create an atmosphere of quietly gazing at the audience outside the screen. Being able to transform concepts in my mind into concrete imagery through trial makeup sessions and shoots time and again—this feeling is truly fulfilling for a coser who loves original characters.