The combination of mint green hair and bright blue pupils served as the core tone for this makeup and styling. To recreate the otherworldly, ethereal feel of the game's setting, when applying makeup, I particularly emphasized the direction of the eyebrows and added golden teardrop accents under the eyes. Preparation before the shoot took quite a while because, although the costume's concept lies in fantasy, achieving a consistent texture in reality severely tests the tailor's control over metal components and light tulle fabrics. The wig was not simply straight hair; instead, it incorporated braids and transparent soft bead accents. This type of wig exhibits different refraction effects under indoor yellowish lighting versus outdoor natural light, so I sprayed plenty of setting spray back and forth to ensure smoothness during the shoot. For Game character makeup, I abandoned intense eyeshadow colors, opting instead for light shades to highlight the inner eye corners and brow bone, complemented by natural brow and lash hair strokes on the upper and lower eyelids to create a flawless, elf-like visual effect. The bionic flowers and golden vine branches on the wig hairpiece needed repeated adjustments across different shooting angles; otherwise, they could easily block line of sight or ruin the overall aesthetic.
Regarding the costume, the most intricate part was combining the metal framing around the body with royal blue gemstones. The main focus of this photoset was how to use lighting to highlight the glossy texture of those large royal blue gems. The lying-down perspective in Photo 1 and the front-facing crossed-arms posture in Photo 3 were specifically designed to highlight the subtle sheer mesh texture of the sleeves and the lines and contours of the chest armor. To be honest, the wearing freedom of this outfit was quite low, as the hardness of the metal parts and the lightness of the tulle created a material conflict where metal pieces would catch the fabric thread when twisting, so I kept pose design elegant and restrained, not daring to make overly large movements. The golden diamond mesh and wrapped straps on the cuffs were also discussed with the photographer for a long time to find the angle that best showcases the tailoring details. My skin appeared clear and clean under the cool-toned filter, and pores were barely visible under soft light, so post-processing didn't even require much skin smoothing to yield great results.
The lighting this time generally adopted high-key soft light, making the overall radiance look even more translucent. During shooting, my main worry was stray hairs along the wig edges and eye comfort after wearing bright blue contact lenses for long periods. Fortunately, the contact lens diameter was moderately chosen, both restoring the character's unique eye color traits without feeling overly exaggerated or out of character. When the final images came out, they achieved the expected subtle, hazy, and slightly ethereal base tone. For an Ethereal look like this, while grand backdrops aren't necessary, control over details is key—for example, choosing a moisturizing peach-toned lipstick to echo the pink flowers on the headpiece, pulling the visual focus upward. The photographer's composition fully preserved the vines and flowers atop my head without letting the headpiece feel cluttered. My experience from these recent shoots tells me that to master complex styling stacked with metal and gems, less is more: keep expressions slightly reserved, as a sense of relaxation better fits the character's aura descending from the heavens. Finally, special thanks to the photography and makeup teams for their meticulous attention to detail, truly bringing this outfit to life.