[Hyacinthia Cosplay] Honkai: Star Rail — The Desperate Long Mid-Face That Couldn't Be Overcome Even After Giving My All

When I accepted the role of Hyacinthia, I was actually quite anxious. As everyone knows, her design is that of a super soft, adorable, and charming young girl, whereas my own facial contours—especially my longer mid-face—don't quite align with that cute, youthful style. Every time I put on a Pink wig, finish my makeup, and look in the mirror, I always feel like I'm forcing myself to look young, and the awkwardness practically spills off the screen. But since I committed to this official photoshoot, I had to bring a 100% dedicated attitude and not half-ass it just because my face shape isn't an ideal fit.

The preparation process this time was actually far more complex than expected. First, regarding the wig: it had pink and teal-blue spliced hair strands. To achieve a fluffy yet slightly messy effect, I spent three full hours trimming the hairstyle. The curls at the hair tips needed to rest right around the collarbones, and the plush Animal ear style on top had to seamlessly connect with the wig roots, or it would tilt as soon as I turned around. Color-wise, the original setting's pink leaned warm while the cyan leaned bright; I specifically chose two wigs from different brands for dyeing and blending to finally create that soft transition color seen in the photos.

The outfit details were even more of a headache. The red-and-white jacket had exquisite gold-trimmed embroidery, but the collar cut easily made shoulders look broad. To prevent the upper body from looking bulky, I wore an ultra-thin shapewear underneath to press down my shoulder and back lines, paired with a specially customized boned corset to support the jacket without looking saggy. For the light blue ribbon bow on the chest, I tested three different fabrics before finally settling on a stiff, lustrous satin. When tying it, I had to adjust the draping angles of the streamers so it looked both natural and layered.

The white unicorn plushie held in my hands was also a prop I stayed up late hand-sewing. The colorful little horn and closed-eye embroidery looked simple, but to restore that rounded, charmingly clumsy texture, I stuffed the cotton twice. The day of the shoot featured outdoor natural light, which was rather harsh. I was actually terrified that shadows on my face would exaggerate my mid-face length, so the makeup artist focused on reinforcing under-eye contouring and nose shadows to pull visual focus toward my eyes. Although the bright blue contact lenses looked stunning, wearing them for long periods caused dryness; by the second photo, my eyes were already feeling sore, but facing the camera, I had to hold my expression.

Honestly, knowing that my face shape wasn't ideal for cute, moe-type characters, I was fully prepared to be teased as a "mature version of Hyacinthia." But when I put on the full outfit, stood in front of the camera, and held that little plushie, I suddenly felt that perhaps "giving it my all" is a meaning in itself. Being relatively tall and having a long mid-face, I couldn't achieve a completely seamless, sugary sweetness; however, I could try adding a hint of tsundere composure and stubbornness to my expressions, giving this character an extra dimension. While taking photos, I intentionally slowed down my movements, allowing my hand gestures to stretch out casually rather than opting for a timid pose huddled in front of my chest.

During photo editing, I deliberately preserved the bone structure shadows on my face, avoiding over-smoothing or shortening my chin, because overly altering my real features would strip the soul from the photo. What if my mid-face is long? As long as the overall tone, costume details, and gaze are on point, the character's aura still shines through. Of the two photos, I actually prefer the first one—that posture of slightly tilting my head while fiddling with the ribbon possesses both youthful agility and a touch of my own composure. The second photo holding the plushie is indeed closer to the original design, but the angle makes me look a bit wide, so I included it as a supplement.

After finishing this outdoor shoot, I actually felt much more at peace. Every character has a unique soul, and as a performer, all I can do is use costume, props, and every skill at my disposal to draw closer to her, injecting my own understanding within that frame. There's no need to force myself into a specific mold; accepting my own traits and integrating them into the character is a deeply satisfying process in itself. Hyacinthia's liveliness, dreaminess, and slight tsundere charm are all things I tried my best to weave into these photos. As for whether it looks like her or if I'm a good fit, I'll leave that for viewers to judge—for myself, I enjoyed the experience to the fullest.