[Rei Ayanami cosplay] The Regret of Missing the Night Cherry Blossoms: Making Up for It with a Selfie

The spot at Gezipo to shoot the night cherry blossoms was occupied by someone else last night, and in the end, I couldn't get a single shot. I felt so frustrated and suffocated, so I can only share this set of Selfie photos to vent a bit.

I had happily planned a whole night shoot, picked out the camera angles, and even planned the composition with the cherry blossom branches. But when I got there, the spot was taken. I waited for a long time, but it never freed up, and ultimately not a single picture was taken—I honestly felt like crying at the time. Since I couldn't shoot the scenery, I had no choice but to snap a few casual Selfie shots in the hotel room, making sure the hair and makeup I spent half a day preparing didn't go to waste.

Let me mention some preparation details while I'm at it. This blue-purple short wig was indeed tricky to style. When it arrived, the bangs were too long, blocking my vision, and the shape was rather flat and didn't fit the head shape well. I first trimmed the layers myself with thinning shears, then repeatedly used hairspray in front of the mirror to style it, finally achieving this defined strand-by-strand hair texture. The position of an anime character's bangs is crucial: they must drape right before the eyes to look great when gazing upward, yet cannot be too thick, or that ethereal 2D feeling is lost completely. The contact lenses chosen were reddish-brown with a larger diameter; wearing them actually felt slightly abrasive, and staring at the camera for a while made them feel dry. Eye makeup was the highlight this time: to create that emotionless, cold gaze, I intentionally drew the eyeliner straight without an upturned flick, lightly smudged soft red along the lower eyelid, and paired it with curled false eyelashes to give the gaze a more hollow, vacant look. For the base, I used matte foundation and pressed heavy loose powder on my forehead, nose bridge, and chin, fearing harsh glare under overhead lighting. For lip makeup, I chose a very soft nude pink that almost matched my natural lip color.

The costume was custom-made by a friend specializing in cosplay tailoring. The fabric is on the stiffer side, and the back zipper was very tough to pull up, taking a lot of effort to put on. The garment's cut is structured and feels restrictive—slouching or bending even slightly looks unflattering, so while taking photos I forced myself to keep my back completely straight, making the neck and shoulder lines much more defined. The little blue plushie in hand was a matching prop; hugging it felt soft and squishy, and when taking photos without knowing where to put my hands, holding it certainly eased a lot of awkwardness. Since indoor light was limited, I had to rely on the warm-toned ceiling pendant light. The warm light striking my face actually made my skin look very fair and clean; compared to the freezing chill of cold lighting, this tone felt much more comfortable. Shooting entirely relied on finding angles myself, taking selfies with the phone's front camera—lowering the phone slightly for a low-angle shot made my face look smaller while better showcasing the character's gaze for Rei Ayanami. Although missing out on the night cherry blossoms and blooming trees left a bit of regret, the costume details and makeup results in this indoor Selfie set came out very clear, making it an unexpected yet genuine record.