This conflict was not one that she chose. It was one that was thrust upon her, destroying the world she knew… and for what? So two monarchs who had more land and titles than they knew what to do with could get into a pissing match? The folly of men’s pride is its downfall. Unfortunately, their mindless destruction has dragged her into the middle of a war… and she is weary from battle. 

This look is one I’ve wanted to do for a while, and while I wasn’t able to finish all the parts of my costume that I wanted to, aka some good ole’ fashioned foam armor, I still wanted to bring this character to life.

The lore of “a lone female knight” is one based in truth. Historically speaking, female knights – while rare – were around throughout our history; and I’m referring to more than just Joan Du Arc. If you are curious, Mental Floss wrote a nifty little article about the top nine “influential” female warriors throughout history.

Many, many moons ago, I did a makeup look and tutorial for a lovely little community blog, Nerds and Nomsense. The look was for a “Beauty Battled Pirate,” wherein one side was wounded, and the other was … err… beautiful. Nothing that a pirate would wear, mind you, but since it was Halloween spooky glam’s gotta spooky glam it up. Also, holy crap, that tutorial came out FIVE YEARS AGO. Such a young Chaos was I. 

—– the outfit —–

First off, yes, that is a chain mail shirt – technically called a haubergeon since it goes to my waist and not to my knees (otherwise, it would be called a hauberk). It weighs somewhere between 25 and 30 pounds and is a pain in the butt to take off. The links are made from stainless steel, which is why the shirt is so heavy. The hood, or coif, is made from the same material. I could have adjusted the face gap in the coif to make it fit a little easier, but I didn’t want to go messing with opening up the metal loops. While it looks fancy and cool, it is not battle-safe, aka I couldn’t go into a sword fight wearing it with the hopes of being protected. The reason being is that the links are too far apart, space-wise. 

Under the chain mail beast, I am wearing a ridiculously comfortable grey hooded tunic. Fun fact: I have four of these tunics in different colors (black, grey, olive green, and red). They have loops for cinching on the front and back, AND the sleeves have thumb holes. I love thumb holes in shirts. I found them on Amazon, and if you are planning on ordering one, I recommend getting a size larger than you would typically wear. 

Not pictured are my leggings and boots. I have some grey fleece leggings and some knee-high riding boots. 

The wig: My wig is from Epic Cosplay Wigs in the Style Aion – in light brown. It’s a curly short style that would be perfect for those cosplaying as Barbara from Stranger Things or Ham from the Sandlot. 

The Sword: Yes, I have a sword. It’s made of metal, and the balance is horrible. Heh. It’s technically a prop sword with blunt sides, but I have to admit – the tip of it is rather … pointy. I mistakenly ordered this one instead of Aragorn’s sword a few years ago and never bothered to return it or switch it out because – hey, it’s a sword, and you never know when you’ll need a prop sword for characters or photoshoots. 

—– the makeup —–

The two most significant investments in my SFX kit are alcohol activated makeup palettes and 3rd Degree silicone compound. 

AAM (alcohol-activated makeup) palettes are versatile, LAST FOR FRIGGIN EVER, and are very, very travel-friendly. I’ve had my Zombie Palette for YEARS and have only hit pan on one shade, which was midnight brown – and what I used to use for faux freckles back in the day before switching to something a little lighter. Depending on the amount of alcohol you use, you can go from a sheer wash of color, perfect for SFX to look “under the skin” to super bold and pigmented. These pans “activate” with 99% isopropyl alcohol or activators specifically designed to work with these products – like Telesis. With that – DO NOT GET THIS SHIT IN YOUR EYE BECAUSE IT WILL BURN! Always use caution when working around the eye, keep your eye closed, and only open it when the product is dry. Alcohol evaporates quickly, so it doesn’t take long at all. 

3rd Degree silicone compound is a two-part special effect modeling compound to build prosthetics or simulate wounds. It comes in a gel form and a liquid form, both in a few different pre-mixed shades or translucent. It is a bit pricey, but for those of us who can’t use liquid latex, it’s a good option. A little bit of product goes a long way, and if using the clear version, you can tint it to make whatever shade you need. I tend to use the liquid version when I am casting prosthetics from molds or when I want to make some simulated “slime” that doesn’t move – you’ll see this in an upcoming look from me… hint hint. You can find it on Amazon, Alcone Makeup, or other specialties/ theatrical makeup retailers. 

If you would like to see how I made the “sliced” cheek and forehead prosthetic pieces, then hop on over to my Patreon page and join our little Chaos Community! 

Since this is a warrior, in a sense, I didn’t want to have the makeup be to “clean.” If I had to fight in battle for long periods, there is no way that I would have a crisp, clean eyeliner… or perfect lipstick application. I tend to lean more into the sunkissed realm when I do natural makeup looks, just because it helps to camouflage any texture or blemishes that I have on my skin, plus – especially for this look – I DID FRECKLES! Yay freckles. 

If I were to do this makeup again, I would look into getting some of the SFX dust, usually called “character powder,” and give myself some extra grime that way. 

Voila! A little worse for wear, but still ready to kick ass. Do you have a favorite lady-warrior? If so, tell me about her in the comments below! 

And don’t forget, my #13Doh2k19giveaway is still going on! To enter, click the image below and it will take you to the official post with the giveaway details!