Eurovision 2014

Living in Australia, there aren't a lot of opportunities to cosplay outside of the major conventions. Although I try to hold as many cosplay friendly events as I can, there are just some places where donning a costume is not appropriate (for one reason or another). For example, two weeks ago I spent the weekend celebrating Eurovision with a small group of friends. Sure, I could have worn cosplay, but it wouldn't have been thematically appropriate. That's where my love of fashion comes in.

I decided to create outfits based on a few of my favourite countries: Armenia, Austria, Greece, Hungary, France and Italy. To be honest, I didn't really have a plan when I started. I looked up the flag of each country and used that as a starting point.

The Armenian flag follows the basic three bar pattern of most countries, but there is so much you can do with red, yellow and blue!

I started with red and blue contact lenses. As these are often an essential item for cosplay, I tend to always have a few pairs floating around.

This is probably a good time to talk about lens care. As someone with severe vision problems, I have become accustomed to the routine of putting in and taking out lenses. I find prescription lenses a lot easier to put in, as they are thicker and sturdier than their cosmetic counterparts. For the same reason, it is a lot easier to remove cosmetic lenses.

According to some labels, you can keep your cosmetic lenses for twelve months. Other labels suggest only three months. I am more inclined to go with the latter, regardless of what the label says. The last thing you want is a nasty eye infection.


On that note, each time you remove your lenses, be sure to clean and store them properly. Always carry a small bottle of solution and a case with you - you never know when you'll start to get irritated and want to rip the lenses out of your eyes.

I always start with a small amount of concealer under my eyes. As you can see from the top left image, I suffer from permanent bags, even after a good night's sleep! I also use a thin layer of liquid foundation, followed by a good dusting of powder. I'm no make up artist, so my advice would be to do what works best for you. If you're going to use your face as a canvas, you may as well start with a good primer.

For my Armenian inspired make up, I covered half my lid with gold eye shadow and half with blue (nothing special, just a cheap multi-coloured pallet from Kmart). I also used red up to the brow bone, but sadly, my phone camera didn't pick up the colour. I used a black eye liner crayon under my bottom lid, although had I been more confident, I would have used liquid eye liner. I would also have lined my top lid and used mascara on my real lashes, to make the transition to false lashes less obvious.

I'm not sure what the protocol is with false lashes. Most packets tell you to make sure your lid is clean and dry before you put them on, but I find it easier to apply your make up first.

For my lips, I used blue eye shadow to line the edges and red lipstick in the middle. Again, my phone camera let me down. I was going for more of an ombre look, but you can't see the blending very well.

Finally, I coloured my eyebrows, added a small amount of blush and a blue wig. I had planned to photograph my whole outfit, but I wasn't happy with the overall result.

I couldn't be happier that Miss Conchita Wurst won Eurovision with her song 'Rise Like a Phoenix'. I contemplated donning a beard for the finals, but my face was so sore after three days of adding and removing make up. I don't know how some girls wear it every day!

This outfit was more about the hair than anything else. I still painted the flag on my eyelids, but decided to forgo contact lenses and false lashes. Mostly because I wanted to be able to watch the semi finals, and for that I needed to wear my glasses.

I wish I'd taken some more photos, but I had originally planned to wear my Austrian outfit on finals night, so I assumed I would have another chance. Silly me!

I wanted to try something a little bit different for Greece, as their flag differs from any of the others I chose.

My only regret is that I didn't have a product to blend my eyebrow into the cross.

I am so disappointed France didn't score well this year. They had such a fun song!

The 'ponytails' in the top right image are not actually attached. I held two other wigs against my head to achieve the effect.

I was a bit disappointed with the Italian entry this year. The song was awesome, which is why I chose to support them, but the performance at the finals was pretty average.

I wasn't quite sure where I was going with this until I started. I picked up a packet of rhinestones at my local craft store and used eyelash glue to stick them on. You can easily rinse off the glue when you're finished, so the stones are reusable.

For those who were paying attention earlier, you will remember I mentioned Hungary. Unfortunately, by the time I had finished my make up, it was dark and I have those horrible warm glow light bulbs in my house that make everything look yellow. It's great when you're chilling out on the couch with a book, but terrible for photography. I did post the images to my Instagram, but I really wasn't happy with the quality, so I won't bother posting about it here.

On a more positive note, I posted some of my photos on Twitter and they ended up being shown during the Australian broadcast on SBS.

Lastly, if you like the wigs I used, you can find them at www.dolluxe.com. No, I am not employed by the company, but I have been buying wigs from them for two years and they are far better quality than anything else I've purchased.

For Armenia
For Austria
For Greece