Mermaid Costume

I'd been planning this costume for several years but never got around to doing it until this year.

I started out with the sequins for the tail. This took the majority of the time invested in the costume. Countless hours of watching tv while sewing them on. Once that was done I got to start on the fun parts (the makeup, the bra and the accessories). I bought the shells for the cups online and a cheap bra at a local store. Painted it green and started sewing on everything I could. What I couldn't sew on I attached with the glue gun.

For the scales on my face and on my back and shoulders I used fishnet stockings for the pattern, sponged on liquid latex and then removed the fishnets leaving the diamond shaped scales. I set the latex in green powder eyeshadows and shimmer powder to give it the shine that fish scales tend to have. I went for pretty dramatic makeup since I normally wear next to no makeup and only in neutral colours. I also used black tooth enamel to paint my teeth into fangs and bought 16mm black circle contacts to complete the look.

I had a lot of fun making it and while I might have changed a few elements if I had more time/resources, I'm very proud of how it turned out!