Boys and girls, time to talk about body modifications required for proper female-to-male crossplay - or, how to turn yourself into an attractive member of the opposite sex. Some (very general) tips ahoy - I'll be happy to get into details if someone would like to chat more on this issue, and if you have some advice to share yourself, please do so in the comments!

1) Step one - makeup. This largely depends on two factors: the actual look of the character you want to portray, obviously, and whether you opt for "realistic" transformative makeup, or the Japanese-style "face-painting" when you literally draw the character's traits on your face. Generally, I prefer the former, as it's more subtle but quite effective: its most important element is contouring. By mixing your favorite contouring product with taupe brown and grayish eyeshadows, emphasize your nose and cheekbones, make your jawline stronger and more rectangular, and add some dark circles under the eyes as well. Don't forget to pay extra attention to the eyebrows: in general, make them slightly thicker than your natural shape.

2) Step two - shoulders. Making them wider and manlier helps a great deal if you want to pass for a convincing bishounen. It's easy when you wear armor (with Sephi's spectacular shoulder pads, it was difficult for me to grasp how wide I'd become, so I kept bumping into doorways, furniture and people - not fun), but if your costume is made of fabric, that 80's style sponge shoulder padding helps a lot. Pro tip: tape the padding directly onto your shoulders, instead of sewing it onto your costume, it will look more natural when you move. Also, pay attention to tailoring: male silhouette should accentuate shoulders and have a straight waistline!

3) Step three - boobage. For a buttoned-up costume, the best and the healthiest option is to invest into a proper binder, or at least in a mean sports bra. If not, what I found to work very well is thin nylon kitchen foil (the one used to keep food fresh in the fridge) - just firmly wrap yourself in it, and seal it with duct tape. It's not very comfortable, and you shouldn't wear it for too long, but it's quite efficient for flattening your chest. A completely different issue, however, is when you have open clothes in the front. Then, the "open chest binding" technique comes at work: carefully lift your breast, push it backwards towards the armpit, and glue it there using skin-colored medical tape. The idea is that your boobs should be separated and neatly taped under your armpits, leaving the chest nice and flat in the front. When done right, it doesn't hurt nearly as much as it may sound, but it's still not recommended for, uhm, more "endowed" girls.

4) Step four - hide your curves. It's not cool for a guy to have a small waist and wide, sexy hips. For one, this is a matter of tailoring: pay heed to make your waist larger when designing the upper part of your costume, while slightly baggy, straight line pants help hiding the curvaceous hips and legs. For two, there are some "tricks" you can use - when I did Koujaku, by lowering my waistline and placing the obi belt on my hips, I prolonged the torso, camouflaged the waist, and created the illusion that he's just wearing one huge-ass obi, instead of having girly hips. For three, the choice of fabric is incredibly important: use firm fabrics, those that can hold well the silhouette shape and don't naturally fall and stick to your curves - yes to leather (Sephi's coat was a piece of cake in that regard), twilled cotton (add some starch if necessary), and solid broadcloth, no to silks (unless it's the firm, raw silk), satin and lycra.

5) Step five - platforms. While most men, even in fiction, wear flat shoes, feel free to cheat, sisters, and don't worry about it. Platforms (wedge-style) make your legs longer and add to your height, thus complementing your wide-shouldered, wider-waist, small-hips silhouette by making it look more proportional and natural. And feeling taller does add to manliness. Also, pay A LOT of attention to body language and posture - sitting, standing and walking like a man is what makes the character come to life.

Finally, I have another small secret to share: whenever I do male characters, instead of my regular perfume, I use a generous amount of my husband's Hugo Boss aftershave. Smelling differently - and smelling like the man I love and find ridiculously attractive - truly helps me channel masculinity, completing my transformation into a hot dude.

For more pics and posts about cosplay, you can check out my Facebook page: ferashacosplay