Showing posts with label Elven cosplay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elven cosplay. Show all posts

Sunday, 19 July 2026

Cosplay styles - Elrond braided half-up and length shots

 

  Long time, no cosplay hair post! So here's another Elven style, a couple of multi-braided half-up styles for my Elrond cosplay, from an Autumn 2022 nature shoot. The main style I went for is a couple of thin three-strand side braids in front of the ears alongside a fishtail/herringbone half-up braid at the back (well, a fishtail braid that evolved into a regular three-strand braid, because fishtail braiding at the back of your head is not for the weak-minded and is a real workout 😅 xD). 

  This style takes elements out of several Elrond hairstyles from the Peter Jackson movies: LotR Elrond tends to wear a fishtail half-up braid at the back with intricately looped sections in front of the ears, and sometimes, more intricate criss-crossing basket weaving braiding at the top of the head as well (see photo below, left).  In the Battle of Dagorlad (during the Fellowship of the Ring prologue, see photo below, middle) his style combines the fishtail braid at the back with two side fishtail braids looped into and around the main herringbone braid. Elrond's main style in the Rivendell scenes of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (see photo below, right) features a couple of three-strand braids in front of the ears instead of his signature looped look in LotR, and he switches the more elaborate fishtail and basket weaving braiding for what looks like a couple of side rope braids tied at the back alongside another minibraid at the top of the head. 

LotR Rivendell Elrond (FotR, Council costume) (left); LotR Battle of Dagorlad Elrond (centre); The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Elrond (right) 
 

  My version combines the fishtail braid at the back from most of the LotR styles with the three-strand braids in front of the ears from The Hobbit, which I tried to loop a bit at the ends as a callback to his signature LotR look (but three-strands overall were easier to do and more comfortable to wear). I actually could also replicate a near version of his Dagorlad style with this look (see below), by looping the front mini braids into and around the main braid at the back (the only difference being, in the Dagorlad style it's all fishtail braids, but lol nope, I tried that style with what I already had at the very end of the shoot xD).

  • For this style I used (and you can use):
-Sectioning comb, wide-tooth comb and/or brush, as needed
-Transparent small elastics for the accent braids and the braided half-up
-A circlet and a leaf slide/barrette for decoration
-Aloe vera gel/fixing gel, as needed 
  • Steps:  
1) Section the hair: one small section at each side above the ear for the accent side/front braids that will hang in front of the ears, and one section for the braided half-up at the back.
 
2) Fishtail+three-strand braid:
 
  To be honest, I've had very little practice doing fishtail/herringbone braids because they're pretty time-consuming and they involve considerable arm workout when you're doing them at the back of your head xD, but I was happily surprised to see that, considering the little practice I had, this one didn't turn out so bad and it was a bit easier to do than I had dreaded! Still, hard on the arms, and I was running late for the shoot, so it's not a fishtail all the way down - one third down (or so), it ended up morphing into a regular three strand 🤣. Still, I think it still looks pretty cool as is! And it's a good hack if you also have long, long hair and don't want to spend so long fishtail-braiding xD. I secured all sections of this braid with transparent elastics.
 
 
 
3) Accent side-braids:  Separate a piece of hair at each side and braid it. It can be a simple 3-strand braid, or a lace braid, French braid or Dutch braid. In this case - three strand, imitating Elrond's main hairdo in The Hobbit movies. You can rest your arms a bit more with this step, even if mini braids can also be pretty time consuming with very long hair. Secure with transparent elastics.
 
4) Final touches:  I added a thin circlet, tied at the back with some golden cord and also secured with a silver leaf barrette (which also serves to hide the knot). You can also use bobby pins/open pins as needed to fix anything in the braids.
 
Add aloe vera gel or a bit of gel or hairspray to set the style and potential flyaways (if you want), and it's done!
 
 
 
For the Dagorlad style, I just looped the front mini braids into and around the main back braid. I tried this at the end of the shoot, and also ended up wearing the style as an updo, with a fork and a casual cinnabun :
 
 
 
 
 
 
  I also used these couple of video tutorials as reference, from Loepsie and Silvousplaits
 


  
Picture gallery with more shots from the 2022 cosplay shoot, also feating mid-thigh length shots:










 
SwordWomanRiona / rionashairblog.blogspot.com.es

Do not copy-and-paste this post and/or alter it without any permission, credit or link. Ask before using my work, or at least give credit to me and my blog (beauty site who kept stealing my content a while ago, I'm looking at you).

Friday, 10 January 2025

Cosplay styles - The Eärien hairstyle (Rings of Power; Númenor and Elven OC cosplays)

Númenórean court astronomer OC, with a hairstyle inspired by Eärien's main style in S1 of Rings of Power

Back in August 2024, I cosplayed two Tolkien OCs (original characters) (more on my cosplay on my IG and TikTok), using the same basic outfit (the gorgeous 'Princess in Exile' burgundy dress and black chemise combo from Armstreet 😍) and pretty much the same hairstyle: First came a Númenórean court astronomer OC, and for this character I chose a hairstyle that was directly inspired by the braided half-up that Númenórean Eärien wears in season 1 of the Rings of Power series ✨🏰🌊🔭⌛📚📜. Then, in late August, I attended the Madrid première of the second season of Rings of Power, thanks to the invitations gifted by our Spanish Tolkien Society 😊✨💍⚔️, and for that I chose pretty much the same get-up, only now I was cosplaying as an Eregion Noldorin Elf OC, so I added more Elven-inspired jewelry (like a circlet) to this hairstyle doubling as an Elven style, and, of course, the pointy ears. The overall style and decoration of this Armstreet dress gives me both Númenórean and Noldorin aesthetic vibes, and we love versatility in cosplay, so yay xD ✨.

Elven variation of this look at the Rings of Power S2 Madrid première

My personal version of Eärien's style consists of two 3-strand side braids, braided with purple parandas, tied at the back of the head with an elastic, and then forming a half-up braided bun. When wrapping the braids around the elastic, I started wrapping both braids twice or thrice, then added a hairstick to keep them in place (using the elastic as an stronger anchor point). The rest of each braid is twisted around the hairstick a bit more loosely, letting one of the two braids hang a bit below the bun, similarly to how Eärien wears them (this is more clearly defined in one of the two versions I ended up with). Finally, I used a blue beaded necklace as decoration, tying the strings around and below the braided bun:

The Númenórean version...
...vs the Noldorin version
The inspiration: Eärien's Númenórean look in S1 of Rings of Power

  See here below for a quick tutorial and the obligatory pic spam, including pictures from both cosplays, which share pretty much the same hairstyle, with some minor differences. My take on it for the Noldorin Eregion OC, for example, resulted in a braided half-up bun that was a bit more compressed in shape, compared to how the Númenórean style turned out (this is ironically more in line to how Eärien actually wears it xD), although the hanging part of the braid is seen more clearly in my Númenórean version. Apart from that it's pretty much the same style, minus the decorations: For my Númenórean OC, I wore the hairstyle as is, with just parandas and a dangling beaded necklace as the decorative elements. For my Noldorin OC, seeing as the Noldorin Elves of Eregion are famed as artisans, crafstpeople, jewellers and smiths, I added a little more bling (Noldor in general do love their bling and their gems ✨xD), in the form of a necklace with blue crystals acting as a circlet, plus a more ornate necklace, and, of course, a ring xD 😅👍💍.

✨Also check out my other cosplay styles!

The Elven version

  • For this style I used (and you can use):
  -Comb and/or brush as needed.
 
  -A metal-free elastic to tie the two side braids at the back of the head.

 -Open pins and bobby pins (as needed): to help secure the braided half-up further, or to aid in anchoring the accessories like the necklace-circlet. 
 
 -Parandas for the side braids.
 
 -A hairstick to fix and anchor the braids in the half-up. Alternatively, you can also use a fork, or if you'd rather no hairtoy showed, also smaller clips or spiral pins.
 
  -A beaded necklace as decoration, tied below and around the half-up.

  -A circlet (for the Elven version) - be it a regular circlet or a necklace acting as one. To keep it secure, I added some thin wool strands to each end and and tied them around the braided-half-up, further anchoring the necklace at the sides with bobby pins. 

 -Hairspray and/or fixing gel and/or aloe vera as a light fixator, as needed.

The Númenórean version

  • Steps:
1) Side braids: Separate a piece of hair at each side and braid it, adding a paranda for added volume and colour (video tutorial  here). I went for simple 3-strand braid, but you can also go for a lace braid, French braid or Dutch braid.


2) Forming the half-up
 
-Secure both side-braids at the back using a metal-free elastic. If the braids don't lie flat against the head at the sides, you can use a couple of open pins to help, and also some aloe vera gel/hairspray/hair wax or your fixator of choice to keep the flyaways at bay.
 
-Start coiling each braid around the elastic base 2-3 times (this depends on the starting length as well), and then add a hairstick or fork (speared through the elastic for a firmer anchoring point) to start securing the half up. Instead of a hairstick or fork, you can also use clips or pins (spiral or open).
 
 -Twist the rest of each braid around the hairstick, but a bit more loosely this time, letting one of the two braids hang a bit below the bun as you coil it, so that it hangs below the rest of the braided half-up. Secure with additional pins as needed.

 
 3) Final touches
 
-For the decoration that Eärien wears below the braided half-up, you can use a beaded necklace or beaded strings, wrapped around the below the braided bun. For a more Elven look, you can also add a circlet.

-The rest of the hair hangs loose. Add texture to the length and ends if you wanna (braidwaves or curls). I chose to wear my hair in its natural straight form.
 
-Add more aloe vera gel or a bit of gel or hairspray to set the style and potential flyaways (if you want), and it's done!


More pics:
 
🔭Númenórean OC






💍 Eregion Noldorin Elf OC:









SwordWomanRiona / rionashairblog.blogspot.com.es

Do not copy-and-paste this post and/or alter it without any permission, credit or link. Preferably ask before using my work, and if you do, please give credit to me and my blog (beauty site who kept stealing my content a while ago, I'm looking at you).

Monday, 27 February 2023

Length hairstory - 2014: past mid-thigh and towards knee

This is the fifth in a series of individual posts about my hair growing milestones over the years, featuring a pic spam of length shots xD You can also find an abridged version of my hair journey from 2010 to the present in the 'My hairstory' page.

Previous post: 2010 hair (tailbone length), 2011 hair (classic length), 2012 hair (fingertip length), 2013 hair (mid-thigh).

In 2014 I continued growing my hair with minimal microtrims, surpassing mid-thigh and creeping ever closer to knee 😃 (which I reached in May 2015). I also attended my very first LHC hair meet in London during the Summer 😄, and cosplayed Lúthien for the first time 💙. While 2015-16 would mark my knee milestone, but also the worst  hemline I've had in years due to a harsher shedding resulting from vitamin deficiencies (which are now under supplemental control 😅), in 2014 this shed wasn't as noticeable yet, and my hemline stayed pretty good throughout the year, considering I only went for microtrims as my main goal was to reach knee.  I've had in years  Monthly pic spam incoming!

  • January: I reached mid-thigh in October 2013, and in January 2014 I had already surpassed mid-thigh, with the yearly goal of continuing to grow towards knee. These are my fave pics in 2014 regarding the hemline 🤩- I had spent a while first maintaining at fingertip, and then a bit at mid-thigh as well, in order to thicken it up and also even it out a bit (this is completely subjective, and fairytale hair is beautiful as well as I've worn it fairytaled a lot too, but my favourite kind of hemline is the straight, blunt one):
January 2013 (just past fingertip), to October 2013 (mid-thigh), to January 2014 (past mid-thigh).

January 2012 vs January 2014 comparison, from past fingertip to past mid-thigh

January 27 length shot, with a hemline I was really happy with. I also love how red the ends came out in the pic!

I was torn between maintaining here or growing to knee and then maintaining - because it was so close already! So I ended up doing a couple of microtrims, and kept growing to knee.
  •  April:  After a microtrim in February, length is still on its way past mid-thigh to knee, and the hemline is still looking good to me 😊. Also, some of these length shots still look darker red because of the remaining dye from my Manic Panic 'Vampire Red' vegetal dyeing adventure back in 2013 xD
  • May: All lengh shots from May include braidwaves and bendy rollers curls, and most of them accompany my Lúthien cosplay debut 😄💙:



And another length pic featuring heatless texture: braidwaves and curls with bendy foam rollers:


Length shot group at the LHC meet in London

 Length shot with fellow longhair Piffyanne (I think she's no longer on the forum?). We had roughly the same length, with mine being just a little bit longer xD
  •  September: Edging closer to knee! Only have some length shots with a black skirt and a mix of some braidwaves and my natural texture in the ends, though xD 



  • December:  More Lúthien length shots for the end of 2014, and also featuring heatless braidwaves and bendy rollers curls. Wavy and curly ends of course make the length look shorter than it actually is, but no actual length shots from either May or December from 2014, I'm afraid xD


 
Contrary to rag/bandanna curls, bendy rollers curls tend to make my hemline look less thick than it actually is, with these kind of curls making the hair clump more.
 
So, now quite close to knee, I had the plan of getting there, and then maintainig at knee to thicken up the hemline again, as I'd done at classic, fingertip and mid-thigh. Depending on the state of my ends and the shape of my hemline by then, I was even considering a bit chop from knee back to mid-thigh or fingertip to get rid of most of the damage in the ends (and then either growing to knee again or maintaining at mid-thigh as the goal length) - I did start doing bigger trims in late 2017, after the bid shed of 2015-16 😅. But before that - 2015 and knee-length!
 
SwordWomanRiona / rionashairblog.blogspot.com.es