Lady Melisandre Ensemble

"The night is dark and full of terrors...but the fire burns them all away." ―Melisandre

Become the chilling beautiful priestess from Game of Thrones! This instructable is an easy guide for putting together a Melisandre costume for what ever occasion you like.

('Game of Thrones' and the character"Melisandre" are trademark/copyright/property of HBO)

To come up with a Melisandre costume, you need four main components:

*A deep scarlet-colored, long dress (with V-cut front)

*Long, deep red hair

*The Melisandre necklace

*and a little makeup!

Plan out which Melisandre look you are going for. This style we chose is the Season 3 look. Simply change up the look by adding a riding cape or shawl, jewelry or hair style.

Let's look at each of these four elements of the costume.

When coming up with this costume, our goal was to keep purchases to a minimum. The one exception was the wig.

For mimicking Melisandre's locks, go for a deep dark red with long waves. The wig seen here was purchased on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004U7SS3K/?ref=cm_sw_r_pi_dp_jp6wvb1113ZAV

Clip back your natural hair tightly, with no loose strands. Pop on a wig cap to make sure all your hair stays back. Stretch the wig over your head and adjust the wig position as needed. A snug fit is a good fit when it comes to wigs.

The necklace shown here is actually made out of yellow craft foam sheets. It is lightweight and comfortable to wear. Check out the instructable here:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Melisandres-Necklace/

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The dress was custom made by a friend. They mixed sewing patterns to mimic the elegance and renaissance feel of Melisandre's dress. The fabric chosen is a rich red color in stretch poly velour fabric. Some patterns that would work if you felt up to tackling a dress would be : Butterick 3552, Butterick 4827, McCalls 2810, Simplicity 1045 and Simplicity 1137.

You don't have to go to great lengths to make a dress. You could wear a long sleeve red maxi dress with a v-cut neck. An old red bridesmaid dress would work with a red shawl around your shoulders. You can shop the racks a thrift store or resale clothing shop for a red dress.

When deciding on a dress for Melisandre: Think long, alluring, flowing and elegant.

The most important thing when coming to making Melisandre's face is contouring. She has some wicked sharp cheekbones that you will need to mimic.

You can use the foundation, primer, and pressed powder that you use every day. Even the eyeshadow can be your own - only dialed up for drama!

Start by priming your entire face. Use concealer on blemishes. Use foundation to even out tones and create a blank canvas. Lightly brush on pressed powder to set.

Suck in your cheeks to find your cheekbones. use the darkest blush in your palette and using a large powder brush, use light strokes to apply the blush from your cheek up to the cheekbone. Blend well with the same size brush. Repeat with the lighter blushes and finish with your normal pressed powder. The key is to make sure it is blended well but not over dramatic.

Eye make up is subtle. Use a brown palette to bring out your eyes. Use a light color along the brow-bone and blend down towards the lids. Add a dash of the same color along the bottom lid. Use a light matte brown over the lid and a dark shimmery brown for the outer corners of the eye and blend into the crease of your lid. Then, blend your matte brown and your shimmery brown. Blend, blend, blend. Also take a dab of a shimmery white powder and add a dot in the inner corner of your eye and blend it around. Use a black eye liner to edge your upper lid along the lash line. Use black mascara to make your eye lashes really pop. Think length rather than volume, though.

If you do not have dark thick eyebrows you will need to accentuate your eyebrows with an eyebrow pencil. A medium brown will do just fine. Even though you're being a redhead you do not need to use a red pencil. A nice brown eyebrow powder helps fill in the eyebrows as well. Try to keep it looking natural and use your own eyebrow shape as a guide.

Your lips need to be a shade darker and redder than your natural lip color. It is optional to use a lipliner. Finish off your lips with a coat of clear or dark red gloss.

It's a good idea to get ready in this order:

Wig cap,

Makeup,

Dress & shoes,

Necklace and

Wig.

I found this to work out nicely.

Now run off to the Ren Fest, Dragonstone or trick or treating. Have fun being Melisandre.