Not quite as time-consuming as my Oola costume - it takes me around 1 hour to get into costume, paint myself, and apply makeup.
THE HEAD TAILS:
My lekku were purchased from the fantastic Pam of Pam's Twi'lek Creations and cost around £100 including shipping. This lady knows her lekku! She's been making them for some time and is quite the perfectionist. They are hollow latex, cast from her very own mould (she can make just about anything!) take a look at her HOW TO for more info.
Unlike my Oola headtails, these don't require a chin strap to hold them on. The latex simply stretches to fit the head - they are VERY comfortable. They are very professionally filled with a mixture of polystyrene balls, foam, and expanding foam for a great shape and realistic movement.
They arrive as plain latex lekku, with a pair of ear buds:
   I need to push them down further and cut off the excess latex around my ears - regardless, they look fantastic even at this point!
Painting the headtails took me most of a weekend. I had an airbrush and mini compressor which I hadn't used since A-Level Graphics almost 10 years ago! Surprisingly enough, everything still worked - although it took a bit of practise to get a decent amount of ink to flow through the airbrush.
I found I had to mix my acrylic colours with quite a lot of water for it to run through the airbrush properly . I also added a little liquid latex into the mix to help stop the paint cracking on the latex tails when dry.
I think I mixed 3 different shades of blue paints, some white, and a tiny amount of red before getting the desired shade of blue!
First coat:
Some dripping from holding the airbrush too close, but soon covered this up with more paint!
Not too far off matching with Snazaroo Sky Blue facepaint! (taken with flash)
The ear buds
Final blue coat (in natural light)
And finally, if you look closely - Aayla's tails have a spotty, mottled pattern on them. This was very difficult to do with the airbrush, but just wouldn't have looked right if I'd painted or stencilled them on - so freehand airbrushing all the way!
(with flash)
(without flash)
Bare in mind some of the spots will be covered up with the leather strapping eventually. Still, I'm pretty pleased with the outcome. Next step is to attach the strapping using rubber cement and cut back latex around the ear area for a better fit.
I used UHU glue to attach the strips of leather strapping. It fixes quickly and dries clear.
It doesn't allow any room for error though, or it will pull the blue paint straight off the lekku - so very slow going to ensure I'm putting the straps in the right places...
BODYPAINTS: I use standard water-based Grimas facepaint - available online if you search for it.
Price varies depending on what size pot you buy, you want 25ml or larger (smaller ones are in small pots that are fiddly to get your sponge into). It is fast and easy to apply. Washes off with soap and a scrub.
To apply, spray water onto the paint and apply it with a round facepaint sponge (the more paint that is on the sponge, the better). Apply a few drops of hair conditioner into a spray bottle of warm water - use this to moisten the facepaint. The conditioner helps the paint go on smoother. Apply to the skin in circular motions to avoid streaks
Dries in a few minutes, and I apply a quick layer of hairspray to fix the paint - this helps it last a little longer before needing any touch-ups. You can use proper facepaint fixatives, but the contents are basically the same as hairspray so I don't see the point in spending more money on it!
Testing facepaint colours:
Snazaroo's Pale Blue first, then Sky Blue.... with me having darker skin they end up being a slightly different shade on me, but I think Sky Blue will probably be closest. Royal blue was far too dark, and pale far too light!
Here I tried to match my lekku using Snazaroo Sky Blue, and mixed a tiny amount of pale blue onto the sponge when applying to lighten it slightly. This is the result:
 (natural light)
 (with flash - brightens colours and looks more turquoise)
I still wasn't happy with Snazaroo blues at this point, so then tested out some facepaints made by Grimas. Again, they are waterbased - but tend to have a thicker consistency (which helps to cover my tattoos!) I ordered Blue, and Blue Azure to test.... BLUE AZURE ended up being the best colour match in the end. Plus it meant I didn't need to mix colours, so is much faster and easier to apply.
MAKEUP:
Pink lipstick is required for this character. Some basic black makeup (eye shadow and liner) is all that is needed, black mascara also helps to cover up any facepaint on the lashes. I also use the black eye liner to lightly define my eyebrows again after they are covered in paint.
THE COSTUME: Leather headpiece, belt, mudflaps, and top made by the wonderful Jo of GravityXero Clubwear
Inital costume looked like this:
Jo had some difficulty tracing a suitable screen-accurate fabric for the top and sleeve. The actual fabric has a crocodile/reptile scale print. She actually experimented with dyes to create her own batik print:
 Her first attempt, not perfect but shows what can be done.
Her final costume pieces turned out fantastic, with a much better fabric pattern and colour:
The leather part of the crop top has also been shortened slightly to allow for more stomach area to paint blue.
This is all custom made to my measurements, first fitting:
Yep, great fit first time!! Here you can see my Covertec lightsaber clip attached to my belt too.
Headpiece is also quite ingenious, with one part neatly attaching inside the other part with velcro. Jo left a convenient gap to allow for easy placement of the ear buds, which were simply glued into place:
LEGGINGS: Plenty to be found on EBay. I decided to buy a rich brown or chocolate shade to contrast against dark brown boots, they wouldn't look right if the shades were too close otherwise. The waistband was a little too high though - so after a quick adjustment with the sewing machine, they now sit nicely on the hips. Too high on the waist and they just don't look flattering, or allow for enough body surface to paint blue!
BOOTS: Search EBay for 'Brown Knee Boots' in your foot size. Good boots are roughly £30-£35 a pair including postage. The following styles would be suitable:
  
I went for the first pair pictured above. Need to wear them in a bit as they look a bit too new but they're really comfy so that's a bonus!
GLOVES: I bought one pair on EBay, and another pair on sale in Wilkinson. If I apply the bodypaint using latex gloves to keep my hands clean, I can avoid painting my hands and wear these gloves instead. A good idea to help avoid getting paint all over a changing room, my costume, or on an expensive light saber!
BELT CLIP: You want an official Star Wars belt clip, also known as the "Covertec Clip". They can be purchased from www.swbeltclip.com and cost only £5.75 including postage!
LIGHTSABER: The easiest and cheapest option is currently the Force FX lightsaber with blue blade. These can be found very cheap on sites like Play.com (£38 special offer with free postage!)
Blue is required for Aayla, so the Luke saber will do in this case:
However, it is definitely worth investing in a custom saber. A light-up blade and sound are optional, and not always useful at daytime events - a simple hilt can easily be attached to your belt clip saving you the need to carry a complete saber.
Aayla had two sabers in the films, which looked like these:
 
Do-Clo Custom Sabers are based in the US and do custom LED sabers without sound from $200 + shipping, and LED sabers with sound from $300 + shipping. Here's an example of the Adi Gallia saber, which is similar to Aayla's:
I've also invested in a lightsaber bag, just search on EBay for 'Lightsaber Bag' - they ship from Hong Kong, but cost only £8 including shipping. A great way to transport a saber safely and easily. Extra sponge padding or bubble wrap could be wrapped around a fragile blade too. I opted for some wadding I found in the fabric shop, simply wrapped around the saber and fits snugly inside the bag.
You could also use a long poster or reinforced document tube, or plastic tube for transporting fishing equipment - probably a good idea if you plan on using public transport!
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