Contents
show
21-year-old Richard Schaefer makes costumes and wigs, and mastered professional makeup application, to achieve his dream of dressing up as Disney princesses (and looking AMAZING).
Richard works as a freelance makeup artist and spends up to two hours on his transformations, using contouring techniques to sculpt his face and colored contact lenses to complete the look.
And he dons steel-boned corsets and chest padding to match a princess-sque hourglass silhouette with his doey-eyed makeover.
“I enjoy being in character because I get to be a different person for a while, which is fun,” says the self-confessed “Disney addict”.
But the fashion design student only found his passion after suffering years of bullying for being overweight, finding happiness in creating clothes and artwork in his spare time.
“I was a bit of a loner at school and spent a lot of time by myself. But when I lost the weight, I felt more confident and able to just brush off any comments.”
“I decided to start cosplaying as princesses because of how androgynous people used to say I was. Curiosity got the best of me, so I decided to transform myself into my favorite princess, Ariel.”
“Being a princess definitely helped me to become a more confident person. Not only do I feel beautiful as a princess, but I feel even more beautiful when I’m just myself.”
“I think it’s a real compliment when people think I’m a female cosplayer because it means that my transformation must be really convincing.”
Now Richard is a Disney cosplay pro, with thousands of fans on Instagram following his unbelievable transformations.
And we hope he never stops doing what makes him feel amazing.
“I often receive rude comments, but I’m quick to shut them down. I’m sure of myself and who I am, so I never take someone else’s opinion to heart.”
We can’t even make our eyeliner match…