Cosplay 101: A guide to buying Wigs

 Due to popular request, this Cosplay 101 is about how and where to buy cosplay wigs. I'm not an expert myself and have been learning through trial and error, so keep that in mind. If you'd like to skip to the list of e-bay sellers and online stores go to the end of this tutorial.
Now onto it! (:

Think ahead: 

Step one on buying your wig should be collecting enough reference images, so you can buy a wig that you can style well and be colour accurate. Decide pretty early if you want to style it or commission someone to do it, buy a basic wig that you can work on or one that is already associated to the character and therefore, initially prepared for it.
Buying wigs is a test of patience, my number one spot to do it is e-bay, I get more options, several different colour variations and lots of different prices.
On you've established what kind of wig you want to get, you can start looking for it.

Basic Knowledge: 

If you choose e-bay, be careful with the sellers. Avoid buying from stores that have less than 97% positive feedback, and always read the reviews before buying. That can make or break it.
Read the description carefully and find out what type of fiber it is made of. There are heath resistant fibers and normal ones that can't take heath, and even heat-resistant ones are only so up to a point, so be careful. If there's nothing on the wig description, avoid buying it. It's also important to check the images they use to advertise/list the wig, if you can see erased watermaks, that usually means iffy business plus, more photos of different angles means a better chance that the wig you see is the one you're getting. E-bay listings that use photos of cosplayers are also to doubt, but check the description to see if they have photos of the actual wig on a wigstand.
Next would be the prices, don't buy the first wig you see, have a handful of options and choose the one that fits better with the character and also proportional in terms of price/quality.
Now that you're all set, the rest depends on your own personal taste. While we can help you with basic precautions and knowledge, it's up to you what you want to do with the wig and how far you want to take it. If you're worried about styling wigs, Arda has a great selection of video tutorials that you can watch here. They cover basic styling tools and methods, great for people who are just starting or want to refresh their memory.
Last but not least, if you're buying from an online store, read reviews on it before buying.

E-bay Sellers & Online Stores:

These are a few sellers and stores where me or my friends have bought from before, we can attest for their quality, but don't promise that the wigs will be perfect for you. As you may know, sellers change their products and we can't always keep track of it. Follow the previous steps and you should be fine (:

Arda Wigs - Though usually more expensive than most e-bay wigs, they have awesome fibers and thick wigs that you can work with beautifully. Many colour choices and styles to choose from.
WigFashion @ ebay - This seller has other stores under different names. With their photos, what you see is what you get and so far I've been happy with their products. Some of their wigs react rather aggressively when photographed with flash, so weird shine is a possibility for some of them under those circumstances.
JCPunk @ ebay - I have a friend who loves this store, so far most of her wigs are from here, and they all came exactly as described.
Moemall Cosplay @ ebay - This seller features lucaille wigs on ebay, so far they've turned out great, though sometimes a little bit thinner than showed.
PunkShop02 @ ebay - Wonderful wigs associated with many characters. Most styles are very accurate and the quality is great, plus you can commission wigs to this seller based on their colour charts.
CosplayWig @ ebay - Great wigs, exactly as described, colour and style wise. They hold great clearance sales from times to time, so check them out.
Cosplaydna @ ebay - Though sometimes the photos are colour enhanced, they seem to be fixing that. the fibers seem good enough, and you have lots of affordable choices.
Ayanamisatoru @ ebay - Lots of base wigs you can work with in gorgeous colours.
Susan-Kingdom @ ebay - So far all wigs we bought from here have come as described and with very good quality. Fiber count could be higher, but still great.
Ruler Cosplay Wigs @ ebay - Great colours, styles and wonderful quality. No complaints from my part so far.

If you have any other ebay sellers or stores you've loved, feel free to comment so we can add them to the list (:

Cosplay 101: Buying contacts / circle lenses

This post will cover basic precautions and advice, as well as online stores where you can get your contacts/circle lenses. We took great care in choosing websites we've gotten good reviews from, and that suit any cosplayer, with any budget. 

Just like a character's hair colour, their eyes are also important. Some cosplayers prefer to adjust that aspect of their costume in post processing, when editing photos, but to some it's a critical part of the overall look that at a convention or a photoshoot, their eyes meet the character's with the right colour. Contacts are tricky, and before you buy any you should first pay a visit to a ophthalmologist, as some people can't wear them. Your health comes first, and your eyes are an important part of you so take care of them!  

Basic care and overall precautions:

To hold contacts you'll need a contact case, cleaning and storing fluid. If you don't clean your contacts it'll be uncomfortable to wear them and you might infect you eyes, and just as important as cleaning them is storing them in the right contact fluid so they don't dry. You can get all these things at eye related stores where you can buy glasses and prescription contacts.
Basic fundamental knowledge: Only you can wear your contacts, no one else can wear them at a risk of infection which can also happen if you switch the eyes in which you use them, that is, the lense you use on your right eye should only be used for that eye, and same with the left. Contacts/Circle Lenses have an expiration date, some last a day, others months and some a year, don't use them beyond that date! Keeping them clean helps to make them last longer as they're fragile and might rip or get dry, but other than making sure they're good, extending their expiration date is not, at all, advisable.  Some lenses might be slightly uncomfortable, others are so great you don't even feel them. Overall you should never wear them for over 8 hours, and for the first few times use them for even lesser periods of time. Getting your contacts in might be tricky, try following these steps.

 

Online Stores: 

 Alice and Rabbit's Shop - this store has highly pigmented circle lenses, great for people with dark eyes. Shipping is free and the prices are very affordable when comparing to their excellent quality.
HoneyColor - You can get several types of circle lenses from different brands. Prices here are usually cheaper than pinkyparadise, and shipping too is less.
PinkyParadise - Great choice and very good sales, carry many kinds of circle lenses at various prices.
Coseye - Lenses here seem to be cheaper than any other store I ever found, great shipping and a good, albeit smaller selection.
LensCircle - Simmilar to pinkyparadise and honeycolor.
WRLens - Natural colours and effects, these are very realistic but cost a great deal more than any of the choices above.