Masculinizing With Makeup

[Guest _Michael]

So I was wondering if any of you other gents utilize makeup as part of presenting as male. When I go out I almost always try to thicken up my eyebrows with brown eye liner and I put a bit beneath the eyes (makes the shadows darker, especially if it’s smudged correctly). Lately I’ve been experimenting with something I discovered as a drag king: brown oil greasepaint makeup and stipple brushes. I’m trying to create a decent stubble effect on the face, but it’s really easy to overdo it and make it look fake, and it’s still REALLY hard to use it if you’re going to be in close contact with people (You can see the texture of the stipple brush more if you look really closely)

This is the best I’ve gotten so far…

Front:

Right:

Left:

Although you can see the right side is overdone too much (And I got some of it on my earlobe XD)

Anyone else experiment around with makeup at all, or have any tips to share?

[Guest StrandedOutThere]

Wow...nice. I am afraid of makeup, so I never really thought of using it. Also, I have eyebrows like Sam the Eagle (from the Muppet Show), so I'm good there.

Your stubble with a brush technique is way cool. It looks awesome. That's a cool technique. Thanks for sharing!

[Guest _Michael]

Hehe, when I first started doing drag and I didn't know what I was doing, my favorite eyebrow technique was the bushy caveman brow - it's garunteed to work on ANYONE! My eyebrows are naturally really thin and delicate, so I have to mess them up quite a bit to make them look even a little guyish.

The stubble is most definitely fun to play around with if nothing else, you can do anything from sketchy used car salesman to slightly rough around the edges sexy greaser depending on the amount you put on and the way you apply it with the stipple brush.

[Guest ~Brenda~]

Dang Michael!!

You already pass! WOW!!!

teehee... I am starting to blush

LOL

bernii

[Guest StrandedOutThere]

I was so impressed with your pics that I forgot to ask... What is a stipple brush?

[Guest DanM]

Looks good for the most part, keep it up I bet you perfect it yet.

Peace Dan

[Guest 1charlotte1]

I am not trying to pick anyone up and I want to be as appropriate as possible but that is a Hott pic!! I love it!! U r very attractive! (I am now done drooling over the pics) lol, I sound a little extreme there, but that is my way of saying great work and u really pass well like that! Bravo!

Anonymously, Charlotte

[Guest Neuro]

Whoa; that's amazing! I am not gifted with makeup in the least, but do use it for cosplay and some photography. I never thought of using brushes and things for facial hair!! It looks so real, fffffff amazing!!

The only thing I know about makeup is, er... how to smudge it to look like you have bags under your eyes from lack of sleep (OTL Death Note lameness!)

My eyebrows are thick and low-set, when I used makeup on them once for a cosplay demonstration I looked like that Muppet Sam the Eagle, too XDDD but man, never woulda thought of using makeup to get that masculine effect--it looks so natural!! D8 Might have to ask my friend to borrow some brushes for effects now that I see how neat it can look, especially for shows and things. You look so ruggedly male that I am bowing before you in all my effeminate glory. =__=

[Guest _Michael]

Dang Michael!!

You already pass! WOW!!!

teehee... I am starting to blush

LOL

bernii

You just gave me the biggest smile ever, thank you!

This is the stipple brush and the greasepaint:

You can see the brush is really spongy but it's also super coarse and has a circular pattern, so when you dab it onto the face it puts down the makeup in little dots of varying intensity to give a really realistic stubble effect (even more realistic than any other fake facial hair, imo). You can take it even further and outline the jaw in natural, light brown eyeshadow to accentuate the jaw line, then put the stipple over it to add texture. It's really easy to use too.

[Guest Evan_J]

Wow...nice. I am afraid of makeup, so I never really thought of using it. Also, I have eyebrows like Sam the Eagle (from the Muppet Show), so I'm good there.

.....

LOL I knew I saw those eyebrows somewhere before. But they are workin for you -believe this- I was envious when I saw em a week ago.

I'm not one to be comfortable with makeup, but my therapist (also a ftm) said he used to steam his face really well so the pores would open, then dab mascara (kinda like you did with your brush- usin the side of the mascara handle) where he wanted stubble, then rub it into the pores. He claimed it worked pretty good for him till he got stubble goin.

[Guest _Michael]

LOL I knew I saw those eyebrows somewhere before. But they are workin for you -believe this- I was envious when I saw em a week ago.

I'm not one to be comfortable with makeup, but my therapist (also a ftm) said he used to steam his face really well so the pores would open, then dab mascara (kinda like you did with your brush- usin the side of the mascara handle) where he wanted stubble, then rub it into the pores. He claimed it worked pretty good for him till he got stubble goin.

That's pretty nifty!

[Guest Neuro]

Grease-paint... hmm. Can you buy that at professional costume shops and such? Or is it a common makeup device? I think stipple brushes are sold at... er, paint stores or makeup counters, right? *is clueless* The only thing I know where to purchase is brown-ish eyeshadow, which my sisters buy (and I own for cosplay <3 ) often.

[Guest _Michael]

Grease-paint... hmm. Can you buy that at professional costume shops and such? Or is it a common makeup device? I think stipple brushes are sold at... er, paint stores or makeup counters, right? *is clueless* The only thing I know where to purchase is brown-ish eyeshadow, which my sisters buy (and I own for cosplay <3 ) often.

Grease paint is one of those things where it seems like it should be widely available (and as far as I know it's the same stuff you can get at party city with pictures of clowns or dracula or whatever on the cardboard casing), but it's hard to find the good quality stuff. Specialty theatrical makeup shops are the best place and will always have it - and as an added bonus, most people working at the specialty shops LOVE what they do, so if you tell them you are trying get your man on they'll give you tips, show you what to do and almost always let you try before you buy. The specialty shops can be a little difficult to locate (There is only one in the entire state of Louisiana, in New Orleans naturally) but in Texas it shouldn't be a problem. I know a few kings from Austin and from Houston (Austin, by the way, has an AMAZING drag community and one of their troupes, Kings N Things, is majority Trans) and they have to get their supplies from somewhere in the area.

The stuff I use is Mehron brand, 10 C Ebony (Why it's called ebony when it's actually brown is beyond me), but you can also try out different colors (like charcoal and all) to get the best tone for your face.

It's this stuff

[Guest _Michael]

Whoa; that's amazing! I am not gifted with makeup in the least, but do use it for cosplay and some photography. I never thought of using brushes and things for facial hair!! It looks so real, fffffff amazing!!

The only thing I know about makeup is, er... how to smudge it to look like you have bags under your eyes from lack of sleep (OTL Death Note lameness!)

My eyebrows are thick and low-set, when I used makeup on them once for a cosplay demonstration I looked like that Muppet Sam the Eagle, too XDDD but man, never woulda thought of using makeup to get that masculine effect--it looks so natural!! D8 Might have to ask my friend to borrow some brushes for effects now that I see how neat it can look, especially for shows and things. You look so ruggedly male that I am bowing before you in all my effeminate glory. =__=

I thought i had already replied to this, but I guess I didn't submit it. I can make you a little video on some of the things you can do with the makeup, how to properly apply it, all of that jazz if you'd like. And at the risk of derailing my own topic, Death Note is freaking awesome. Have you ever read Monster? It reminds me a lot of Death Note in the themes it deals with but it's also a bit more realistic and just more polished imo.

[Guest Neuro]

Yeah, I have 2 pro shops near me and everyone there are friends who know all about selecting the right things! TX is big on costuming and such. Thank you for the info!

[Guest _Michael]

Whoa; that's amazing! I am not gifted with makeup in the least, but do use it for cosplay and some photography. I never thought of using brushes and things for facial hair!! It looks so real, fffffff amazing!!

The only thing I know about makeup is, er... how to smudge it to look like you have bags under your eyes from lack of sleep (OTL Death Note lameness!)

My eyebrows are thick and low-set, when I used makeup on them once for a cosplay demonstration I looked like that Muppet Sam the Eagle, too XDDD but man, never woulda thought of using makeup to get that masculine effect--it looks so natural!! D8 Might have to ask my friend to borrow some brushes for effects now that I see how neat it can look, especially for shows and things. You look so ruggedly male that I am bowing before you in all my effeminate glory. =__=

I thought i had already replied to this, but I guess I didn't submit it. I can make you a little video on some of the things you can do with the makeup, how to properly apply it, all of that jazz if you'd like. And at the risk of derailing my own topic, Death Note is freaking awesome. Have you ever read Monster? It reminds me a lot of Death Note in the themes it deals with but it's also a bit more realistic and just more polished imo.

[Guest _Michael]

that link didn't work in post 13 but it's this stuff:

http://www.alconeco.com/products/prostheti...on_grease_paint

Oh and on the stipple brushes - you can get those at Party City or just about anywhere (maybe not hardware stores though ), but if you get them from makeup shops they tend to sell them in bulk of about 6 or 8 for like 3 bucks, so it's cheap.

[Guest Zabrak]

LOL.......

Nope, I never use make up. Not my thing but I still pass 100%.

[Guest Neuro]

I thought i had already replied to this, but I guess I didn't submit it. I can make you a little video on some of the things you can do with the makeup, how to properly apply it, all of that jazz if you'd like. And at the risk of derailing my own topic, Death Note is freaking awesome. Have you ever read Monster? It reminds me a lot of Death Note in the themes it deals with but it's also a bit more realistic and just more polished imo.

Death Note is freaking awesome!!! D8< I like Monster more though; because of the themes and characters. Plus, my favorite period of history-ish info~ I need to finish it. Cannot wait to have a live-action film.

Code Geass is like Death Note scary, only with Giant Robots. The same political turmoil.

[Guest StrandedOutThere]

Death Note is freaking awesome!!! D8< I like Monster more though; because of the themes and characters. Plus, my favorite period of history-ish info~ I need to finish it. Cannot wait to have a live-action film.

Code Geass is like Death Note scary, only with Giant Robots. The same political turmoil.

Death Note! Whoo! I like it.

I haven't ever read/watched Code Geass. Sounds nifty. I'll have to check out Monster too.

[Guest Jackson]

I don't do makeup. Over the years of reenacting and having a critical eye on women trying to pass as men I've learned that if the makeup and the fake beards aren't done very well, it all tends to look fake from a long distance. And I mean a long distance. Even if you think it looks good. I ran into a female reenactor in Virginia who's fake beard appeared really high-quality, but it looked so fake it wasn't worth the money she'd spent on it. In reenacting there is the "ten foot rule": if a female looked male from ten feet away, then the woman is doing a good job.

I read part of the book Self-Made Man by Norah Vincent. In it she had a good way to fake facial hair; however, I cannot remember what it was. I believe it was something like using the old-fashioned makeup adhesive and essentially gluing tiny bits of hair to her face. I really cannot believe that worked all that well; however, it worked well enough that she passed for eighteen months.

My two-cents worth (give or take for inflation).

[Guest _Michael]

I don't do makeup. Over the years of reenacting and having a critical eye on women trying to pass as men I've learned that if the makeup and the fake beards aren't done very well, it all tends to look fake from a long distance. And I mean a long distance. Even if you think it looks good. I ran into a female reenactor in Virginia who's fake beard appeared really high-quality, but it looked so fake it wasn't worth the money she'd spent on it. In reenacting there is the "ten foot rule": if a female looked male from ten feet away, then the woman is doing a good job.

I read part of the book Self-Made Man by Norah Vincent. In it she had a good way to fake facial hair; however, I cannot remember what it was. I believe it was something like using the old-fashioned makeup adhesive and essentially gluing tiny bits of hair to her face. I really cannot believe that worked all that well; however, it worked well enough that she passed for eighteen months.

My two-cents worth (give or take for inflation).

Yeah I know that method, I have a friend who does it whenever she kings and needs stubble but it is SUPER easy to mess it up, and I actually like the effect of stippling just a bit better. As of now I only use the stippling whenever I'm running a quick errand or something by myself and I know that I don't have to worry too much about being in really close proximity with people, I wouldn't advocate makeup for day to day use/classes etc just because it's almost impossible to keep it consistant.

[Guest Jackson]

Actually, I'm pretty impressed with the stippling technique. Without seeing it, I'd have never thought it would look that good. Some of us just have more talent than others. I don't know if I have the time or the patience to do it well. Plus I'm just not the five o'clock shadow kind of guy either.

[xanyx]

Awesome job!

I'd just change a shade of a cooler/greyish one