Beginning Make-up

[Guest Emily_MI]

Since I am wanting to transition more and more each and everday, I really have not done much at all with make-up and really do not know where to start honestly in this part of my transition?, there is SSSOOO much to make up that it is really over whelming to know where to start for beginniners like myself?, What is recommended to get for starting out?, How to know what colors to get for my skin-tone?, just some of the questions I have before I start more and more on this?, Thank You in advance.

~Hugs~

-Emily

[Guest Lisa marie]

Hi Emily

I've just started using makeup myself and i've found that the only thing you can really do is go to a store and ask, its not easy to do i know but u'd be surprised, may be the best day of you life as it was for me .

I've tried ordering from the internet and such but its hard to get the right color for your skin tone and such (foundation that is, some stuff is ok ofc) so i think in the long run its better to just jump in it and gets some nice tips and help in a store , there's alot to learn belive me.

To begin with i'd go with some eye shadow tho , and start simple (unless ur a gifted artist), i kinda look like a clown if i start doing multiple colors and such so i'm sticking with "goth" all black for now, its a nice place to start, and its generally accepted in society which makes it a little easyer in the beginning.

And remember go easy on it, better to put on 2 - 3 times instead of once and washing it off hihi

Co depending how good your skin is you can skipp the concealer really.

Then moisturize always so a good cream is essential

Maybe some foundation if you need it to even out your skin.

eyeshadow and mascara

Eye liner

Some makeup remover for later

Thats about what i use

Hope this helps a little bit, and dont forget your brows and hair it can make such a HUGE difference to the overall look, i just styled my hair into a chick style and i could almost pass now hehe, atleast people would think twice

I'm kind of a nab tho so hopefully someone with a bit more clue comes along but this works for me, less is better

Lisa

[Guest IGotThatGoodGood]

I feel kinda the same way you do about 'Make-up'.

You should try out covergirl.com they have a really nice thing on the site that will help you find your color tone. You might also try going to the mall and getting a facial done at the make-up counter (I suggest MAC lol). The girls want your service so they'll find and show you what to do.

[Guest IGotThatGoodGood]

Oh and I forgot to ad you should pick up ''Sephora: The Ultimate Guide to Makeup, Skin, and Hair from the Beauty Authority'' book from amazon or your favorite book store.

[Guest nova]

It really helps to have a good, well lit make-up mirror. Your make-up can look perfect under the incandescent or florescent lighting in your room, but then go outside and OUCH-OMG!

[Guest Donna Jean]

Honey...I cheated....

My wife has been a natal woman for over 50 years (I'm getting dangerously close to a beating....)

And she gave me lessons! Yep! Set up a card table in the middle of the living room and placed two mirrors on it facing each other...on one side was her makeup and on the other side mine...

She went over each and everything that I would need to know so I wouldn't end up with a "Clown Face!" LOL...lol

And the secret?....Blending....the most important part of all!!!!

And I do pretty well now...I can get my face on in 10-15 minutes and look fine!

I think that a mentor would benefit everyone in this endeavor!

Good luck, Sweetheart!

Donna Jean

[Guest ~Brenda~]

Hi Emily Dear,

Makeup is actually very simple. I see that you have received lots of good advice from many people here. I'll just add my two cents. All you need is some base makeup (usually comes in a little square bottle). There are many skin tones to this, so just pick something that is close to your hand color. If there is a mirror handy then use your face. Hand is quick and accurate. Additionally, some eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick. Eyeliner? well that should accent your eye color (typically) unless you are going for a specific look. My eyes are blue so I use blue eyeliner. Mascara, black (always works). Lipstick... not too gaudy! You want to accent your already red lips (typically a little darker than your lips will do). So here you have it, base makeup, eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick. Nail polish is optional, but that is your style. Remember, there is no rule to makeup, just what makes you feel yourself and accents your highlights. Oh, another thing, there is a tendency to over do it at first, be light, less is best!! You just want to highlight your beauty, not overwhelm it!!. Sometimes a little powder on the face helps to soften the look too. I am just sharing what I do hon. You have to experiment to work out what actually works for you!

Simply, don't paint your face, just accent it!!!

Love

bernii

[Guest Emily_MI]

Yes everyone here has been AMAZING and so very helpful. I know it is not easy to do but I do need to go to an actual store and go into the make-up area and ask for assistance for finding the right tone for my skin and other other tips for helping a girl like myself. I agree with Bernii as well in what she said that *Less is best*, I tried a long time ago with makeup and I ended up looking like something out of the Rockey Horror show because I just went WAY overboard with makeup and just need it to accent my features and not totally over do it. I am sure it will take a long time and a lot of practice before I can perfect it but anything worth doing is never easy right?

~HUGS~

-Emily

[Guest nymphblossom]

I want to second Bernii's comments. less is definitely more with makeup. My wife has been a Mary Kay consultant for years. If you don't know of one near you, just go to their website for a local referal. You will get expert advice in the privacy of your home, free samples and no pressure to buy a thing.

Have fun!

Blossom

[Guest Lizzie McTrucker]

Do you have any female friends you can ask makeup questions to? That's pretty much how I got started. I also read a lot online to figure out my skin tone and what shades of powder, blush and lipstick would look good. In fact, I'm still reading about makeup shades and lipstick colors to figure out if they would look good with my skin tone.

pretty much with foundation you're either fair, medium or dark. fair if you're like pale. medium for the average lady, and dark if you're, say, African-American.

I use concealer for fair skin and then my foundation is for medium skin. You want something that closely matches your skin tone. you can use the area on the underside of your wrist as an example of what color to use. if it blends in there it should be a good match. you can also tell from different shades of foundation what would be too light or too dark.

I have yet to master eyeliner so....I don't wear it!

I do wear mascara. I get black since it's very complimentary. oh and I only use waterproof mascara. Cover Girl Great Lash has been a beauty staple for years.

Eye shadow...I wear glasses so I normally skip that, too.

Lipstick....I'm a medium skin tone so darker berry shades look good on me. Darker pinks look good too, for the most part. Red is very difficult to wear so I don't bother with it. I've also had some luck with neutral colors. (like browns) You can also do lip gloss for during the day. just a hint of color and some shine.

Blush..well..that's another on-going discovery for me. I've been reading Cosmo and Glamour for makeup tips and I think I settled on a pink-ish blush that looks really good. Too red and you look like a clown. You just want to add some color to your cheeks for a healthy glow, nothing dramatic.

oh and powder. the only powder I use is loose and translucent. I also only use it during the day for touch ups. don't want to use too much or it settles into your pores and the lines of your face.

and the best advice has already been mentioned: blend!

[Sally]

Once I finish with permenant hair removal and have no shadow to cover, I will probably follow the pattern of my mother and sister - no makeup at all.

My lips are noticably darker than my skin and it looks like I might be wearing lipstick already - I wear glasses and my eyelashes almost touch the lenses as is so, I'm lucky.

Love ya,

Sally

[Guest Elizabeth K]

Great advice - especially about less is best.

Also - outdoor light will KILL you if you have on too much.

Finally - lipsticks and colors? Try the samples on your skin, at the hand, the skin just below the thumb and forefinger. Look for a good match there and it will usually be good on your face.

And

GET A MAKEOVER.

MAX is a good place to go - they like us trans for some reason - guess we buy what we try... take a GG with you if you can, to give you an evaluation without a motive to have you buy something.

Hope this helps...

Lizzy

[Guest Christy.dancer]

Since I am wanting to transition more and more each and everday, I really have not done much at all with make-up and really do not know where to start honestly in this part of my transition?, there is SSSOOO much to make up that it is really over whelming to know where to start for beginniners like myself?, What is recommended to get for starting out?, How to know what colors to get for my skin-tone?, just some of the questions I have before I start more and more on this?, Thank You in advance.

~Hugs~

-Emily

There are some wonderful web-sites that allow you to upload a head-and-shoulders pic of yourself and "virtually" try on some different shades to see what works. My fav is from Marie Claire magazine:

http://www.marieclaire.com/hair-beauty/tre...tual-hair-salon

There's also a great one at Maybelline:

www.maybelline.com

Once you get there (and you have to go thru a couple of screens first, but its obvious), go to "My Color Advisor"

[Guest Charlene_Leona]

I personally like I.D. Bare Minerals they are ultra fine and great makeup. They do tend to be a little expensive and I have found some of the other companies are making comparable products at a much lower price. If you have a mall close that has a bare minerals store they will do a make over for you to show you how easy it's is to use. What's nice about them is you don't have to use much to get a bang.

For your Eye's I recomend Almay intense I-color Powder shadow this line is designed for your eye color and they are very complimentary. You can't normally go wrong with this line.

I would also recommend this book to all girls out there it is InStyle Getting Gorgeous ISBN 1-932273-55-7

Also your brushed and tools also make a great deal of difference I use Ecotools I bought my set at Walgreens for around $12.00.

It's a learning process doing your makeup and remember most girls had to go through their clown stage in middle school. It took me a while to get good with my make up, I tend not to use a foundation anymore because that's to easy to over do and make you look bad. I will use a concealer to cover what dark facial hair that I have left and go from there it is much more natural that way. You want to look like your not really wearing makeup. What I love now days it a lot of women will ask me to help them with their makeup and I do take it as a compliment. I also have women tell me the love my complexion and it's all just lite use of mineral makeup.

If you want any more pointers let me know, I love doing makeup.

Huggs

Charlene Leona

[Guest Emily_MI]

Should I even start makeup right now or wait until I am on HRT and it starts to take effect and help soften/feminize my face?

[Guest Anna_SF]

start with the make-up now. It takes a while to get. I used clear mascara for a while before moving onto color [blonde/brown]. Now I use the mascara with confidence but have to be careful with the eyeliner [which I use on my brows too]. I tend to overdo it so i usually wipe it off - some of it stays but it's not so obvious. Learning to trim your eyebows is hard but they look so much better when they are under control. I haven't started to pluck/shape them yet.

Accept the fact that your early purchases will probably never be used in public but it's good practice at home. I looked like a zombie when i practiced with black mascara & eyeliner.

When I shop at Sephora I tell them the foundation/powder is to cover acne and they are helpful. If they are chill I ask about other products. If you're not getting any service - open the drawer underneath the display and look through the overstock. Trust me, you'll be helped real quick.

anna

[Guest nymphblossom]

Since this thread has come back up, I want to add something I learned from my wife. If you play up your eyes, play down your lips. If you play up your lips, play down your eyes. Unless you have a specific purpose for very dramatic look (your cover shoot for Vogue or a Hollywood opening night- yeah right), playing up both is a sure way to look like you are wearing too much makeup.

Blossom

[Guest Kayliegh]

Good advice here - I'm glad you “resurrected” the thread, Anna!

One more bit of advice – eyebrows can be hard to shape. If you’re going to an electro, have him/her do your eyebrows. If you’re concerned about an obvious change, they can do them gradually and no one will notice.

Kayleigh

[Guest nymphblossom]

On eyebrows-

If you are cheap and a doityourselfer like me, once you have them professionally shaped, instead of tweezing them as the hair grows back, you can zap them with a home electrolysis kit like this:

http://astore.amazon.com/hair01-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=5

In two weeks, there was hardly anything left to pluck except a few stray vellum hair. And they look so clean and neat all of the time without that nasty stubble growing back. You can pick them up on auction sites for about $15. Please do not get the impression they can take the place of professional electrolysis for clearing large areas, but they are perfect for stray hair in easy to get to places. An hour or so and the hair on my fingers and toes was gone too- forever.

Blossom</SPAN></SPAN>

[Guest Kayliegh]

I don't use much makeup either.

You just want the "glow" and don't want to look like a clown. As a number of the ladies have said, the less you wear, the better you'll look!

(and eyeliner can be a pain! I can never get it right!)

Kayleigh

[Paula ult]

I too am glad this thread resurfaced,

I use very little makeup, since being on hormones 16 months my skin is really nice, i am getting close to having my facial hair gone and other woman compliment me on how soft and nice my skin looks and what makeup i use, they are stunned when i say nothing.

My eyebrows were kinda thin looking so i had them enhanced with permanent makeup, they never looked better, i also had permanent eyeliner done only on the top eyelids, if you do not have a high pain tolerance this might not be for you. I now can get up put some mascara and lipstick or gloss on and go.

The woman that does my electrolysis has been giving me makeup tips, she got them from a friend who is does makeup as a living, she said to apply mascara to the tops of the lashes in addition to the bottom, she said it makes them look fuller and longer.

Eyeliner under my eye was a problem with liquid or pencil eyeliners, she said to use a small flat angled brush, she called it an eyebrow brush, put eyeshadow on it and apply, she showed me how to do this and it works great.

Paula

[Guest Joanna Phipps]

I have rather stubborn shadow and mustache area so I have a bit of a routine for those:

1) concealer

2) light colored mousse makeup over the concealer

3) foundation for the rest of my face

4) a LIGHT coat of liquid makeup over all

this can keep those problem areas in check for 12 to 16 hours or more and the nice thing is that it doesn't look or feel heavy

[Guest CupcakePrincess90]

I agree with you girls on the less is more factor but I beg to differ because some people (like myself) go for the more out there and colorful makeup it just takes practice certain people look good with certain style.I am a freelance makeup artist by the way so i've worked with lots of people.

I say explore and find your style no matter who likes it just as long as it makes you feel good about yourself.

I've been practicing makeup since I was 14 now i'm 19 so it took all those years to master makeup lear your contouring and highlights and get nice makeup brushes tools are very important for successful makeup.

So be creative hun and find yourself. =D

hope I helped you can ask me anything about makeup anytime you need help.

xoxoxo

-Alicia

[Guest Anna_Banana]

I agree that less is more...after you reach a certain point in transition. I have a very light complexion (aka ghostly pale), and so my five o'clock shadow is always showing no matter how close I shave. To remedy this, I have to use a mix of concealer, foundation, and powder. This can seem like quite a lot, but the purpose is to create a smooth looking, unblemished skin tone. After I go through facial hair surgery, this amount of make up won't be needed. But if I ever want to pass in in public, I have to go the extra mile for a while.

.Anna

[Guest Joanna Phipps]

Hi Emily Dear,

Makeup is actually very simple. I see that you have received lots of good advice from many people here. I'll just add my two cents. All you need is some base makeup (usually comes in a little square bottle). There are many skin tones to this, so just pick something that is close to your hand color. If there is a mirror handy then use your face. Hand is quick and accurate. Additionally, some eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick. Eyeliner? well that should accent your eye color (typically) unless you are going for a specific look. My eyes are blue so I use blue eyeliner. Mascara, black (always works). Lipstick... not too gaudy! You want to accent your already red lips (typically a little darker than your lips will do). So here you have it, base makeup, eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick. Nail polish is optional, but that is your style. Remember, there is no rule to makeup, just what makes you feel yourself and accents your highlights. Oh, another thing, there is a tendency to over do it at first, be light, less is best!! You just want to highlight your beauty, not overwhelm it!!. Sometimes a little powder on the face helps to soften the look too. I am just sharing what I do hon. You have to experiment to work out what actually works for you!

Simply, don't paint your face, just accent it!!!

Love

bernii

I agree with most of what you say Renn but I do find that eyeliner and lipliner are just way too fidley for me. The only time I wear Mascara is if I am going out for the evening. By the way ladies, watch out for the mascara brush, if you jab yourself in they eye with it that stuff hurts like heck.