How much makeup is absolutely necessary?

Hi Julie, I agree with Celeste.  My wife never wears any makeup.  And many, many other women in my community never wear makeup.  I have more makeup than my wife which I seldom wear.  But I can pass without wearing any makeup - that however is just the luck of my genes.

Like my Mom always told me, I should have been born a girl.  Physically, I have no adam's apple, little facial or body hair but lots of hair on top of my head, youthful round face shape, not very tall, thin wrists.  My voice can give me away at times though it is in the alto range which can be either male or female. It doesn't take much effort for me to talk a little higher with more of a lilt.

Sorry, I digress, back to your makeup question.  It all depends on what nature has given you to start with.  Heavy beard, then a lot more makeup to cover it.  But the secret of passing it NOT to go heavy on makeup.  Then you start to look like a drag queen and that will just give you away (unless of course you are going to a drag bar then you'll fit in quite nicely).

My suggestion is to just play around with it - you'll find what works best for you.  And it will be fun.  Oh, one thing, don't use expired makeup, I had a very negative reaction from using old makeup and unfortunately I'm still dealing with the consequences of that.

Have a lovely rest of the week, All the Best, Hugs, Krista.

Julie,

I’m certainly not an authority on what it takes to pass, so take all this with a grain (or full shaker) of salt.  I know that for me looking in mirror, there is a sort of ‘minimum’ transformation that has to be there to convince me that I’m no longer looking like my male self.

Perhaps the biggest thing there for me regarding makeup is beard shadow cover (I use theatrical makeup for this, the orange coloured stuff from Ben Nye - “Five O’Sharp”) and then foundation over that sufficient to remove any indication of facial hair around my mouth and chin.  The other big one is to change the appearance of my face shape and for that I use a contour pallete from NYX, and their highlighting pallete (but there are dozens of them that I’m sure work equally well) to try to disguise my square jaw and forehead primarily.  I found contouring and highlighting to be the hardest thing for me to learn and I still don’t do it all that well, but it’s one of those things that I think you really just need to practice a bunch.  With my face ‘reshaped,’ facial hair covered, and skin tone all evened out, I’m sufficiently transformed in the mirror to reach that ‘minimum’ point in my mind anyway.

But who can stop there........and why on earth would you want to with so many great lipstick choices to pick from 🙂

Marcellette

I also have yet to do makeup. The picture of me on my profile is me without makeup. I have no idea why I’m hesitant in doing this and maybe it’s because I work too much or I don’t have panties yet or maybe stressing about something else 🤷‍♂️.

I have an ex girlfriend who is helpful but not helpful when it comes to crossdressing. I have another lady friend that she says she is a horrible source on makeup. I just need to have a day to myself and practice.

I agree with what Celeste said in that conversation the only advantage that women have is no facial hair. Anyone can look pretty just with h a little makeup here and there. One disadvantage I do think that most men have is looking too manly with manly features.

I’ve learned that less is best! 🍀💜 especially foundation, just a very lite amount .. 🌸 just to even out skin tone. Then Bring the glam to the eyes and lips! 💋🍭🎀🧚‍♀️🦋

Hi Julie! I am no expert either, but I would take a few pictures in a well lit bathroom (hopefully with daylight lighting). If you see a 5 o'clock shadow you will need beard cover and probably foundation, possibly concealer. If you have real "masculine" (angular) features, you may need to contour to soften those, but sometimes hair can be styled to help soften features. Sunglasses can be used to cover masculine brows and eliminate the need for eye make up. Hugs!🤗

Hi Julie. Lately for myself I have been experimenting after the moisturizer and primer just enough foundation to cover what little of the beard is still visable. Works for me since my beard is not very heavy. For me that with a little lipstick and then my now shoulder length hair gets me close to where I want to be for everyday. If your beard is heavy a more heavy coverup may be nessesary.
. Sandy

Samantha’s Easy 10 Step Make-up Routine

People have ask me how do I apply my make-up and what products do I use when I apply it. So here is the easy 10 step process of MY makeup application routine, I know everyone has their own way, and I may be applying my makeup 100% wrong, but once again this is what works for ME. I will do my best to explain all MY steps, and the products/brushes I use in the best detail that I can.

Face Prep: I wash my face really well, and shave with a fresh sharp razor. We want a fresh clean oil free platform to work with. So lets begin the show!

Step 1: Start with a basic pore filling primer. I just use my finger to apply the pore filler around/on my nose, forehead and cheeks. Pretty much anywhere my pores are huge is where I apply the pore filler!  (Product: Maybelline: Baby Skin Instant Pore Eraser Primer)

Step 2: False Lashes. I glue my false eyelashes on at this time, this allows me to fumble around with them and not mess up my makeup. Use a small amount of lash adhesive on the false lashes, wait about 30-60 seconds then apply them to you eyelids. Sometimes I’ll use the back of a small brush to push the false lashes into place on my eyelid. (Product: MAC: 33 Ingenue lashes, Kiss: Ever EZ Lash Adhesive)

Step 3: Foundation. Apply the foundation with a basic egg shaped Sponge Blender. The foundation should be applied lightly all over the face and applied thicker around the beard area of my face. Concealer is also applied lightly under eyes and heavy around the beard area. Make sure that the products blend well, you don’t want to have streaks on your face.  (Product: MAC: Full Coverage Foundation NC35, MAC: Studio Fix 24-Hour Smooth Wear Concealer NC25, Basic Egg Sponge Blender)

Step 4: Powder and bronze. I Lightly dust loose powder all over my face and neck with a large powder brush. Then I add bronzer to the outer edges of my face using a contour brush. Don’t go crazy this is just to contour a little bit. (Product: MAC Studio Finish Face Powder, Physician's Formula Murumuru Butter Bronzer, Brushes: Tweezerman iQ Powder Brush, Urban Studio kabuki contour brush)

Step 5: Blush. Smile and very lightly apply on the “apples” of your cheeks. Don’t put too much or you’ll look like a clown. I sometimes will just finish with one to two light brushes on the nose too. (Product: MAC Mineralize Blush, Brush: Tweezerman iQ Blush Brush)

Step 6: Eye brows. I draw a nice arch for each brow with a small sharp angle brush using dark powder, then go back with a light brown to blend the two colors. (Product: WetNWild Ultimate Brow Kit, Brush: MAC 263)

Step 7: Eye shadows! I love them, I use three different brushes when I apply eye shadow, one brush for each shade. I start with a dark shade of eye shadow on the main part of the eyelid. Then apply a darker shade than the first one used in the crease of the eyelid. After this I use a light shade on the brow bone area. Next, I layer and blend the shades to get the colors to my liking. Last, I use a small brush with a  touch of pure white in the inner corner of my eyes this just makes the eyes “pop” Don’t believe me? Try it! (Product: MAC Pro Eye Shadow (Pro Palette Refill Pans, Brushes: MAC 239/219/224)

Step 8: Eye liner. I start by pulling the outer corner of my eye with my finger then draw a small width line on each I use a liquid liner. I only do the top lid, do the bottom if you like, I do not. (Product: Clinique: Pretty Easy Liquid Eyeliner Pen)

Step 9: Mascara. I use light strokes and not too much mascara on the wand, I don’t want clumps on my lashes. Just coat the lashes, top and bottom, remember it’s not a race, take your time. I sometimes will do the blink trick to apply: hold the wand close to the underside of the lashes and then just slowly blink your eye.  I use two different products, both work well. (Product: MAC: In Extreme Dimension 3D Black Lash Mascara/ Clinique: High Impact Mascara)

Step 10: Lipstick is last and ALWAYS is for me. Start at the bottom lip apply to the middle blot then reapply blot again. Fill in the missing areas. Make sure you don’t go all the way to the corner of the mouth or you look like the Joker. I match colors depending on the outfits. I use a few different products (Product: MAC Liquid lips, and standard MAC lip stick)

Double check everything, you may want to add a little powder here and there, but looking in the mirror….You’re amazing!

Aftermath: So we NEVER sleep in our makeup ladies….EVER!
Removal, I start with removing the fake lashes first. Next, make-up removal wipes to remove the bulk of it. After that, I use round cotton pads with miceller water. Once everything is pretty much gone I finish with “take the day off” to totally remove the makeup. Now that you have all that makeup off, use a nice face cream to protect that pretty face of yours.  (Product: Neutrogena: Ultra-Soft Makeup Remover Wipes for Waterproof Makeup/Garnier SkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water/ Clinique: Take The Day Off Makeup Remover For Lids, Lashes & Lips)

If that's classed as 'easy' I dread to imagine what a complicated routine would consist of. It's no wonder feminists talk about the extra labour of being a woman. No, I don't think I'll be spending that amount of time and effort on my face to go into town for shopping.

[postquote quote=488193]

It's a 15 minute process. Practice, practice, practice. It would take forever for me to do my make but now it is second nature.

Each their own, wear as much or little makeup as YOU like. I go for light and not "caked" on.

Thanks, Samantha Roarke

Learn to do the "No makeup" makeup look.  Its worth it.

Tinted moisturizer works wonders. Along with some bronzer. Some brown eyeliner for myself.

Hi Julie You are right there is a lot to learn. Do not forget our cis sisters have been practicing forever and they do have many more feminine features that only have to be high lighted and we will need a lot more make up. Practice, practice, spend time and practice. Getting rid of the five o clock shadow is a great beginning. Creating pretty eyes can be so much fun also. Make up is the fun part of being a girl so enjoy it.

Luv stephanie

None. Make up is like frosting on a cake, still tastes great without any.

I compliment you on your excellent instincts for starting with this question! Rather than having it slowly dawn on you after years like me. Aside from not touching my hair every 30 seconds, toning down makeup was important to me personally to get the level of confidence I needed to out somewhere feeling like I could get by. There is always a tendency to take that one last stroke to make it perfect and before you know it...

One of my self tests is to put my face about six inches from the mirror and ask myself if it still looks like skin. To get to yes on that, I have reduced my use of concealer or full coverage products to only where absolutely needed (for shadow) and otherwise I use BB cream or once in a while just powder, which lets more natural color come through. Then I can go lighter applying a little bronzer and blush. I've also found that no matter what I do to my face, it is irrelevant without eyeliner, mascara (I have no lashes otherwise) and lip color. Point being its the details and figuring out which ones to emphasize for yourself individually that will carry you. Setting a clock helped too--with the pandemic, my girl time windows were cut to a few hours, so I had to simplify and get faster. The time consuming contouring techniques that the online tutorials showcase aren't at all what make or break a look.

Ive always found the old addage less is more so i dont use much but just enough to look femme