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I just wanted to share a positive experience I had at Sephora yesterday. I know that the company is trans-friendly, but in and of itself that’s not enough to dispel my first-time nerves. To add to it, I was accompanied by my wife and her best friend, who I am out to but has never seen me en femme. I had scheduled a makeover for super bowl Sunday in the hope that it would be less busy (I was wrong, so so wrong), and my wife and her friend came along for moral support and to share in the experience. I wore my favorite colors and a pleather skirt that I really like. Usually when I’m in public I’m with my wife, and was really surprised at how nervous I was to be out with someone else for the first time. Once she was in the car my nerves evaporated, and in the end it was incredibly rewarding to find another supporter in her.
The real story, though, is my experience at Sephora. From the moment I walked in the door, I felt seen and supported. The esthetician that did my face was fantastic. She asked tons of questions about what kind of look I wanted, what I usually did or used, and what I wanted from our session, and she was totally cool about making it a lesson. I learned a TON, finally found a good foundation match, but the real revelations were almost all around application and placement. YouTube is good for general info, but even at it’s best it doesn’t know anything about my individual challenges (heavily hooded eyes, a heavy brow), and the help I received around those areas was worth the price of admission. She was so nice! She complimented my bone structure and my skin and generally just made me feel beautiful. The final result was simply mindblowing and to see myself professionally made up was very emotional, even before the oohs and aaahs from my moral support team. I would totally recommend this to any CD who wants some personalized help with their makeup game. You will be welcome there. This wasn’t a specifically trans-oriented class, just the regular full face session that most stores offer.
We went to lunch after, then browsed a boutique and plant store in my neighborhood (I didn’t hide behind a mask all day!), and I even got a compliment from some random admirer who said he liked my sweater (I don’t think he was admiring my sweater, but was enough of a gentleman not to say so). It was an awesome day out. Please share your makeover story or dreams!
Thank you so much for sharing. It is great to hear others experiences. It sounds like you had a wonderful time and gives hope to others like me to try it out. Thanks 🙂 I
Hi Nikki,
Sounds like an awesome day and what great support you have. Do you have a pic of the makeover you are willing to share?
Hugs,
Michelle
Hi Nikki, sounds like you had a great time!!
I had a makeover about a year and a half ago. I must admit it was my first time and i was nervous as i did not know what to expect. I didnt even know what to take!! so i took along various clothes and just figured that i could make do and mend so to speak. Anyway, it all turned out better than expected and my fears were unfounded as i was treated like a Princess all the way through. I had never had so much attention placed on me. All in all the experience lasted a good 4 hours and i was tired when it was over but it was well worth it. The only caveat i can see is you want all the photos that have been taken but they can work out very expensive so you have to make a few sacrifices unless you have very deep pockets.
I would recommend anyone to do it as your photos will be of professional quality and your make-up too. Be warned though! You will not want it to end!!!
Fiona xx
Nice story Nikki. While I have not had a full makeover yet, I did have a long consultation at Ulta with a SA I’m friendly with and it was well worth it. I like my look now much better than previously and I think it very worthwhile for every new CD to get some sort of professional advice because you can only go so far with YouTube videos.
I am happy you had such a wonderful time, and I agree, everyone should try it as it is a fun experience. My make over was at ad CD service in London. I was traveling solo and thought, what the hell! I was a little nervous going in since it was a strange city and all, but it was a fun couple of hours, and the make up was fantastic. I had a ticket to a London play that evening, so toned down the make up a bit, wore a skirt and black tights and went to the play semi-en femme. Had I thought things through ahead of time I would habe left all the make up and gone fully en femme.
I went for a make-over with a local visagist, she does film and TV (excuse the pun) and is well known by the cd community here in the north of the Netherlands. I was nervous about the afternoon, I had never anyone see me dressed but not made-up before. I took my own products and she added her stuff when mine was’nt good enough for the job in hand. I had been using Jecca Blac but Switched to Ben Nye as it worked better for my type of skin. We substituted a couple of my products, but we mostly used what I had. She made me feel completely at ease, she gave me really good constructive advice. I went out for dinner afterwards with a girlfriend which was a first (now I go everywhere en femme when I feel like it) two days later I received and email with a .pdf explaining how and where to apply everything and a list of the new products and brush types/numbers. What she also taught me was hygene, keeping your brushes clean, using a spatula and stainless steel pallet to load your brush when applying concealers and foundation from screwtop pots This stops bacteria transferring from your skin to your product and prolonging its shelf life. It was an all round informative and fun afternoon, she taught me a lot of stuff in a very short time.
This morning I went to a beautician for the first time, my wife gave the treatmeant as a Xmas gift which was really lovely, she is not a fan of my cross-dressing so it was a tearful moment when I opened the card with the gift card in. That was also something everyone should try, my skin was visibly smoother and softer, my eyebrows were tidy, and my lips felt great.
Hi Helene,
What a wonderful and educational experience and I just learned a cool new word. Every CD should have a visagiste like yours on speed dial.
Hugs,
Michelee
Hi ladies,
Here’s my A$0.02 worth From a previous post
As one of the more ahem…(mature…) CDH members I can say that I have had many professional makeovers in cities as far apart as London and Manchester, Toronto, Perth Western Australia, Sydney and of course here in Melbourne, where I live.
My (long retired), job involved lots of travel so, early days were at dressing services in the UK and Sydney and the one in Toronto at Walk on the Wildside, where you have it all done in a barbers chair…. Very different…
The latter day events here at home have been via two or three professional make up artists, two of which I now regards as good friends with again one of those ladies “doing my hair”, (aka wash and set my wigs) ,on a regular basis. Latter days here in “OZ”,they usually take place either at the “MUA”S” home or at a rented self contained apartment chain
For me, there has been nothing quite like turning a grizzly old male into a very feminine looking woman, not to mention the fact that I find having my make up and hair done is one of the most relaxing things I have ever experienced….
Circa half of the photos in my CDH public profile would have been taken at a professional makeover. The ones that are not are easy to spot, cos its me that did the make up….
Feel free to browse
Caty.
Happy dressing and having makeovers
Caty.
If I had to get my first makeover at Sephora or other public place, I would probably not be out today. Not having a wig or any makeup experience at all, not having any breast forms, I would not have gone out in public dressed in public. (The one time I did before, I used poly-fill to stuff the bra cups).
My first makeover was in 2009 at the home of a woman who ran a transformation studio from a sun-room in her home. Like Nikki, she didn’t just do my makeup, she taught me about makeup and even had me practice some parts of it. She was “sort of” the first person to see me dressed, and the first person to call me Alison by voice (as opposed to in forums) from the moment she met me even though I was not dressed.
(I had gone out twice before, coming home on long drives while my kids were staying overnight after a marching band performance, and my wife a the time was on the overnight shirt so would be sleeping when I got home. I did stop to eat one time, and to get gas another. But I really consider the makeover the start of my journey.)
Her website said that she would redo the makeup if you weren’t happy with it. But she has a wonderful eye and did an amazing job. I also chose to go out to dinner with her as I thought it would be my only time I could go out in public. What I didn’t realize was that this was a life-changing event.
She gave me some old foam forms and clip on bangs and a bra, and lent me a top that would be more flattering to my (lack of) figure. I later attended over a hundred events with her, mostly parties thrown in her home, and became good friends. I also met others in the community through her. I had a couple of other makeovers by her, one for a party she threw as her 10th anniversary in business and once for a wedding gown photo shoot.
Another time I got to be the model for a hairdresser/drag queen at another support group. Everyone there seemed very impressed, but I really didn’t like it (not that I said anything). When I look back at the photos, I can pinpoint why. Instead of softening my features as the transformation owner did, my features were sharp and angular. Instead of making me look younger, it made me look elderly. The experience makes me a bit wary of getting a makeover sight-unseen at an event like Keystone without having had something done previously by them for a less critical event (and this is despite the fact that I know one of the makeup artists going to Keystone). I would rather go with the-devil-you-know than the-devil-you-don’t-know.
I have had one at Janet’s in MI a number of years ago. Because it was a cd store I was not worried about being seen. I was treated very well and enjoyed it. I took clothes with me and left fully dressed.
The only downside was they used many products I was unfamiliar with and could not keep up. I’m sure i learned something but it was not one designed to be a training class. I would like to do something that is more educational at some point.
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