Covering beard shadow.

[Ltl89]

Hello all,

As some of you may know, I'm still in the closet to most of the world and pre laser.  I hope to start laser very soon(sometime this year, hopefully month) and come out to more people in time, but i need a temp way to secretly conceal my beard shadow without others knowing I'm wearing makeup.  It's not a matter of passing, but rather hiding the shadow until I can get it removed for my own sanitys sake.  However,  I want it to be discreetly hidden as I don't want people to know that I have makeup on for a fact (when in boy mode)  Any ideas? 

In addition to this, anyway tips on wearing any sort of makeup in a stealth manner would be appreciated.   

Ps.  I should note that my boy mode is a bit different than others.  I'm really not hiding much anymore and it's pretty noticeable for many different reasons.  I'm not saying that I'm in male fail mode or close to it, but the makeup may be the last straw that drags me out of the closet and makes everyone aware of my situation for a fact.  That's why I'm a little cautious about others noticing the makeup.  I'm coming out more and more, but I'm not ready to be fully out to everyone, so anyways to be discreet about it would be appreciated.

[Joanna Dark]

well a good makeup job is supposed to be unnoticable unless you're going for a dramatic look, especially with the eyes, but overall it will be hard to hide if you aren't good at it and that takes time. To hide beard shadow some pink blush could help neutralize the bluish beard shadow but you will need a good foundation. Also try plucking. I have no idea how you look so hard to say fo reals.

[Starla]

A really good razor and a nice foundation will work wonders.

[Kaylee]

A really good razor and a nice foundation will work wonders.

I second this, as long as you get something matched to your natural skin tone you should be fine.  I use a mixed foundation/concealer and have never been able to notice anything during the day.

Not sure about hiding hairs that are poking through the skin later in the day.  My facial hair always did grow rather slowly pre hrt, I never really got 5 o'clock shadow - it took 2 days generally to get to that point and wasn't ever really that thick, of course I shave everyday now to ensure I'm super smooth.  If you're a bit hairier you may need to shave twice a day till hrt slows the growth enough that once is sufficient

[Kim 526]

Dermablend.

[Jennygirl]

Without eye makeup to draw the eye away from a perfectly evened out face, it will be noticeable in certain lighting conditions.

I would recommend something that goes on light but still with a slight bit of cover.. Like a tinted moisturizer or bb (beauty balm) cream.

I found dermablend to be completely noticeable in broad daylight or fluorescent lights, as well as virtually any other foundation that requires a setting powder. It looks awful, cakey, and doesn't work unless under incandescent light (then it's incredible).

Bb cream or a tinted moisturizer don't have nearly the same amount of cover. However not only is bb cream good for your skin (depending on the brand), it also contains SPF and moisturizer all in one. Kicks the crud out of tinted moisturizer.

Ultimately I would just like to welcome you to the hell that is beard cover makeup... Or should we call it cake-up? Lol

[Terracotta]

Try a warm, orange/red shaded lipstick, pictured here is Lady Danger from MAC. It'll cancel out the blue/grey tones, so apply a bit of that on your skin pre-foundation/concealer, do some experimentation then afterwards cover with a high-quality concealer/dermablend/MAC, it'll be entirely unnoticable. You can use cheaper options for this, as long as the colour roughly matches and the concealer mattifies.

X

[sam79]

+1 to what Jennygirl said...

You're going to have a real hard time hiding shadow with any cosmetic which won't reveal itself in some sort of condition.

[suzifrommd]

I get by with foundation from MAC and fixing powder from the drugstore. I rarely get read using this.

[Eva Marie]

Dermablend.

It takes experimentation to find what works for you. I spent a ton of money on concealers and never found one product that did it all without looking like I had a very noticeable, thick coat of clown makeup on my chin and under my nose. As I was going out more and more the beard shadow became my #1 priority because it made me feel self conscious.

I had heard about Dermablend, so I went and spent a bunch of money having the lady at the cosmetic counter help me pick out some that matched my skin tone. Once I got back home I noticed  that it doesn't match my skin shade very well and I was very unhappy with that lady

I knew that the various concealers that I had bought weren't really thick enough to hide everything without the aforementioned clown effect either, so I got dejected and didn't know what to do.

One day I was determined to solve this without spending any more money, so I spent time and experimented in various ways with the concealers that I had on hand and the Dermablend, and I found something that works acceptably for me. I shave as close as I can, and then I use tiny dabs of concealer where the hair is still showing, and then follow that up with teeny tiny dabs of the Dermablend on top of the concealer on known problem areas. I don't even squeeze it out of the tube, i just use whats around the tube opening. I finish up with some ordinary powder (not the setting powder) over it all. Its way easy to overdo it, and then you get to clean it all off and start over again. Its not perfect and it only lasts so long before Mr. Beard shows back up and ruins everything, but it lets me get by until I get done with laser.

Its a very fine line between beard showing, beard covered, and clown makeup.

I hate the way I look with with powder on; I look like my grandma LOL.... so I hope to get away from it soon.

Good luck with this!

[Jennygirl]

That is great advice Eva. The difference between just the smallest amount of powder necessary and just the smallest plus a teeeeny tiny bit extra is night and day.

Also it wasn't until I started using eye makeup that the beard cover makeup seemed to become less noticeable. Trying to present male while covering beard, all the attention is going to go to why there is no detail in the face. You simply cannot reproduce the subtle hue shifts that natural looking clear skin has if you are 3ft away from someone with good eyesight. That is where eye makeup comes in to save the day, because it gives them something to look at.

Another little gem of advice- put your makeup on in natural diffuse lighting (like sitting just inside of a window). That will give you the best chance of looking good in most all lighting scenarios, including direct sunlight. As soon as I started applying makeup there, my confidence level makeup-wise skyrocketed. Putting on foundation under overhead incandescent or fluorescent lighting (as is such with most bathrooms that don't have vanity lights) is a recipe for disaster for daytime appearances. I cannot stress this enough. Proper lighting is KEY to doing this kind of makeup.

[Ltl89]

well a good makeup job is supposed to be unnoticable unless you're going for a dramatic look, especially with the eyes, but overall it will be hard to hide if you aren't good at it and that takes time. To hide beard shadow some pink blush could help neutralize the bluish beard shadow but you will need a good foundation. Also try plucking. I have no idea how you look so hard to say fo reals.

My friend suggested blush as well.  However, I have pretty full cheeks with natural blush thanks to hrt.  I don't know if it would be overkill on my face. 

Dermablend.

I hear it is quite thick and cakey.  Nothing wrong with that, but it probably wouldn't be the best makeup to wear while being in boy mode.  Remember, I'm not presenting as female at work or in the general public, though I am fem and people see through a lot (to what extent is unclear to me).  In any case, whatever I decide to wear at the moment would have to be more discreet until I am ready to start presenting female in public. 

Without eye makeup to draw the eye away from a perfectly evened out face, it will be noticeable in certain lighting conditions.

I would recommend something that goes on light but still with a slight bit of cover.. Like a tinted moisturizer or bb (beauty balm) cream.

I found dermablend to be completely noticeable in broad daylight or fluorescent lights, as well as virtually any other foundation that requires a setting powder. It looks awful, cakey, and doesn't work unless under incandescent light (then it's incredible).

Bb cream or a tinted moisturizer don't have nearly the same amount of cover. However not only is bb cream good for your skin (depending on the brand), it also contains SPF and moisturizer all in one. Kicks the crud out of tinted moisturizer.

Ultimately I would just like to welcome you to the hell that is beard cover makeup... Or should we call it cake-up? Lol

'

Maybe BB cream would be good for me.  I'm not looking for anything with a massive amount of cover as passing isn't my worry at this point as I am in ambiguous fem boy mode.  I'm just trying to reduce the appearance of my beard shadow for my own sake.

Thank you for the initiation into makeup hell, lol. 

Try a warm, orange/red shaded lipstick, pictured here is Lady Danger from MAC. It'll cancel out the blue/grey tones, so apply a bit of that on your skin pre-foundation/concealer, do some experimentation then afterwards cover with a high-quality concealer/dermablend/MAC, it'll be entirely unnoticable. You can use cheaper options for this, as long as the colour roughly matches and the concealer mattifies.

X

That sounds like a good tip, but wearing lipstick will probably be a tad too drastic while in boy mode.  Then again, I'm really not fooling anyone nowadays and it seems like my closet is very transparent, lol.  Perhaps the boy mode needs to end at some point, but I'm not ready to abandon it or start presenting female in public yet.  I'm just not there at the moment and need more time physically and mentally.  I'm hoping to start part time by the end of January or beginning or Feb.  Still, I'm getting there fast whether I'm ready or not.

Thanks everyone for the tips as they are all very much appreciated.  Now, I have a lot of thinking and experimentation to do.  It will be interesting to see if I can successfully wear makeup in boymode, but I'm excited about it. 

[KelsieJ]

A good shave and a LIGHT ORANGE lipstick or concealer........with a foundation as close to your natural skin color as possible. USE BRONZER afterwards. Only a fingertip full over your whole face, concentrating below your cheekbones down to your jawline, over your chin and top lip. Only use the SLIGHTEST bit of rouge. Done right, your makeup should be undetectable except for your eyes.

The caveat to this is nighttime makeup. The rules are different - a little heavier on bronzer, and more rouge - define a gentle angular pattern with your eye makeup. Use a light color directly under your bottom eyelid and just below your eyebrow. Use some of this with a finger  - a tiny tiny bit - along the line of your cheekbones.

[Jennygirl]

LTL- if you want to do something nice and not too noticeable for lips, a clear balm with a little SPF is always a great idea. It will make your lips only slightly glisten, and its good for them too

[TerriT]

Without eye makeup to draw the eye away from a perfectly evened out face, it will be noticeable in certain lighting conditions.

I would recommend something that goes on light but still with a slight bit of cover.. Like a tinted moisturizer or bb (beauty balm) cream.

I found dermablend to be completely noticeable in broad daylight or fluorescent lights, as well as virtually any other foundation that requires a setting powder. It looks awful, cakey, and doesn't work unless under incandescent light (then it's incredible).

Bb cream or a tinted moisturizer don't have nearly the same amount of cover. However not only is bb cream good for your skin (depending on the brand), it also contains SPF and moisturizer all in one. Kicks the crud out of tinted moisturizer.

Ultimately I would just like to welcome you to the hell that is beard cover makeup... Or should we call it cake-up? Lol

God I love this stuff. I give it to every girl I know for presents. It's amazing. I buy gobs of it.

But, I don't remember ever finding a solution to covering facial hair that didn't require tons of concealer and makeup. You can do it, but it's pretty obvious.

If you're worried about people outing you on laser, don't. Some people might ask, but it's no big deal. Most people won't notice or care, even your family or closest friends. It took my mom like 5 years to notice I didn't have any face hair, and even then, you'll just look younger. You have to go through the rough times, but it's worth it in the end and you'll spend like a year learning how to take care of your skin. And once you start laser, you probably won't want to be putting a bunch of stuff on your face anyway since it's bad for your skin and is irritating.

[Jennygirl]

I second the part about laser, start it if you can!

I once read that bb cream was initially created for using as a cover up for people undergoing laser treatments. Quality bb creams contain minerals healthy for your skin, as well as SPF and moisturizer. Having the SPF built in is enough to make it an excellent choice while undergoing laser hair removal.

What brand do you like? I am a big fan of clinique's bb cream

Also another tip from my own experience with buying any kind of foundation or skin tone related makeup: don't buy the shade they recommend to you. Get the next lightest one. Literally every time I've listened to the person in the store, it ends up being a shade too dark when I get home. I think it's because so many of those stores have such crappy lighting. The only exception I have found is with concealer. But it is still helpful to have a shade lighter in addition for evening out dark spots.

Oh yeah and I almost forgot... SAMPLES! Go for samples at first!

[Alice Rogers]

Laser isn't instant, a good laser clinic will council at least 6 - 8 weeks between treatments to give your beard regrowth cycle time to start, and they should start the treatment at a lower intensity the first couple of times too, so its not like your beard will suddenly drop off your face in the first weeks! I found it started to get patchy after the second treatment from where the girl doing it had missed a couple of spots (not her fault, its near impossible to get it all every time and it evens out over treatments)

A patchy beard will do FAR LESS to out you than someone clocking the fact that you have makeup on. And I found that those slight dark patches where my beard isn't completely gone look like faint birth mark type blemishes with some much less aggressive foundation on than would be necessary if you aren't having your laser yet.

[TerriT]

I second the part about laser, start it if you can!

I once read that bb cream was initially created for using as a cover up for people undergoing laser treatments. Quality bb creams contain minerals healthy for your skin, as well as SPF and moisturizer. Having the SPF built in is enough to make it an excellent choice while undergoing laser hair removal.

What brand do you like? I am a big fan of clinique's bb cream

I use Boscia. I haven't tried Clinique's, but I just started using their face scrub and it is fantastic. It's like a face mint. Every time I discover something like this, I just want to scream "Where has this been for my whole life!"