make up

[delia]

Anyone give me any tips re eye make up. I am happy with all my make up except with my eyes. I have to wear quite strong glasses, and it seems my eyes just do not look right when i put make up on, but without, they look bare behind my lenses,
Anyone got any ideas. My glasses magnify my eyes quite a lot, so they look quite big.

[Laurry]

Hi Delia,

Here is some basic information from the fine folks at Cover Girl (and no, I didn't get any free mascara for that, danggit!)

http://www.covergirl.com/tips/eyes/index.jsp


......Laurry

[Louise]

I had the same problem until I switched to contact lenses.  I have also learned that more natural shades in eye makeup are more flattering.  The photo I use for my avatar is several years old.  I would never wear eye makeup like that now.  Some women can use eyeliner to bring attention to their eyes, but many really overdo the eyeliner and it looks clownish.  Mostly I use just eyeshadow and mascara.

[LynnER]

kk, heres a quick tip... nyour wearing glasses that magnify your eyes...  some mascara is good, too much and you run into troubble...

But the key is eyeliner... go for a shade that flatters either your eye color or your outfit or the shade of your glasses....  Now for the hard part...  you want to line the INSIDE of your lids... not the outside...  aka, above the lower eyelashes on the eyelid, and below the eyelashes of the upper eye lid... It gives a great effect with out over doing it... you MUST use a pencil for this... liquid liners dont set right in moist areas unless you can hold your eyes open for long periods of time...  It takes some practice, and be careful not to catch your eye with the wood part of the pencil <the colored part is ok, only stngs alittle instead of allot>  trust me youll learn quickly     Hope that helps...

PS: Even if I skip all other makeup I will ALLWAYS wear eyeliner in that fashion.

[delia]

LynnER
Thanks very much for that, it is a great help. Also i have bought myself a magnifying mirror to assist which also makes a big difference. In the male role, i never gave a thought to what my eyes looked like behind my glasses, but in the female role, its a whold different ball game.

Again thanks for the advice

Delia

[Skye]

Something I've learned recently,
Choose between either your eyes or your lips.
Many Girls try to do both thereby going overboard and looking quite silly.
I started paying attention to this and its really quite true.
Depending on your mood or your desire. 

If you want dramatic lips, keep the eyes simple.
If you want the eyes to shine through, keep the lips simple.

I would personally avoid lipliner unless you really want your lips to stand out.

My Girlfriend did my makeup a while ago and when she did she concentrated on the eye more, but didn't make it so dramatic that I looked silly.  I was really quite amazed at how good I looked.   I didnt look convincing, but it was a HUGE improvement to what I was doing.

[Louise]

Makeup is one of those things that takes practice.  Most of us crossdressers come to this relatively later in life and if you are anything like me you only dress up and use makeup once or twice a week at most.  Look at the way most teenage girls use makeup--most are overdone.  By the time women are in their 20's they have generally learned to do makeup in a more flattering way.  They also get plenty of helpful advice from their peers and other women (mothers and older sisters).  My wife has been very helpful in her gentle comments about the way I do my makeup. 

[EricaCD]

I also wear glasses.  The good news is that minor imperfections in eye makeup do not stand out as boldly.  The bad news is that - as you note - big mistakes look really bad.

One thing to watch out for is over-doing it with the eyeshadow.  I use just a little bit on the upper eyelid only, and lighten it out as I go to the inside (i.e., toward the nose).  Avoid using shadow on the socket and certainly between the socket and brow.  This is what can really get magnified by the glasses!

As others noted, avoiding too-heavy mascara and doing a careful job on the eyeliner will really help.  Lastly, you should be sure that you have glasses that fit your face well and also flatter the shape of your face.  It's difficult to overstate how helpful it is to have a pair of glasses that complement the face, rather than distract from it!

Good luck!

[delia]

Thank you so much for the very useful tips on my eye makeup. Out of all the replies, yours was the most helpful.
I have tried doing it as you said and it looks far better. I am 28 yrs old and was so upset when i was told recently that i have to wear glasses, but having seen how good you can look in them, its not bad at all. My wife said you looked great on your site and have to agree with her. She also said you have stunning legs,

Delia

[EricaCD]

Glad it helped.  Good luck!  And thanks for the nice thoughts...

[LisaElizabeth]

Hi all,
  The using neutral shades and getting lighter to the outside are great tips!!  I too wear glasses and have found that white eyeshadow used very sparingly at the outer corner of the eye really helps through the glasses.  It moves your view toward the center of the eye, taking away some of the magnificatin of the lenses.
  Also...  Clean up your eyebrows!!!  You do not have to pull them into a fine feminine arch, but trim them and clean up the strays below your brow line.  It is sort of a 'Brooke Shields' look, but is ok in male mode too.  Look at television personalities and you will see what I mean.  (  IE:  Ryan Sechrest, Joey Fatone, etc.)  Their eyebrows are 'Cleaned up and Trimmed' not feminine.
  The 'Andy Rooney' look is definitely harder to work with when transforming yourself!!
  Also, with glasses you may have to go a little heavier on the eyeshadow when using neutral shades, otherwise it looks like you aren't wearing any color at all.
  If you go to a salon for a haircut they are happy to wax your eyebrows for you, but they tend to pull them straight, not curved, so look in the mirror before you let 'em rip...  so to speak!
  Hugs,
  Lisa Elizabeth