Hey girls..
OMG well i had ffs and now full time.. because I can't pass as a dude so I kind of jumped right in.. I got an earlier surgery date so I took it..
Anyway, I am very busy in business and can hardly get my own job done most the time..
Now add in the time It takes for makeup and hair and wow.. I think I am in a little bit of shock.
I love it.. being me now but how long does it take for it to just be the norm..
I still have some bruising from FFS which makes makeup harder so when thats gone think I will have more fun.
We are having a party tonight.. can't wait to let my hair down so to speak and relax..
Anyway, I wondered if anyone else had this OH Crap moment where it feels like all we do is work on ourselves..
I went to a salon today for makeup which is why I changed my profile pic.. they did a good job.. Being around all those girls was fun and they treated me as a chick.. its amazing to finally be me the real me. I am letting myself go with it. Its kind of like just starting life but being a young person that has a lot to learn.
I need to clean the house to get ready for the party and worried I will sweat and ruin my makeup.. LOL.. I mean wow, I have a lot of respect for what women do everyday to look good and take care of their responsibilities.. :)
Dodie
Quote from: Dodie on February 07, 2015, 03:02:51 PM
...
Now add in the time It takes for makeup and hair and wow.. I think I am in a little bit of shock
....
LOL, I'm still in shock, and it's been months since I began living full time. I always forget how long it will take to get my hair right...
LOL Hair.. nails everything..
I suppose I should be glad I did not have to have periods.. forgot about that one.
Dodie
Yeah, I've been FT outside of work since August and I go FT at work in a couple weeks. Getting ready definitely takes a lot longer. I'm trying to get myself used to going to bed earlier since I know I will need more time in the mornings now. And with time I think it does get easier. As an example I was rushed after work yesterday since I was going to an event with some friends that night. I managed to shower and get myself ready in an hour, a new personal best for me. Makeup was a rush job, but still looked good.
But like you say, it definitely helps one develop a new respect for all the gals that have been doing this all their lives.
I've been full time for ten months - but I'm extremely low maintenance with the make up. A bit of foundation, a bit of eyeshadow and a bit of lippy. Don't really bother much with the rest. Takes me about ten extra minutes to get ready in the morning although I worked that down from about twenty.
My makeup does not take that long quite honestly... normally, its eye shadow, eye liner, mascara, lipstick and she color for my cheeks.. take me like 5 minutes..
Showering, well on the days I shave my legs, private area and my pits..takes longer... but I can be ready for 30 min..
I thought about how much effort it takes just yesterday...was remembering the old days when life was "throw and go"...now it's conditioner, body wash, lotion, tinted moisturizer, blow dry, brush, tease, and fix the hair, perfume, ChapStick, lip gloss, dressing with several more articles (bra, extra undies, hips, camisole), earrings, and touching up the nails...
And I still have to shave!
Used to be 23 minutes out the door...now it's 45+...
I wouldn't trade it for the world!
:)
It used to take me the better part of an hour to put on my makeup (and I don't use much) but now I've got it down to about 15-20 minutes. Living as a woman takes far more time and care than dressing out of the dirty clothes bin and heading out the door like I used to do :laugh:
I wear a wig so hair styling is not much of a factor right now (I just brush it out and go) but I know it will be some day.
You have to budget your time carefully to be able to get ready in the morning and not be late for work. This may mean going to bed earlier or getting up earlier to make extra time, or finding ways to reduce the time it takes you to get ready.
I continue to gain respect for the lives that women lead; they have to deal with their period and deal with getting their family up and out the door while getting themselves ready to head out the door too. Getting ready in the morning is one of the many things that has opened my eyes to what living as a woman really means and the things they have to deal with; I have gained a new appreciation for women because of this.
I'd say it took about six months, if we're going by how long before I stopped wearing makeup and started going out in jeans and a casual shirt. ;) After a while, yes, it does become just normal... and you start focusing on life while living as a woman, rather than focusing on living as a woman while going through life (if that makes sense).
Thanks Girls,
I used to work out everyday now I really can't with long hair. Would take too long and I sweat a lot when I work out..
I am sure I will figure things out as I go but wow I am working today just to make sure i have my life under control when Monday hits.
Dodie
After some practice, it now takes me about 15 minutes to put on my full makeup, and a little bit more if I want everything absolutely perfect. Hair is 5 minutes to dry, and if I can't get it the way I want it in 5-10 minutes, I'll stick it into a ponytail or a bun or if I'm having an absolute disaster of a hair day, I'll wear a wig that matches my normal hair. Hair accessories and pomade are essential to being able to get unruly hair looking nice, fast. I've always had long hair, so really, it only takes me about 10 minutes more to get ready as a woman, unless I want everything absolutely perfect for a photo, date, interview, etc. As for sweat and makeup, I live in Florida so all the makeup I wear is waterproof by necessity. Well, everything but my blush which is easy to re-apply and I do have some waterproof blush if I really need it.
It took me about 2 months to fall into a routine, but the quick and dirty version now is a 3 minute shower where I use body wash (coconut today) and sometimes a quick 30 second shave on whatever body part needs it. Some days I'll do the 7 minute version with shampoo and conditioner/mask. It takes about 3 minutes to brush out my hair (like it always did), and a minute to do moisturizer, deodorant, perfume and HRT.
Makeup takes me about 5 minutes after I found what works best for me. Foundation, eyebrow pencil, metallic purple eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, hint of blush, lipstick, done.
I tend to have dry, brittle hair so I don't blow dry it and need to let it dry naturally before the final brushout. That's where I am right now, posting my thoughts here in the meantime while it dries.
I've been living authentically for almost 7 months now and it took a few months to get into a routine but now it's like any other morning exercise. Get up, shower, brush my teeth, put clothes on, do makeup and then style my hair to let it air dry and off to work I go and I love every minute of my new routine. I just do eye liner, eye shadow and lipstick and I'm good to go as I learned too much makeup is a bad thing for me.
Admittedly, hair is my nemesis. :) I have very long, thick, curly hair (when it's wet and the curls flatten out, it's to my waist) that has broken brushes before, so the longest part of my morning routine is probably wrangling it!
Hi I am not completely full time yet, as I still sometimes have to present as male for work (but its getting more diffdiculy as the months roll by, as I have just past 2 years back on HRT). I also just passed a major milestone in that all my black hairs on my upper lip and chin have finally gone after 12 Laser sessions. Now I just have more Electrolysis to get rid of the stubborn white hairs.
This to me has made a huge difference as now because of the fact that my skin is so soft and I have that feminine glow about me, I have stated to even go out without foundation.
In fact I went to lunch with a girlfriend yesterday and just put on blue eyeliner, some mascara, blush to my cheeks, a little powder to take off the shine and some red ruby lipstick and Bobbie Brown lip gloss. With skinny jeans, red open toe sandals, a red sleeveless top with a low cut cowl top (neatly showing off my budding 44B+ curves) and a matching red handbag, a quick brush of my wig (I have a new one, much more natural , and more expensive), I was up dressed and out for my lunch is 20 minutes flat after emerging from the shower. Though I nearly forgot my earrings and perfume, but saw my reflection in the mirror and as I commented to Cindy last week in Adelaide), I saw this rather attractive woman staring back at me and thought wow! that wasn't too difficult, grabbed my earrings and a quick spray of perfume behind my ears, in my décolleté and on my wrists, grabbed the car keys and I was out.
Previously hen I was so concerned about the blue shadow on my upper lip and chin, thus had to put on concealer, foundation, bronzer, blush, eyeshadow etc and if of course I was wearing a dress or skirt and stockings etc it would have taken me much longer as I like to savour my transition, but these days and especially now with my complexion and after the successful but expensive laser treatment, I am looking now at the minimalist approach.
One thing though that I should point out is that i already had my nails and toenails polished and buffed last week in Adelaide so I didn't need to worry about that. My ex SO you used to tell me that if you want to be seen as a beautiful and well presented woman, you need to have perfectly sculpted and painted toes and fingers all the time as that marks the image of a woman that looks after herself. Thats a message I sternly learnt from the first time I transitioned and then my girlfriends all encouraged me to have my nails and toenails done professionally with a mini-pedi at least once a month.
Judith
A slightly different perspective.
I used to have to drag myself out of bed, force down some food throw on some dirty clothes and head off. Dreading every minute.
Now, I wake up at 6 am., leap out of bed, have my shower, make breakfast. 10 min max for makeup 10 min for hair and leap into my car to work singing away.
May take more time but so what! Life is for living and I want to live every second to the max.
He didn't have the same opinion - poor guy :'(
I had to approach things as an engineer (I used to be a software engineer).
I looked at my morning routine as an industrial process and looked for non-value-added steps, things that could be done simultaneously, things that could be done more efficiently. I'd try modifications, and if they got me out faster, I adopted them, if not, I threw them out. Gradually my routine got more efficient until it was actually FASTER than I used to be able to get out as a man.
Quote from: Jenna Marie on February 08, 2015, 10:27:33 AM
I'd say it took about six months, if we're going by how long before I stopped wearing makeup and started going out in jeans and a casual shirt. ;) After a while, yes, it does become just normal... and you start focusing on life while living as a woman, rather than focusing on living as a woman while going through life (if that makes sense).
This roughly matches my experience, too. I needed the first few months of full time to figure out my style and build up my confidence. After that I stopped wearing makeup (except for special occasions) and living as a woman became part of everyday life.
When I first started living full time I would put extra effort into my makeup and hair going to work. Then after a few months I noticed hey none of the other women are putting this much effort into this just to come to work. That's when I gradually started cutting back till now I don't wear makeup and only wear it on special occasions or when I'm bored and have a little extra time. Hair is the only thing I really put effort into these days.
It used to take me a good 30 min plus to the makeup on, but I'm down to around 15 to 20 every morning now. As far as the clothing on the most part during winter I have been wearing Skinny jeans and blouses, but once the warmer weather returns I will mix other items in more.
Mariah
Even though my morning routine was long when I first started (1 hour 10 minutes!) it was still fun and gratifying to finally be able to do all that girl stuff I'd been dying to do for so long. Every woman is different, of course, but I kind of owe it to myself to leave the house looking as nice as possible.
So now, the whole routine is around 45 minutes - shower... moisturiser... teeth... clothes... makeup... hair... accessores and out. Makeup gets easier and faster - it's around 5 minutes now for a complete job.