I originally posted this to passing in the beauty section but there doesn't appear to be much activity so I'll post it here as well.

Hi everyone, Hailey here, here's a few photos of me, with and without glasses, in male and female clothes. I am pre-transition and have no make up or hair styling. Aside from HRT etc. what can I do in terms of makeup and hair to look more feminine and girly? What parts of my face will I need to focus on? Are there any particular hairstyles that would help?

=141774827&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=6]http://s1309.photobucket.com/user/speckyhailey/media/Mobile%20Uploads/WP_20141023_007_zps9cd659f0.jpg.html?filters[user]=141774827&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=6
http://s1309.photobucket.com/user/speckyhailey/media/Mobile%20Uploads/WP_20141023_008_zps6575846f.jpg.html?sort=3&o=5
http://s1309.photobucket.com/user/speckyhailey/media/Mobile%20Uploads/WP_20141023_012_zps5b4f7e28.jpg.html?sort=3&o=4
http://s1309.photobucket.com/user/speckyhailey/media/Mobile%20Uploads/WP_20141023_013_zpsd182c557.jpg.html?sort=3&o=3
http://s1309.photobucket.com/user/speckyhailey/media/Mobile%20Uploads/WP_20141023_017_zps8980480b.jpg.html?sort=3&o=2
http://s1309.photobucket.com/user/speckyhailey/media/Mobile%20Uploads/WP_20141023_019_zpsc2197917.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1
http://s1309.photobucket.com/user/speckyhailey/media/Mobile%20Uploads/WP_20141023_020_zps34639a42.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

Think I may have tried too hard to pose sometimes. Oh well.

Hugs,
Hailey

Hi Hailey. One of the biggest tips for success in passing is being subtle: appropriate makeup for the occasion, dressing to your body type and what your doing, and things along those lines. It's pretty tough, maybe even impossible to tell someone from a few pictures to do this or that and buy x product but there suggestions on how to find out what is right for you. Try to see if your area has a local ts support group as they will usually have a resource guide with friendly local vendors. Work with a hair stylist as they really will know what's going to fit you the best. Find a MAC or Sephora store and go in for aconsult, they are notoriously helpful for trans women. Everything for you now will pretty much be trial and error but hey, that is half the fun.

You look just like a cisfemale friend of mine from Italy! She's quite butch, but female (and queer) all the way. Anyway... my advice might work better after you've been on hormones for a while, and made some subtle changes like eyebrows and such... I sort of straddle the gender line, although after a few years on HRT things skew female much more these days. I've noticed that if I wear anything super femme (not that I usually am into that), any remaining masculine features I have must stand out more because I'll get sirred. When I wear something that effectively is male clothing or male-ish shall we say, I never get sirred. There's something to that.... wearing very very feminine items (or having too much makeup, too big breasts, too high heels, etc) for borderline people like me accentuates the masculine features we can't shake; wearing masculine clothes brings out the feminine features we also all have. So, long story short, as the others have said, subtlety is your friend. Eyebrows are also a big subconscious marker, so get some tweeezers gurl. And have fun with it.

Quote from: GendrKweer on October 24, 2014, 04:07:13 AM
You look just like a cisfemale friend of mine from Italy! She's quite butch, but female (and queer) all the way. Anyway... my advice might work better after you've been on hormones for a while, and made some subtle changes like eyebrows and such... I sort of straddle the gender line, although after a few years on HRT things skew female much more these days. I've noticed that if I wear anything super femme (not that I usually am into that), any remaining masculine features I have must stand out more because I'll get sirred. When I wear something that effectively is male clothing or male-ish shall we say, I never get sirred. There's something to that.... wearing very very feminine items (or having too much makeup, too big breasts, too high heels, etc) for borderline people like me accentuates the masculine features we can't shake; wearing masculine clothes brings out the feminine features we also all have. So, long story short, as the others have said, subtlety is your friend. Eyebrows are also a big subconscious marker, so get some tweeezers gurl. And have fun with it.

I would agree, subtlety is key and definetly dress for the occasion. I mean, I would really stand out in an evening gown down the beach 

I've never thought about the contrast between the level of femininity in a piece of clothing and how that may accentuate or show up more male features. That kind of makes sense. I think a lot of trans girls would think a more feminine outfit would make you look more feminine, but I don't think that would be the case.

Good advice girls

I think I'll start a diet to try to lose as much muscle as I can when I go part time which should hopefully, especially with a bit of help from HRT, mean that I look less butch. If I can lose a good amount of muscle and get lucky with some fat redistribution I think I could look quite feminine, especially seen as I have quite long legs.

I'm probably only going to be able to do my eyebrows when I go full time or have a long school break because it's something that would be quite noticeable. In terms of being subtle I think that would fit with how I would dress anyway, with girly jeans or shorts, perhaps a skirt on some days.

Thanks for the advice girls Is there anything other than eyebrows on my face that would need focusing on orbdo you think I could make do with normal makeup?

Definetly a good idea to be as fit as you can before starting hrt. By that I mean it is much harder to lose weight on HRT I've found. Muscle is harder to lose, testosterone is great for building muscle, but terrible for losing it. I think your best bet with muscle is going to be when you start hrt, especially and anti androgen.

With regards to the eyebrows, I've found there to be a point where they can look neat, but not manicured. I did that for several months as I still have to be in boy mode at work. But last month I went to town with them and my beautician did them full feminine. Definetly noticeable but I'm over caring what people think lol. I get questions, but my response "yeah, so what I wax my brows, are you saying boys can't wax" lol, they don't push the point to much.

It's always a good idea to practice makeup, just try to keep it subtle. Look on you tube and start practicing. I think you'll be fine Hailey, you look young so a great time to transition. Your hairs growing well too. Looking forward seeing your progress.

Hugs,
Bree

What I did to pass was grow my hair out, wear the clothes I felt comfortable wearing (emo girl clothes) and a reasonable amount of makeup. Not too heavy on that. Aside from those things, literally nothing else.

For you, cardio. Lots of marathon style running. Eats lot of veggies too and less of anything that will add weight. Wear clothes that will flatter your frame. Most important thing is to just be yourself and be confident.

How good is cycling for cardio? I did it over the summer and lost some weight as well as toned a bit, hopefully on a low protein diet I can lose muscle and fat at the same time.

My hair is pretty thick and grows quite fast so I might let it get a bit longer, what hair would you recommend for me for when I go full time? Is there anything that would look more feminine than others?

You'll have to teach me how to do my eyebrows in a way that won't look to out of the ordinary in boy mode Bree

Hugs,
Hailey

Quote from: speckyhailey on October 24, 2014, 08:44:27 AM
How good is cycling for cardio? I did it over the summer and lost some weight as well as toned a bit, hopefully on a low protein diet I can lose muscle and fat at the same time.

My hair is pretty thick and grows quite fast so I might let it get a bit longer, what hair would you recommend for me for when I go full time? Is there anything that would look more feminine than others?

You'll have to teach me how to do my eyebrows in a way that won't look to out of the ordinary in boy mode Bree

Hugs,
Hailey

Hugs!
Btw my name is Hailey too
Will you pm me?