Hello all!

Well, I'm currently sat with foundation, blusher, bronzer, mascara, eye shadow and lipstick on... but with a #1 back+sides haircut! I have to say, I do look a bit like a drag queen whose wig has fallen off, but I *think* I'll look OK with hair (though my mouth makes me look a bit of a bitch and my eyebrows badly need done! ).  I didn't mention eye-liner as I nearly poked my eye out trying, and when I didn't - it was like 1cm away from where it should've been! On the upside, I didn't look 100% like a clown.

Does anyone here remember their first time pre-op and pre-hair(!) wearing make-up, and do you have any tips?

Many thanks in advance,

Dani.

Get a GG to help you.

Or find someone who does makeovers for the TG/TS community in your area.

Thanks, yeah... I really should. I'm in Thailand next week so shall see if there are any beauticians there who will be able to fit me in. I have slight acne-scarring from my teen years which I hope to treat (with a peel and/or dermaroller treatment) which should help a lot too...

I should've really saved this thread until I was able to post photos, oh well .

Keep practicing, and read up on makeup tips and such. My first attempts made me appear to be a close relative to bozo the clown, but through practice and trying different things i can do better now. Still not exactly where i would like to be, but not clown like either. And eyeliner is a product of the devil.

Also, less is more.

Eyeliner is an essential for me. If I can only have one item of makeup it is eyeliner hands down.

I use liquid as opposed to the crayon.  More control I think.  And learning to rest your hand light on your cheek helps to steady it.  And don't try to do it if you have a hangover, unless you want to be a pirate.   

Thanks, girls!

Well, I started off with pencil - which didn't go well, so I tried a nice blue, liquid one... but the brush had too much on it and ended up going allover .  Oh well, practice makes perfect as riven1 said, and makeup isn't the most important thing that I need to perfect regarding my face so I have plenty time!

Janet: Hahaha, I have to admit... I had drunk a couple of whisky-cokes on that attempt - perhaps next time will go smoother

I have the same problem, but I take a napkin and clean off the brush.  Then I just run the brush around the opening and it give me enough to do my eyes.

There are plenty of tutorials on You Tube. Honestly it's a great T resource, because not only are you exposed to information etc., but you get to hear it coming from normal GG's. You can hear how they talk, and thereby think, about it etc. so it helps you assimilate into girl "culture" as well.

Try Makeup dot com.

I learned from the teen-age daughters of a friend of mine.  They were awesome, and very dedicated.  I payed them back by getting both of them part-time jobs at a couple of cool places, where they still work.

riven1 said it, and of course, all the other women had excellent suggestions as well: "less is more", and "practice, practice".
    To which i would humbly add,  "Fall six times, rise up seven." - Japanese proverb
      hugs,
jannelle   'a lady in the drawing room, a tramp in the bedroom.'

when I started wearing makeup all the time, eye-liner was my big gripe. I've never gotten the liquid right and the pencil was hard for a while and what I eventually figured out was that I was doing it wrong (or else I'm doing it wrong now!) - here's what I changed:

(I hope I can explain it right)

I started laying the tip of the pencil actually on the inner lid instead of trying to "outline" the eye  - that is I'm putting the color actually on the pink edge of the lid, not on the skin itself.

As i said, this might be the wrong way to do it but i get the right look and don't have the crazy crooked lines I used to have.

Laura, Thats the way my dragqueen boyfriend taught me when I was 15. That is how I have put on my eyeliner forever.

The liquid tends to work better, but you have to really practice.  And, the older you are, the harder it is to control the blink reflex. But if you start at the inner corner of the eye and draw it out quick and clean it lines much thinner than a pencil will.  But its that hesitation deal that gets you every time.

my two sense.

Dont put too much foundation on, i use liquid foundation. Also its very important that it matches ur skin tone. blush is good, but also not in excess, use it to get a pinkish accent on the cheek. Lipstick is unneccessary, just wear lipbalm or a glossy chapstick. Keep the eye shadow more natural and avoid crazy colors... Eye liner is definitely good as well as mascara. You may also want to invest in very natural fake lashes like ardell 110.

For make up tips, theres alot of resource on youtube! check michelle pham, aubrey, or kandee johnson.

A few days ago when I am wearing foundation in my office, a lady; who delievers veggie beverage everyday; saw me. She smiled and commented that a proper way of wearing foundation is not rubbing, but stroking. I replied that nobody taught me how to wear makeup. I followed her direction and it worked better.

For me, skin lotion + Shiseido Anessa suncream + foundation + mascara + lipgross is enough for my everyday life. When I go out, I sometimes wear red lipstick, to pass as a woman.

My daily makeup at workplace (where everybody knows that I am a dad):

http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad278/barbie_pictures/daily_makeup.jpg
http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad278/barbie_pictures/20100507s.jpg

Barbie~~

i can handle mascara ok now, I just wipe any spots off with a wet cotton tip straight away. Someone at work noticed the other day, because of the contrast since I have dyed my hair.
I just said I had been using it on and off since Bowie did Ziggy Stardust! They believed it!!
  Eye shadow is so-so, but eyeliner has completely defeated me. This week an article in a magazine suggested using a liquid and a very fine artists paintbrush for the narrowest, most controllable line.

Unfortunately I have to use reading glasses, so it is all a bit hit and miss without them. I have tried a magnifying mirror but that doesn't work.  Apart from a set of reading contact lenses, anyone have any suggestions?

Getting used to applying makeup is one of the biggest things to overcome. Once you get more comfortable simply applying it you can then start learning how to use it more artistically. I still have a long way to go!

My absolute favorite youtube makeup artists are:
http://www.youtube.com/user/panacea81
http://www.youtube.com/user/MichellePhan