Greetings, my dear readers. I’ve been thinking about makeup, hence the title of this blog. I’ve been exploring the subtle art of makeup for some years now, and I have a wonderful wife that has helped me learn the art of makeup. As the title suggests, less is more. When you think of makeup, you might think of drag queens, with their flamboyant makeup and hair styles, but that doesn’t really work for us who have to interface with the conventional world. Still and all, we can indeed wear makeup without fear of social ostracism.
I find it interesting that companies are now marketing facial and body moisturizers for men with names that are macho enough not to make them cringe. I’ll bet you a dime to a dollar that the products they are marketing for men come out of the same vat as the moisturizers for women; just under a different label. I will say, however, that Xdress has some very nice makeup products for us of the gender fluid persuasion. Go in and take a look. You can also go online for some good tutorials simply by typing in “men’s makeup.” Having said that, let’s dive into the wonderful world of makeup.
Let’s start with the face in general. I have a rather ruddy complexion, and my dear wife introduced me to the pleasures of foundation makeup. I won’t name brands here, as that would be inappropriate. Go to your favorite store and check out foundation makeup. The trick is to match it to your skin tone. As I said, my facial skin is a bit ruddy, so I wanted to tone it down a bit. I found that mixing equal measures of foundation with a basic facial moisturizer brought down the tone of the foundation so I don’t look like a clown. A note to you that are clean shaven: be sure to blend the foundation into your jaw line. If your facial skin tone is different from the skin below your jaw line, it will shout “MAKEUP!” Again, less is more.
Product: Smooth Satin Bodysuit
Next, let’s consider eye liner and eye shadow. Here you want to be very discreet. If you walk among the gender binary of our society, you want to be very cautious regarding eye liner. You don’t want to end up looking like the pirates of the Caribbean! Less is more. Regarding eye shadow, match it to your skin tone. Again, less is more. You don’t want marked contrasts – you want colors that enhance your natural beauty.
Next, let’s move to eyebrows. I have mine waxed in a nail salon on a regular basis. I find that the salon techs don’t even raise a lovely eyebrow at my request. I like a nice arch. I will warn you that the first time hurts like a bad dog, and the area around your eyebrows will be flaming red for the rest of the day. Also, be sure that the salon tech waxes between your eyebrows. The last thing you want is a unibrow. I occasionally also pluck between my eyebrows. Get a nice pair of tweezers for that.
Speaking of nail salons, get yourself to a nail salon/spa and get a manicure and pedicure. You’ve not experienced pampering until you do. The leg massage is heaven! It wouldn’t be surprising if you see other men in the salon getting the same treatment. I like clear polish on my fingernails, and frost pink on my toenails. Again, most salon techs don’t freak out – they’ve seen it all before. I’ve had clear polish on my fingernails for many years, and all I get from other folks (ladies) is a compliment on my manicure. If men notice, they don’t say anything. Bare in mind that I live in a very conservative part of the country, and I’ve never had an adverse comment from anyone. As far as my toenail polish, well, I keep that to myself.
Product: The Supreme Satin Robe
Lastly, let’s consider lipstick. As with eyeshadow, it’s important to match your lipstick to your complexion. Here “less is more” is really important. I find that a shade just a bit deeper than my natural lip and complexion color works best. If you want to feel comfortable in general society, flaming red or pink is probably not going to work.
Attending to the subtle parts of our femme side – the beautiful side – can be a wonderful experience. I love nothing more than getting ready for the day, standing in front of the mirror after my shower, wearing my matching satin panties and bra from Xdress while applying my makeup. It really sets up my day to be truly who I am.
What about you? Have you discovered this wonderful side of your inner femme? Are you still exploring it? Have you not yet entered this part of your femme side but are curious? I would love to hear your input. Your stories are always so fascinating and entirely welcome.
Fond regards,
Angie
22 comments
Less is more for sure but I need to cover up my 5 o’clock shadow.
Hi Kathia, and welcome to our little sorority. Like you, I love wearing my panties and hose under a suit. You can stay femme all day long. With your Spanish complexion, matching your foundation makeup to your complexion will take a little practice, but that’s the fun part of it.
George, sorry things didn’t work out with your friend. What a wonderful experience you had at Macy’s! The sales woman even called you sweetie? That is priceless. I have a few female friends who know I cross dress and they are wonderfully accepting. Good luck with dealing with eye makeup. That is a very subtle art. If you could find a beautician to do a makeover, you could probably learn a lot about the how-to’s. I’m fortunate to have a gg friend that is very accepting of me in my femme mode, and she taught me how to do eye makeup.
Keri, I’m so glad for you that your wife is onboard with your use of makeup. Your wife is your live-in expert on makeup. I’ve learned over the years that it is, indeed, a very subtle art. Basically, if you can tell someone is wearing makeup, it is too much. Remember the rule: less is more. I’m glad Xdress and the internet in general have helped you discover that you aren’t, as you said, and “odd duck.” You are far from alone, my friend, in embracing your feminine self. Enjoy!
Kyrstin, so nice to hear from you. Exploring makeup is such a fun thing to do. As far as the false eyelashes, good luck with that one. I’ve seen some false eyelashes on women that are absolutely bizarre. The “less is more” rule definitely comes in to play with this one. If you can tell they are false, they are too much. Have fun, dear friend.
Fondly regards,
Angie
Love, love, love all the comments from you gurlz/guyz/sisters! Like a lot of you, I’ve experimented with light make up over the years, including lipgloss, foundation, light eye shadow while maintaining the “androgynous look,”and found it soooo verrrry enjoyable and uplifting. I’ve yet to make the leap to fake eyelashes, even in private with my GF, but that day is coming soon. In the meantime, like most of you, I’ll continue trying new things and looking to xdress.com for fresh ideas.
XXOO,
Kyrstin
Hi Angie,
Love seeing all the comments and of course love the Blog. Most of these comments and the Blogs personally encourage my fem side. It doesn’t take much to encourage it. Personally my experience in growing and evolving my feminine side has been what I describe as a slippery slope. Once I found out on the internet that we were many and I wasn’t an odd duck I found myself exploring more. Xdress and blog commentary has played a role in that exploration.
I’ve dabbled with makeup in a minimal way. I admit at first I might have gone a little to heavy on some items. Lipstick was one area. I remember the day my wife asked are you wearing lipstick? Gulp! She then said, too much. Use less. That was my signal that some makeup was okay. She then introduced me to face cream and foundation. To her credit she helped me find the right balance. Face cream she said would keep my skin smooth and younger looking. The foundation added some color and a better look. Now I shop at Dillard’s and the lady there has me on her mailing list. When I get the gift items I give my wife whatever I don’t want or use.
When I first shaved under my arms, years ago, I worried when I didn’t have a shirt on that others would notice. Then I shaved my legs and that was wonderful. The first time I went out in shorts I was so self concious and I could feel the breeze so differently. Now I use Nair whenever needed. It makes your legs smoother, slightly shiney after use but oh so feminine. Eventually I removed all body hair (I never had much hair anyway) with the exception of a small area in the pubic area. I am all for men with little or no body hair.
The slipperiest slope of all? Share this with a same sex friend. Oh my. A very slippery slope.
Great job Angie. Love all the gurls, sisters and guys here.
Keri
Hi Angie,
Turned out my friend had different plans with family, so I had a quiet weekend at home.
Good news is I stayed dressed almost all weekend (under-dressed when I went out in public), and worked on my feminine side.
Went to Macy’s to get a lipstick that was much more neutral to stay away from the “drag” look.
The sales woman was very helpful. I was a little embarrassed, but did have enough courage to tell her it was for me. She smiled and called me “sweetie”.
So I will continue to work on my makeup. Doing my eyes seems nearly impossible!
I bought some more things from the site. Will let you know how I like them when they arrive. And will update as I make progress on putting on makeup and not looking like a clown!