makin' it real
03-13-2012, 12:40 AM
So Saturday and today I had a curious combination of events. Saturday I went and had a full make-over for the first time. Char in San Jose just opened a new salon specializing in transformations for us TGs (charshairdesign.com) and boy did she fix me up right. I saw myself in the mirror as a real woman for the first time in my life. Char even teared up at seeing how profoundly that vision affected me.
I've dressed forever and have had several wigs over the years, but have never done the full make-up thing and certainly haven't gone out presenting as a woman. Oh no! :eek: Well, I went to Char's shop Saturday morning for a group make-up lesson that was open to the public, then had an appointment that afternoon for her to style my hair.
The make-up lesson was awesome. She matched a foundation color for me and walked us through the first few steps to doing it well. I was amazed at how much of a difference just doing the primer, concealer, and foundation made for me, and that's where the class ended for the day.
After the others left we talked about how I wanted my hair done. I gave her minimal guidance, just saying I'd like it to have at least some feminine touches while still being appropriate for my guy presentation in a conservative workplace. She spent a fair amount of time working with my hair then asked how I liked it, saying, "This is in guy mode." I said it looked good. It was neatly trimmed, and well shaped for my head. Much better than the stylist I'd been with before.
Then she said, "Now watch what I do so you can do it yourself." And using nothing more than mousse, a brush, a blowdryer, and hairspray, she proceeded to make that same haircut look like a stylish woman's hair! When she was done, my hair was nearly identical to a style I'd seen an ex-girlfriend wear! and she was a classic beauty with a great sense of style.
When Char saw how it was affecting me, she went ahead and put some simple, natural-looking make-up on me that matched my fully femme outfit and hair. I could barely contain myself seeing the woman me looking back through the mirror. She had me walk around in her spacious shop for a while and I commented to her how it seemed I was moving my body differently now that my hair and face were different. She said well sure, because now all of me is presenting as a woman instead of having my face separated from my body. It was glorious!
Then I walked outside as Rachel, in broad daylight, in a high density area! Lots of people saw me, even though I only went from the shop to my car. I was so nervous/excited/thrilled I even accidentally honked the horn as I was getting in. :doh: Drove home and walked again in broad daylight as fully Rachel from across the street and in sight of my neighbors (don't know if they saw me, nothing's been said). I was flying!
So, even though my hair is back to guy normal, I've been feeling Rachel more and more fully these last couple days. Yum. So I was in conversation with a co-worker in the office today. We have a good working relationship, playful and challenging, and we bring things to each other when we want help troubleshooting. Well today she was worked up over something and explaining it to me.
We were standing about 3 feet apart facing each other as she worked her way through it, then she wrapped it up with, "And there you have it, ma'am." She started to backpedal with, "I meant 'sir,'" and I said, "Don't worry about it. You can can call me 'ma'am' too, just don't call me late to dinner."
Well, this is an acutely observant and intelligent woman. Aware I might have just outed myself, I may have flushed slightly over the next minute or so. :o Still, it was a joy having her default to the feminine for me. Now we'll just have to wait and see if she makes any "testing" comments over the next few weeks. D'oh!
I have a feeling Rachel is going to see the sun a whole lot more, now that she's learning how to join her head with her body! Yay!!! :cheer:
So, a question - Do you move or feel different after making your hair and face look more womanly rather then when you're just dressed without changing your face and hair?
I was really surprised by how much easier it was for me to sit, stand, and move like a woman when all of me was dressed. It's like body and mind came together, or like all of my body, head included, was now expressing my womanhood. Whatever it was, I like it! Has anyone else noticed that change?
~Rachel :love:
I've dressed forever and have had several wigs over the years, but have never done the full make-up thing and certainly haven't gone out presenting as a woman. Oh no! :eek: Well, I went to Char's shop Saturday morning for a group make-up lesson that was open to the public, then had an appointment that afternoon for her to style my hair.
The make-up lesson was awesome. She matched a foundation color for me and walked us through the first few steps to doing it well. I was amazed at how much of a difference just doing the primer, concealer, and foundation made for me, and that's where the class ended for the day.
After the others left we talked about how I wanted my hair done. I gave her minimal guidance, just saying I'd like it to have at least some feminine touches while still being appropriate for my guy presentation in a conservative workplace. She spent a fair amount of time working with my hair then asked how I liked it, saying, "This is in guy mode." I said it looked good. It was neatly trimmed, and well shaped for my head. Much better than the stylist I'd been with before.
Then she said, "Now watch what I do so you can do it yourself." And using nothing more than mousse, a brush, a blowdryer, and hairspray, she proceeded to make that same haircut look like a stylish woman's hair! When she was done, my hair was nearly identical to a style I'd seen an ex-girlfriend wear! and she was a classic beauty with a great sense of style.
When Char saw how it was affecting me, she went ahead and put some simple, natural-looking make-up on me that matched my fully femme outfit and hair. I could barely contain myself seeing the woman me looking back through the mirror. She had me walk around in her spacious shop for a while and I commented to her how it seemed I was moving my body differently now that my hair and face were different. She said well sure, because now all of me is presenting as a woman instead of having my face separated from my body. It was glorious!
Then I walked outside as Rachel, in broad daylight, in a high density area! Lots of people saw me, even though I only went from the shop to my car. I was so nervous/excited/thrilled I even accidentally honked the horn as I was getting in. :doh: Drove home and walked again in broad daylight as fully Rachel from across the street and in sight of my neighbors (don't know if they saw me, nothing's been said). I was flying!
So, even though my hair is back to guy normal, I've been feeling Rachel more and more fully these last couple days. Yum. So I was in conversation with a co-worker in the office today. We have a good working relationship, playful and challenging, and we bring things to each other when we want help troubleshooting. Well today she was worked up over something and explaining it to me.
We were standing about 3 feet apart facing each other as she worked her way through it, then she wrapped it up with, "And there you have it, ma'am." She started to backpedal with, "I meant 'sir,'" and I said, "Don't worry about it. You can can call me 'ma'am' too, just don't call me late to dinner."
Well, this is an acutely observant and intelligent woman. Aware I might have just outed myself, I may have flushed slightly over the next minute or so. :o Still, it was a joy having her default to the feminine for me. Now we'll just have to wait and see if she makes any "testing" comments over the next few weeks. D'oh!
I have a feeling Rachel is going to see the sun a whole lot more, now that she's learning how to join her head with her body! Yay!!! :cheer:
So, a question - Do you move or feel different after making your hair and face look more womanly rather then when you're just dressed without changing your face and hair?
I was really surprised by how much easier it was for me to sit, stand, and move like a woman when all of me was dressed. It's like body and mind came together, or like all of my body, head included, was now expressing my womanhood. Whatever it was, I like it! Has anyone else noticed that change?
~Rachel :love: