Sandy Clifton
08-04-2013, 04:17 PM
Welcome to The Adventures of Sandy, Gender Tourist! Why "gender tourist"?
Two reasons. One reflects my approach toward my femininity: though I don't plan
to "live there," I do like to visit! The other describes my summer escapade: I went
on a 7500-mile driving tour of the western USA, getting my photo taken while
en femme at city landmarks along the way.
I wasn't in girl-mode full-time; many days of the trip were spent driving or camping,
and I wasn't motivated to dress up for those activities. Plus, there was the
practical matter of my face: not only would I be fighting tenacious beard growth,
my lack of experience in doing my own makeup meant that I would be relying
on makeover services for prettyfication.
In this prologue, I'll describe my preparations for the trip, surveying the familiar
litany of secondary sexual characteristics and gender cues in need of adjustment.
I hope I'm not being too vain, thinking that others are eager to hear the details
of my beauty regimen, but my engineering brain gets off on process descriptions.
Being 5'11" and 160#, I'm on the tall side but fairly slim. To get "flesh" in the
right places, a few years back I bought breast forms and a padded girdle from
FemSkin. They were pricey, but I really like the way they feel and the way they
set my silhouette.
A couple more items in my gender-bending toolkit are less-essential, but I like
what they do for my image. I use plano Freshlook Colors contact lenses to make
my brown eyes blue, and I use Imako Cosmetic Teeth to improve my smile
(my actual teeth aren't bad, but this veneer strip gives me the confidence to
open wide and show off the pearly whites).
For hair, of course the magic combination is "lots on top, none from the neck down."
Fortunately, I'd been growing my head hair for 18 months, so I had a good mop to
work with. Though male pattern baldness is gaining ground on me, I figured I still
had enough tresses to mount a final fling with my own hair before making the
move to Wigville. I had my brunet locks dyed blonde and styled (more on that in
Chapter 1).
Regarding body hair, I've done a full body shave a handful of times in the past,
but didn't relish having to do touch-ups and avoid ingrown hairs on the road, so
I decided to explore waxing. Following an online search for "male waxing" I made
an appointment with a salon to have my back waxed. I figured it would be a good
test of my tolerance for the process (my back isn't all that hairy) and give me a
chance to determine whether the salon was a good fit for me.
Well, the back waxing wasn't too bad, and I got a good vibe from the salon and its
proprietor, so I made a follow-up appointment to have my chest and stomach done.
At that appointment, I decided to let the waxer know what I was up to; his reaction
was positive. Being able to talk about my crossdressing with him was liberating
(I've broached this subject with very few people) and also gave me a topic on which
I could natter to distract myself as he depilated some of the more painful areas. On
a third and final visit, I had my arms and legs done, ultimately deciding to allow
the waxer to get up-close-and-personal and deforest my nether regions.
So, what else… oh yeah, clothes! I was fairly well set for shoes, having bought
five pairs of heels online over the years. I had some outfits, but wanted to get
new ones for the trip that would complement my blondness and show off
my bare skin. I filled out my wardrobe by visiting most of the Goodwill stores in
town. I went in guy mode and simply looked through the women's racks for the
items I wanted. At first I was nervous, but I eventually developed a no-nonsense
attitude and just shopped, doing my best to determine whether the garments
would fit (I avoided any potential awkwardness associated with changing rooms;
trying on the clothes wouldn't have been of much use anyway since I wasn't padded
up). Another aspect of Goodwill is that you only interact with employees when
checking out, which is a feature if you're not eager to deal with hovering sales
clerks' questions.
I ended up getting way more items than I needed, but the prices are so low that
it's not much of a problem to overbuy. My standard ensemble is a high-neck
sleeveless top (show off the arms, hide the Adam's apple) paired with a stretchy
pencil skirt that terminates in a flounce above the knee (pliable fabric makes for
a more-forgiving fit; the length maximizes the amount of legs I show while being
sufficiently modest to cover my lower torso enhancement padding).
Finally, I was ready for my first femme venture, in my hometown of Austin (which
I'll write about in Chapter 1; there will be pictures!). I'm eager to receive any
feedback or questions y'all might have. Thanks for reading!
Sandy Clifton
Two reasons. One reflects my approach toward my femininity: though I don't plan
to "live there," I do like to visit! The other describes my summer escapade: I went
on a 7500-mile driving tour of the western USA, getting my photo taken while
en femme at city landmarks along the way.
I wasn't in girl-mode full-time; many days of the trip were spent driving or camping,
and I wasn't motivated to dress up for those activities. Plus, there was the
practical matter of my face: not only would I be fighting tenacious beard growth,
my lack of experience in doing my own makeup meant that I would be relying
on makeover services for prettyfication.
In this prologue, I'll describe my preparations for the trip, surveying the familiar
litany of secondary sexual characteristics and gender cues in need of adjustment.
I hope I'm not being too vain, thinking that others are eager to hear the details
of my beauty regimen, but my engineering brain gets off on process descriptions.
Being 5'11" and 160#, I'm on the tall side but fairly slim. To get "flesh" in the
right places, a few years back I bought breast forms and a padded girdle from
FemSkin. They were pricey, but I really like the way they feel and the way they
set my silhouette.
A couple more items in my gender-bending toolkit are less-essential, but I like
what they do for my image. I use plano Freshlook Colors contact lenses to make
my brown eyes blue, and I use Imako Cosmetic Teeth to improve my smile
(my actual teeth aren't bad, but this veneer strip gives me the confidence to
open wide and show off the pearly whites).
For hair, of course the magic combination is "lots on top, none from the neck down."
Fortunately, I'd been growing my head hair for 18 months, so I had a good mop to
work with. Though male pattern baldness is gaining ground on me, I figured I still
had enough tresses to mount a final fling with my own hair before making the
move to Wigville. I had my brunet locks dyed blonde and styled (more on that in
Chapter 1).
Regarding body hair, I've done a full body shave a handful of times in the past,
but didn't relish having to do touch-ups and avoid ingrown hairs on the road, so
I decided to explore waxing. Following an online search for "male waxing" I made
an appointment with a salon to have my back waxed. I figured it would be a good
test of my tolerance for the process (my back isn't all that hairy) and give me a
chance to determine whether the salon was a good fit for me.
Well, the back waxing wasn't too bad, and I got a good vibe from the salon and its
proprietor, so I made a follow-up appointment to have my chest and stomach done.
At that appointment, I decided to let the waxer know what I was up to; his reaction
was positive. Being able to talk about my crossdressing with him was liberating
(I've broached this subject with very few people) and also gave me a topic on which
I could natter to distract myself as he depilated some of the more painful areas. On
a third and final visit, I had my arms and legs done, ultimately deciding to allow
the waxer to get up-close-and-personal and deforest my nether regions.
So, what else… oh yeah, clothes! I was fairly well set for shoes, having bought
five pairs of heels online over the years. I had some outfits, but wanted to get
new ones for the trip that would complement my blondness and show off
my bare skin. I filled out my wardrobe by visiting most of the Goodwill stores in
town. I went in guy mode and simply looked through the women's racks for the
items I wanted. At first I was nervous, but I eventually developed a no-nonsense
attitude and just shopped, doing my best to determine whether the garments
would fit (I avoided any potential awkwardness associated with changing rooms;
trying on the clothes wouldn't have been of much use anyway since I wasn't padded
up). Another aspect of Goodwill is that you only interact with employees when
checking out, which is a feature if you're not eager to deal with hovering sales
clerks' questions.
I ended up getting way more items than I needed, but the prices are so low that
it's not much of a problem to overbuy. My standard ensemble is a high-neck
sleeveless top (show off the arms, hide the Adam's apple) paired with a stretchy
pencil skirt that terminates in a flounce above the knee (pliable fabric makes for
a more-forgiving fit; the length maximizes the amount of legs I show while being
sufficiently modest to cover my lower torso enhancement padding).
Finally, I was ready for my first femme venture, in my hometown of Austin (which
I'll write about in Chapter 1; there will be pictures!). I'm eager to receive any
feedback or questions y'all might have. Thanks for reading!
Sandy Clifton