Passing Advice?

[EmilyMI]

After my first feminine hair styling appointment over the weekend. Any advice, critiques? Please be 100% brutally honest..

P.S. I am still not full-time yet, hopefully I am moving in that direction soon.

Link: http://imgur.com/a/rnA7K

[Kimberly Renee]

cover up some of the forehead with bangs or a wide brim hat. the rest looks good

[Juliea661]

Hi Emily! Brutally honest...???
Honestly girl for just starting out? You look wonderful! Already I can see that you have a natural feminine body pose. Don't know what you know of make up, but there are many techniques such as contouring that will give your face a more feminine look. Kimberly mentioned bangs; well contouring would be another way of addressing that, as personally I think your hair looks good, and I like the "open" face look. I wear a lace front wig in my Avatar pic, and it gives the same look that you have.
Also jewelry and nail polish would help your presentation. Also play with different lip stick shades and eye shadows in order to bring more color to your face. Being younger you could really have some FUN!!! I don't know your situation, but if possible get a woman friend to "play" with you and do your makeup in different styles; or go get a processional makeover.
Anyway, your presentation is your presentation! That is the fun of it!!! When you are out and about, study the women you think look good. Then see what you can learn from them to enhance your presentation. Pick up some women's fashion magazine and see all the cool stuff and techniques available. But always love yourself. And be gentle with yourself.
Hugs, Jules

[thechic]

You look good, a bit of make up will do wonders, but to pass it takes a lot more than looks.

[EmilyMI]

Makeup is defiantly not my strong suit, the last time I tried it I ended up looking like a drag queen who is on bath salt. So you can only imagine what that have looked like! LOL :eek:

[thechic]

Practice makes perfect, there are plenty of how to videos and magazines are full of advice, Its a must .you will gain a good skills If you just use it all the time.I wear makeup daily, for work and play and have found I now am good at it ,this is because I use it every day, been doing it for 3 years, its a must.

[Angela Campbell]

I agree that makeup can make a big difference if done well. True, the key is practice and the right makeup. Get a consultation. Once you get the hang of it you will love it.

[Kaitlyn Michele]

makeup will not make you pass... you do a good job in your picture but that won't seal the deal

I don't always wear makeup anymore and i don't pass any better or worse... when i do wear it, its because i want to and it makes me feel good about myself... don't get me wrong, lots of us want to wear it everyday for the same reason as me...

what i'm saying is try not to think of it as passing...try to think of it as being yourself....almost like passing for yourself... it won't necessarily make you pass as a genetic female to others, but it will improve your life alot


frankly i don't see you are a makeup person...less is going to be more for you...

you'll need to soften your eyebrows a bit

and also you will have to do something about your hairline
...that hairline is a very big male tell....the way you have your hair now emphasizes your male feature

otherwise you are off to a very good start.. your smile is very natural..

[EmilyMI]

I know that passing is just not one thing. It comes down to confidence, body language and attitude. I am still working on the confidence issues (body dysphoria really stinks btw) but doing what I am doing right now is helping me in this area. For sure my hairline is something that I need to work on more and use a hair style with bangs to hide it. It is recommended that when I get FFS that my hairline be worked on, so it is an issue that I am very well aware of. I know I have quite a ways to go but taking all your suggestions will get me there one step closer at a time. :daydreaming:

[bas1985]

May I say that passing needs practice? And practice can be only one thing: public.

The most honest judges are the people around us. Normal people, cis-people, so to speak, will give to you more passing advice than ten thousand TG forums or support groups.

Why? Because cis people (usually) will gender you correctly (that is female) unless you give to them very strong reasons for not doing so.

Suppose that this is a forum of people who print fake Dollars (or Euros, I am Italian).

I will post my newly printed 20Euro note and I write: "does this pass?"

Of course you know that this is false and you will write 391234 reasons of not passing. But... the truth is... that if I go into a shop
with a confident aura and spend this note with a smile... probably it will pass, because the person at the counter, unless I give to her
STRONG reasons of distrusting my note, and if the note is good enough, will accept it.

Passing "female" is more or less the same, for me.

[Chickhe]

I think you look pretty good for no makeup. I would try to arch your brows and cover your forehead with bangs to hide the male hairline though. For actual passing...I've seen woman who have more masculine traits so its going to come down to how you sound, move act etc... if this is going to be a fulltime thing, then being comfortable with yourself should override passing, but nothing says you can't try to look your best.