Another Question

[corsetman]

Since ive been in this forum all you lovely ladies have guided me. I say thank you. Today was my first venture in the cosmetic area of crossdressing. I went out and bought hte following: eye lash curler, sponges, makeup kit, concealer,foundation, brushes, maeup bag and setting powder.

I start by doing some research on how to apply the makeup. Concealer first, worked on the eyeliner, eyelashes then mascara. After i applied my foundation, eyeshadow and mascara. Blended the eyeshadow and the blush and lipstick. I know it was my first time and im ok with this but i look horrible.

As soon as i put my wig on i did look womenly but also it was too much. I am terrible with colors. How do i go about choosing the right colors?
Those kits which have all the makeup from lipstick to blush. The founfdation powdera and cocealer i bought seperatly but for that kit i feel was cheap make up. The eyeliner was hard to apply. The eyeshadow was now sticking much. The lipstick was hard to apply. i know im a rookie but am i better off buying individual makeup? Can someone suggest a basic color scheme? Is there a better way to hide the beard? I did shave very close in both directions but i guess it want enough. i want to go out and have some fun but my makeup techniques need help. Can anyone suggest anything?
Thanks..

[Bernadina]

I find that the sets of any kind of makeup can be awfull. Even with the brand names, you'll get 1 colour that works and whole lot that don't. And the cheap sets are more like face painting for kids.

The only way you'll find out what works is try the diffent brands and colours. For instance, I use Demablend concealer, Maybeline foundation, Covergirl powder, Revlon Nail Polish, L'Orel and Maybeline Lipstick, Maybeline eye shadow and Mascara, Elizabeth Arden Blush, etc.

It can get expensive. However if you experiment with the drugstore brands and buy on sale its not too bad.

I was fortunate that my wife and I have almost exactly the same skin colouring. What works for her, works for me. So I had the advantage of being able to draw on her years of experimentation and experience.

Here's a link that provides a whole lot of useful tips on a girls makeup etc. One of many.

http://www.draag.com/tips/intro.html

[Lily_gg]

What colours were you trying? If they're particularly colourful, they're very tricky to get right without looking like a clown (trust me, I know!), and if they're very monochrome - blacks, greys, whites - they're equally hard to look good in unless you want to look goth (when you do want to look goth, they're fabulous, you just need a really gorgeous dark lippie to go with them).

The easiest to start with would be just 'neutral' colours - browns, creams, those kind of colours. Also, have a flick through some women's magazines to find some pictures that you like, and try to copy them onto your face. They'll have lots of tips on how to apply and what to wear with your colouring and eyes too (what colour eyes & natural hair do you have, and what would you classify your skin as: fair [Nicole Kidman], medium [Jennifer Aniston], olive [Mediterranean babes!], dark [Naomi Campbell]?) - for example lilac shadows will make your eyes look greener. Oh, and black eyeliner is again best left for the goth looks - for most other looks, dark grey, brown or navy are the easiest.

And when you're putting it all on, remember less is more - it's very easy to put a little more on if needed, very hard to take just a little off.

As far as order to put it all on in, most of the magazines seem to say: foundation (including all over eyelids), concealer, blush (smile, the bits of your cheeks that stick out are the 'apples' - blend blusher over these, in a swirly way, to look more natural, sculpt it from the apples along your cheekbones for a more dramatic look), eyeshadow/eyeliner (I tend to do shadow then liner, but some looks require liner first, then shadow to soften it), mascara, lippie. But whatever works works - remember this is a new skill you're learning, and it takes time to perfect - the first few times I put mascara on, I ended up with it all over the bridge of my nose!!! :p (yes, I know it's meant to go on your eyelashes only! I was using my right hand to put it on my left eye....)