Girl Craft

[Beauty Parlor Bev]

False eyelashes were a major problem for me until I just practiced over and over, still not an expert but can do a serviceable job. Painting my nails, curlers and curling irons were all viewed with disdain until I was able to become "adequate" with them.

Here is one I haven't seen mentioned yet, doing things with long nails! If you are able to grow your own out, I guess you get used to them as they grow but whenever I have acrylics done, I am all thumbs at first!

Part of the joy of this journey for me is learning to do all of these things!

[Dana44]

Everything is pretty second nature. Women do it many more times than we do and they are experts on it. So when you have done this since almost birth, it is all familiar to me and I love it. However, my eyebrows are hard to do as they are bushy. Probable should get the hair removed and a feminine one drawn in.

[Shely]

One trick i use for tight dresses with back zippers is a short cord with a safety pin in one end, and a loop in the other end. that I put the safety pin in the zipper, then I hook the loop, on the hook, on the bathroom door and just stoop down and the zipper goes right up. Usually I just leave it there while i play around the house. I don't leave the house so i don't have to remove it.

[Acastina]

I've been at this for almost 40 years on the front burner, including eight years full-time. Ya learn a lot of tricks in that much time.

Fingernails: target hand flat on countertop, rest the heel of the painting hand next to it and paint with thumb and index finger. Experiment with how much polish to load onto the brush. I do a big one for my large thumbnails, then do the pinky with the residue; medium loads for the other fingers. Stroke from the cuticle toward the tip and work quickly for a consistent coat. If it's color, don't hesitate to apply a second coat if the first looks thin or patchy. Use a four-way buffing block before polish.

Toenails: rest the foot on toilet seat or chair (countertop if you're ballerina-limber), steady painting hand by bracing it on the other hand. Again, watch your brush loading and move fast for a consistent coat. Consider a second coat, or topcoat of clear due to hosiery chafing.

Eyebrows: my wife is envious of my brows. Hers went away several years ago. She painted brows on until she found these decal fakes that last for several days. I just pluck mine from underneath for a shaped look that's girly enough without being extreme. Be sure to attend to any unibrow strays you find, and compare back and forth frequently so you don't overdo one side and have to keep plucking beyond what you're looking for.

Makeup: I can do a quick job just standing in front of a wall mirror, but good detail requires a lighted magnifying mirror. Don't worry about the funhouse distortion; you need to see clearly, and a concave mirror allows you to find your focal point as if you had reading glasses on. I claim no expertise with beard-cover techniques, as I'm very fortunate to have very little to begin with, a fair amount of electrolysis over the years, and daily plucking of new sprouts. I pluck it as clean as I can get it, then follow with a wet Norelco shaver to smooth it.

Foundation: my wife and I got into tinted moisturizers a few years ago, and I can't imagine life without it. As they say, it looks like makeup and works like a treatment. I sometimes have rosacea outbreaks, and I'll touch those up with a concealer first. I've also started using Neutrogena hand cream (the Norwegian fisherman formula) on a wet face to deep-moisturize before anything else go on. It goes on white-cloudy then rubs in, down my neck to the collarbone area.

Eyeliner: when I first started out, I tried to use that liquid stuff with a little brush; extremely challenging. Then an old girlfriend showed me how to use a pencil. Shadow first, then liner over that. Long strokes that pull the skin a bit taut. I can do it OK in a wall mirror if I'm in a hurry, but a good top-and-bottom lid treatment needs the magnifier. Pull the lower lid taut from below to draw that delicate line right at the base of the lower lashes. Re-sharpen the pencil often to keep a fine point on it. Then smudge and smooth with the other end of the pencil. A little cat eye effect at the outer corners makes your eyes look bigger.

Shadow: I like the color-coordinated three-color packages, which are created to complement different eye colors. Lightest tone between the crease and the brow, darkest tone in a fine line on the crease, medium tone on the upper eyelid. I use two brushes, a smaller one for the lid and crease, then a fluffer to blend the upper area into the mix. It's easy to get gaudy with shadow, so watch the colors and how much you lay it on.

Mascara: consider curling with one of those little tools, but be careful not to pinch your eyelid! Watch the applicator loading; if it's thick and gloppy, you'll make a mess of it. Scrape excess off in the neck of the container. Steady your hand on your cheekbone and gently lift the brush while slowly blinking the lid down for the uppers. Watch the clumping and minimize it by combing with the applicator. The lowers can be tricky because they're often so fine and sparse. I've found that moving the brush carefully from side to side will get some color on so you can see what you're doing to build it up. A really good job usually requires a second pass; one eye, then the other, then back and back again.

Blush: one of the best drag queens I knew showed me a cool trick to get it in the right spot. Suck in your cheeks like you're imitating a goldfish. The spot you want is just above the resulting temporary dimples. I use an applicator brush and follow with a makeup brush to spread it toward the earlobes. As with eyeshadow, it's easy to overdo and look like Raggedy Ann.

Powder: don't forget to pat a little on your now-made-up eyes to set the eye makeup. Pat it around to cover, then (and this may be the piece de la resistance of a good look) blend, blend, blend with a quality soft brush. The idea is to meld all the different tones and colors into an integrated look. A little extra on the nose, brow, and lower lip/upper chin area will delay those areas getting shiny, and that's what you should look to touch up if you're out and about for hours.

Lipstick: it just doesn't look done without color on the lips. So many tones; just experiment until you like it. I like to use a fine brush to shape. Just apply it from the tube, then use the brush to define the upper and lower bounds. I love MAC's Lip Glass to give it sparkle, but a little dab'll do ya. I paint the lower lip down beyond my natural lips for a fuller look, and paint points up as well as color past the natural line on the upper. Last tip: gently kiss your index finger to take the buildup off and leave a natural look.

Clothes are, as many have said here, more a matter of practice than any particular technique tips. My wife joins her bras in front and turns them around, but I do the two-handed reach-around the way my mom did. Zipping up dresses can be challenging; one thing I've done is to pull the waist up temporarily to get the zipper high enough to reach from above. Of course, it's always nice to have a helper ().

I've got another whole chapter on stretching and breaking in shoes...

[Jessicae]

I seem to have the same problems with #1 and #2. Don't know I'd I will ever get the hand of the garter belts, but since I love wearing them so much...I will keep,trying!

[Scarlett Viktoria]

Ha! For bras I have to fasten them first then put them on like a shirt. I still struggle with eye make up. Walking in heels is a definite "girl craft". I was fortunate enough to pick it up right away but, hell, even some women struggle with this one. I do get nervous and go slow down stairs and I'm still envious of women who walk so effortlessly with them. I remember wearing heels to a CD/TG party. I went upstairs to drop off my coat and purse but when I got back to the wooden stairs I just stopped for a minute and looked down and my eyes got big. Luckily, I went very slowly and made it down but it was terrifying.

[Linda Kay Scott]

Take solace that the learning curve is quite large here. None of us is perfect, and we all have a pitfall awaiting us somewhere. Mine was in the button back romper I bought this summer, looked great on a hanger, looking good going on, until I had to struggle with the slip and hook buttons on the back. I felt like a contortionist trying to button the thing up. Would have been much easier to have a campanion do it for me.

[Teri Ray]

Thanks for your tips Acastina,

For me its eyeliner. That's it. If I can figure that out I believe I have the girl craft thing down.

[BLUE ORCHID]

And then comes the day when you're struggling with your male dress shirt because the buttons on the wrong side ...

Or when you're trying to blow your nose without mussing your makeup, and you realize you're in male mode and not wearing makeup ...

Both have happened to me.

Hi CynyhiaI was just think the same thing as I was reading the posts.

It is like being a double agent......

[Randy]

It's been so long ago when I learned to fasten a bra behind my back. I never thought of fastening and stepping into it. My wife fastens in front and rotates it. I still feel a little proud that I can do it and she can't.