Makeup
This page was last updated 01/05/2008 07:16:49 AM
or the art of positive deception..
Warning: this is not a step by step "How To" article. It is a philosophical approach to the use of makeup. You must find your own best appearance using makeup, it cannot be gained by reading what others have done, in my opinion...
Quick aside--If you are looking for makeup tips and pictures and tutorials go to Makeuptalk.com and take a look. I have joined and met many very helpful ladies and learned a lot about makeup. I am now an addict of the mineral makeup lines and have been using my home-made foundations, blushes and shadows for over a year. Using products and pigments from TBK Trading in Oakland, CA I have been able to develop a foundation for myself that matches my skin tone perfectly. I practiced on my fellow beauty school students by making foundations and eye shadows for all 56 of them. What fun!
The "How To's" of makeup could take thousands of pages or completely fill this web site. I will do my best to avoid that possibility. Makeup is an extremely personal expression of one's femininity. Do not replace your thinking with my words. Read what I have to say, form your own opinion, learn to apply makeup "correctly" whatever that means, and have fun. Don't spend your life wishing for the best look there is and wasting valuable time. Get out there, enjoy life. Take it as it comes to you, learn from mistakes. Believe me, I have!
What is so fascinating about makeup? It is a gender-specific aspect of femininity that we as a whole have never had the chance to experience. It is a mystery that can transform virtually anyone into a more attractive person. More attractive is obviously a biased point of view, but generally the results are positive.
As non-genuine females, we have not had the chance to learn from our peers and therefore prevent us from rushing forward like a bunch of makeup hungry individuals. We move into makeup with the typical male attitude, if a little is good, more is better!! The Tim Taylor school of makeup is not what we are after to look good or to blend in with society.
Typically we tend to buy the latest and greatest advertised piece of makeup that can make us look better, or at least more feminine. I will break down the aspects of makeup and give you an idea what I do and you can read it all, disregard it all, or take from it what you like and modify to suit your own needs.
Take my advice and go to a Merle Norman studio or some other place that will teach you how to use makeup. It is time well spent. I went into a Merle Norman studio in Thousand Oaks, California one time and explained that I was a crossdresser and that I wanted to be able to use makeup and look convincing. The operator could see that I was serious and that I was probably going to spend a lot of money with her. She was right. She made up one side of my face and had me do the other under her tutelage. The lesson lasted about 2 hours and I bought over $200 worth her products when finished. I was amazed!! A few simple strokes here and there completely changed my appearance. I had brought a wig and she took some pictures of me both before and after. I still have my copies! Don't worry about what the studio operator thinks, I have been in the beauty industry for some time and find that nothing surprises beauty professionals. Simply be up front and make sure to make their time worthwhile by buying their products. I still use many Merle Norman cosmetics because they last and work very well.
My prior makeup regimen stemmed from years of mistakes, from years of inch thick caked makeup and totally black eyes. My teen-aged experience did not prepare me for this aspect of life.
It is funny to be criticized for wearing so much makeup by some women, they possibly do so when they feel threatened for not taking the time to do the same, or they simply think that you look too over-done. Either though is fine as long as they don't think that you are male and wearing makeup. You have arrived when women simply look at you with disgust and know that you are more relatively attractive than they are and don't realize who or what you are...
Basics
A clean face is obvious. As males we tend to disregard our faces as something we simply have to shave daily and make sure we have no long hairs hanging out our noses (well, most of us do). For the purposes of this section you need to think about how you treat your face. Your face is what shines through regardless of the hair or dress of shoes. If the face sucks, you won't have fun! Take care of your face. Wash it with something that doesn't dry it out badly (facial cleaner, whatever you normally use). Then, moisturize your face. What?? Yes, moisturize your face by putting some sort of what feels like an oily mess back on your clean face. Not only does this help the skin stay moist and supple, but it helps with shaving. I use a product called EB5. (It has a web site located at www.EB5.com ) It is available in J.C. Penney's and many other retail sites. they also have a web site where you can order online. It is the most amazing stuff available. Don't be put off by the $40 per jar cost. It lasts about a month and a half with two people using it daily. I have been using it for over 20 years and go into withdrawal whenever my supply runs low.
EB5 is also an excellent makeup base. After the EB5 has been absorbed into the skin, (give it a few minutes, don't smear makeup over wet moisturizer) it takes less makeup to cover your face. Rub EB5 everywhere you plan on using makeup. Down the neck, onto the chest and ears.
Foundation
Everybody has a different name for it so the purposes of this lesson we will call it "foundation". I lump all the products that I use into this category such as concealer and white sticks and such stuff. Apply the colored makeup, I currently use Lasting Performance by Max Factor simply because I can find it locally and it tends to work well for me. Your experience may be different, you have to try them until one seems to do what you want it to do. I took my cues from Merle Norman and bought a nice liquid makeup. It dries into a nice finish and stays on.
Once you are ready, places dots of makeup all over the face, neck, chest, etc. With fingertips or a sponge gently rub or pat the makeup over the entire area until it is blended and has covered all that you want it to cover. If it doesn't cover well, it may be the wrong color or the wrong makeup. When I mention "cover" I don't mean a half inch thick layer of flesh colored spackle! I mean well blended natural even tones of a natural appearing color. In some cases that will be just a touch and in others that will mean half a tube of makeup. Get advice on what will work for you. Trial and error does work, but the cost is very high and the wasted time simply means less positive feeling about yourself and no one needs that!
Take your time and smooth the makeup with a sponge and blend the edges so that there aren't any major color changes on your face. Let the foundation sit and dry. It has a carrier just like paint that allows it to flow until the finish surface emerges, then the thinner evaporates. In most cases today the thinner is water, but in any case the foundation has to be dry to continue. When it is dry, take a powder puff and press it into loose face powder that either matches your foundation or is a neutral base color. With the face powder adhering to the puff, press the puff onto your face and let the powder adhere to the dry foundation. If the foundation isn't dry it will cake and you will look somewhat like Beetlejuice. When you have pressed dry powder into the entire face and onto the ears and neck and chest and where ever, take a large powder brush, the largest one in your collection, and whisk away all the loose powder.
The powder sets the foundation and helps even out the matte appearance that you are looking for.
Highlighter and Lowlighter
Highlighter includes concealers and mint toners and all the other stuff that makes the foundation look even more "realistic". Many people spend hours trying for the best concealment below the eyes and the highlighting of the cheeks and so on. Take all the time you need but remember, you will have a lot less time to spend being admired if you spend too much time trying to look perfect. Concealers hide color defects in the skin and either lighten or darken the area to make it appear even. Some toners or concealers are mint colored, others are orange toned. Learn what the correct tones are for your face before you start using the wrong color that makes you look even worse.
Light skin generally uses a mint colored toner, darker skin generally uses a more orange toner. Once the toner is applied, it helps blend the skins color into a more even appearance.
If you have skin discolorations, burns, or other visible defects, you may want to investigate DermaBlend. It will cover tattoos and any other surface problem and still look like skin. DermaBlend takes a bit of effort but is well worth the time and expense.
I rarely take the time to use toners and concealers anymore, the time just doesn't seem justified. It is tough to turn a buffalo into a prime heifer..
Eyebrows
First you have to figure out what you are going to do to your eyebrows before you can start drawing them into place. Jump over to my Eyebrows section and thoroughly read it before you ever start messing around. Once you have an idea what you want your eyebrows to look like and have made the commitment to either have them waxed or shaped, learn to draw the same shape on each side of your face. Look at many women, you will see that their eyebrows do no generally match. I often go out with one arched and the other rounded simply because I use the same eye drawing both and the perspective changes as I look at both eyes. To solve that dilemma I use a product generically known as eyebrow templates. You can go to the "Eyebrowz" website and order sets of various shapes or you can find a standard arched package at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has the best prices and availability. Don't worry about being embarrassed buying the eyebrow templates. Just fill your basket with all sorts of makeup products and boldly go forth to the checkout stand and pull out a list while the clerk is scanning all the items. Make remarks like, "Looks like I got everything on her list", mumble a bit and simply pay for the products and leave.
To draw eyebrows, I used a sharpened eyebrow pencil and make small dots where I want the brow to peak and start and finish. Then I simply draw a thin line to "connect-the-dots" and thicken the brow next to the nose area and draw a thinner line as I finish out the outboard tail of the eyebrow. I am personally a fan of very high arched thin lined brows, ala Pamela Anderson.
After applying all of my eye shadows I generally go back over the lines to darken them to make them more visible.
Lips
What kind of look are you going for? Figure out what you want before you start with your lips. As an example, I have sorta thin lips and want them to appear more robust, not quite an Angelina Jole look but close. I usually draw a very thin line outlining my lips but exaggerating the middle sections of both the upper and lower lips.
I also like a distinct cupid bow upper lip and draw it into place before filling in with lipstick or lip color. I have recently started using the "semi-permanent" lip colors offered by Max Factor and others as an alternative to always having to check my lipstick, touching up here and there, getting lipstick off my teeth, etc. The semi-permanent lip color is really just a water-base paint that gets thicker with more coats. When it dries it is flat and feels tight on your lips. It is covered with a clear shine product that comes in the lip kit. The shine can be any number of variations, colored, glitter, pearlized, etc., the end product is a lipstick look with no worry of getting lipstick on eating utensils, on kissing partners, teeth, or smudged all over. It also does not run and form little lines outside the lip liner, it stays put and always looks good.
Of course there are times when traditional lipstick is used, I love the feel of sliding lipstick over my lips, it is one of the most feminine feelings I can invoke.
Blush or cheek color
Many wondrous looks can be achieved with the careful application of cheek color. I use it as a traditional blush, right over the apple of the cheek to enhance the shadows under the apple of the eye and to cause the forehead to blend back and not appear so prominent. I also apply a bit below my jaw line on each side and a touch to the bridge of the nose.
Eye Shadow/Liner
Once again, the only way to learn is to practice. Enough cannot be said for repetition. One does not learn to look good the first time out. Go to the store and look at eye shadow packages. On the back of many are little diagrams that show the best application of the colors in the package. Use that as a general guide and practice applying the colors in the scheme shown until you think you have it right. Then, take some pictures. Look at the pictures carefully. Generally makeup must be applied fairly heavily to really look good in pictures because of lighting, but you can achieve a good passable look by looking at your pictures and changing how you previously applied your shadows.
I generally cover the area directly beneath my brows with a pearlized color, generally very light to bring out the brow bone. As I move toward the eye I use darker colors until I reach the eyelashes.
I also place a bit of the darkest shadow under my lower lashes simply to make the eye really stand out. The picture above illustrates the general shadow placement. The picture below more clearly illustrates the lighter to darker approach.
Lining the eyes is also an art form, many great looks can be had by the appropriate application of liners. I currently use a liquid liner in either brown or black on the upper lid and a pencil on the lower lid. Since I wear contact lenses, I am very careful to keep the liners off the portions of the eyelids that actually have contact with the eyeball. Once again, practice is really important with liquid liner.
With the addition of jewelry, hair, and clothing, almost any appearance can be achieved...
