What if a Duck Was a Crossdresser?

Now is the time of the year when a young trans thoughts turn to duck hunting.  Well maybe it is just my thoughts that turn to duck hunting? Can you tell I'm thinking of stuff other than cross dressing?  It's been a bit since I last took 11 days between posts.  Well, duck season opened here last Saturday and the missus and I have been out hunting.  We had a great first day out.

One funny thing about this blog is the number of visitors that I get that have looked up a picture of a duck.  I find it to be quite funny, having people search for duck hunting info, and then click on a link to this blog, and find it is about a cross dressing duck hunter.  Ha-Ha!  I suppose guys at the refuges would never suppose what goes on underneath my waders, HA-HA!  Okay, well maybe the nail polish gives me away a little.

On that note, last weekend I confirmed a strange theory.  Soaking your hands in water for an hour or two will easily remove gel nail polish.  Which I am happy about, but also quite bummed about.  I thought that I had the answer all figured out about how to keep the polish from chipping and my nails from breaking while I am hunting, but alas, gel polish is not the answer I was hoping it would be.  But it is a fairly easy, and non toxic way to remove the almost impossible to remove polish.

Gotta run, folks, job is a callin.

Love ya!

Outfit for October 15th

Jeans - Guess

White Top - Converse All Stars

Black Top - Merona

Boots - Nine West

Ah a lovely nice fall day.  It was in the 70s today while I was out and about.  Of course you know that these are my favorite pair of jeans.  The only thing I don't like about them is that they are so dang long, I have to make sure that I wear heels that are tall enough so that they do not drag on the ground.  But, can you see how they are lighter on the fronts and backs of them and darker on the sides, this helps give the illusion of my legs being much skinnier than they really are.

I do have a couple of general problems with jeans though.  One, I hate trying to tuck up and hide Mr. Happy.  I can do it, but generally it is bothersome to do it for more than say an hour or two.  But trying to go an entire day, of sitting, and standing and walking, ugh!  It becomes way too much for me.  So thus, if I want to wear jeans and be comfortable, then I half to wear some type of top that is long enough that it covers to front of my pants.  This often limits which tops I can wear, as not all of them are long enough to achieve this affect.

The other problem that I have with jeans, is that they cover up my great boots.  I really like wearing boots, and with jeans on, you can't even see them.  I love knowing that I have them on, but I don't get to show them off.  But the real problem is that I don't really like the look of boots with anything that shows them off.  I don't like how they look with skirts, of any length, or shorts.  So harumph!

I think I need to get over myself.  So thus it is not a problem with jeans, but I problem with me.  Okay, I'm done now.

So, what did I do while dressed?  Shopping today.  Boring shopping.  I returned something to Target, which was kind of funny to me, as I bought it as a guy and returned it as a girl.  I went to some other small shop and picked up a few things, and I went to Macy's.  Clinique has gift time now people, so go, go, go!  Myself, what did I get, nothing as the line was far too long!

Hope you are doing well.

Makeup - Eyes

 various shadows

I've been a little busy lately, but maybe I have been avoiding this makeup post as well.  I tend to spend the most amount of time on my eyes during my makeup routine and I tend to be quite disappointed with the results of my eyes.

I really like my eye color, it is kind of a green/blue that almost appears to change color in response to what I am wearing.  They are actually quite pretty.  So then why am I not happy with them?  I think mostly their shape.  I think that women have more almond shaped eyes while mens tend to be more rounded.  So I feel as though no matter what I do, my eyes never really look that feminine.  Which bugs!

Anywho - here is my eye makeup routine:

lid smoothie

First I apply a eye foundation from clinique, it is called lid smoothie.  This stuff provides a smooth base for me to apply the shadow on top of.  I really like this product as it helps to even out small eye wrinkles.  It also helps to hold the eye shadow color much longer than if I do not use it.  The other thing it does it to provide a slight shimmer wherever I place it.  I generally place it over my entire upper and lower lids.

After that I generally use a four color eye shadow palette.  I currently have several different manufacturers color palettes.  I have several from clinique, one from lancome, one from bobby brown, and several from maybeline.  Depending on my mood I will use anyone of them.  I tend to prefer colors that contrast from my own eye color.  So while I am drawn to blues and green, I normally wear earth tones.  This translate to lots of browns, greys, silvers, golds, blacks, and not much color at all, although occasionally I will do some pinks.  My wife on the other hands, with her gorgeous brown eyes looks great with almost the complete opposite colors that I wear.

With the four color palette, they will often come with some sort of directions on where to apply the different shades.  Clinique does this as well as lancome.  The directions that came with the lancome shadow were great! They were the best I have ever seen.  The makeup was also some of the most expensive I have ever purchased, but it was well worth it.  I would also like to mention that while I have shadows that cost less, the more expensive colors are richer and take less product to achieve the results that I prefer.

In general while using four colors, if you have them arranged from lighter to darker, like 1, 2, 3, & 4.  You would put #1 over the whole upper lid, up to your brow.  #2 would go on your upper lid, up to the crease line, where your lid folds.  #3 would go in the crease of your upper lids.  And lastly #4 would go in the outside corner of your eyes.

In between each application of color I will use a blending brush.  This is a rather large brush that helps to blend each color in with the other and makes it all look smoother.  While I am mentioning it, I have also invested in several really nice brushes.  I have about 3 or 4 clinique brushes that I use to assist in my shadow placement.

various liners

Okay, so after shadow, if I feel like it, normally at night only, I will apply some liner to either just the top lids or both the top and bottom.  With liners, I have sticks, liquids, and gels.  Each takes it's own learned skill level to apply it.  All I can say about this is, in my opinion less is more, and practice makes perfect.

a couple of mascaras

After liner, I will use an eyelash curler to curl my lashes.  I then will apply mascara.  With mascara, a trick my wife taught me, which seems very wasteful, but works wonders is to use a tissue to remove almost all of the product from the brush.  Then I can go over and over my lashes without it clumping on my lashes.  I have always thought it to be very wasteful, but it does work quite well.  Also with mascara, try and get as low on the lashes as possible.

Oh yea, one more thing I do for my eyes, I use a light brown shadow to fill in my eyebrows.  I have very light brows and if I don't do that step it looks almost as though I don't have brows.

Okay, I think that is it for my own personal eye routine.  Hmm... that wasn't that long, okay maybe it was.

Love Ya!

Happy Birthday to Me

Well fellow netizens, it is yet again my birthday.  Hooray!  I am the grand ol age of 41 today.  I don't think I have ever mentioned how melancholy I am on my birthday, well I normally am, and today is of no difference.  

The reason for my melancholy, I think, has to do with growing up in my wonderful household.  I grew up with a father who yelled just about every single day of his life, demanding that he did not deserve to be treated like a PFC in his own home.  My birthday was no different.  Actually, any day that was supposed to be a special day, holidays, etc, always ended up with my dad yelling, my mom crying, and my sister and I trying to get out of the way

Another reason that I may be strange on my birthday is that I am adopted.  I was adopted at about three weeks of age.  I was not told that I was adopted until about the age of 8 or 9.  My sister told me.  I cried and cried.  I thought it was so sad.  Sad that I was not of my parents, nope, I was thrilled at that thought.  I was sad that I was not good enough for my real parents to keep me.  Well at least that was how I thought of it at the time.

Now  I know better.  Now I know that my bio-parents were selfish fucks.  I emailed with them both around 10 years ago or so.  They searched me out and found me.  The emailing lasted a few weeks with my bio-dad before I said good-bye forever to him.  My bio-mom I ended up meeting and things got really really weird before I said good-bye to her forever.  

So yea birthdays.  Hmmph!  The funny thing is I have never really had a problem with getting older.  I have actually liked getting older.  To me it has always been representative of me being able to be more responsible for myself.

Me for me.  That is what I like.  So I suppose that is a huge reason that I don't have my own children now.  But some advice, if you have kids.  Make them feel as though nothing else in your life matters like your children, because guess what, nothing else should matter.  If you are a parents, that is number one job.  I get to experience every day what the results are of parents not caring about their children.  Good luck to you procreators.

Love ya!

Makeup - Blush

Blush has never been one of my favorite things.  I used to not use it at all.  My problem with blush is that many people who use it, over use it.  This gave me the wrong impression of blush.  I kind of always thought that if you used it at all, it would leave you looking all rosy cheeked, which I personally think looks quite unnatural.  I also really don't like the swath of red swiped across many peoples cheeks.  This really is the one big item that I think makes many people look rather clownish.

Which is why I avoided it for so long.  But one time while visiting the makeup counter at Clinique, I inquired about proper blush usage. The fabulous artist that I spoke with quickly pulled out about 5 different shades of blush and began determining the correct shade for my skin tone and foundation color.  She figured out what to use and asked my permission before trying it my face.  I allowed her and she applied it, and taught me how to properly apply it as well.

It was neat when she used it, as she only did one side of my face.  This allowed me to see what it was like with it and without it.  On the side that she used it, my face looked normal.  It didn't look clownish, or streaked with pink.  The side without blush appeared very pale.  On the blush side of my face, I also noticed that I had nice cheekbones, while the non blush side I didn't especially notice my cheekbones at all.

So, if you can find the right shade of blush, it will really help accentuate your face in a very feminine way.  But if you use the wrong color, or use too much, you will look more like a clown.

What I do, is to swipe my brush on the blush, smile, and rub the apples of my cheeks, as well as up the side of my face towards my temples.  My wife describes it as placing it where the sun naturally hits your face.  I think of it as applying it where I turn red if I am embarrassed.  I also make sure to kind of swirl it about those areas and make sure it is not applied in just a paint brush type of swath.

Blush is something that I replace more often then I would prefer.  By putting my foundation on first, when I apply the blush to my first cheek, and then go back to the compact to apply more blush to the brush, it is unavoidable that the brush has picked up some of my foundation and then transfers it to the compact.  This eventually clogs up my blush and it does not apply to the brush very well after a while.

Okay, lots to say about such a small part of my makeup routine that takes a few seconds to apply!

Love Ya!

Makeup - Foundation

Possibly the most difficult part of my own makeup routine to do well is the foundation.  I am much better at it now than I ever used to be.  I think much of it has to do with the quality of the makeup I currently use as well as the instruction I have received and the practice I have done.

Initially I purchased my foundation at a local convenience store.  I probably purchased about 10 different types and colors of foundation before I decided that it was worth it for me to purchase something of a higher quality.  I wish that I had just gotten something better right from the start.  I could have saved myself a good deal of money had I done it that way.

Also I could have saved myself some money if I just went up to a cosmetic counter and asked them for their advice.  When I decided to start buying more expensive products I initially just ordered my foundation online.  I just guessed which color would look good on me.  I was wrong BTW.

It took me about 3 years of experimenting on my own to finally get up the courage to go up to an actual counter and ask them what I should get.  Once I did that, I became so much happier with my foundation.  Whenever I want a change or think I need a change I will now always go to the counter and get their opinion.

What I do now is:
- I use clinique redness solutions
      - this is applied with a brush, also from clinique
      - the lighter I apply it the better it looks, especially as I get older and get more wrinkles
      - I used to think with more wrinkles, more foundation is better, but less actually is
- after applying the base foundation I do a light dusting of clinique powder
      - this helps to set the liquid foundation and assist it in not smudging off
- lastly I generally blot my face with a tissue to remove some of what I put on
      - this helps it to look more natural
- also throughout the day
      - I never apply more
      - I use blotting paper to help soak up my excess face oils, which I seem to have a ton of!
      - blotting paper can be purchased all over the place now, mine is from clinique, but I have seen it at Sally's Beauty Supply

Oh in the picture is also a pore minimizer, but I don't even know when the last time I used that was.  Part of the problem with it it that it is too thick.  When my foundation is too thick my wrinkles show more instead of less.  Initially it covers them just fine, but when I move my face, the wrinkles lines just appear deeper.  So thus I prefer a really light foundation.

Okay, so there is my foundation routine!

Love Ya!

What a Mess of Makeup

This is the pile of makeup once I emptied it from my makeup case.  I don't happen to have a picture of said makeup case, but I will let you know that it is large.  Very large.  I personally hate having all of my stuff jammed into a way too small space.  I don't like like knowing that I have a particular eye liner for instance, and then having to scrounge through all of my items searching desperately for it.  I am one of those types of people that like to have a place for everything and have everything in its place.  For me it comes down to, I hate not knowing that I have something and not being able to find it.  Thus if I keep things in their places I will always be able to find it when I go look for it.

Anyways.  Things had become too out of place within my giant makeup case and I knew it was time to empty it out, reorganize, and replace my things.  I highly recommend that all of you do the same with your makeup also.  This is also a great time to go through and get rid of items that have been kept for far too long.   You will want to keep in mind that makeup has a shelf life.  It will not last forever.  Even if you only use it occasionally, it will still go bad.

Here is a general guideline:
General period after opening is:
Perfumes, perfume, edp – up to 3 years;
Powders (including blush, eyeshadows powdery texture) – 1 to 3 years;
Foundation in a jar or a cream powder – 1 to 3 years;
Liquid tone means (in tubes or jars with dispenser) – 1 year;
Nail polish – 1 year;
Sun cosmetics – 1 year (but no more than one season);
Lipstick, lip gloss – 1 year;
Pencil (Eye, Lip) – about 1 year;
Skin care products (hydrating cosmetics, wrinkle, eye contour) in a sealed packet with the pump – about a year, in a jar – from 6 to 10 months;
Solid eyeliner and eyebrow pencil – from 6 to 8 months;
Bronzing – 6 months;
Mascara – 3-6 months;
Liquid eyeliner – from 3 to 4 months;

In my experience those times listed are good approximations.  I have noticed that the more money I originally paid for my makeup items, the longer it lasts.

While I am in the process of organizing and discarding/replacing my makeup I thought I would take the next few posts and go more in depth about specific makeup methods that I personally use.

I will first mention that I first started buying all of my makeup from Target or Walmart or Rite-Aide or some such place.  This got me started down the path of makeup but never left me feeling satisfied.  I only started feeling good about my makeup once I got over myself and went to a department store and got advise and products from the makeup experts working there.

Yes I have been to a makeup counter, dressed as woman, with no makeup on at all.  I just walked up to the counter and asked if they had time to give me a make over.  The ladies have never turned me down.  Come on, think about it, these are people that work on commission.  Do you think they don't want your money because you are a man in a dress.  Hardly!  People love money!  I know I do.

But if you would rather not go as a woman, then go in as a man.  I have done this as well.  Specifically I went in dressed as a man and got a new foundation.  This is a must do!  The rest of the stuff you can kind of figure your way around.  But a good foundation that matches your personal skin tone takes some expertise to find. So if nothing else gentlemen, go do that.  The lady that helped me, didn't think twice about helping me with it.  It was almost as if she had done it hundreds of times before, and maybe she had.

Okay, gotta run.

Love ya!