Flashy Lashes!

One may have thought that on a morning like this I would wake with a smile on my face and a spring in my step.  Today was after all going to be the day that I got my lash extensions done.  However, I did not wake all happy and exited.  I woke nervous and scared.   In fact I woke with my neck bugging me.  I used to think that meant that I slept on it wrong.  These days I understand myself a bit better, and I knew that I was concerned about my upcoming appointment.

A dear friend offered to do my lashes for me.  She is super into makeup and beauty products and such and she has taught herself to do lash extensions.  I am trying to be a bit more outgoing and adventurous in regards to doing things, so while in the past I would have declined, this time I accepted.  We setup the date and time, and that came around this morning.

I was surprised at how nervous I was about doing it though.  I wasn't concerned about the person who offered to do them.  I had confidence in her.  I wasn't nervous about hanging out with her either, she's a total doll and fun to be around.  I was nervous about two things really 1 - could I actually sit and allow someone to do this to me?  And 2 - how would it look.

The first thing was pretty minor.  But I do remember my first time or two of having someone else putting mascara on me as going fairly poorly.  In general I also really suck at using mascara.  I can generally use it but I frequently lament to my wife that I smacked myself again with the mascara stick!  Having done so many hours of facial electrolysis at this point made sitting for this lash work easy peasy!

The second issue is kind of a big deal.  I mean it is a big deal to lots of people, but to trans people it is a really big issue.  Most of us are quite insecure about our looks, as many people are, but when trans people's looks are not on, it can affect how people gender us.  And that really sucks.  What often sucks more is that it can affect how well people will perceive us as being able to do the gender we are wanting to.  I know trans men who worry their look is not male enough, and many trans women that worry their look is not female enough, and non-binary humans who worry that their look is not "in-between" enough.  It really sucks when someone judges you to fail at being your gender because you somehow don't match up to their expectations.

Hmmmph!  So yeah, I was quite worried about what the outcome of the installation of my very first set of lash extensions would prove to be.  In the end?  As with most things, my worry was for nothing, I LOVE my new lashes!  I think they are a great way to help feminize my features and they will be there regardless of makeup.  In the photo, all I have on is my sparkly pink lipstick.  And that rocks!

Alrighty.  I hope you all are well.  Thanks for visiting.

Love you!

Love yourselves!

Love long luscious lashes!

Ooooohhhh----- I just realized, you can get a good before-after shot with the photos I posted with my last post.  Fun!

1 Regret, Some Could Have Done Betters, And Lots of Glad I Dids

About 6 months ago.

I will be the first to admit that my transition has not gone the way that I expected it to.  My whole life has been spent picturing people chasing me down with torches and pitchforks.  I know that would never happen, but as well I am the type that is afraid of a shark biting me when I jump in my pool.  I know that it isn't real, and I know it is not ever going to happen.  But that doesn't make the fear go away.

What does?  Facing those fears.

This has been a long slow event for me.  I see that now.  Some part of me must have known what was coming because while some may say my easy transition is due to luck, I see now that much of it was due to hard work.  Much of that work was done by those who have come before me.  They are the ones who endured much of the vitriol that is born of ignorance.  They are the ones who helped to open the door.  Me?  I'm just taking advantage of that opening.

There are many things that I am glad I figured out, a few things that could have been better, and really only one thing that I have absolutely regretted.   

Glad I figured out:

Name - I have been through a few of them.  I couldn't imagine having the first female name I used on all of my legal records.  Nope.  SO glad I figured out the name thing.

Clothes - 28 days at work, how many outfits do you think I have repeated?  Zero.  Yup, zero.  Do you read this blog at all?  Have you seen my clothes?  It is as though I have been preparing to be out at work for the last 10 years.  I have been so thrilled to be out as me and not only not worry about my clothes, but to have my clothes bring me strength.  It is funny.  I have said before that my clothes are my friends, and I feel as though my friends have finally come out to play in the real world. Can you guess my favorite clothing store?  White House Black Market anyone!!!

Community connections - Yeah, this is another biggy.  A real biggy.  This has been central to the easy transition I have had.  If not for the support of the people in my life, I would not be able to do what I have done.  It is not merely that people are supportive, it is that I took the time to build community connections prior to coming out.

Eeeek!!!  So glad I learned!!

Hormones - This one was life changing for me.  It really opened my eyes to my reality.  I laugh at who I thought I was prior to last July and changing my hormones to the right ones.

Therapy - Have I mentioned before that I love my therapist?  Well I do!  Not merely because she is my therapist, but because she is a specialist with gender issues.  Her listening ear and gentle guidance has been so lovely!

Makeup - I started with getting foundation from Target or Walmart.  It functioned, but it didn't make me feel like a queen.  Now?  I love that I have had the last ten to fifteen years of my life to practice with this stuff.  Practice is necessary.  Who do I use today?  A combo of Clinique and Urban Decay, mostly just UD. 

Hair - my first wig cost probably about forty bucks.  My latest?  About four hundred and fifty bucks.  Why pay so much?  Because it rocks!  Currently I have three main hair pieces.  They are all by Jon Renau and in a large size cap for my large noggen.  Amber - long and curly.  Zara - long and straight. Cameron - short and straight, and the most expensive due to the hand tied lace top cap.

A sense of humor - This is important.  There is a certain reality to my situation.  I was born with a male body, bummer for me!  People like people who smile.  Smile more.

The world does not revolve around me being transgender - When I first started going out in public, I was sure that every little laugh, every mean look, every rude person, was doing that because I am transgender.  When in reality more than 99.9% of the time none of that had anything to do with me.  Some people laugh. Some people have weird looks on their faces.  Some people are rude.  And that is just how they are, and they would be that way regardless of how I chose to dress.  The worst that I have seen from humanity was while I was presenting as a male.  The best I have seen from humanity has been while I am me.

Ahhh..... that hair!!!

What could have been done better:

Shoes - I wish I had invested more time in finding cute, all day wearable, functional shoes!  This has been hard as it is a super weak link in my outfits.  Shoes I thought would be wearable really are not when you are talking about being on your feet for oh, 8 hours a day, walking circles around your classroom.

Bras - Good wearable bras, that are good for the entire day, day after day, yeah, I should have spent more time on this!

Legal name change - I got the court date and social security number done with prior to going back to work, but I wish I had gotten it all done.  I'm currently on Birth Certificate.  Then onto Driver's License.  And lastly will be Passport.  Well actually, after the DL, then I will start doing everything else - bank, bills, utilities, you know all that stuff?  Yeah, I wish it was done.

Some sort of functional scheduling system - Since I switched to estrogen my memory has gone to crap!  Seriously!  It used to be so easy to pretty much remember everything, always, for all time!  Now?  Yeah, not so much!

My one regret:

Electrolysis - Wow, I wish I had finished this up long before I decided to go full time.  It really would have been mentally much easier to have had that done by now.  Too bad for me that even though I read this advice, I thought it would never apply to me!  Hahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!  Ahh well!

Well then, there ya go!  That is my 1+ month reflection of being full time at my job.

Love you!

Love yourself!

Good luck!

Scary Purple Lips

Top - Patty Boutik 

Skirt - Guess - Similar

Shoes - Kelly and Katie - Similar

Bracelets - Etsy

Okay, so maybe it is not too scary, but the purple lipstick is a huge change from what I normally wear.  I received a bunch of free lipstick samples from Urban Decay and they were just sitting in my makeup case, languishing in their unused state.  Thus I started cracking them open and trying them out.  I mean, why not, right?  This purple happened to be one of the more out there colors.

I suppose that from a distance it really does not look at that scary, but up close, it sure is a super shocker.  Especially if you are just like me, and tend to get stuck wearing the same color lips over and over and over and over!  Seriously, I tend to get a new color lipstick and I just stick with it.  Maybe it is kind of boring, maybe, it is kind of safe, maybe I should branch out more?  I dunno!

I think in the above picture you can see the scariness factor a bit better than in the other shots.  Maybe it's a bit scary?  Am I just being a bit over dramatic?  Possibly!

Okay, that's it for today!

Love you!

Love yourself!

Love purple, but just not maybe on my lips!  Well, maybe!

Makeup Brush Cleaning

Being as I only wear makeup on occasion I often neglect to take care of my makeup brushes properly.  Time seems to get away from me and before I know it months, or possibly even a year or more will go by in-between my brush cleanings.  This is really not a good thing.  I mean take a look at my uncleaned brushes above.  Um.... yuck!!!!  Besides that they are obviously quite dirty, what you can't see is all of the bacteria that are squirming around on those icky brushes.

Think about it for a minute.  We use these brushes to apply makeup to our faces, which, even if clean, contain lots of bacteria.  We brush it all around, and then most likely, like me, we put our brushes back into whatever holds them.  And then they sit.  Yuck!  Ick!

Okay, so anywho.... here is my setup as I finally got around to cleaning my brushes:

You can see the simplicity of it.  A cup of clean plain water, some regular makeup cleanser, and a dirty brush.  This happens to by one of my dirtier brushes that is used for my foundation.  My brush is from Urban Decay.  It is the Good Karma Radial Blurring Brush.  I am using Clinique's Rinse-Off Foaming Cleanser.  The process is fairly simple.  I wet the brush, then swirl it around in a glob of the makeup remover, and then rinse the brush in the cup of water.

I will then rinse out the brush under running water until it runs clear.  Lastly, I will gently squeeze out the water with a soft clean towel and lay the brush on it's side over the edge of a counter for it to air dry.  Generally by the next morning they are ready to go.

Of course I would expect my foundation brush to be extremely dirty as I use a liquid foundation that obviously soaks deeply into the brush.  Thus the nice dark milk-chocolate colored water that I get while rinsing out the brush.  But another brush that also needs to be cleaned frequently is my eye shadow brush.

With the eye shadow brush (from Urban Decay's Naked 2 Palette) it is possibly even more important that you clean it regularly.  With that brush, you swirl it in the color, apply it to your eyes, and then if you are like me, you will put it back into the eye shadow and gather some more product before applying it to your eyelids again.  This means that the brush touches your face and then goes back into the product, transferring anything on your eyelids into the product.  Um.... a bit of yuck!

So upon cleaning my eye shadow brush, here is the cup of water with that process:

As you can obviously see.  It is important to regularly clean your brushes.  If I really thought all that much about the ickiness factor I would probably clean my brushes WAY more often!  As it is, I generally clean them about once every month or two.  My wife, who uses her makeup almost daily cleans her brushes more.  Which is probably a really good thing to do!!

But what you need to remember is not the amount you use your brushes, but the amount of time in between cleanings.  Even if you only use it once, and then store it for an extended period of time, bacteria will most likely be growing on it.  If you then go and use it, you will be smearing that bacteria all over your face.  Which can cause all sorts of skin problems for you!

So, point being.... I should clean my brushes more often!  And maybe you should too!

My brushes after cleaning has finished:

Okay, that's it folks!

Love you!

Love yourself!

Love your brushes!

Sparkly Pink Lipstick

Tunic - Guess - Similar

Tank Top - Guess - Similar

Skirt - Guess - Similar

Shoes - Rocket Dog - Similar

Belt - ???? - Similar

In my previous post I wrote about being off at one of my jobs, upon my return to my house Jules asked what I wanted to do, and uh, of course I said - shopping!!  I had two days at home before I was off to another work function for the next week, so even though it was predicted to be over 100 degrees we went for it.

We left early, arrived when the outlets opened, and shopped for a few hours until the heat became too unbearable.  I realized during this trip that I have a bit of a Coach purse obsession.  While strolling through the store I was interested in only about four or five different purses, that I was seriously considering purchasing!  I ended up getting two, which I am sure I will show you at some point.

Upon arriving home, I went out, took my photos for this outfit, and then took this photo of our weather center:

So, uh, yeah, it was a bit hot out there on this day!  A not so perfect shopping day at an outside outlet mall in central California!!  Goodness me it was hot.

The lipstick in these photos is a tester from Urban Decay.  It is Vice Lipstick - Big Bang - Metalized.  Normally I wear the same fairly neutral colored lipstick from Clinique.  But on this super hot day, I thought the bright sparkly pink worked great!!


Love you!

Love yourself!

Only kind of love super warm temps!

You Look Much Cuter in Your Other Picture (Actually Finished this Time!)

Goodness, did she just say what I think she said?  I pondered that question as I walked away from the Shisheido counter in Macy's.  It had been a strange dichotomy of people's opinions and I just wasn't that sure I had heard her correctly.

Earlier, Jules and I had walked up to the Clinique counter to get some new eye makeup remover.  It was gift time at Clinique and thus of course there was quite a line backed up.  I told Jules that I was going to try and find Shiseido as I needed some new blotting papers and theirs are the best!  Slowly I wandered around the makeup area unable to locate their counter.  Eventually some nice sales associates, from Lancome, asked me if I needed help.  They pointed me in the direction of the Shiseido counter and one of them complemented me on my hair, which I thanked her for and then the other complimented me on my tunic, which I thanked her for as well.

Off to the Shiseido counter and eventually actually locating it.  Once there I was greeted by a younger sales associate who asked what I needed and I showed her my dwindling packet of blotting papers.  This nice lady, who was selling a different brand informed the actual Shiseido associate if she would help me.  This lady quickly located the item I needed and then informed me that it was gift time and asked if I needed anything else.

I don't normally purchase other items from Shiseido and thus didn't know what they might be able to offer.  After a bit of explaining I got a cleanser from them as well.  Everything was going quite smoothly; nothing occurring out of the ordinary.  I took out my wallet, handed her my credit card, and my ID, which as you may know obviously shows my male photo.

I don't often think about it much anymore while making purchases.  I have done this SO many times now it is kind of ridiculous.  The sales associate rings me up, I sign my name, she packages everything up, hands me my bag and then comes in real close to me, so that only I can hear her.  And she then kind of whispers to me, "Well obviously you look fine in real life, but you look much cuter in your other picture. I just thought that you should know that."

Being as I wasn't 100% sure what she said to me, as I had not really processed her comments at that point, I thanked her and walked away to find Jules and leave.  And within a few steps I was almost pissed off enough to go back to the counter and tell her that she should keep her shitty, ignorant, opinions to herself.

I mean fine, she is entitled to her opinion.  And she expressed it in a polite enough manner.  And to someone like me, someone who switches back and forth between their gender presentations of male and female, fine so she thinks I look better as a male.  But I began thinking about all the rest of us out there and especially those of us who are choosing to transition.  How would someone in that position receive that comment.  Umm.... not good!  That would have been a really quite shitty comment for her to have said.

And it made me realize how hard it must be for those who do transition to have to live with their male ID while awaiting all of the hoops one must jump through before being able to obtain an ID that matches their identity.  And for them, and those folks, I wanted to go back to the counter and start a ruckus with that ignorant woman.

But I was tired, and Macy's was crowded, and thus I simply left.  I still feel bad.  I still feel as though I dropped the ball.  I missed an opportunity to provide a much needed education to someone who should know better.  It is exactly those types of comments, from people with best of intentions, that can sting so much.

Now, what is my responsibility if I am feeling so irritated by her?  Contact Macy's and Shisheido and inform them that they need to better educate their employees so that hopefully this woman never insults others in this manner.

Okay.  Rant over.  Thanks for listening.

I will still visit Macy's.

I will still purchase Shiseido items.

I will just keep my wits about me and inform ignorance of their ignorance on the spot.

I am strong enough to stand up for myself and help educate the uniformed.

Watch out.

Love yourself people.

3 Makeup Tips

I am very limited in my ability to utilize makeup as well as I would like to.  I constantly think that maybe there is some sort of magic contained within those glorious little bottles and tubes that will magically transform me into the goddess that I long to be!  But alas, makeup can only do so much for someone.  You gotta recognize where your starting point is.  Things can be improved, but not completely made over.

Such is life huh?

Anywho...  I do have a few makeup tips for you that some of you may find helpful.

1.  The first and foremost is GO GET A MAKEOVER!!!!!  If you are going to choose to wear makeup, then my best advise for you is to get a professional.  I have had only about 3-4 makeovers, but they have been revolutionary in educating me about the products and their application.  It was also quite simple.  I generally dress as a woman, but without any makeup on, walk up to a makeup counter, and ask if they have time to do a makeover.  Each time I have done this, at Clinique and Urban Decay, inside Macy's, the sales associates were extremely accommodating, friendly, and educational.  I was also recently at a Sephora and asked about contouring and the SA sat me down and happily showed me their products and how to use them.

2.  Blotting paper!  Do you know about blotting paper?  Well you should if you don't.  For someone like myself, who has oily skin, this stuff is a face saver!  I love it and use it every time I am dressed, sometimes multiple times a day depending on the heat.  They are quite simple to utilize, pull it out and press it onto your skin and presto, it soaks up the oils like magic.  I have tried a few different brands, but I really like the Shiseido ones.  They are super absorbent and leave nothing behind.

3.  Wipe off your mascara brush.  Jules shared this with me awhile ago and it is a nice little trick.  When you pull out the brush, if it is like the typical fluffy bushy type of brush, then take some tissue and gently wipe off the brush.  Essentially what you are trying to do is to take off some of the product from the brush, but not removing all of it.  Now that you have wiped it off, then apply it as normal.  The product will take more swipes to apply it as there is less on the brush, but with many swipes like this it will apply enough product, but it is not so thick that it clumps on your lashes.  Maybe some of you like that look so if clumps are your thing then avoid this tip!

How about some of you?  Do you have any handy little tips to share?

Love you!

Wear makeup!

Or not.

Photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hippie/2450895917

Before & After Contouring

Do I look the same in both pictures to you, or can you spot the differences?  In the photos it is not as obvious as it is in person.  Well, I shouldn't say obvious, nothing with your use of makeup should be totally obvious.  If so then maybe you haven't blended enough! 

In the first photo I have all of my makeup applied, including foundation, eyes done, lip color, and eyebrows, while in the second it is after I contoured my face.  I am so not in love with these photos btw, it really shows just how off my eyebrows are.  Oh how I long for symmetrical eyebrows!  My makeup application is a bit off, but it is true that my brows are not symmetrical!  :(

Anyway...here is where I applied the contouring product:

 I attempted to follow some diagram I found on Pinterest.  It is kind of tough to see the lowlights in this photo.  They are on either side of the top of my forehead, along the sides of my nose, under my cheekbones, and along my jawline.  The highlights are pretty obvious.

I used this product, in the light shade:

Available at Sephora

Jules needed something in Sephora and while there I asked a sales associate if she could help me out with some contouring product.  She sat me down in the chair and showed me how to apply two different products.  Jules and I both liked the one pictured above.  I also bought a nice light sparkly blush as well, but I totally misplaced what it is called! Sorry.

So.... I was completely nervous about asking the sales associates at Sephora for help, but they were really nice and very helpful and answered all of my questions, repeatedly, and nicely.  I was also very nervous about trying to use any sort of contouring, and now I kind of like it.  It really helps to provide a subtle difference to one's face, which is kind of funky to see.

I highly recommend at least trying it.  Who knows, you might just like it!

Love you!

Experiment, it's fun!

Ask Nadine - Beard Coverage

A reader wrote and asked:
"How long does your beard cover up last? Could you go into the beard part more? I have a sparse beard but it is dark in color so it shows up fast. Maybe I'm just not very good at covering it up yet. I also get a lot of bumps and irritation on my neck from shaving so close."

1 - How long does your beard cover up last?

My beard cover up lasts til about midday.  At that point I can see a few whiskers showing through here and there, mostly around my chin.

My wife says that maybe around early evening she can maybe sometimes see a few whiskers.  At first she said it lasted all day and then I pushed her for some sort of answer.

2 - Could you go into the beard part more?  I have a sparse beard but it is dark in color so it shows up fast.

I am lucky in that my beard is quickly going grey, and grey is easy to cover up.  And as well, my beard has a variety of colors in it with only a few of them being black.  But I am very lucky in that when I shave closely I have no beard shadow at all.

What do I use for my foundation?  Currently I am in love with my Urban Decay foundation.  It looks very natural and light.  Which I love.  Before that I used Clinique.  I liked that at the time.

For both products I went and had a makeover done.  Which is the only way I would really recommend getting a good covering foundation.  Just be honest with them and tell them what you want.  They want you to buy their products and all of them I have interacted with have been of the utmost in professionalism.  And yes I have gone in for foundation dressed as a girl and dressed as a boy and have never had a hint of weirdness from any of the sales associates.  Best way ever!!  I seriously recommend this, even if you have a tough beard shadow to cover up.  Many of the makeover artists look at working with a guy, or a tough to cover situation as a bit of a fun challenge!

http://www.dermablend.com/foundations-severe-flaws/new-cover-creme.htm

One thing I have heard of for good beard coverage is Dermablend.  I have never tried this product but I have heard it mentioned by many other cross dressers.  It is apparently excellent in covering up any sort of beard shadow.  When I checked out their website they also offer products for being able to cover tattoos.  So Dermablend sort of specializes in covering things up.

My concern with anytime I have tried hard to cover up my beard with a makeup product is that when you use any product thick enough to cover a beard, then it is going to look pretty caked on.  I am at a point in my life where I am developing wrinkles and thick covering makeup will initially cover those wrinkles, but as soon as I do something like say smile, Then my smile wrinkles look bigger than they normally are.  So these super covering foundations are great for pictures, but not so good for living life and wearing a product from dawn to after dusk.

3.  Red bumps and irritated skin.
I tend to personally irritation on my most sensitive skin, which happens to be my necks and my inner thighs.  Honestly I have not found good solutions for this.  I use some exfoliating scrubs that help.  Also good shaving techniques help, like something good to shave with, shaving with the hair, never more than once in 24 hours.  But my methods are not 100% perfect so if anyone reading this has good suggestions for this then please comment.

What to do then?????

My recommendations:
1 - get as close a shave as you can.  I shave my face in the shower, first going with the grain and then a second time against the grain, carefully!  Then I use an electric razor about a half an hour after I get out of the shower.  This combo makes my face smooth to the touch.  And if I am going to be out all day, I will never, ever shave my face twice in one day.  I can do what I do once a day, day after day.

2 - Get a good quality foundation from a quality cosmetics company, that you acquire by going and seeing the people who work at makeup counters.  Trust me they want to sell you their products regardless of if you are dressed as a boy, girl, or in between.  I would suggest having some decorum in your dressing if you want to be taken seriously and treated politely though.

3 - Don't worry if your coverage does not last all day.  If some show through, take a deep breath, and understand that it will be okay.  Have you ever looked at lots of different women's faces closely?  My wife did as a Clinique sales associate for a few years.  She has personal knowledge of how many women have whiskers.  So you are not alone!  It happens to all of us!

Okay, long post, but it is an important topic for many of us.  (I will say I have pondered electrolysis or lasering it off, but I kind of like my scruffy growth when I am not dressed as a girl.)

Arighty then.

Love you!

Love yourself.

Love your beard, though it is okay to hide it, just don't hate on yourself! If you do really hate it, get it removed, life is too short to go on hating yourself.

 :)


Photo at top of the page:  http://dialandis.deviantart.com/art/Beards-301306090

Outfit for Thursday 2/27/14 - Texture

Coat - Guess

Black Top - Lily White

White Top - Guess

Jeans - Guess

Shoes - Madden Girl

I really like this outfit, mostly because of the black top by Lily White.  It has such an interesting pattern and textured look.  A neat thing about the shirt is that it has the lace portion in the front in the back but on the sides it is just t-shirt like fabric.  This allows for the shirt to be rather form fitting.  The lace does not stretch much, but the sides really do.  The other thing I like about the lace top is that whatever you wear underneath it obviously shows through.

I tried the black shirt a while back with a red tank underneath it, but I really like the white underneath it much more.  I am not sure why I think this, but I feel as though the black top adds texture.  Maybe it is just patterning, but I want to call it texturing.  Why?  Because of how it feels, no, because of how it looks.  Thus I do not make sense to my own self.  Ridiculous!  Texture should be what I feel and patterns should be what I see.  Okay, irrelevant conversation with myself.  Suffice to say, I like the black top! :)

Oh and I also love that Jules and I are just about the same size, thus I can borrow things from her, like white coat.  Yay!

In the last outfit post I showed how much my doggie liked my outfit; this time I am showing my giant kitty.  This particular cat weighs about 20lbs.  And no, it is not fat, it is all muscle.  He is the brute of our neighborhood.  When I picked him out of the litter I was warned that he was the runt.  Ha! Some runt!

Alrighty then, love ya!

Oh BTW-
- Jules is improving.  She can actually walk a bit unassisted.  But wow, this healing process is loooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggggggg!!!!!
- A couple posts ago I stated it was my 200th.  Well I made an error.  The stats I look at via blogger showed 200 posts, but not all of them have been published, some of them are drafts, but at the same time there have been some posts I have deleted, so whatevs!  I'm sticking with what I posted.
- I love Urban Decay, but I hate that their HQ is in S. Cal, but they ship from Florida!  Ahhh the waiting is torture!

Love you!

Five Of My Favorite Products

This is one of my all time favorites, it is Sparkle Skin Body Exfoliating Cream.  I do quite a bit of body hair waxing, as I suspect many of you do and I also do quite a bit a shaving.  These two things combined cause me to get quite a few ingrown hairs.  I have tried many different products over the years and many different methods of dealing with those wonderful annoying little red bumps.  Using this particular product really helps.  I can't tell you that it completely removes all of my ingrown hairs, but it helps a lot!  Besides that it gives me such soft smooth sexy feeling skin that I totally love it!

This is two of my favorite ways to remove makeup.  The first is to round bottle, called Take Off the Day.  With Take Off the Day, I shake it vigorously, and put a tiny, tiny, amount on a cotton round and use it specifically on my eyes.  It does a great job of removing the most stubborn eye makeup and yet is totally gentle on my eyes.  I can easily use it to remove liner from the inside edge of my bottom lashes and have never felt it irritate my eyes ever.

The second product is the Wash Away Gel Cleanser.  After I clean my eyes I go into the shower and take a small amount of this product, put it into the palms of my hands, and use it to wash my face.  This removes any remaining makeup that I have on.  It also removes any residual leftover from the Take Off the Day, as that can feel a bit oily, but after using the second product, my face feels squeaky clean!

This is two of my newest products, maybe a couple of weeks old, but I love them!  With the Naked 2 palette from Urban Decay I think it is a great bargain, at $50.  So many of my other palettes have at most four colors in them and they cost just about as much as this one palette.  It also comes with a wonderful Urban Decay brush, which just feels luxuriously soft and yummy.  One of the really cool things about this palette is that lots of people have put video tutorials up on You-Tube showing different ways to use all of the various colors.  I also really like it as my eyes are kind of a blue green color, (if you ask my wife, she will tell you that my eyes actually change colors from blue to green.)  This palette is composed of various earth tone colors which really help to bring out the colorful nature of my eyes.  Colors on blue/green eyes don't work as well as earth tones.  So for me, this palette is perfect!!

The second product in the picture is the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil, in black.  OMG I LOVE this liner!  I have tried so many liners, with ill fated effects, but this liner, this wonderful little pencil is a joy to use.  It glides on very smoothly and effortlessly.  I can put it on with a larger line or a skinny little line and once you apply it, you have a minute or so to be able to gently smudge the line as well.  This makes it easier to get the liner down directly onto the lash line.  I also have used this on the inner line of my lower lashes and this product stays put!  Not many products that I have tried have been able to do that. When I got my makeover from UD the lady used this, but I did not buy it.  By the end of the day, when I saw that it was still exactly where she placed it, I had to have it!

Okay.  That is all.

Love Ya!

And the Makeup Winner is... Urban Decay!

 

Here is my haul from my trip to a new makeup counter yesterday.  

Action was in order and I began to plan a visit to a department store.  I asked my good friend Vivian if she had any recommendations for a new brand of cosmetics to try.  She recommended Urban Decay.  I was familiar with that company but not experienced, so I kept it in mind.  I also looked up online for what other cross dressers tend to use.  Without question the number one brand cross dressers use is MAC.  So I kept that in mind as well.

With a bit of trepidation, and a makeup-less face, as pictured below, (I do have lipstick on,) Jules and I headed off to a department store.

We went to Macy's Westfiled Oakridge in San Jose, Ca.  We got there about when they opened on Monday, went in, and found the cosmetics area.  Jules and I made a slow circle of the available companies while we surveyed the scene.  We passed by the MAC counter, which was busy with someone getting a makeover and then went up to Urban Decay.

That was when we met not just a sales associate, but a true makeup artist, Jessica.  She was totally professional, knowledgeable, and friendly.  I explained what I was looking for and she explained what Urban Decay could do for me.  I considered it for a moment as I was also interested in MAC.  I hesitated but Jessica's positive attitude drew me to she what she could do.

I sat in the chair, and she went to work.  For me, I really do not need a full coverage foundation.  For those that don't know, a full coverage foundation is what would be appropriate if you need something to cover a five o'clock shadow.  What I needed was something that would give me a nice even look, diminish the appearance of my wrinkles, and help with my oily skin.  All my previous foundation did was to cover my face, which it did well, but it never helped with any of the previous concerns.

Within a few minutes Jessica had me looking like this:

I got really lucky to get this picture.  Once I had sat in the chair, Jules walked over to MAC and inquired about them doing a makeover for her.  The lady told Jules that she had an 11 o'clock but that if she didn't show she could fit Jules in, otherwise she could get her in at 2.  Keep in mind, it was about 10 at the time.

I really like how my skin looked after she was done with the foundation.  She explained to me just how to use the products and answered all of the questions I had, which was fantastic!  I asked how much it would all come to, and it was quite reasonable for quality products.  I decided to get it all, and I was so happy with the results I didn't really care if anything was going to be done for my makeover or not.

But bless my lovely little wife's heart, she piped up and asked if I was going to get my eyes done.  Again, thankfully she decided to hang out and watch my process.  I said yes I would like my eyes done, and wow, that was when the real artistry that is Jessica went to work!

The brushes went flying and the colors were, many, and varied, and intense.  You could tell that Jessica has a true passion for what she does.  She is not just going through the motions, she likes what she does and she really wants to make you look your best.

Throughout the process I asked questions and checked her progress in the mirror.  Jules kept snapping pictures and observing the work. And Jessica was in the zone. In the end, here I am:

After the amazing pampering that I received at this amazing person's talented hands, Jules decided that she had to see what Jessica could do for her.  I sat, took pictures of Jules, and stared at the amazing job that was done for me.

Both Jules and I fell in love with Urban Decay and decided to get the foundation products for each of our individual needs.  We paid about 400 dollars, and each of us were amazingly pleased with doing so, we really felt as though it was a bargain for what we received.  Jules then asked if Jessica received commission and the answer is, no.  That was when it was confirmed that she is a truly amazing person.

I told Jessica of my blog, she asked for the address, so if you ever do read this Jessica, thank you, thank you thank you!!  She asked Jules and I if she could photo us for her portfolio, which we agreed.

We left and marveled at each others beauty and Jessica's talent for the entire day.

Did I lay it on a little thick?  Well I honestly can't help it, we were both truly that pleased and that touched by this amazing experience.  Will we stick with Urban Decay for life?  We are going to continue experimenting over time but it is going to be difficult for anyone to beat this.

Love Ya!

Oh and yeah - Jules and I liked this woman's service so much we wrote to the Macy's she works in and I am about to write to Urban Decay Corporate.

Outfit for 4-5-13

Dress - Guess

Tights - Mossimo

Boots - Nine West

Arms - Maidenform

Sun Glasses - Ray Ban

I really like this dress.  You can't see it in the picture, which makes me think to take some more detail shots occasionally, there are zippers on the shoulders.  They kind of add a little edge to the dress.  One thing about this dress though is that it is very light weight, and much more of a summer or warm day dress.  On this particular day it was a little chilly, so I thought I would try and ramp up the warmth factor.  I added some thicker nylons and some arms.

Yes folks, I added arms.  I found the funniest looking garment one day while shopping at a Maidenform outlet store.  It is a pair of arms with a small strap that hooks closed like a bra strap but it is in the front of the garment and sits below my bust.  The back is kind of like a bra as well.  Maybe I should take a picture of just this garment to show what it actually looks like as it is kind of funky and difficult to describe well.  Okay, suffice it to say, it is a pair of arms.  I bought it because in utilizing it, I can wear long sleeves, without wearing an entire other shirt.  That is kind of handy with this particular dress because it then does not hide the cleavage that shows while wearing it.

This outfit was worn to the mall, to pick up some more Clinique while they were having their free gift time!  I love that both my wife and I use Clinique.  During gift time I will get one of the color choices, she will get the other, and then we can both use each others products.  What fun!  We also walked the mall a little.  I wanted to go to Victoria's Secret for some yummy smelling lotion.  I found the item and went back to get in line and wow! A ginormous line was waiting.  I was so super surprised.  And almost everybody that was there was paying by a gift card.  Apparently they received this during Easter.  I personally never knew that Easter time was a gift card giving time.  I guess it is.

Okay, gotta run.  Love ya!

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!

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!