How to Hide Masculine Features With Makeup

Hide Masculine Features With Makeup

For men who like to cross-dress or who are pre-op transsexuals, learning how to use makeup to hide masculine features is one of the essential keys to "passing" as a woman. The wonders of makeup today offer an array of options to help hide the aspects of a man's face that make him look most masculine. What follows are some helpful steps to take to conceal masculine features and enhance feminine ones.

Instructions

1. • 1
     Invest in a heavy-duty foundation and beard cover. The beard and mustache areas are hard to cover with makeup, but there are several great "concealer" products out there designed to provide maximum coverage.
   • 2
     Acquire a very good powder that matches your concealer/foundation. To attain the best results, you want your face to look as natural as possible. Hiding masculine features is key, but you also want to blend the makeup so that it doesn't look like you are hiding anything. Having a top-end concealer and a matching powder is the first best tool in your makeup arsenal.
   • 3
     
     Use eye makeup to obtain maximum femininity, but try to use it sparingly. The eyes are arguably the most beautiful part of the face, so you should enhance them with a nice shade that accentuates your own eye color. Opt for some top-end mascara that does not clump and try to avoid overkill. If the eyes look too heavily made up, they look fake and downright garish.
   • 4
     Pluck your eyebrows or, better yet, have them waxed. Very few women can get away with thick eyebrows. To achieve maximum femininity, you want to shape and groom them by tweezing or waxing.
   • 5
     Select the perfect lipstick and lipliner. This varies depending on skin tone, hair and eye color. If you are a brunette, you might try something in the plum line. If you are blond, you should consider pinker tones. The main point is to keep the lips subtle while still drawing attention to their beauty.

15 Mascara Tricks & Tips

From Julyne Derrick,

Everything You Need to Know About Mascara

We've compiled a list of great mascara tips & tricks to share with you. Follow these & you'll save money, look prettier & your eyes will appear brighter & wider.

• Tip #1: How to use a lash comb. For some, lash combs are simply too fussy. But for some makeup artists, they're a great invention & keep lashes glob-free & perfectly separated. So how to use? Apply mascara at the lash base, wiggling the brush & then comb the mascara to the tips of your lashes. Not into the lash comb? Get rid of clumbs without them by removing excess mascara from the wand. Wipe wand on tissue, this eliminates blobs BEFORE you start.
  
• Tip #2: Try a clean mascara wand. Sweep a clean, fresh mascara wand through lashes when they're wet. Don't worry, you don't have to buy them. When you finish a mascara, clean the wand in a capful of eye makeup remover, then wash with soap & dry. Keep it clean by washing it whenever you wash your makeup tools.
  
• Tip #3: Don't shy away from colored mascara. Basic mascara rules are simple: Black works for everyone but blondes. Blondes should opt for brown/black by day & reserve black for night. Blue mascara, however, can brighten blue eyes, purple mascara can make brown eyes pop. The most popular mascara sold in the US is Maybelline Great Lash mascara, a great buy at under $6. The company estimates 1 tube is sold every 1.6 seconds in the U.S.
  
  
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• Tip #4: When applying mascara, wiggle the wand at the base of the lashes. It's the mascara placed near the roots (not the tips) that gives the illusion of length.
  
• Tip #5: Thin, short brushes are best. A thinner brush allows you to get into the corner of eyes. Short brushes give you more control.
  
• Tip #6: Give a few coats to the edges by blinking. Blink onto the brush to give ends an extra coat.
  
• Tip #7: Powder under the eye before applying mascara. Sometimes mascara smudges because it's attracted to oily concealer or eye creams.
  
• Tip #8: Use an eyelash curler BEFORE applying mascara. Curling lashes gives eyes the appearance of being wider & brighter. Shoot hot air from your blowdryer on the mascara curler for 3-5 seconds to warm it up before curling lashes. Touch it first to make sure it's not TOO hot. Shu Uemura makes the most popular eyelash curler on the market ($18-$22).
  
  
• Tip #9: Zig-zag the wand. Zig-zagging the wand back & forth during application helps cut down clumps.
  
• Tip #10: For a dramatic look, apply mascara only to the upper lashes. To make eyes seem wider, apply to the bottom, too. But make sure you give lashes a light touch. Not great at getting those bottom lashes? Try putting a tissue under them before application.
  
• Tip #11: Use a mascara primer. Primers coat lashes & separate them before you apply mascara. Makeup artists swear by this relatively new invention.
  
  
• Tip #12: Want that 2nd coat? Just make sure to do it before the first coat dries, otherwise you'll get clumps.
  
• Tip #13: Do NOT pump wand in & out of the tube. This only introduces air into the tube, which will cause your mascara to dry out sooner than it should.
  
• Tip #14: Another smudge-proof tip -- bend the wand. A top makeup artist once gave his secret to his steady hand: he always bends his wand at a right angle.
  
• Tip #15: Wait 5 seconds before blinking. You don't want to paint your lids, do you?

Applying eye makeup

Eye makeup application takes practice. Experiment with it to find what works best for you. Here are tips for applying mascara, eyeliner pencil and powder eye shadow to help you perfect your look.

Applying Mascara
Before applying mascara, consider curling your lashes with a lash curler to open up your eyes. This is helpful to frame the eyes, especially if your lashes are short. To curl eyelashes with a lash curler your should start by squeezing in "steps" from the lash line to about 3/4 of the way toward tips.

Generally mascara is applied in two coats. To apply mascara, place your finger about mid-lid or on your eyebrow and pull up in order to hold your lid taut.

Holding the wand horizontally, sweep on mascara from roots to ends. Apply only to lash tips at first. Roll the wand slightly as you move, wiggle the wand slightly from side to side, along the lashes to distribute mascara evenly.

tgCosemtics volumizing mascara is formulated with rich moisturizers. Allowing lashes to dry between coats thickens the lash while avoiding clumps. Let the mascara dry for a 4-5 minutes. Don't hurry, relax and wait. This point is where the wet mascara can smudge easily and leave messy marks where you don’t want them. Check your work before you begin the second coat, blinking can cause the wet lash ends to leave tiny mascara marks on your lids. Clean with a Q-tip or tgcosmetics disposable applicator as you go, as needed.

Once the first application has dried, apply a second. For thicker lashes, carefully apply mascara to the upper side of the lashes as well. Wait and let it dry before you continue.

Use your tgcosmetics mascara applicator spiral brush orlash comb to give lashes a final brush-through after they’ve dried to remove any clumps and give lashes a more natural look.

If you apply mascara to lower lashes go light. Apply by brushing the lashes with the wand in a vertical position to sweep across lashes or apply gently lash by lash. Adding too much mascara on the lower lashes can be aging to more mature eyes.

Applying eyebrow pencil
Be sure your tgcosmetics eye pencil is sharpened with acosmetics sharpener, then lightly scribble with it on the back of your hand to dull down the very sharp point and warm the tip. Draw thin lines in the direction your brows grow to define and fill in light areas. Do not draw an outline around brow as this give an unnatural look. tgCosmetics brow and eye pencils have a firmer texture that helps liner stay on longer and causes less breakage when sharpening.

Use a Q-tip or a pointed makeup disposable applicatordipped in makeup remover to gently clean up stray smudges.

Applying Brow Sealer can keep finished brows looking perfect longer.

Applying tgCosmetics Eyeliner/Smudger pencil
The desired effect of an eyeliner pencil is to create the illusion of darkness just above the lashline to enhance the look of the lashes. Gently pull the lid skin taut and start at the inner part of the lid, draw a thin line smoothly and evenly along the upper lid, getting as close to the lashes as possible. 

Once you have a line drawn closely to the lashes, the length of your eyelid, use the smudger end of the eyeliner pencil blend the line until there is no edge to soften it. The effect should be an even graduated color that is darker close to the lashes and becomes lighter and disappears as it get higher. 

If the tgCosmetics liner gets smudged or uneven in the wrong places, simply take a Q-tip or tgCosmetics pointed makeup applicator with a little makeup remover to clean it up or remove it and start again.

Extend a very thin pencil line as close to the lashline as possible, along the most inner part of the upper lid near the nose. This is a place often forgotten but add an attractive natural definition to the eye.

Usually the upper lids are all you need to line. If you want to line the lower lashes go light as a line too heavy on the lower lashes can give an un-natural, owl-like effect on the eyes.

If you want more definition to the lower lashline but want to achieve a natural look, place a few tiny dots of color close to the lash roots along the lowers lashes, a little heavier toward the out side part of the lash to add more tone there.

Applying tgCosmetics liquid eyelinertgCosmetics Lquid eyeliner achieves a more dramatic emphasis to the eyes. It is best used when more a dramatic, glamour look is desired. The key is to carefully apply it to obtain the look you want. Use the same general application approach to applying liquid eyeliner from the eye pencil application tips above.