Your face is the first thing people notice about you. That means that if you’re a crossdresser or a transgender woman, you need to ask yourself:

“Is my face telling the world that I am fabulous female?”

Looking feminine is less about a particular facial feature than it is about your entire face. In other words, you can still look feminine with a big nose or a square jaw as long as your overall features read “feminine”.

In this article, I’m going to reveal the 7 differences between male and female faces. Then I’ll show you how to “fake” plastic surgery with the right makeup, hairstyle, and beauty treatments!

1. Forehead

Most people don’t think about their foreheads, but the forehead is a dead giveaway of gender. There are 3 major differences between male and female foreheads:

• Men’s foreheads tend to be higher and wider than women’s foreheads.
• Men have a bony ridge (known as brow bossing) that runs across the forehead above the eyes. Women have smooth foreheads.
• Men’s foreheads tend to be backwards sloping, while women’s foreheads are more vertical.

Fortunately, there is an easy, non-surgical fix for your forehead: bangs. Bangs are a must for most transgender women. Here are some tips:

• Go for wispy bangs. Wispy bangs hide your forehead while softening the rest of your facial features.
• Avoid blunt cut bangs. Blunt cut bangs create a horizontal line across the face, emphasizing the angularity of your features.
• Say “no” to short bangs. Instead, go for bangs that are long enough to fully cover the brow ridge.

DO: Wispy bangs	DON’T: Blunt-cut bangs	DON’T: Short bangs

2. Eyebrows

Everybody knows that men have thicker eyebrows than women, but there are a couple other important differences:

• Men’s eyebrows have a straighter shape, while women’s eyebrows are more arched.
• Men have lower eyebrows than women. The eyebrows sit below the orbital rim in men and above the orbital rim in women.

Changing your eyebrows can change the appearance of your entire face. Here’s how to feminize your eyebrows:

1. Have your eyebrows professionally shaped. Thinning and reshaping your eyebrows can give the illusion of higher brows. But be careful – overplucked, exaggerated eyebrows scream “drag queen”. I recommend having your eyebrows professionally shaped and then maintaining the shape yourself.
2. Try Botox. If you want more dramatic results, Botox is a great way to achieve a brow lift without surgery. The eyebrows can be raised by injecting Botox into the muscles that push the brows down. A Botox brow lift costs $250-$500+ and lasts 3-6 months.
3. Create perfect eyebrow arches with makeup. Here’s a great tutorial on creating beautiful, feminine eyebrow arches: (Note: Try to fast forward past the first 1.5 minutes of chatter. The rest of the video is great.)

3. Eyes

Your eyes are the first thing people notice about your face, so beautiful, feminine eyes are a must. Here are the differences between male and female eyes:

• Due to the brow ridge, men’s eyes appear more deep set than women’s eyes.
• Men’s eyelids are slightly more closed, giving the eyes a narrower look.

To feminize your eyes, you need to create the illusion of larger, more open-looking eyes. Here’s how to do it:

1. Enhance your lashes. More than anything else, lush lashes are the key to larger looking eyes. Use an eyelash curler to help open up the eyes and invest in the best mascara you can afford. (I’m a big fan of Christian Dior DiorShow.)
2. Master the art of eye makeup. Learning how to apply eye makeup correctly is one of the most important skills you can master. Here is a great tutorial on creating bigger, brighter eyes:

4. Nose

First of all, if you feel self-conscious about your nose, relax! There are loads of beautiful women with prominent noses.

That said, here are the differences between male and female noses:

• Men have longer, wider noses, while women’s noses are shorter and more narrow.
• Men tend to have straight or arched nose bridges, while women’s noses tend to be more concave in profile.

Here are some tips for feminizing your nose:

1. Downplay your nose. The best way to downplay a prominent nose is to enhance your eyes, lips, and cheeks. If you do a good job with these, your nose should fade into the background.
2. Contour your nose with makeup. Nose contouring can be tricky, but it’s a great option for the evening or for photoshoots. (Contouring makeup usually looks too obvious in daylight.) Here’s a tutorial to get you started:

5. Cheeks

You probably don’t think much about your cheeks, but cheeks are very important to the overall proportions of your face. Here are the differences between male and female cheeks:

• Men tend to have flatter cheekbones, while women have more prominent cheekbones.
• Women have more facial fat, giving the cheeks a fuller, rounder appearance.

Here are some tips for creating fuller, more feminine cheeks:

1. Apply blush correctly. A common mistake transgender women make is applying a stripe of blush along the bottom of the cheekbones. This enhances the angular appearance of your face. Instead, blush should be applied to the apples of your cheeks. This gives you a feminine glow and creates the illusion of fuller cheeks.
2. Try injectable cheek fillers. Injectable fillers such as Restylane, Perlane, or Radiesse can give you fuller, softer-looking cheeks within minutes. These treatments are costly ($400-$800), but they last up to a year and make a huge difference to the overall appearance to your face. An added bonus is that filling your cheeks can give saggy cheeks a slight lift.

DON’T: Blush applied along the cheekbones	DO: Blush applied to the apples of your cheeks

6. Lips

Lush lips are an symbol of beauty and femininity. Here are the specific differences between male and female lips:

• Men’s lips tend to be thinner than women’s lips – particularly the top lip
• The distance between the base of the nose and the top lip tends to be longer in men.

Fortunately, there are lots of things you can do to create fuller, more feminine lips:

1. Use a lip plumper. For an instant boost, try a cosmetic lip plumper that contains hyaluronic acid. The hyaluronic acid draws moisture to the lips, temporarily plumping them up. (My favorite lip plumpers are Lip Fusion and City Lips.)
2. Try injectable lip fillers. Overblown fish lips are a DON’T for any woman, but subtle lip fillers can really feminize your face. The best fillers for the lips are Restylane and Juvederm. These fillers cost around $400+  and last 3-6 months.
3. Avoid dark lipstick. Dark lipstick makes your lips look even thinner, so opt for bright, glossy shades instead.
4. Enlarge your lips with makeup. Here’s a great tutorial on creating the illusion of larger lips:

7. Chin and jawline

A strong chin and jaw are masculine features, but the good news is that square jawlines are very “in” right now. Many of the world’s most beautiful women have square jawlines, including: Angelina Jolie, Demi Moore, Gweneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek, and Gisele Bundchen. (In other words, you can be a hot, square-jawed babe, too!)

Here are the specific differences between male and female chins and jawlines:

• Men tend to have longer chins than women.
• There is often a sharp angle between a man’s chin and jaw, giving the chin a square look.
• Men’s chins tend to have a flat base, while women’s chins are more pointed.
• Men have wider, heavier jaws than women.

Here are some tips for downplaying a masculine chin and jawline:

1. Choose a soft, shoulder length hairstyle. Go for wavy, layered hairstyles that gently cover the jawline. Short or chin length hairstyles that reveal your jaw should be avoided if this is a problem area for you. Shoulder length hair is most flattering.
2. Contour your jaw with makeup. You can also soften the angles of your chin and jawline with makeup. Here’s a tutorial on contouring square faces:

Remember, it’s your overall appearance of your face that matters – so the more of these tips you apply, the more feminine your face will look.

I’d love to see your results, so post your FEMININE FACE photos below! Let us know what is working for you and if you have any other tips or suggestions to share.

And as always, thanks for reading and participating!

Love,
Lucille

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