The first thing people notice about you is your face. That means your makeup can make or break a feminine first impression.
No matter what your skill level, there are a few key tactics that can take your MTF makeup skills to the next level.
In this post, created specifically for transgender women and crossdressers, I share my top 6 makeup tips to transform your face.
Read on to learn more!
1. Invest in good makeup brushes
Quite simply, it’s impossible to apply masterful makeup without the right tools.
Forget about the tiny, cheap applicators that come packaged with most makeup. Upgrading to high quality brushes will give you much more control, immediately upgrading the look of your makeup.
Here are the basic brushes you should own:
- Foundation brush
- Concealer brush
- Powder brush
- Blush brush
- Flat eyeshadow brush
- Eyeshadow blending brush
- Lip brush
2. Use color correctors
If you have skin issues like a beard shadow, blemishes, or dark circles under your eyes, the solution is NOT to bury them under thick concealer. Your makeup will look much more natural if you start with a color corrector.
The idea behind color correctors is to use a complementary tone to neutralize imperfections. This will allow you to achieve beautiful skin with less makeup.
For example, you should use a pink or red corrector to neutralize a dark beard shadow – or a green corrector to neutralize redness.
You can find color corrector tutorials on YouTube. Or, get more in depth training from makeup artist Chris Scott in Makeup Magic: The Ultimate Male to Female Makeup Program.
3. Don’t ignore your eyebrows
The eyebrows are one of your most important facial features. In fact, they have the power to completely change the look of your face.
That’s why I say to give your eyebrows as much attention as your eyes, lips, and beard cover!
To learn more about eyebrow shaping and makeup application, be sure to check out my article on MTF Eyebrows | How to Feminize Male to Female Eyebrows.
4. Practice, practice, practice
Makeup is like any other skill – the more you practice, the better you get. And the better you get at putting on makeup, the more attractive and feminine you will look as a woman.
A fun way to practice is to find makeup tutorials on YouTube that you can follow along with. Below is a great one featuring Casey Blake demonstrating daily makeup for trans women:
5. Book a lesson with a professional makeup artist
If you struggle with your makeup skills, one of the best investments you can make is a lesson with a professional makeup artist.
A good makeup artist will teach you proper makeup application techniques, help you find your best colors, and ensure that you are applying your makeup correctly. This is important because all the practice in the world won’t help if you are only reinforcing bad technique.
6. Take good care of your skin
Your skin is literally the canvas for your makeup.
Proper skin care can go a long way towards improving your skin’s texture and appearance. Not only will this make you look better, it’ll help your makeup go on smoother and last longer.
Here are 3 simple skin care tips to keep in mind:
- Avoid using harsh soaps on your face. Use gentle facial cleansers only.
- Apply facial moisturizer daily.
- Use a face mask at least every other week. (This is a great ritual for pampering your inner woman!)
Ready to learn more?
Check out my article, How to Feminize Your Face Without Surgery (MTF Transgender / Crossdressing Tips), for more male to female makeup tips and techniques.
Or download Makeup Magic: The Ultimate Male to Female Makeup Program to learn all the essential makeup skills every trans woman and crossdresser should know. Get instant access to 10 easy-to-follow video tutorials taught by a professional makeup artist Chris Scott.
As always, I’d love to hear from you!
Do you struggle with makeup or have you mastered this skill? What is the #1 makeup tip or trick you’ve learned?
Please share in the comments below!
Love,
Lucille
Spot on once again with all advice given. Here is a pic that took 1 minute in a department store. All she did was even out and fill in my brows. I felt so pretty.
Hi Angie
You look so pretty and feminine. Must be a wonderful feeling and I want to look as good as you do. Love Belinda
Thank you Belinda. I appreciate the kind words. If you are ever in Phoenix and want a makeover, I have quite a few connections. 🙂
Angie sweetie you are beautiful honey you look absolutely amazing girlfriend Love MJ
Hi Angie Sweetheart thank You Honey Your oh so sweet too I wish I looked as good as you do dear Love MJ
Thank you MJ. That is sweet
Well she did have a very lovely person to start with. Your inner woman is glowing.
Thanks Daphne! 🙂
Hi Lucille,
Love your web site and all the tips you send my way. So far I have only just begun to experiment with make-up, and my problems are twofold. One is my eyesight, age has not been kind to my vision so what is the best way to be able to see what I’m doing after removing my glasses to do my eyes? My make-up mirror has lights to illuminate my face, but also make it kinda hard to see with the lights glaring at me. Secondly is time. I’m still mostly closeted so I end up removing my make-up shortly after application so as not to be discovered. (It usually doesn’t look that good anyway due to the first problem.) My wife knows of my “secret self” and is at least tolerant if not fully accepting of it. But she has suffered a severe stroke and requires 24/7 support just to move about the house. Our son will be graduating High School this year and will hopefully be moving out on his own thereafter giving me more time to practice my make-up skills.
As I am now only a couple of months away from my 60th birthday and already retired, I look forward to letting my fem self out more often. I get a lot of comments about my long hair (down my back to my bra strap) I still keep my “secret” by wearing a full beard. Besides, my hair feels great trailing behind me while riding my Harley down the road. Someday I’d love to ride fully fem and feel that freedom. All things in time I guess.
For now I remain hidden, at least until my parents pass. They still cannot separate birth sex from gender. I can never forget the beatings I had to endure when they caught me trying on my sisters clothes, leotards and dance costumes as a young child in the sixties. So I really don’t want to try very hard to help them understand now. They’ll never get it, or accept it.
I’m looking forward to any tips you can give to help me with eye make-up. Contact lenses are an expensive proposition on a fixed income with my wife’s ongoing medical expenses so let me know.
Many thanks to you, love,
Misty
Thank you amazing tips ..all your tips made me more confident in my transformation ..I will soon be able to go out in public with confidence ..
Lucille you are a fantastic girl to me.I want to thank you for all of your advice on becoming the woman I desire to be,I am a long way from knowing my makeup skills but I have been to a professional makeup artist.I have trouble knowing the difference between blushes or concelers or the other ok stuff.I have been getting my face in better shape with clenzers and facial day with sunscreen and night moisture creams
Hi Lucille
It’s Vanessa in Tucson I just wanted to say the thing I found most helpful was having my eyebrows done and making sure they always look good makes a lot of difference. Thank you so much for sending me your tips and tricks and all the good things really does help thank you. PS you have my permission to publish if you would like thank you so much bye bye. Vanessa
Hi Lucille,
Thank you for your Tips always send to me. All are excellent and useful. I am so happy with you.
I’ve had some great ‘teachers’, CIS women who were very supportive and took great care of me. Although I have my own preferences, they often used products that were severely over-priced IMO. I have my own techniques as well. But I did learn lots not only from them but by trial and error. If it doesn’t look good to you, clean it all off and start over, don’t give up. Just don’t apply makeup with a mortar trowel as I’ve seen some do (not literally, but purt near to it). It doesn’t take a thick coating of ‘paint’ to look good. Thanks for the article, Lucille. Great work.
All good tips at here on the first page but this first page is missing the most important thing of all. WEAR SUNSCREEN every day. You have to have a good canvas to apply your paints to and you won’t if it gets sun ravaged.
Now time for my plug . If you are here in Boston or will be before August 13 please come to my show . I’m the Prom Princess in the Company One production of “T-Party” at the Boston Center for the Arts. We premièred tonight to a packed house and they all had such a great time they didn’t want to leave! This is my 25th play and I never saw that happen before. I won’t be doing it this Sunday but I will at all other shows. The show is all lgbt and trans and has so much going on all the time. It’s a prestigious theatre company in a prestigious venue in a safe neighborhood. Any questions, see companyone.org .
Btw this is me