Make Up
As part of your gender expression you may wish to experiment with or wear make-up.
Learning More About Make-up
You might not know much about make-up or have friends who do - don't worry, you can find tons of make-up and skin care tips online. For example, some Youtubers who offer make-up tutorials have gained a huge following for their step by step approach.
From make up basics to more advanced techniques and dramatic styles, you can pick up a lot of new make-up knowledge. Here are a few you could look up*:
Jaclyn Hill
Make Up Geek
Nicole Guerriero
Manny Mua
Patrick Starrr
ItsMyRaeRae
Ellairie
ShaaanXO
Michelle Phan
Andrea's Choice
*This list is not specifically trans.
Make-up Tips for Trans Women
A quick guide from a GI youth group member:
One key focus could be covering the 5 o’clock shadow in the beard area. This can be hard to do with minimal make-up.
You may be able to use foundation from a high street drugs store such as Boots, but you may need something with strong coverage. A lot of trans girls use Estee Lauder’s Double Wear or MAC’s studio sculpt. Others use Kryolan TV foundation sticks, because, as the name indicates, it's make-up for TV and theatre, so it’s much thicker and fuller coverage than normal foundations. This means it’s able to conceal a beard shadow more effectively.
For lighter skin Derma Colour (a dark orange coloured camoflauge crème) can be used to colour correct the blue undertone of a 5 O’clock shadow and cancel out the darkness of that area.
If you are a person of colour, some make up brands fall short of providing a wide range of suitable shades. This article, and another here,feature some foundation brands that offer a better range of darker tones. If you are looking for full coverage, you might want to test out a brand in advance.
If you have undergone laser hair removal treatment, which removes facial hair, you may wish to use less product, and high street foundation.