Permanent Eyebrow Methods

By Best Review WebSite

“There are so many ways to style and shape eyebrows to get that perfect natural look, which can make you feel overwhelmed. Did you know that your two brows aren’t the same? You might notice the difference if you look closely, but don’t worry you do not have to create perfectly matching brows. There are some general tips and tricks to help you get those natural-looking brows, including the best professional methods. Having permanent eyebrows is a dream for every woman, but permanent eyebrows can vary from person to person and artist to artist. 

“We will be talking about some of the best permanent methods to help you get thick and natural-looking brows.”

You can read this very informative article here.

Wearing Bella Dahl

Francis Cowley Burnand femulating circa 1855

The Eyes Have It

Sally Stone has kindly written a series of articles about makeup and makeup application that is specifically targeted for girls like us. The fifth installment of her series looks at our eyes.

By Sally Stone

File ID 90869742 | © Puhhha | Dreamstime.com

Eyes are hard, especially for girls like us. The other problem with eyes: they come in all shapes with all kinds of special makeup needs, so a single set of techniques isn’t going to work for all. With this in mind, it is probably more helpful if I focus on tips that help feminize the eyes and make them look larger.

My first recommendation: don’t waste too much time putting eye makeup on an area where all your hard work is going to be invisible. One example is the eyelid. I have hooded eyes, which almost completely hide my eyelids when my eyes are open. Unless I’m asleep, no one is going to see any of the eye makeup I put there. Consequently, I will often only put foundation on my eyelids leaving colorful eyeshadow for parts of my eye that are more visible.

Enhance your eyes by making them appear larger. You can accomplish this in a couple of different ways. The first is actually a basic grooming task and that is, shaping the eyebrows. A feminine arch to the brow not only helps the eye look bigger, it also helps feminize it. If you aren’t brave enough to truly feminize your eyebrows, at least groom them so they are trim and neat.

Avoid applying eyeliner on the upper lash line. It looks great on girls with naturally large eyes, but not so good on the rest of us. However, applying eyeliner and a little eyeshadow under the lower lash tends to open the eye up. You can also brighten the waterline (that area between your eyeball and the inside of the lower lash) with a white eyeliner pencil to make your eyes look bigger. Just be very careful with that sharp pencil so close to the eye.

If you want to add color to your eyes, I suggest doing the crease with a dark shade of eyeshadow, then apply a lighter shade just above the crease. With the lighter shade, follow the outside circumference of the eyelid down to the outside corner of the eye and then underneath the lower lash to a point approximately a third of the way. When finished, the crease will be dark with the outside half of the eye more brightly shaded. Be sure to blend the crease color and your chosen light color so that it’s impossible to tell where one color ends and the other begins.

I recommend only applying eyeshadow to the outside half of the eye, because, applying shadow to the inside half can actually make the eye look smaller. You’ll have to experiment with shading to determine which colors complement each another and which shades complement your skin tone.

To ensure the colored shadow you applied to the outside of the eye stands out, it is probably best to avoid applying any additional product on the area between the eye crease and the brow. I find that my eyes stand out more prominently if I leave this area natural.

If your eyebrows possess a feminine arch you can get away with applying some highlighter just below the outside half of the brow. If your brows are not arched, applying highlighter can actually accentuate a brow ridge, so be cautious. If you do have a more pronounced brow ridge, I would recommend applying a dark contour to it when you are contouring the rest of the face instead of trying to deal with it using eye makeup.

Finally, comes mascara. Apply three light coats allowing each coat dry before putting on the next. With each coating, take the time to lift and separate the lashes using a mascara comb. Building lash coverage is more effective and looks way more natural than clumping it on in one heavy coat and it is nearly impossible to separate the lashes if the comb is heavily laden with mascara.

And that’s it, ladies. As I stated in the beginning of this article, it may take some trial and error to find a set of makeup techniques that work for your particular eyes. Just keep in mind, that your main objectives should always be to feminize the eyes and make them appear larger than they really are. The basic techniques I have outlined, are the ones I have found to be most effective. It is my sincere hope they work just as well for you.

Wearing New York & Company

Chic gents attending Tuntenball

Uni to Girly

Brows can either make or break your entire look.

I had a unibrow when I started to get serious about femulating. I did not have a solid unibrow, but there were enough hairs above the bridge of my nose that it was not very ladylike. So early on, I took a razor to that patch of hair.

In boy mode, nobody noticed that I now had two distinct eyebrows. (Wearing eyeglasses in boy mode also helped to disguise my eyebrow feminization.)

Emboldened, I bought eyebrow tweezers and an eyebrow trimmer. With the tweezers, I attacked the stray hairs and with the trimmer, I shortened any hairs that had grown to unruly lengths. The result was neater and more feminine brows. And in boy mode, nobody noticed.

Further emboldened, I began using the tweezers to thin my brows. I only thinned along the bottoms, never the tops because I had read in a number of places that you should not pluck along the tops of your brows because if you do, the hair will not grow back!

Still nobody noticed, so I kept on thinning and the result was a perfect feminine sweeping curve along the bottom of my brows, while the top was not so perfect.

I was a little frustrated until I visited our public library and took out a book titled Beautiful Brows: The Ultimate Guide to Styling, Shaping, and Maintaining Your Eyebrows by Nancy Parker and Nancy Kalish. The book deflated the advice about not plucking above your eyebrows and said to go ahead and pluck above, as well as below.

Immediately after reading that passage, I dropped the book, went to the bathroom and plucked all the strays above my eyebrows! Now my eyebrows, both tops and bottoms, looked neat and feminine and since then I continued to pluck and thin above and below. (By the way, the hair does indeed grow back above as well as below.)

This is a very tricky business, so take your time and go back and forth between your left and right brows so that they will look alike.

To color and define my brows, I use an Avon eyebrow pencil. Although my natural eyebrow color is light brown, I use a blonde eyebrow pencil because I found that using a brown pencil resulted in a brow that was too dark. Blonde is just right for me, so you too might want to go one shade lighter than your natural brow color.

Using an eyebrow brush, I comb out my brow hairs so they are lined up horizontally and pointing away from my nose.

Next, I sharpen the pencil to a very fine point and draw a line that defines the upper edge of my eyebrow. I start drawing the line above the inner corner of my eye (point A in the accompanying figure), angling upwards to the peak of the arch which is above the outer edge of the pupil of my eye (point B), then drawing the brow out to a point that lines up with my nose and the outer corner of my eye (point C). All the while I draw the line as close as possible to my existing brow hair.

After I define the tops of my eyebrows, I use the pencil to fill in the area below the line where the hair is thin or missing. Then I use the eyebrow brush to brush and even out the color I just applied.

Women generally have higher brow bones than men, resulting in a greater distance between the bottom of the brow and the eyelid. To compensate, use a highlighter to brighten the area under the arch and lift the brow even more.

Any questions? I will try my best to answer them.

Wearing Venus

Femulator models her H&M haul

The Brows

Under the category "Something New I Learned Today" is this short article from StyleCaster.com: The Best Eyebrow Shapes to Flatter Your Face.

I trimmed, plucked and shaped my eyebrows years ago without any consideration as to the best eyebrow shape for my face (who knew?). Lucky girl that I am (not), my trimming, plucking and shaping matched what the StyleCaster article recommended for my oval face, so I am good to go.

By the way, early on I hesitated doing much with my brows fearing that civilians might wonder what was that big guy doing with girly eyebrows. I cleaned up the strays, but not much else and nobody noticed. Emboldened, I began plucking and shaping my brows and still nobody noticed.

One day, I realized that the eyeglasses I wore in boy mode hid what was going on. So even more emboldened, I completely feminized my eyebrows and have maintained girly brows ever since. And no one ever noticed or at least, no one ever mentioned it. On the other hand, my hairdresser trims strays without asking, so somebody did notice.

Wearing New York & Company (Source: New York & Company)

This is Mindy's favorite Halloween photo. It represents a remembrance of her Mom, Dorothy. Mindy wrote, "It was personally so much fun for me getting my makeup done at MAC. You are an inspiration to me and others. Thanks for the courage."

Have a Wild Weekend*

Source: Vaunt Magazine

Check out Vaunt Magazine.

"Vaunt is the world’s first publication celebrating the most beautiful androgynous males from across the globe. Our daring photo shoots crush gender boundaries and offer a new vision of beauty, glamour, elegance, sensuality and fashion sensibility. From the shores of the Far East and cities of Europe to Latin America and across the USA, Vaunt shines a light on the amazing depth and breadth of androgynous male beauty that exists."

* * *

Also check out "The One Thing You're Doing Wrong When Tweezing Your Brows" over at Pure Wow dot Com.

The method described in this article is exactly the way I have been dealing with my brows for quite a awhile.

"It’s all about perspective." From a few feet back, no one will notice those tiny strays you didn't pluck! Honest ― they won't!

* * *

Metisu is a new-to-me online merchant of womenswear (see example below in the Femulate Her slot). They have a nice selection of reasonably-priced clothing in big gurl sizes.

I have not made a purchase yet, so I have no opinion on the quality of their merchandise, but I may take a flyer soon.

Daniel Ferreira (Source: Vaunt Magazine)

Wearing Metisu.

A 21st Century Femulator (Source: Pinterest)

* While you still can!

Best Brows for Your Face

This is the sixth in a seven-part series of posts written by Femulate Contributing Editor Susan King of Transitioning into Tomorrow fame. Susan describes how to determine your face shape and then, how to put that information to good use.

The correct eyebrow look can make or break the feminine face. An easy male vs. female marker are
the eyebrows. Of course, an Adam's apple and your voice can be easy giveaways, along with poor eyebrow maintenance.

In the 1990's, I did not have the money (raising children) or the time (children dance class and work) to have an electrologist work on my beard, so I had my eyebrows done. Within one year, I had my eyebrows permanently arched.

No one said anything while I had this done. Years later, my youngest daughter stated that she hoped to have eyebrows like mine when she grew up. I just smiled and told her, she probably will.

I really like my eyebrows and use an eyebrow pencil to define them. The correct eyebrow style will define and feminize your face. Matching your eyebrows with your face shape has a tremendous impact.

The chart above shows the best eyebrow shape for your face. Some of the differences are small but its worth it. This short video also does a good job of explaining eyebrow types based on the facial shape.

Wearing Ann Taylor.

This image is from a womanless beauty pageant, probably at the high school level. I posted this image because it reminds me of me at that age. I was overweight and feminine in high school. As a result, I was rejected by females and derided by males. I escaped from that world by visiting the closets of my mother and sister to release the girl in me. If my school had a womanless pageant, I might resemble the girl above and enjoy every minute of the occasion just as she seems to be doing.

Uplifting Experience

By Paula Gaikowski, Femulate Contributing Editor

September is here in New England ladies… clear crisp days, and warm cozy sweaters; pull the pantyhose out of the draw, it’s time to show our true colors.

As cisgender women can easily get away with bare shoulders and sleeveless tops this ol’ gal thrives on fall and winter fashions that allows for foundation garments and pantyhose to cover the effects of testosterone poisoning.

Awhile back Stana and I had a discussion about using tape to pull back your eyelids to give a more youthful and feminine appearance. I have tried a number of methods over the years and have come up with a simple and effective method to arch ones eyebrows and lessen wrinkles.

Drag performers have used variations of this over the years, however, their techniques are usually more complex and intricate. I’ve come up with a quick and easy process that is incorporated into my makeup routine and adds only a minute or two to the process. And it is comfortable and holds for hours.


You can see the difference in the accompanying photo where one side is tape free and the other side is taped and my eye is wide open.

The first step and key was finding a tape that held in place for several hours and doesn’t damage the skin. After years of research by Femulate’s team of scientists (well actually just me), I have found Nexcare works great and you can buy it at any leading drug store. DO NOT tape unless you use Nexcare because other brands will not hold and you will be disappointed.

Next, wash your face well; remove all oil and lotion from your forehead. Finding where exactly to put the tape will take a little work. Arch your eyebrows and hold them in place with your fingertips and find the attachment point where the tape will work best (you may have to experiment to find the best point).

Cut four 3 to 4 inch pieces of tape. Put one on the sweet spot, arch your brow and tape it back. As you hold that arch, use a second piece of tape to run alongside the first tape to help anchor in place. Refer to the photo below. Repeat this for the other brow and there it is!

Now complete the transformation into your true self and then go forward and experience one of the most wonderful gifts there is: embracing the world as a woman.

The left image represents how the tape actually appears. The right image was manipulated so you can clearly see how Paula positioned the tapes.

Wearing Boston Proper.

Winner of a Relay for Life womanless beauty pageant.

Still Learning After All These Years

Cosmetic queen and makeup maven that I am, I still learned something when I read "101 Ways To Make Your Eyes Pop" on Daily Makeover.

Dustin Hoffman learned something when he played Dorothy Michaels in Tootsie, according to a recent interview.

I learned a lot that maybe I did not want to know when I read "Counterpunch and the War on Transgender People" on Jacobin.

Some good news: Friday the 13th falls on a Saturday this month! Also, I will get back to answering your Ask Me Anything questions next time we meet.

 

The blue brothers, circa 1960.

 

Wearing Alberta Ferretti.

links, eyes and hairs

Femulate Links

I am in the process of updating the links in the sidebar of the blog.

What precipitated this was an e-mail I received from someone whose link had been listed here for years. She wrote that she did not like my blog, so I deleted her link.

If anyone else would like me to remove their link for any reason, I will gladly comply. Just let me know.

Also, if anyone would like me to add a link, send me your suggestion and I will queue it up.

Perfect Everyday Eye Makeup

Over at Makeup.com, Kristen Oldham Giordani highlighted Dana Fox's viral Pinterest tutorial for everyday eye makeup application.

It is not complicated and actually similar to the routine I use. I recommend it. 

Hairstyles Over 50

If you are over 50 (also known as "the new 40") and looking to try something new with your lovely locks, check out the 10 x 3 hairstyles for women over 50 in the Style section of Life Goes Strong.

There is something for everyone:

• 10 short hairstyles for women over 50
  
• 10 medium length hairstyles for women over 50  
  
• 10 long hairstyles for women over 50

About half the celebrities modeling the hairstyles are actually over 60 (like actress Christine Lahti pictured above) and two are in their 70s, so there is even something for an old lady like me!

Makeover Your Eyebrows

If you are a regular reader here, you know I have a thing about eyebrows.

Of all the makeup skills, doing my eyebrows correctly was the last one I conquered. Actually, I have not completely vanquished my eyebrow issues yet, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

With that, I point you to another useful article on the subject from Daily Makeover.

By the way, I have not completed answering all your questions and addressing all your suggestions that were the result of my call for your input last week. I just thought a break in the action was called for and I will return to your questions and suggestions real soon now.

Best Brows for You

Grocery shopping on Saturday, I inevitably conclude the experience eyeing the periodicals displayed for sale on the check-out line.

As I unloaded my shopping cart, I noticed the October issue of Vogue with the lovely Keira Knightley staring back at me with her most amazing eyebrows!

We are hardly separated at birth, but I liked her brows so much that I shaped mine to match hers.

Last week, Daily Makeover tackled the subject of the best eyebrows for your face shape, so see for yourself if your eyebrows should match Ms. Knightley's or some other glamorous film star.

Her Masculine Brows

Femulating is easier today.

One reason, according to a study mentioned in The Huffington Post, is that women are not plucking and arching their eyebrows to the extent that they had in the past, thus relieving femulators from following suit.

I held off plucking and arching my eyebrows for a long time because I thought that they would give me away. Instead of plucking, I trimmed my eyebrow to neaten the unruly mess.

After trimming, no one noticed and I assumed my eyeglasses hid my handiwork. (I always wear eyeglasses in boy mode, but never in girl mode unless I am driving.)

Since no one noticed, I began plucking my eyebrows to thin them and arch them.

When my eyebrows approximated those of actress Keira Knightley (see photo), I figured if they were feminine enough for Keira, then they were feminine enough for me. So now I just pluck and trim to maintain my Keira eyebrows.

Visiting a New Salon

I needed some storage containers for stuff stored in the garage, so I went to the nearest discount store during my lunch hour on Monday.

Leaving the store, I noticed a sign in the window of the hair salon next door advertising a special: on Tuesdays, they cut men's hair for $12.

I needed a haircut and although I am not really a man, I can pass for one, so I returned to the salon on Tuesday.

I had never been in that salon, so I did not know what to expect.

My hairdresser was a vivacious middle-aged woman named Staci. It turned out that we grew up in the same neighborhood and although she is ten years younger, we knew some of the same people.

I almost mentioned that Staci used to be my femme name, but I decided to save that for another time.

After she finished doing my hair, she asked me if I'd like her to do my eyebrows. No hairdresser ever offered that service before and I gladly acquiesced.

She quickly buzzed each brow with an electric razor over a comb and saved me the trouble of trimming my brows.

Her hairdressing skills were excellent. I gave her a generous tip and I plan to patronize her salon again in the future.

Best Brows for You

Brows can either make or break your entire look. But with so many options--thick, thin, arched, straight--how do you know which brow shape is right for you?

Daily Makeover has the answer.

The Eyes Have It

After seeing my visage in yesterday's post here, Patio asked me how I do my eyes.

I am happy to share my makeup regime, so here it is eye-wise.

First things first: I cleanse my face and apply moisturizer.

Now concentrating on the eyes, here are the steps I follow:

1. I use a concealer under my eyes to hide my eye baggage.

2. I apply an eyeshadow primer on my eyelids and brow bone, that is, between my eyelids and eyebrows.

3. While the primer dries, I tend to my eyebrows plucking strays and trimming longs.

4. I use a light brown eyebrow pencil (Anastasia Perfect Brow Pencil's "Soft Brown") to outline and fill in my brows. I have been femulating Keira Knightly's eyebrows (see photo) and I think I have been successful.

5. I curl my eyelashes lashes for at least 30 seconds per eye.

6. I use a large eyeshadow brush and apply a light beige eyeshadow all over my upper eyelids and browbone.

7. I use a small eyeshdow brush and apply a dark eyeshadow (purple, brown, dark gray, etc.) along crease between eyelids and brow bone.

This is tricky to describe, but let me try.

Using the eyebrow brush, I pick up a tiny bit of dark eyeshadow on only one side of the brush. Then I bring the shadow side of the brush up to the center of the brow bone along the crease and move it towards the outer side of my eye to deposit most of the shadow on that portion of my eye.

Then I use a windshield wiper-like motion to go back and forth along the whole crease. My goal is to make the outer portion of the crease and brow bone darker than the inner portion with a smooth transition from light to dark; the wiper motion blends the shadow to create the smooth transition.

Overall, I try to use less shadow for daytime femulations and more shadow for nighttime femulations.

8. I reapply some light beige shadow just below my brows and blend it with the darker shadow below. Sometimes this will lead me to reapply the dark eyeshadow until I get it just right (or nearly so).

9. I pick up a tiny bit more of the dark eyeshadow and apply it to the outer third of the lid and use the windshield wiper motion again to blend the shadow on the lid.

10. I use a second small eyeshadow brush to pick up a tiny bit of a light eyeshadow (light beige, light gray, white, etc.) and dab the color near the center of the lid, then blend it with the dark eyeshadow already on your lid.

11. I use black eyeshadow as my eyeliner and apply it using an eyeliner brush intended for powder eyeliner. I find it less prone to error than using an eyeliner pencil or a liquid eyeliner.

I dab the tip (not the side) of the eyeliner brush in black eyeshadow and apply it to the upper eyelid as close as possible to the lash line. I start in the center of the lid and work my way out to the outer part of the lid, then I work my way in to the inner part of the lid. I go back and forth until the line is consistent (no breaks or fades) and as dark as I want it. At the outer edge of the lid, I extend the line beyond the lid, making it narrower until it comes to a point. Sometimes I give it a little curl upward, sometimes not.

12. I dab the side of the eyeliner brush and swipe it along the lower lid as close to the lash line as possible, then I use a cotton swab to smudge the line and blend it so that it is consistent.

13. I am always experimenting with different mascaras. Since I am an Avon Lady, I always try their latest mascara offerings, but for what it's worth, lately I have been using Rimmel brand mascara. I apply it once to the upper and lower lashes and let it dry. Then I use a metal lash comb to separate any lashes that are stuck together.

I always apply a second coat of mascara. Sometimes I will apply a third coat.

By the way, my eyelashes are amazingly long, so that augments the overall look of my eyes. I have been using the Avon's Anew eyelash growth serum religiously every morning for nearly two years and it has had a profound effect on the length and thickness of my eyelashes. Sorry to say that Avon discontinued the product, however, there are competitive products that may work just as well if you have sparse and/or short lashes.

After doing all the above steps, there is always some touch-up and clean-up involved. To help avoid messy clean-ups, use a brush to apply some loose face powder below your eyes. When you are done doing your eyes, simply brush away this loose powder along with any eye makeup crumbs that may have landed there.

All this sounds very complicated and I will admit that doing my eyes takes longer than doing the rest of my makeup, but I think the results are worth the effort. And the more you do it, the more quickly you will do it!

If you have any questions, I will try to answer them.

Womanly Yours,

Stana