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In this last installment, I will describe how I do my lips and the final steps to achieve and maintain my "feminine best" look.
My LipsTo do my lips, I use a lip liner to define the outer edges of my lips, then I fill inside the lip lines with a lip color using a lipstick brush.
Lip color is like eye color, that is, some colors suit me that may not suit you and
vice versa, so experiment to see what looks best. Whatever color you choose, the color of your lip liner should be just a few shades darker than your lip color unless you are going for a drag queen look, in which case your lip liner should be many, many shades darker than your lip color. (Yucko!)
Most of the lip liners and lip colors I use are from Avon. I have two shades of a lipstick that Avon discontinued that I love and usually wear these days because the results have a glossy finish without using lip gloss.
1) I use a well-sharpened lip liner pencil to apply lip liner to my upper and lower lips. In either case, I start the line at the middle of the lip and work outwards to the end of the lip line following the curve of my natural lip line.
If you have thin lips like I do, you can make them look bigger by applying the lip liner slightly outside the natural lip line, but don't go overboard because you can end up with clown-like lips (I lost count on how many times I have redone my lips in the past to avoid joining Barnum & Bailey.)
2) To apply lip color, I use a lipstick brush to fill in my lips between the lip liner. A brush provides better coverage where you want the color and avoids putting color where you don't want it, which can occur if you apply lip color directly from a lipstick tube.
3) I close my mouth on a piece of tissue paper to remove any excess.
4) I apply a light coat of translucent powder on my lips. This will hold the color you reapply for a longer period of time.
5) I usually reapply or touch up my lip liner.
6) I reapply my lip color.
7) Sometimes I apply a clear lip gloss over the lip color, but usually, I do not.
The Big FinishI double check my makeup to make sure I look absolutely gorgeous and make any necessary corrections.
After fixing everything that needs fixing, I use my big powder brush to apply a light coat of translucent loose powder everywhere except on my eye and lip makeup.
Next, I close my eyes and spray a light coat of
Makeup For Ever Mist & Fix on my face. Mist & Fix sets and seals the makeup, so you won't have to keep fixing your face the rest of the day.
Finally, I apply Chanel Eau de Cologne No. 22 to each of my pulse points: my wrists, between my breasts, behind my knees, behind my ears, and in the bends of my elbows.
From start to finish, it takes me about 40 minutes to do my makeup, but that is after decades of practice, so your mileage may vary.
No one ever said that being a femulator is easy? But the effort to look your feminine best is worth it!