Nail Tips

I have worn artificial pre-glued press-on fingernails like forever and over that time, I learned a thing or two that I want to pass along to you.

As I wrote in my previous post, I have lady fingers, so press-on nails fit me fine. However, if you have manly mitts, press-on nails may not be large enough for you. 

Even with my lady fingers, size may be an issue particularly with my thumbnails. Over the years, when I strayed from my go-to brand of nails, I had to occasionally discard the new set because the fake thumbnail was too small.

If you are shopping in person for nails and the thumbnails are visible in the package, you can kind of compare your thumbnail with the fake thumbnail and decide whether they are a good size for you.

For what it’s worth, I never had a size issue with my other lady fingers... just the thumb.

I prefer pre-glued nails as opposed to the nails that use glue applied from a tube or bottle. The consistency of the pre-glued nail glue is like rubber cement and it molds between your natural nail and the fake nail for a better grip. The glue that comes in a tube or bottle is too watery. As a result, the glue’s contact points between your natural nail and the fake is inconsistent and the result may be a loose or lost nail.

Also, when it comes time to remove fake nails, running your fingers under hot water does the trick with pre-glued nails, whereas you have to use acetone to remove nails that use the tube/bottle glue. 

“Breathing moderate to high amounts of acetone for a short amount of time can irritate your nose, throat, lungs and eyes. It can also cause headaches, dizziness, confusion, a faster pulse, nausea, vomiting, effects on the blood, passing out and possible coma, and a shorter menstrual cycle in women.” (Source: Delaware Health and Social Services)

Whereas you can remove pre-glued nails easily, they stay put as long as you avoid soaking your fingers in hot water. Whenever I go away to spend some time as a woman, I always pack two or three sets of pre-glued nails under the assumption that one set will not survive the whole length of my stay in Manhattan, Dayton, Provincetown, wherever. I usually surprise myself and find that one set does the job for the whole stay even during a 7-day stay like at Fantasia Fair.

You might thinking, “What a pig! Doesn't she ever wash her hands?”

Au contraire. I clean my hands, but I just avoid using hot water. I use a hand sanitizer to be germ-free and use soap and warm water to remove dirt — I just go easy with the water around my fingernails and I never soak my fingers in water for any length of time.

Another tip to keep your artificial nails in place: Clean your natural nails with alcohol before you apply the fakes. The alcohol will remove any oils and other substances that may affect how well your fake nails adhere to your natural nails.

Still another tip: Use an emory board or a cuticle remover to clean up your cuticles before applying the fake nails. The fakes will fit and adhere better to cuticle-free natural nails.

Finally, I always have a spare set of nails in my handbag just in case all my precautions fail and I lose a nail. Better safe than nail-less!

Wearing A.L.C

Sydney Drew femulating in the 1914 film A Florida Enchantment. According to IMDB, in the film a “young woman discovers a seed that can make women act like men and men act like women. She decides to take one, then slips one to her maid and another to her fiancé.” You can view the film on YouTube.

New Nails

My May 7th post discussed the press-on fingernails that are available these days.

I wrote, “They are very attractive and I decided to take a flyer on one of the less expensive brands (H&M). I will review them here when I have an opportunity to wear them.”

Due to the pandemic, the delivery of the nails was incredibly slow and over a month passed between ordering the nails and their delivery. Not a big deal because I was not going out anywhere to wear them. Anyway, they finally arrived last week.

What follows is not a full review because I have not had an opportunity to wear them out. But as with other fake nails, I was concerned about the width of the fake thumbnail, which is my and probably your widest fingernail.

The thumbnail of the Kiss pre-glued press-on nails that I have been using like forever is about 9/16ths of an inch wide, which matches my natural thumbnails perfectly. The width of the H&M thumbnail is about a 1/2-inch – 1/16th of an inch narrower than the Kiss thumbnail.

Not a big difference – they will probably work OK, but I will let you know when I actually wear them out. (I can’t wait!)

(The photo above are the H&M nails in the silver gray color I ordered.)

Wearing Ollalaa

Matt Bomer femulates in the 2017 film Anything.
You can view the film’s trailer on YouTube.

You’ll wonder where the yellow went

In past posts, I complained about photos of femulators not smiling. You are beautiful women and you should be happy about it, so smile, smile, smile.

I listen to my own advice and smile whenever I am photographed. The only bad part about smiling is that my teeth are yellow. I never smoked, so I assume they are yellow from the beverages I have been drinking the past 69 years, especially coffee, which I consume in at least two big doses everyday.

In March, my daughter birthday gifted me with Crest 3D White Whitestrips. I took the hint and used the strips as prescribed – 30 minutes per day for 5 days and 60 minutes for 1 day.

After 7 days, I was amazed! My teeth were no longer yellow; they were now as white as the new fallen snow.

Three months later, my teeth still look white. Maybe not as white as on Day 7, but a heck of lot whiter than they were on Day 0. (The accompanying photo was taken two months after the white strip application.)

Crest recommends repeating the treatment every six months and I will do so when the time comes.

Every little bit helps and snow white teeth are certainly a welcome addition to my feminine visage.

Wearing Madeleine

Jaloo femulating in the 2018 Brazilian film Paradise Lost (Paraíso Perdido).
You can view the film’s trailer on YouTube.

Nailing It

I am not full-time, although I wish I was, so I can’t wear my fingernails in a female fashion 24/7. Instead, I wear pre-glued, press-on nails when I femulate. They go on fast, stay on forever and they look good – so good that I have received many compliments on my nails.

My go-to pre-glued, press-on nails were the Kiss brand. I bought and used Kiss nails for years, but Kiss kissed off the product and they are no longer available except for sellers of old stock (and those are drying up, too).

When I learned that Kiss pre-glued, press-on nails were going away, I stocked up, but my stockpile is dwindling and I have been searching for a replacement.

StyleCaster posted an article by Nikki Brown, Best Press On Nails 2020: Stunning Picks for When You Want an Express Mani, that features 10 brands of press-on nails. They are very attractive and I decided to take a flyer on one of the less expensive brands (H&M). I will review them here when I have an opportunity to wear them

Caveat Emptor: Obviously, the fake nails are sized for women. If you have wide nails, the fake nails may not be large enough to cover your natural nails. I am lucky to have feminine fingers and all the fake nails I have ever tried cover my natural nails, but your mileage may vary.

Wearing Zimmermann

C is for crossdressing, civilians and Coppell, Texas, where in 1996, Matt Garber’s prom appearance at is hands-down one of the most outstanding Not a Civilian? presentations of all time! By the way, if Matt was “the only male to wear make-up to the junior-senior prom,” it begs the question: Did other male students attend the prom en femme, but without makeup?

Wearing JustFab button front sweater dress and JustFab Sofie peep toe pumps for my May 6th photoshoot

Nailing It

I have been a proponent of pre-glued press-on fake nails ever since I tried on my first pair back at the turn of the century. They go on quickly and last for days as long as your daily pursuits tend to be on the dainty side of the street. In other words, don’t expect extended wear if you plan to use a jack hammer.

During my annual five-day trips en femme to Hamvention, one set of nails usually lasts the whole trip and on more than one occasion, one set of nails lasted a whole week at Fantasia Fair. (But your mileage may vary.)

I am lucky and have long thin girly fingers, so the size of the fake nails is usually not an issue, whereas it may be an issue for girls with bigger fingers. The main problem I with pre-glued press-on nails is finding them.

I started with Revlon’s pre-glued press-on nails, but Revlon discontinued the product. Then I switched to Kiss pre-glued press-on nails, but they discontinued the product, too. I managed to stock up on Kiss nails by purchasing all I could find on the Internet, but those sources have dried up and I face a Kissless future!

Jenn to the rescue!

She sent me a link to a Cosmopolitan article titled “I Wore Every Press-On Nail Brand (Really) and These 5 Were Best.” Two of the top five were pre-glued press-on nails, whereas the other three were not pre-glued. Now I have two new (to me) sources for the nails I prefer to wear!

Wearing Boston Proper

Crossdressed dance marathon, circa 1935

Kiss Experiment

I like the Kiss brand of stick-on false nails. They go on quickly and stay on longly. They look very good, but they are only available in one style, "French Girly Short Length."

In the past, Kiss had other stick-on nail styles, but Kiss discontinued them and we are stuck with French Girly Short Length, not that there is anything wrong with that, but I'd love a little variety. For example, I am going to a dressy affair later this month and I bought a new dress for the occasion. The dress is a floral print over a wine background and I thought it would be fab to wear wine-colored nails when I wear the dress.

I got to thinking and came up with the bright idea of painting my Kiss stick-on nails. But I wondered if there might be a chemical reaction between the fake nail and the nail polish, so I purchased a bottle of nail polish in a shade that matches the dress and tried painting the stick-on nails.

First, I opened a package of the nails and tried painting a nail as it laid in the opened package. But there is nothing holding the nail in place, so as soon as I swiped the nail polish brush over the nail, it moved and made a mess.

Next, I took a nail out of the package and mounted it on a Sharpie marker. Holding the Sharpie with one hand, I painted the nail with the other hand. It looked good. After the polish was dry, I applied a second coat and it looked even better. When the second coast had dried, I applied a clear topper and it looked great.

I removed the painted nail from the Sharpie and put it on my pinky to see how the stick-on nail's adhesive held up after being attached and removed from the Sharpie. The bond between my nail and the Kiss nail felt the same as it usually does when I put on a Kiss stick-on nail directly from the package. I wore the nail for a few hours and it did not come loose, so my experiment was a success.

Wearing Boston Proper (Source: Boston Proper)

Tony Curtis femulating for the 1959 film Some Like It Hot.

Long Nails in Boy Mode?

Dear Stana,

I absolutely love your blog and visit it several times a week. I really appreciate the time you put into making your page worth a look and keeping it updated. Those comics are hysterical!

Now I must ask, as much as you are out and about and somewhat "open" at work, would you share your opinion on guys with long nails?

I do wear my nails long, and they have been getting longer as I've been getting braver. Today, in a meeting with two females, the more masculine one called me on it. She said "you need to clip your nails, why are they so long?"

I told her they were to claw her eyes out. The other girl remarked she must really know me well to make that kind of comment.

My employer prides itself on embracing diversity and I have little care for what "the company" would say, but it's individuals like this that make me stop and think about what I am doing. I feel sure more people have noticed, but have respectfully withheld comment.

I do love having long nails to polish on the weekend when I have more time to femulate. Do you have any thoughts?

Keep up the great work!

Robyn


Hi Robyn,

Thank you for the kind words!

I wear false pre-glued stick-on nails (Kiss brand) mainly because I never got the hang of polishing my own nails under the gun. However, for six or eight months a few years ago, I did grow my own nails out to a feminine length.

I never worried about what my co-workers thought about my nails. If one asked about my nails, I would point-blankly respond that my nails are long because I dress as a woman on weekends.

Either they thought I was joking and laughed at my response or they didn't know what to think. In either case, I never was asked twice by the same person.

As long as you keep your nails neat and clean, no one should have any complaints about them. I am a little surprised that your co-worker said that about your nails. She had a lot of nerve!

I say, you go, girl and wear your long nails and the public be darned!

Best Wishes,

Stana

Need advice concerning femulation or other crossdressing-related matters, then e-mail me and I will happily give you my opinion on the matter. My e-mail address is stana-stana at sbcglobal.net.

Wearing Bebe (Source: Bebe)

Tony Randall femulates Medusa in the 1964 film 7 Faces of Dr. Lao

Something New

I am a big fan of Kiss Express Stick-On artificial nails. They go on fast and easy, stay on until you want them off and look good. Friday night, the first thing the girls did when I met up with them is compliment my nails!

The only problem I have with the Kiss Express Stick-On nails is that they are only available in one style. Years ago, Kiss sold other Express Stick-On styles, but not anymore. So I am stuck with one style and although they always look great, I am bored with them.

Looking for alternatives, I discovered Kiss Impress Gel Manicure nails. They are available in over 20 styles and are pre-glued stick-ons like the Express Stick-On brand, but better; Kiss claims the glue on their Impress nails is "3X stronger than other pre-glued nails."

I was intrigued, but wondered about the size of the Kiss Impress nails. I have long, thin lady-like fingers, but in the past, I have purchased artificial nails that were not large enough to cover my own natural nails. If the size of the fake thumbnail doesn't match the size of my natural thumbnail (5/8 of an inch wide), then the whole set is useless to me.

There is only one way to solve find out if the size is right: buy a set and try them on. So I purchased a set at my local Rite Aid this morning and took them home to measure them up. And I was pleased to discover that like their kissing cousins, the size of the Impress thumbnails are a perfect match for my natural thumbnails.

I did not try on the new nails because I want to save them for a nice day out as a woman. When I do, I will let you know how well they survive out in the wild!

Wearing Elizabeth Kennedy (Source: Moda Operandi)

Jeremy Stockwell femulating in the 1970 film Dinah East.

Beauty and Styling Tips! (Part 2)

By Jamie B. 

www.TGCDStyleToronto.com 

Body and Styling

Here are some important tips regarding body and styling.

• The walk is everything. Fact is, men walk more rigid than women. Practice walking in high heels before you go out. In fact, practice a few nights before you go out. It could take a few tries before you get the walk right. The key is to do a slight sway of your hips with every step you take. If you are walking awkward after a few tries, maybe the heel is too high. Spike heels can be a challenge, so avoid them if you are prone to being a bit clumsy like myself. 2- to 3-inch heels are comfortable to flaunt your girly self in! Don't go overboard and risk looking awkward.

• Like the Little Black Dress, the classic black pump is always in style. Invest in a pair of real leather ones. Fake leather looks... well, fake. 

• Buy a stretchy belt in black and one in beige/nude. These are inexpensive and really can complete your outfit. It also creates a more cinched waist, which is vital to looking and feeling girly. 

• Invest in some bottom-enhancing underwear. They really make a difference with dresses and skirts. Those extra few millimeters really give a nice curve to the derriere. Walmart.com carries them online for under $11.

• Make sure your manicure is always chip-free and shiny. Buy a clear top coat and apply as needed to prevent chips and a dull look. A fresh manicure every week is ideal. Make sure your cuticles are trimmed prior to nail polish. 

• Avoid gaudy necklaces that look too bulky or cheaply made. A classic pearl necklace or a few layers long necklaces always look polished. Avoid bulky jewelry in general. 

• When adjusting your cleavage, apply a matte brown eyeshadow (from your neutral eyeshadow palette) to the tops of your pecs to create the illusion of rounder, fuller breasts. Let the natural shadow if your cleavage guide you where to apply. They should look like back-to-back “C” shapes. 

I hope these tips and techniques have been educational and enlightening. Please don't hesitate to ask me any questions by e-mailing me at TGCDStyleToronto@gmail.com. My goal is to make every crossdresser and transgender woman feel like they intend to feel, feminine!

Wearing Ann Taylor

Contestant in Colombian womanless beauty pageant

Femulating Mom

Fortunato Castro femulating his mother

A lot of us femulate our mothers to some degree. I, for one, wear styles that my mother would wear. And growing up under her tutelage, I act like the lady she was.

A 27-year-old artist named Fortunato Castro femulated his mother for his senior thesis at Cooper Union. He "turned his lens on himself, for a series of powerful self-portraits. But, unlike most self-portraits, he posed in an unusual way: as his mother.”

You can read all about it and see a slideshow at The Cut.

Anti-Aging

On Tuesday, Daily Makeover had some excellent advice about makeup mistakes that make you look older. I don't know about you, but at my age, I want to look younger, not older, so I am taking their advice to heart.

Daily Makeover is a good source for good advice on hair and makeup. I subscribe to their daily e-mails and I recommend a free subscription to any girl who wants to improve her femulating skills.

Nailing It

I am a big fan of the Kiss brand of pre-glued press-on nails. They go on quick, stray on forever and are large enough to cover my Amazonian finger nails. But lately, they have been scarce.

I usually purchase my Kiss pre-glued press-on nails at CVS, Rite Aid or Walgreen, but for the past month or so, they have been missing from the racks of those stores. They have other Kiss brand nail products on their racks, but not the pre-glued press-ons that I know and love.

The Kiss website stills show them, so either my stores are no longer carrying them or there was a big run on them during the holidays.

My personal stock of nails is running low, so I wanted to find out what was going on. I went online to check the stores' websites and bingo! I struck paydirt at the first website I visited. Walgreen has them in stock and they are on sale: $3.17 per set.

I cannot recall them ever being that cheap, so I ordered enough sets to qualify for free shipping ($25 minimum) and await their delivery in 3 to 5 days.

Stop Me If You Heard This One Before

Meanwhile, here is a story about me buying Kiss nails at Rite Aid last year. (This is a rerun, but some of you might have missed it.)

The cashier was a middle-aged woman like myself and as she rang up my purchase, she joked,

"Doing your nails?"

Although I knew she was joking, I responded, "Yes, they're for me. I do drag."

"You do?"

"Yes, I do. I wish I had a photo to show you."

I don't know if she believed me or not, but since then i made sure that I have a photo of me en femme handy on my iPhone.

Professional femulator Billy Bigwood in 1921.

Wearing Nha Khanh.