How To Do Mascara

Makeup maven that I am, I still do not feel completely comfortable or confident applying mascara.

In my makeup routine, applying mascara is the last thing I do when making up my eyes. I am very good applying eye makeup up to that point, but when I pull out the mascara wand, I hold my breath that I will not ruin the masterpiece I just created.

Too often, my mascara gets away from me and I have make repairs. Other times, I am too careful applying mascara that I end up not applying much at all and it looks like I am not wearing any.

On Saturday, Daily Makeover had "6 Mascara Mistakes We All Make — And Shouldn’t," which is a quick, but helpful read. I was aware of some of the "mistakes" they mentioned, but it is good to be reminded.

I also found a primer on mascara application by the Makeup Geek, "How to Apply Mascara Like a Pro," that is also helpful.

So bat those lashes, ladies! 

 

Actor Rod Steiger femulating in the 1968 film No Way To Treat A Lady.

 

Wearing Metrostyle.

His Legs Are Nicer, Too!

Where the Boys Are

Pinned

I visit Pinterest daily. Its cornucopia of images stimulates my creative side and occasionally it is a source of ideas for this blog. I have my own Boards on Pinterest where I pin images that I find interesting both the images of others and my own images.

Below are some transgender images that caught my eye today.

“ALICE - all boys”

Stilettos

“Boyfriend wearing my dress by theashleymartin on Flickr”

 

 
“Inadvertant Twins by prettysissydani on deviantART”

“My personal trainer, Csilla Javorszki”

 
“Pavel Arambula as a girl”

The Low-Down on Outreach

Next Thursday, I make my semiannual trip to Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven to do outreach at two Human Sexuality classes. The classes have about 30 students each and typically female students outnumber males about 5 to 1.

What is outreach?

It may mean different things to different people, but in my case, the outreach scenario is as follows:

There is a panel that may include male-to-female, female-to-male, post-op, pre-op, and no-op transgenders. I have been in panels where there were as few as two transgenders and as many as eight transgenders.

We each speak for about five minutes and tell our life stories in a nutshell. Then the students ask us questions.

The goal is educate the Human Sexuality class  about transgenders. My personal goal is to demonstrate to the students that transgenders are people just like them. Hopefully, our mini-biographies and our responses to the questions will help achieve those goals. The reactions of the students indicates that in much of the time, we are successful.

 

A femulator, circa 1970.

 

 

Wearing Andrew Marc.

Inspiration

The 50th anniversary of President Kennedy's assassination is coming up and the media is commemorating the event in many various ways. I was just 12-years-old at the time, but I was very political even then and JFK was my hero. I campaigned for him as best as a kid could and I was thrilled to see him in person both times he visited my hometown of Waterbury. JFK was my hero, but Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy was my idol. During that time, girls and boys with girlish inclinations were fascinated by the Jackie's beauty, style and grace. We all wanted to be just like her. I never wanted to grow up to be President, I wanted to grow up to be First Lady and I femulated her for Halloween one year. Jackie was not only a fashion plate, she was also a style-setter. I recall in 1967 that people were scandalized by a news photo of Jackie wearing a skirt that revealed about six inches of leg above the knee. How could a woman of her stature and a certain age (she was 38) dress like that? What a floozy! But next thing you know, everywhere you looked, fashionable women of a certain age were wearing skirts with hems hovering well above the knees. She was classy and elegant until the very end. What an inspiration!

 

Professional femulator Steven Brinberg as Barbra Streisand.

 

Wearing Yoanna Baraschi.

Nine Out of Ten Men Wear the Wrong Size Bra

BAND MEASUREMENT (the number)

Most men measure their ribcage under their breasts to get their band measurement. Double check this measurement by wrapping a tape measure snugly around your back, under your arms and across the top of your chest above your breasts. Because your ribcage expands and contracts as you breathe, taking both measurements will help you find your most comfortable fit.

CUP MEASUREMENT (the letter)

With your bra on, wrap a measuring tape around your back and across the fullest part of your breast. Don't pull too tight! To find your cup size, subtract your band measurement from this measurement.

If the difference is...

1 inch, you're an A cup
2 inches, a B cup
3 inches, a C cup
4 inches, a D cup
5 inches, a DD cup
6 inches, a DDD cup

So if your cup measurement is 39 inches and your band size is 36 inches, the 3 inch difference makes you a 36C.

If you are not sure about measuring yourself, you can have a professional fitting at an intimate apparel shop or in the lingerie department of a department store.

Your mileage may vary, but I have been fitted for bras in both girl mode and boy mode in both venues and have never been turned away. In fact, the women performing the fittings were very helpful and seemed pleased to have a male join their bra-wearing sorority.

If you are unsure about which bra-selling venue to seek out for a fitting, you can always call ahead and ask. Also, during the holiday season, guys shopping for intimate apparel gifts is common, so walking into a lingerie shop in boy mode is not that unusual this time of year.

May you have a good fitting and buy a bra to die for!

(Sources: thebracoach.wordpress.com, thatslifeladies.wordpress.com, www.maidenform.com)

 

 

 

Actor Gene/Jean Malin femulating in the 1933 film Arizona to Broadway.

 

 

 

Wearing Giorgio Armani.

Halloween Redux

Now that I had some time to think about my Halloween workday en femme, I want to share some thoughts.

I think one of my co-workers may be trans or a tranny chaser. Each time I have shown up at work en femme for Halloween, he has visited me for an inordinate amount of time to take in my costume. Other days, he never visits me except for work-related matters.

Another co-worker who I have known forever always keeps to himself and seldom speaks to me except to say "Hello" and even then, I always have to initiate the greeting and it seems that he has to think about it before he responds. This year, I was very surprised when he came to my cubicle and spoke to me profusely about my costume. Go figure.

Compared to last year, my workday en femme this year was anti-climatic. Some folks who took note of my "costume" last year, took my appearance in stride when they saw me this year. My take is:

• They are no longer surprised by my costume choice or

• They are getting used to seeing me en femme or

• They suspect I am trans, accept that I am trans and don't want to react as if anything was unusual.

Whatever the case, I think if I dropped the other high heel shoe and start working en femme on a regular basis, it would not be an issue at work.

 

 

 

A half dozen femulators dressing in period costumes.

 

 

 

Wearing Wow Couture.

It goes so well with my corset

 

Actor Jorge Enrique Abello femulating in Colombia television’s En los tacones de Eva, 2006.

 

Wearing Nightway.

Legging it out

Wife with husband femulating in the Beaufort Beauties Pageant.

Wearing Daily Look.

Male Beauty Queens

Tokyo’s Komaba High School is an all-boy’s prep school. That little detail did not prevent the school from holding a traditional beauty competition, the Miss Komaba High School Beauty Pageant, in which male students donned female finery to vie for the honor of being recognized as the most beautiful girl on campus.

Read all about it at Rocket News 24 and thank Aunty Marlena for passing the story along to the Femulate news desk.

Also, visit Facebook for more photos of this year’s pageant and last year’s pageant.

 

For Halloween 2013, fashion blogger Bryan Boy femulated as Vogue editor Anna Wintour.

 

Wearing Tahari Arthur S. Levine.