Makeup essentials..what to buy?

[Anonymous]

DONT buy cheap makeup, not good idea.
SATIN brand of cosmetic , a lower price, and reasonable good.
FOUNDATION, is very important, maybalene seems to be a good mid priced range.
but cosmetics vary, like skin, you have to try diiferent things to see wat is best.
if you have a fem friend, ask them for advice.
also i read some ware ,a makeup book for young girls,learning how to use makeup is good for newbe cd’s
there are a lot of cosmetic brands out there, hit and mis , re wat is good for you.
dont be affraid to ask a consultant at a chemist or Myer/ David jones store.
they are only to happy to help you.
shop assistants will go out of their way to help us, you will be very surprised,.
always say stuff is for you when you buy stuff, they know anyway
ok hope this helps
jessica

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your response Jessica and the link to the site . Everything is slowly falling into place.
Cin

[Anonymous]

Try Cosmetics Basket at Wentworthville in Sydney.

They sell end of line makeup from all manfactureers so you’ll get L’Oreal and Max Factor and Rimmel for a fraction of the price.

Mind you – it’s all still expensive in Aus compared to other parts of the world. I’ve been going on a glut f makeup buying.

Prestige if you can find it is great for EyeShadow they have an amazing range of stay hard colours.

Get a GOOD Mascara too. L’Oreal or Maxfactor. Anything else is marginal.

A cheap “many colour” eye shadow kit is fine, just don’t expect magical results, they are thin, dusty and rub off easy, whereas the Prestige stay fast, hold their brilliance all day and no shortage of colours to work with in mixing and blending.

Oh and if you haven’t had lots of artistic experience do NOT get a liquid eye linrer – and NEVER put liquid eye liner on the lower lid.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Ella, good advice and very much appreciated. I will do some shopping next time I’m in Sydney

Cin

[Anonymous]

One area you cannot save money is foundation. As the saying goes “CoverGirl does not cover boy”.

the main reason is our skin texture, beard issues and body chemistry. To overcome that we need a good foundation.

The best I’ve found are:
Shiseido Stick – about $60-70
Max Factor Stick and Revlon Colorstay – about $30 – 40
MAC – about $40 – 60 depending on choice.

Buying a $25 foundation is a waste of money and will only disappoint.

Most female makeup counter assistants know almost nothing about makeup on male skin. It is worthwhile going to the MAC counter and asking one of the male assistants if he has ever done drag and ask for his recommendations. MAC is another brand that is very very good for us.

Makeup counter ladies are very good however for colour matching (female eyes differentiate colour better than male eyes), so if you choose Shiseido for instance, ask the assistant to colour match it for you – and to recommend a blush that will compliment your skintone also. You don’t have to take their brand of blush but blush and foundations are chemically matched and don’t affect each other with colour change etc, as some combinations can.

Beard cover is sometimes a problem, but the above foundations will cover beard adequately. Just apply in thin layers to build up the coverage.

As a friend said, better to look like a woman with too much foundation than a man with not enough.

It’s also good to keep an eye on the ‘gift with purchase’ promotions. Especially Revlon and Estee Lauder.

Google ‘Paula Begoun Cosmetics Cop’ and you will find a site with very accurate reviews of most brands and makeup. Very helpful in finding good quality choices and separating the hype. If you are a webshopper, her products are very good and you can buy ‘sample sizes’.

Good luck

Amanda

[Anonymous]

Hi Cindy,

One thing that I can definitely say is worth getting without a doubt is some Dermablend foundation. I have a reasonably dark beard ( yuk!) and Dermablend covers perfectly!
I agree with the other girls that buying cheap is not the way to go…but having said that you can get some great bargains on quality products on ebay ( thats where i bought the Dermablend )+ it’s a great way to shop….just bought some lovely tops on ebay, but thats another story!!!
good luck with the makeup!

Kelly

[Anonymous]

I’d like to put in a vote for Ultima II Wonderwear foundation, from the Revlon counter. That stuff is fantastic. I couldn’t live without it. Well, maybe I could, but life would be less fun. 😉 Not cheap, however.

Cheers,

Simone.

[lee]

I have found that Revlon ColorStay works for me for a short period but a fter a few hours I find that some beard shadow occurs-but quite ok and quick to apply for around home use.
If I go out for an event-which isnt often enough-I use Kryolan TV Paint stick foundation which lasts really well with no beard shadow “showthrough”‘.
I have found that using moisturiser underneath does make it shiny fairly quickly though so carrying some powder in my handbag is a must-I use the matching Kryolan powder.
I havent been able to source Kryolan products in Tasmania yet but have found it at The Stage Shop in Adelaide-3 Leigh St-just a block or two south of North Terrace
Hope this info helps…………..

[Anonymous]

Quote:

Hi all!

Does anyone know of any websites you can buy cosmetics from? I am still way too shy/not confident enough to buy from shops so buying online is my only choice at the moment

Thanks!

Ebay is a good starting point if you are after a bargin, there are many Ebay cosmetics stores. Just do a search on that site for make up.

If you want some high quality cosmetics you can go to Mac http://www.maccosmetics.com.au Be aware its expensive, you pay for the quality and their products sell for half the Australian prices in the US.

Another site I have purchased from is Cherryculture http://www.cherryculture.com They sell many brands incl NYX cosmetics, the quality is very good and very cheap but they are based in the US they charge US$20 for international shipping on any quantity. I can assure you if you buy enough the shipping does pay for itself in what you save on their products.

I know what its like to be fearful of going up to cosmetics counters as I used to have this fear. I can assure you 99% of all make up counters are CD friendly as they are only want to sell their product. They don’t care who too. These days I purchase most of my make up in person, I always tell them its for me and I CD. You get much better service and better advise if your honest. I do usually buy foundation in male mode as its easier to match me as I am not already wearing make up.

[Anonymous]

Quote:

Hi all!

Does anyone know of any websites you can buy cosmetics from? I am still way too shy/not confident enough to buy from shops so buying online is my only choice at the moment

Thanks!

Strongly recommend you buy yourself a foundations Palette with about 16 colours shades on it so you can match your skin tones.

Just buying any random cosmetic is going to cause you problems both with blending brands as well as matching colours.

When you pick your concealer, make sure it’s got a suitable matching foundation.

Don’t buy cheap makeup if you want to look good for several hours. Those $11.99 200 colour eye shadows are a complete waste of time (unless you are in theater or film and can touch up between scenes and shots)

Also avoid what looks like a ‘slightly cheaper’ mixed palette cause usually they are a cheap mix of products that save you $1 over the brand quality products but no where near as good.

My best advice is go and see a professional makeup artist in your area. You don’t have to say anything about being trans if you don’t want to, just say you want to get your colours and some expereince cause you are doing a short film in a few weeks.

Of course if you find a Trans Friendly makeup artist (and I’m yet to meet one that is NOT) you’ll can be totally open and the artist will have a lot more fun with you – I think that’s more of a warning Hehehe

Once you know your colour palette you can buy what you want from where you want.

I see too many girls trying to pas with badly mixed makeups and incorrect colours. Oh I see GG’s who wear foundation around the center of their face and they look weird!

And a really good hint for emergency covering up of muzzle shadow is to belend on first some red lipstick over the muzzle area. The red mixes with the dark colour of the shadow and lightens the blue hues into a more pink. Once you have done that some translucent powered to set the layer. Then add your foundation (matching your cheeks nd forehead and neck) and again set this with translucent powered.

After that you should have a perfectly coloured and smooth looking face

If you have heave muzzle surface, like where the hair folicals are under the skin and its still a bit rough, get a really waxy concealer and apply like a plaster foundation, blend it in really well with your normal skin so it more o less fills the crevices. Skin will still breath with a proper high quality concealer and you will get a nice even smooth look.

MaxFactor have a great range of concealers that are very stable, don’t melt and sweat and allow you to breath.

Finally, if anyone is serious about makeup products, since moving between the USA and the UK regularly Ive found that the product range and quality is superior to the products purchased in Australia. Sure I can get Revlon, L’Oreal and Maxfactor – and I’m often down the road from MAC too, as well as DremaColour But the range is incredibly superior and the prices seem a lot more reasonable, plus I get discounts and bonuses when I buy from some laces.

I even found an eyeshadow range that isn’t in Australia and it beats the skirt off any of the other brands – especially when you go for the golds, bronzes and skin tone colours. They stay on for ages and they stay alway fresh looking! Not cheap as single colour pots, but they last for ages!

I’ve also found Blush from a specialty store in the UK is magical. It lasts ten time longer in the pot that any brand Ive ever bought before – I use to go through a pot a month or two, I’m not even affecting this pot and I’ve had it since Feb! It’s got a long way to go – comes in a great range of colours, is about $10 and it STAYS ON!!!!

SO if you want something or a bulk purchase, e-mail me with your needs and I’ll get some pricing and postage costs.

[Anonymous]

Quote:

Wow I am sooo in over my head! I can see there is going to be a lot to learn

You aren’t kidding! Glamor Makeup Courses start at around $395 for a 12 week course, nWedding Makeup Course is one night a week for 6 weeks and costs around $300 as well, FILM and TV makeup are year long (or more) for thousands of dollars – and then you can do SFX makeup, prosthetics and so on – give your face a TOTAL make over with latex molds and REALLY become perfect and for a hell of a lot less than FFS!

Once you learn these skills you have a marketable skill set that is in high demand. In the UK a Makeup Course not including Film, TV, and Prosthetics is twice a week for 12 weeks and costs £3000 – that’s like $8000. Woah! But, the outcome is, well, magic.

Makeup is Art, like painting and drawing and sculpture all combined. Most people just stuff on some base coat, a bit of powered and chuck on lippy, but if you want results that no one will notice, or will really notice, you have to really learn the chemistry, Colours and Products.

Like if you really want a great smooth skin look (especially if you have string beard shadow) then get some silicon primer and – voila – gone. Perfectly smooth skin, soft and sleek and looks perfectly natural.

It really is worth learning, but if you choose to do a course – remember they are not all alike. Some are people who can’t really earn an income doing makeup cause they aren’t good enough, teaching anyone who will pay their slightly lower rate. So check out the vendor fully and make sure the $345 you are paying isn’t a $120 two hour basis, over the $395 all bells and whistles.

Quote:

A big thanks to both of you for the help, what I might do is wait until I move to Newcastle at the end of this year and then visit a CD friendly place in Sydney and get some help there. Unfortunately Darwin isnt the easiest place in the world to be a CD as there is very little up here in terms of help and support

Heaps in Darwin! You aren’t looking! I know a dozen TS girls up there and there are makeup specialists there – especially with all the filming of Speilberg/Hanks “The Pacific”

Take a look around – open eyes!

[Anonymous]

Cindy, it’s Peta here I’m still a new member but just an idea. Do what I did, I went into a Napoleon Perdis store when they were a bit quiet and had a chat. The result, best thing I’ve ever done. They were a great group of people and did not have a problem talking to me and helping out with my problem areas, even did makeup for the Rocky Horror night. Just a tip though, I went to an actual shop rather than a counter in the middle of the aisle just to give a bit of privacy, we girls aren’t quite what you call mainstream society

---

yet. Peta.

[Anonymous]

Good advice, Peta, I was with Amy when she went serious makeup shopping for the first time and we stumbled across Chanels products in David Jones, not cheap but they made a dramatic change to Amy’s appearance, sitting down with a good cosmetics technician and trying and re trying is the best way to save a bundle in my opinion.

I’ve been the MAC route and while I love their eye shadows and lipsticks and powders, their supposed highest coverage foundations slide off my face in anything like warm weather, just a tip.

[Anonymous]

for anyone still trying to come to grips with getting make up right, for $120, you can enrol in a 1.5 hour make up class and have the fee off set against product from their shop. they have shops located in

Brisbane CBD 07 3220 1505
Doncaster 03 9848 1411
Melbourne Central 03 9654 9422
Paddington 02 9361 3110
Prahran 03 9521 1626
South Melbourne 03 9699 3629
Sydney Central 02 9231 2500

http://www.gorgeouscosmetics.com

i don’t work for them or have any shares in their shops, so i am unbiased … but their products are good and their eyelashes are something to die for!

go make an appointment (and don’t be shy … they want to sell product, not stare or ogle at you)!

[Anonymous]

Quote:

Wow I am sooo in over my head! I can see there is going to be a lot to learn

Wow, exactly what I was thinking. There is so much to learn, but it’s also so much fun practising.

Thank you for a great thread.

Tash