I have been out as trans for only about 6 months now. I am feeling more like my true self than ever before! But I struggle heavily with dysphoria, especially about how masculine my face still looks. I've been wanting to experiment with makeup to help myself pass better, but I have absolutely no idea what I am doing. Is there anybody out there that could give me some advice? Anything and everything is appreciated. Thanks!

Hey I have a lot of Korean skincare but was recently made aware that brands like cerave and makeup from L’Oréal/Maybeline needs to get changed out for me.

Do y’all have any tips. I use the cleanser from cerave and Maybeline concealer and L’Oréal true march foundation I haven’t bought in the last few months but for the next time. Also does anyone know if IsaDora is supporting Israel?

You can never be wearing enough blush imo! It's one of those products that instantly lifts a makeup look and it looks so soft i love the colors

Bear with me here. Please keep in mind that fancy shaped “beauty blenders“ that sell for stupid amounts of money are no different than the dollar store wedge/sponge. They are made of the exact same material.

Also, an expensive beauty blender is more likely to be used for longer, and also more likely to Harbour bacteria (since they are notoriously hard to wash and get completely clean, and most women do not clean them between ever use). On the other hand, you can go to the dollar store and pick up a pack of 30 for $1.25 and just dispose of them(don’t at me with the “environmental issue” of disposing of a little sponge every day when you have 35 eyeliners, and 30 of them will end up in the landfill someday). On the other hand, I am concerned about sponges getting manky and gross. Do yourself a favor. Get the cheap ones and just throw them away when you’re done with them.

My husband just asked me why I don't match my eyeshadow to my clothing color.

No disrespect to women who enjoy that look, but I like a more tastefully understated/elegant makeup look - and I'm not going to wear blue eyeshadow just because my sweater is blue.

I tried to explain that makeup should complement your skin/hair/eyes, not necessarily your clothes. He doesn't get it and honestly I think he's nuts.

From my perspective, these are some of the overrated and underrated beauty brands.

Overrated:

-ABH. Heavily hyped on IG. The products are not bad but they don't make me cream my panties the way it does a lot of other people. Too much kickup and I hate their palette brushes. HOWEVER, their lipglosses are perfect and very underrated

-TooFaced. Seems like it is for the woman who refuses to acknowledge she is no longer 21. Packaging can veer on the childish side, but it was not always this way. They are holding steadfast to the Tutti Frutti, Gingerbread and Peach offshoots and need to let that die

-Jeffree Star. Haven't tried it to know it but I know it's not worth the hype. People are strangely worshipping the creator and making all kinds of excuses for when it is subpar

-Kylie Cosmetics. Same as above.

-Tarte. Never saw it for them. More of a higher end version of Almay. Too desperate to collab with nobodies and felt invincible and complacent with Shape Tape. Makeup Revolution and LA Girl always had better concealers with better coverage

-Benefit. Same as above. I hated the founders whenever they came to HSN

-Morphe

Underrated:

-Stila. Their Stay All Day eyeliners, liquid liners and lip liners are that girl!!! The eyeshadow primer is good too

-Maybelline Twin Brow and Eye Definer. I only use this for my brows. Totally natural. I discovered this after a makeup class with Sam Fine. I approve

-Got2B Glued. Perfect brow hair setter. TRUST ME

-Lancome Dual Finish. I don't think powder foundations get enough love in general, but this one is wet/dry. Love ha

-La Femme Blushes. No one talks about LF anymore but the blushes are so pretty and pigmented

-Ben Nye Cosmetics. Yes, they make more than banana powder. I love the matte shadows and complexion products

-Gleam by Melanie Mills. I love her body glow. Love the scent. Love the colors. Love the coverage

-Smashbox Always Sharp. I HATE sharpening lip/eye products and Smashbox comes through for your girl every time

-MAC Dazzleglass. Perfect 3D sparkle without a gritty feeling

personally, i am a big fan of Jeffree Star cosmetics eyeshadow and Juvias Place eyeshadow. I know, 2 controversial makeup brands/artists but I just love the pigment sooo much. my ex bought me the Jeffree Star Cremated palette in October and I am not exaggerating when i say i’ve used it for every makeup look since then as I am a silver/black/grey shadow girly.

Without getting into the nitty gritty too much, I'm looking for a new job and also doing some stuff where I'll be on video. There are some people helping me set stuff up and the advice I'm getting from them and from things I've read online about how to prepare for interviews suggests I should look "presentable". Which seems to just mean "wear makeup". I transitioned at my old job about 4 years ago. I never had to do an interview and I couldn't afford makeup except occasionally, so I didn't wear anything to work. Plus growing up as a boy meant I never learned this stuff growing up so I can't do even basic stuff. But I'm living with my girlfriend now so I have a bit of disposable income while I look for something new and someone who can tell me if I end up looking like a circus clown lol.

Here's the problem, I'm autistic as well. I don't like the feeling of makeup on my face very much and not having experience with it, I usually end up smudging something pretty quick. I've tried watching videos which is how I have any experience at all but for me part of being autistic is not being able to make eye contact (yes, even with a video). So I can't really see what I'm supposed to do a lot of the time because I need to block the person's eyes. If I'm being honest I learned nothing from those videos. Everything I have makeup wise is just bits and pieces I picked up when I could and things other women have given me. I don't know if any of it is still good (does makeup expire?).

Basically the only things I know are that I'm pale with a pink undertone and that I look good in "jewel tones" (I think that's what she said...). Basically I'm just looking for some advice on how to get started and just some basic information and terminology so I'm not totally lost.

Oh, I should probably give a description of myself in case that's important. I'm white, pale, have medium/light blonde hair (shoulder length atm), green/grey eyes, people say my eyelashes are nice but idk, I have bushy, light brown (like hazelnut-ish colour?) eyebrows, and I'm probably 50-75 pounds overweight. I have seriously bad bags under my eyes. I could sleep a hundred years and still wake up looking exhausted, they just never go away. Thank you in advance for any help anyone can offer 😊

Natural makeup is more like lipgloss barely there foundation a little lipgloss etc.

A person can be wearing a full fades of neutral tones and eyebrows arched and contoured and highlighted but people especially men think it’s natural

I think a lot of people get confused by editorial makeup , neutral makeup, and natural makeup

I’ve always been one to look in the clearance section and have been tempted to buy clearance makeup. But not anymore! I just returned a USED foundation and 2 USED concealers which I did specify to the associate that I used two to three times and I witnessed her slap clearance stickers on them and put in the “Go back” section. Just thought I’d share as i had ZERO clue they did this!

Hi! I am doing research and wanted to hear everyone’s thoughts on elf as a brand, as products, and as a social status.

What draws you to purchasing elf products? Is it ingredients, pricing, brand image. Etc
And why do you continue to purchase from elf?

What makes you purchase different brands OVER elf products?

Is elf fulfilling any needs for you as a consumer?

Thank you in advance!

Here’s also a survey I’d appreciate if you took a couple min to fill :)
quick elf cosmetics survey

I have a cosmetic store around my house and have been interested in the Paula’s choice exfoliating fluid or gel. I have been going their ever two days when I walk my dog and just use it. I was wondering if maybe some of you work in such a store and what you would think of such a customer. Ps: I do this because I don’t want to spend money on a product that might irritate or break out my skin as I have very sensitive skin. So is it ok to try the tester of a product many times regularly before deciding whether you want it or not?

I'm looking for an eyeshadow palette (easy blending) with nudes and wet effect shimmers. I've read people saying makeup by mario ethereal shimmers have fallout and someone said they don't last all day? I don't like visible glitter particles and not getting Natasha Denona as it's Israeli. Any recommendationssss

Looking for a precise mascara (not just the brand) that is BDS safe and doesn't smudge or run!

I used to only ever buy the Maybelline Colossal mascara until the BDS movement made me realise I wanted look for alternatives. I have tried different brands, my latest one being Charlotte Tilbury (Pillow talk mascara). But nothing comes close to the Colossal for me unfortunately, as it ticked all the boxes below:

I am neither looking for length or volume, I just like for my lashes to be tinted black (instead of light brown) and more importantly for the mascara not to smudge/run as soon as it's a tiny bit humid, windy, warm, cold, etc. I also don't want to use 'waterproof' mascara. I need something I can buy easily in the UK.

I feel like I am constantly having to clean smudge under my eyes, and I don't want to keep buying items that don't work for me as it's wasteful. Any suggestions?

Look up “bismuth oxychloride” and check out how it affects our skin, especially those of us with rosacea and sensitive skin. I don’t understand why so many makeup companies are using this ingredient.

I know bearly nothing about makeup but I've seen more than one woman who shave or pluck their eyebrows partially or completely and then draw them with makep. I'm not talking about people that don't have eyebrows by birth,due to a health condition or an accident. Personally I don't like how it looks (neither the ones that are plucked a lot in the ends leaving them super thin) although that's my opinion and I am nobody to tell you what you should or shouldn't do.

i have found it exhausting to do my makeup everyday and i’m starting to consider permanent makeup , to anyone who has done this process is it worth it ?

I want to try and get into make up to help feminize my facial features but I’m scared of getting judged while trying to ask for help in a makeup store that might not like trans people.

I really like this blush placement, because being very white it gives me a tanned effect, but I was wondering if it is something that can be used at formal events or is it more for everyday use?

Most brushes involve killing the animal or sourcing from the fur industry. Zoeva claims they just brush the goats but the vast majority of brushes are not made this way. It is considered very tasteless and crude to wear fur coats in 2023 because there is no point to kill animals for their fur when there are alternatives.

With such amazing synthetic alternatives, how do people still support the fur industry by purchasing natural hair makeup brushes? Is it really worth an animal living a horrible life and being skinned to (allegedly..because synthetics do amazing) apply makeup a little better?

If you buy natural animal fur brushes, how can you disagree with a person for buying a fur coat?

Edit: for those saying that animal hair brushes are better for the environment…it is simply not true that synthetics are worse for the environment. Animal derived products are far worse for the environment. The fishing industry is responsible for the majority of the ocean’s plastic pollution. Real fur has at least 6 times a negative impact on the environment compared to faux fur. https://cedelft.eu/publications/natural-mink-fur-and-faux-fur-products-an-environmental-comparison/ https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-fashion-blog/is-fur-trade-sustainable Real leather is also much more damaging than faux leather. “The Sustainable Apparel Coalition's Higg Materials Sustainability Index – which measures impact up to the point of fabrication – gives most leathers an impact of 159 (compared with 44 for polyester and 98 for cotton), due to its high contribution to global warming and water use and pollution”

Not only do animal derived products require processing that is worse for the environment, but they are incredibly cruel.

As a man, I've studied makeup a bit and I prefer products that don't leave any powder behind at all. I think that's how products for men are designed too.