You may not have thought about it- but makeup actually does expire. I know, crazy at it sounds, but makeup does breakdown over time. Or sometimes, based on the type- it can become unsafe due to potential for bacteria buildup.

So what’s a girl to do? Sure you paid $60 for that bottle of Kat Von D or Marc Jacobs- but is it still good? Using expired makeup doesn’t do you any favors dearhearts. Yeah, you bought the good stuff. But if it’s past it’s prime, then it won’t work as well as it should. It’s time has passed.

Much like Eddie Murphy.

Damn, I wanted a leather jumpsuit.

I digress. Makeup has a shelf life, and thankfully makeup guru Wayne Goss is here to help us out.

And here is the cleaner that Wayne talks about:
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Can’t watch now, or want an easy to copy list? Here are some guidelines.

The Expiration Guidelines

Foundation

Water-based foundation lasts for up to a year and the more common form of oil-based, up to 18 months. The two different types will be clearly visible on the label.

Concealer

Has a shelf life of one year. Avoid using the concealer directly on the spot, as this can leave bacteria on the product and, when used elsewhere on the face, lead to further outbreaks. Instead use a short, pointed brush to dot the concealer over the spot, then clean the brush using Mac’s brush cleanser.

Powder

Lasts, in pressed form, up to 18 months with the loose variety lasting up to one year. Makeup sponges don’t need to be thrown out but they do need to be washed every week. Use soapy water and allow them to dry naturally before you place them back in the compact to avoid encouraging bacteria. But once a sponge has lost it’s original shape, smells off or is shredding at the edges, replace!

Blusher

Has a shelf life of one year. Over time, they get cakey and dried out, making them difficult to apply, so toss them! Cream blushers will last longer, as the pigment and oils preserve them.

Eye shadow

Has a shelf life of one to two years for both powder and cream formulations.

Lipstick and Lip Gloss

Both have a shelf life of up to two years. As with cream blushers, pigment and oils preserve lipsticks but if you get a cold sore while using one, throw it out immediately – the same goes for gloss. And if you use a lip brush, wash it twice a week with Mac’s brush cleanser.

Nail Polish

Lasts for up to a year or two years if stored properly.

Mascara

This is the product that got the short straw in the shelf life stakes – it needs to be replaced after a mere four months. Don’t share mascaras with friends – the wand harbours a host of bacteria that are naturally present on our eyelashes but can cause infections to others. If you have a stye or any other kind of eye infection replace your mascara immediately. Oh and NEVER SHARE MASCARAS!!

You can also make your mascara last longer by not double dipping and using disposable mascara brushes.

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Why should I care?

Always remember, this isn’t to get deeper in your wallet, it’s to make sure you get the highest quality. But more importantly, it’s to protect your health and avoid any infections.

Plus, these are just guidelines. It’s not like milk. If you take care sanitizing and keeping your makeup and brushes clean, as well as the other tips here- your investment will last.

Originally on Cosmopolitan.com
When Kelly – formerly known as boxing promoter Frank Maloney – strutted into the Celebrity Big Brother house recently, it was a bit of a first for the transgender community. Men choosing to live as a women has always existed, but by making such a public appearance in her new feminine get-up, Kelly helped to chip away at the ignorant view some people still have on the subject. We chatted to Jodie Lynn, a makeup artist who has dedicated her career to helping men reveal the woman within…

“I have been obsessed with makeup for as far back as I can remember.”

I loved the smell of it and the different shades and colours. My parents bought me one of those mannequin heads as a child and I virtually wore it out! I had a fascination with drag queens from a young age too – using makeup to switch genders seemed so powerful to me.”

“My clients vary in age from 15 to 96, from cleaners to politicians.”

There really is no trend in who transgenderism affects – Christians, Jews, Muslims… Everyone! The majority of my clients are living in the closet. Most of the time, nobody knows their secret apart from me. The transvestite clients normally live a heterosexual existence with a wife and family who have no idea that they have been sporadically dressing as a woman for years. They don’t wish to transition or change gender, they just have an overwhelming desire to dress as a female every so often. These clients will come to me for a makeover and a dressing-up session but they have to change back at the end and go back to their normal lives.

“There is no specific male-to-female makeup course.”

Instead, I went for lessons with an amazing transsexual woman called Pandora De’Pledge who sadly died a few years ago from cancer. Pandora had been one of the Barbettes (Transsexual waitresses and performers) at Madame Jo Jo’s back in the 1980’s. She was big, blonde and beautiful and could carve out a female face on any man and make them look amazing. Pandora taught me about the main differences between a male and female face and how to address these by using clever hi-lighting, contouring and shading. She was amazing and I will always be incredibly grateful for her invaluable advice.

“I own a London makeup studio called The Boudoir.”

I give my clients a makeover then take them out onto Oxford Street, Covent Garden and Knightsbridge. This is a whole new challenge for them as it involves them trying to “pass” in public. Rarely do we get stares, though. We go out as a group – have sat in the Royal Box at the theatre and attended over 10 Royal Ascots. We don’t do things by half and when we do it, we do it with style and dignity. I was recently offered the chance to buy a similar business in West Hollywood. London and LA are both fabulous places to be a transgender person – you can just blend in and enjoy your day.

“I don’t like wigs that look like wigs.”

I tend to use Noriko, Renee of Paris or Amore ones – they are all great quality synthetic. I love human hair wigs too but they need heat styling every time you wear them and for a lot of my clients who have to keep their wig hidden away, they just don’t have the time, patience or expertise to completely restyle a wig every time they wear it. I really like the gradient colour wigs with darker roots, especially in the blonde and lighter brown tones. The darker roots just make the wig look more real and for most of my girls, that is what it is all about.

“I have watched my clients break down and cry after their makeovers.”

Sometimes it’s the first time that they have ever seen themselves looking realistic as a female. It can be totally overwhelming and somewhat of a relief. It can also be quite frightening for them as it suddenly presents a whole world of possibilities that they never felt that they had before. One client who has now been successfully transitioned to female for the past five years said that when she first came to me, she was hoping that I would make her look horrible so that she could shelve all the feelings and then perhaps it would go away. When she saw how I made her look and more importantly, how it made her feel, her world turned upside down because she suddenly realized that her dreams to live as a woman were now a possibility.

JODIE LYNN’S TOP TIPS FOR TRANSGENDER MAKEOVERS

1. CONCEALING STUBBLE

“Heavy stubble can be disguised using a Red Mehron Paint Stick to neutralise the blue tones in the shadow, before using Kryolan TV Paint Stick over the top. This is theatrical makeup made to withstand the heat from theatre lights, so good for a person wearing a wig that’s stopping heat escaping from their head. For less heavy shadow I tend to use MAC Full Coverage or MAC Pro Longwear Foundation because of their durability. MAC are a very Transgender supportive company. Translucent powder is also crucial to set the foundation and stop it from lifting around the beard area.”

2. SHAPING EYEBROWS WITHOUT PLUCKING

“Eyebrows can be disguised and reshaped using eyebrow wax. The wax needs to be applied to the hairs that you want to disguise and leave the hairs behind that you want to create a nice arched shape with. Then you can apply foundation over the wax followed by a lighter coloured eyeshadow such as white or cream.”

3. CREATING FEMALE CONTOURS

“There are 18 structural differences between a male and female face, and I address this with very structured contouring. I shade MAC Bronzer in Golden Refined on the temples to slim the forehead down, the sides of the nose to reduce the width, the indent of the cheeks to make a sharper cheek bone, and the jaw line to round off and soften the typical square male jaw. I also highlight the top of the cheekbone, the middle of the nose, the middle of the forehead, the middle of the top lip, and the middle of the chin with a very light dusting of white eye shadow.”

4. PLUMPING LIPS

“Women generally have fuller lips than men, so I need to line the lips outside of their natural lip line, but without creating that sex doll look. I then fill in with a lipstick using a lip brush, powder over, dust away the excess and then reapply. This makes the colour stronger, prevents bleeding and helps the lipstick to stay on all night. I also add a small amount of white eye shadow to the middle of the bottom lip to give it a fuller appearance.”

Find out more at Jodie’s website for Le Boudoir.

Source
Author: Cassie Powney

1. Let Your Hair Down

It may seem that the answer to a more feminine look is long, luscious hair (rock it if you’ve have it!) however the secret’s actually in the hairline. A traditionally masculine hairline is lowest at the center and highest at the corners (think an ‘M’ shape for ‘male’) while a traditionally feminine hairline is much more evenly curved. To fake a female hairline, sweep your bangs across your forehead or tuck the front portion of your hair behind your ear Ariana Grande-style.

2. Raise your Brows

Everyone knows how important it truly is to keep the brows on fleek nowadays (should you need a little help, Audra has an awesome tutorial) and the right brow shape can instantly feminize your face. Natal females generally have higher brow bones than natal males, making a greater distance between the bottom of the brow and the eyelid. When grooming your brows, concentrate on the hair beneath your brow line and complete using a concealer or highlighter to brighten the area and exaggerate your eyelid.

3. Flaunt Those Lashes

It’s not a secret that we love to finish a great makeup look with butterfly lashes, and why not? Thick, dark lashes emphasize your beautiful eyes and convey a female flair to your face. If you want amazing lash-plumping recommendations, Audra has a great help guide to getting the falsies look without springing for all those Velour lashes.

4. Contour Lightly

Kim Kardashian has probably already inspired you to have fun with contouring, but ever thought about why we’re so obsessive about the contour craze? Traditional Kim K-eque contouring (darks around the perimeter, lights inside the center) is supposed to make a perfectly oval face, one that’s slightly longer than it is wide and gently rounded. In other words, the ultimate femme. It will take a little bit of experimenting to discover your ideal contour, but Cara can certainly help you with the basics!

5. Don’t Ignore Your Cheeks!

If your already-gorgeous face is long and flat, the center of a more feminine shape rests at the center for two main reasons:

First: A femme face boasts slightly fuller cheeks than the usual traditionally masculine face.

Second: A more masculine face features a larger distance between the bottom of the eye and the top of the jaw when compared to a feminine face.
A lovely peachy-pink blush along with a sweep of highlight over the first half of the apples of your cheeks (the part that shows up when you smile) is capable of doing absolute wonders. It will not only round out the middle of your face, but it’ll also distort the length of your face. Science!

6. Plump Your Lips

You don’t need to fake Kylie Jenner proportions to appear more feminine, but fuller lips is definitely an easy cheat. Just with the middle of the face, a more masculine face has a longer distance both between the tip of the nose and the top lip and between the bottom lip and the tip of the chin. It is possible to fake a fuller pout by (slightly!) overdrawing the shape of your lips with a fine-tipped lip pencil and finishing any lip look with a dot of highlight in the center.

If you want to get a close shave, grabbing the razor on the way out of bed is not the solution. First thing in the morning your skin is still a bit puffy from sleep. So give it 20-30 minutes for your skin to tighten back up to normal. You’ll get a closer shave because more of the hair follicle is exposed.

2. Prepare Your Skin

If you want a quick and guaranteed way to butcher your skin, just slap on some shaving cream on your dry, room temperature skin and take a razor to it. You will exfoliate your skin the wrong way, get more nicks, and oh yeah- it hurts like hell. Take a nice hot shower or wrap a hot moist towel around your face and neck for a few minutes before you shave. It softens the follicles, opens the pores, and give you a smoother surface to work with.

3. Moisture Matters

This one gets overlooked a lot. Your skin craves moisture, and I can almost guarantee you aren’t moisturizing enough. So, before you shave, take a few minutes and moisturize. Get in there and really let your skin soak it up. And don’t forget to moisturize after shaving. A great after-shave lotion should contain aloe vera.

4. EXFOLIATE! EXFOLIATE!

You should be exfoliating anyway, just because it makes your skin look better. But, it also helps reduce redness, razor bumps, and ingrown hairs. It does this by eliminating dead skin cells and giving you a closer shave and a cleaner surface that won’t trap hairs or get irritated.

5. Slow Down the Growth

There are thankfully some really good shaving cream products out there that help to slow hair growth. One is Aveeno’s Positively Smooth Shave Gel. Another is Dollar Shave Club’s Dr. Carver’s Pillowy Shave Lather. Both work to slow hair growth and give a much smoother finish.
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6. TECHNIQUE!

This is one that often gets overlooked. When it comes to the face, you might have seen the approach of all downstrokes on the face, and up strokes on the neck. The truth is, that isn’t going to give you the closest shave. You want to give your hair one to two passes (only one if your skin is sensitive) going with the “grain” or hair growth direction, and one that goes against it. Just gently rub your face and you will quickly be able to tell what direction that is.

7. All Shave and No Replacement Makes Jack a Dull Razor

It is a universal truth that the most dangerous blade, of any kind, is a dull one. You have to use more passes and more force to exert the same effort. It’s a losing game. So replace that blade every 2-3 times you shave. I know it gets more expensive, but if you want results and you don’t want to butcher yourself- it’s a necessary evil.

8. Choose Your Weapon

A good razor is core to a good shave. You want something that follows along your contours and glides easily on the skin. Many in the transgender community swear by the Gillette Sensor- which does work well. However I am also a fan of the “Venus” line of razors. I feel like they follow contours better.
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It is this thickening that makes your voice become deeper. Think of it like guitar strings- the thicker the string the lower the tone. For trans men, this means that HRT will alter your voice and give you a more traditionally masculine voice. Unfortunately, no amount of estrogen or testosterone blocking will skinny up your vocal chords. It’s one of the sad truths about HRT for transgender women- we just don’t experience as many physical changes as trans men do.

There are surgeries that you can undergo to attempt to change your voice, but these can be risky and are most certainly expensive. Luckily, however, you can train your voice to become more “feminine” by altering your pitch, tone, and speech pattern. It isn’t a quick or easy fix, but it has worked for countless trans women and it can work for you. These are the techniques that have been used long before we had the alternatives of surgery. No matter where your voice is now, no matter how deep, you can make headway. Now, you won’t go from Barry White to Mariah Carey- let’s be honest here. However, you will see a difference if you put in the work.

Here, the beautiful and prolific Stef Sanjati goes over the exercises and practices she has employed over the last year for voice training and displays the results comparing her own voice over the course of a year.

Just remember, it’s more than pitch. Talking like Mickey Mouse isn’t going to accomplish your goal. You need to keep in mind pitch, tone, and flow (speech patterns)- it is only in altering all three that you will get the results you want.

One final note, please keep in mind what Stef says in her video. It is important that you are doing this for the right reasons. Don’t do it because you feel obligated, or because you think it is expected. Do it because it is something you want and it will help you to feel more complete. As with every stage of transition, do voice training because it is what you want.

Check out Stef’s YouTube Channel for more great videos.

Thankfully, there are a wealth of tutorial videos out there.

Sinead Cady, and her YouTube channel- The Makeup Chair, have been putting out makeup tutorials for years. She covers many basic concepts and skills that are vital to really master the art of makeup.

So here are a few of our favorites that we think will give you a solid base. Some may seem simple and much less than you might want or need to do. However it is in learning these basic concepts and skills that you are able to master more advanced techniques.

1. Eye Makeup Basics and Tips

2. Highlighting and Contouring in 5 Steps

3. Eyeliner in 5 Steps

4. Day-Time Smokey Eyes

5. Flawless Foundation in 5 Steps

We turn to outstanding makeup artist and educator Wayne Goss, who has an incredible YouTube channel, to learn how he hides large pores and gives you a smoother and cleaner finish to your makeup.

The idea is pretty straight forward, you apply your foundation as normal, the trick is in how you finish it. Beware that if you have very dry skin this can cause micro exfoliation so you will want to make sure you thoroughly moisturize.

Combined with moisturizers and a good primer, you will be on track to a smoother more flawless finish to your makeup.

Just beware, you don’t want to go overboard and make yourself look like a mannequin. Makeup should never make you look like the Energizer family.

So here is the video from Wayne Goss himself. Let us know what you think about this technique, give it a try and see how it works for you.

You can find many more videos from Wayne Goss on his YouTube channel.

However, with some practice and these tips, you are sure to be strutting like a pro in no time.

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