You can’t apply your makeup while standing over the sink with inadequate lighting and expect your makeup to look great in sunlight, or when you’re out for the evening. Gina Jet Ortiz says good lighting is of prime importance when applying makeup. What looks good in the bathroom won’t look the same way when you move to other light sources. She has some suggestions on proper lightin
Part two of Mixing It Up tells you how to mix colors of eyeshadow and blush to create new looks. If you are happy with your color pallette and don’t want to experiment with makeup art, fine. But, if you want to explore and go down the color mixing route Gina provides the road map.
Gina Jet Ortiz says there’s no need to toss out makeup products that don’t look right on you when you get them home. They looked great in the store’s fluorescent lights but awful in your vanity’s mirror. Gina says you can adjust the color of your makeup, just like an artist, using other colors to adjust how the makeup looks. Today is Part 1 of Mixing it Up: How to Customize Your Makeup.
Our professional makeup artist Gina Jet Ortiz says not all makeup is appropriate everywhere and learning what should and should not be done is an essential part of gaining makeup experience. Day makeup is more subdued, while night makeup is dark and more intense. You don’t have to start all over to go from day to night. You can “intensify” the makeup you’re already wearing. Gina Jet tells you how.
The question is, should you be using primer? We’re not talking about a base coat you used when you repainted the bathroom. We’re talking about using a primer before you apply foundation to the canvas of your face. Primers can make a big difference, smoothing fine lines, filling pores, and mattifying for a more fab look. Gina Jet Ortiz explains the differences between the many primer products available and helps you figure out what works for you.
Gina Jet Ortiz joins our New Content today with a lesson on neutral eyeshadows and lipcolors. What are you supposed to do with muted neutral or “nude” colors? Gina says “Browns, tans, taupes, and beiges play an important role in makeup application because they represent shading.”
If you go out and about while presenting as a female you may have run into situations concerning your makeup that require repair. Eating something greasy, like fries, can remove your lip color. Dancing after in the evening after a long day in your morning makeup, or kissing, can result in your makeup needing a fix. Gina Jet Ortiz reccomends always having 10 items in your handbag that are necessary for makeup, and other, repair jobs while you’re away from home.
Today Gina helps you find the best way to apply your foundation. She discusses the different methods and the pros and cons of brushes and sponges. Even if you’re pretty comfortable putting on your foundation give Gina’s post a read. You might find a technique or tool that makes your application easier.
Today Gina Jet Ortiz introduces us to the dazzling world of lip colors. From lipstick to lip gloss, and matte lips to lip liner and liquid lip color, Gina covers it all and helps you to decide what you should wear on your lips for any occasion.
Today professional makeup artist Gina Jet Ortiz tells you what items you should have in your makeup kit. From silicone blenders to synthetic and natural brushes to tiny scissors and pointy cotton swabs, Gina lays out the tools you need to do basic makeup or move up to a full glamor look.
Parts 1 through 5 have detailed Deborah’s life, from crossdressing in secret in Ireland, the move to London, and the immigration to the USA. All of her experience learning the feminine arts served to educate her in the ways of a lady. Wishing to share what she learned Deborah and her wife Sierra opened Sierra Studios near Tampa, Florida. Today Deborah writes about everything they provide to guys wanting a femme transformation.
When you decide that you want to wear makeup, have smoky eyes and red, pouty lips you can learn fairly fast that there are thousands of brands of every kind of makeup you can imagine. At a time like that, when you’re faced with not only learning to apply the products but trying to figure out which products are good, it’s time to seek out the advice of a professional makeup artist. One like Gina Jet Ortiz. Today she leads you through the crowed field of mascara, telling you how each brand enhances your lashes.
What is your skin type? Is it oily? Dry? A mix of the two? How can you improve the health of your skin? These are all questions that Gina “Jet” Ortiz answers in this post on the basics of skincare. Even if you think lack of care has affected your skin negatively Gina’s advice can rejuvenate a damaged dermis.
Do your wrinkles and pores look more prominent after you’ve applied your makeup? Do you think makeup makes you look older? If you’ve answered “yes” to either of these questions, then it’s not your imagination. And it’s no your foundation. Get some options from professional makeup artist Gina “Jet” Ortiz that will keep you looking good all night long.
It’s summer and in some areas too much summer! How do you go about your business and be beautiful throughout the hot days and humid nights? Gina Jet Ortiz has a list of tips for keeping your cool, and your glamor, in place on your face.
Those in the trans community who have worked to develop their makeup skills often become comfortable with the techniques they first used to create their “look”. Beard cover is one example. Many years ago crossdressing influencers (social media is not the only way influencers exert their influence) advocated for the lipstick method of covering beard shadow. Our founder JoAnn Roberts even put the process in her book on makeup. (Art & Illusion.) Professional makeup artist Gina-Jet Ortiz joins TGF today to explain just why using lipstick to disguise beard shadow is not a good idea.
Pauline Estelle blogs about her personal makeup regimen. If you’ve been wearing makeup to enhance your feminine look then you most likely have your way to appling paints and powder. Those just starting out may need some ideas about how to approach the makeup process. See if Pauline’s process helps you find your own.
In the seventies and eighties men in makeup were far from the norm. Bands like T-Rex, Kiss or The New York Dolls used it to attract fans but other than showbiz examples only a few fashion designers promoted the idea of men wearing makeup. Fast forward to the present day and thanks to the internet and young people who are more accepting of fashion trends that break the old norms men in makeup are all over the web doing makeup tutorials and demonstrating products on their own faces. Meet some of the “beauty boys”.
Guest contributor Jessica Blackler, founder of Jecca Blac and makeup artist for the trans community, gives her recommendations on how to do one of the most importnat steps in male to female transformation — prepping your face and covering beard shadow.
Claire Hall is surviving the Covid-19 pandemic like many other folks. She is able to work from home most of the time and still attends many meetings everyday. What’s different about those meetings is that they now take place via the internet and the attendees are all on her computer screen as tiny people in stacked boxes. After many months of working this way Claire’s attention to her beauty routine had started to slip. After all, she’s wearing a mask much of the time. Who needs lipstick? Read on and find if she managed to get her groove back.
Given our Chicago correspondent’s home situation isolating at home has meant no feminine activities. She hasn’t put on makeup in three months and she fears that when she is finally able to paint and primp she may have forgotten how it’s done. To fight that feeling Julie has written her blog on her beautification process. If she can remember all the steps after three months she will stop worrying about losing the knowledge. And she posts a blog filled with her makeup tips!
Pauline Estelle shares her tips on how to get a good result from your makeup application. She outlines her steps to a beautiful look, from preparing her skin to applying lipstick that will last all day. Pauline the methods she finds best for her but you are encouraged to experiment and build on her tips to find what works best for you. Ready to start your lesson? Dive into Pauline’s blog and get ready to learn.
It’s a special day that comes but once a year. It’s not Christmas or Easter, or National Talk Like a Pirate Day. We’re talking about National Lipstick Day! How did we all develop such an attraction to ruby red lips? Angela Gardner did a little research on the subject and learns that painting the lips to enhance attraction has been going on for thousands of years. Ancient Sumerians did their lips with crushed gemstones like some kind of antediluvian drag queens. More recently actresses, and actors, in the early cinema and theater used lip coloring to make themselves more present on stage or screen. Take a quick trip back in time for the history of the sexiest cosmetic on this National Lipstick Day!
There is one very important room in Pauline’s house. It the guest room bathroom. That’s where the important process of transforming into Pauline takes place. In this post Pauline writes about all the steps she goes through in her transformation bathroom. From shaving all body hair to her technique for shaving her face and the steps she takes in makeup application, it’s all here in today’s post.
Back in the day, 1997 to be exact, TGForum would run product reviews by TGF readers. (We will do that today if you have any products you would like to let readers know about.) One such reviewer was Diane Barker who evaluated a temporary facelift kit called Secret Lift from a company in California. The company, CosmeSearch, Inc., is still in business and selling their products over the web. Read Diane’s review of the product and decide if it will work for you.
This is a Retro Rerun from the TGForum Archives. Stacy B. Haven wrote an article for our Mirror Mirror feature on how to do your makeup. It appeared on our website in 1997. Good advice is timeless though and her thought’s from the 20th century are still applicable today for the crossdresser or trans woman who wants to look her best.
