Female To Male Makeup

Female To Male Makeup

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(Image credit: Joseph Harwood/YouTube)

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Ask most makeup artists, and they’ll probably say that the beauty industry is officially super inclusive, because look! There are male beauty ambassadors! And look! We have some dark…ish…foundation shades! And though, yes, the industry has come a significantly long way in the last few years, there are still some noticeable gaps, namely in that of transgender beauty.
“If you’re just at the start of your transition, it can be quite difficult to navigate makeup and beauty tutorials online, since the majority aren’t really created with a masculine face in mind,” says YouTube vlogger (opens in new tab) Joseph Harwood, a two-spirited, transgender makeup artist who’s known for transforming himself into celebrities (opens in new tab) using only makeup, while also acting as a voice for the transgender community (opens in new tab) and documenting his own personal journey through feminization surgeries (opens in new tab) .
“If you’re not on hormones, and you haven’t had facial feminization, which is when a doctor uses hydrophilic fillers to build female fat pads in your face, then your makeup process will be focused more on downplaying your masculine features, which isn’t as obvious as you might think,” he says. “Aside from obvious bone structure differences, even fat is in a different distribution pattern in women than in men, so there are so many facets that come into play when you’re doing your makeup.” But rather than leave you to your own devices to hunt through a billion YouTube videos, we got Harwood to break down the five most helpful makeup tips for transitioning women, ahead.
“Many transitioning women believe that the most feminizing thing they can do is a fully extravagant contour, but if you haven’t already softened into your features through hormones or fillers, then a contour will actually highlight the male bone structure more visibly,” says Harwood. The goal, here, is actually to give the illusion of a softer, plumper face—“it’s automatically more feminizing”—which Harwood achieves by using highlighter, yes, highlighter, in place of his contour.
“I like to start my cream highlighter just beneath the inner eyebrows, filling in the inner corners of the eyes to soften the brow ridge” he says. “Then, instead of drawing brown lines down the sides of your nose like you see in every makeup video, I line the sides with highlighter, which gives the face a softer, brighter dimension, without any harsh lines,” he says.
Of course, we’re not talking about using a super-glittery, Studio 54-level highlighter, here—just something creamy, blendable, and a few shades lighter than your natural skin tone, like Harwood’s favorite, Kryolan DermaColor Camouflage Cream BUY IT (opens in new tab) . And yes, you’ll want to apply your highlighter before your foundation, so you get a super-natural, lit-from-within glow.
“If you’re working with a more masculine starting point, I recommend using a concealer with a peach or orange undertone, because you have the double benefit of being able to use it to color-correct your beard and neutralize any under-eye circles,” says Harwood, who suggests tapping a layer of concealer in a triangle beneath your eyes, in the space between your lips and your nose, and across your beard line with your finger. “The warmth from your finger helps blend the concealer out more realistically,” he says.
One of Harwood’s favorite formulas? The Bobbi Brown Corrector creams BUY IT (opens in new tab) , which come in virtually every undertone shade. For fair skin tones, look for light-pink shades; for tan skin tones, try light, peach-based shades; for olive skin tones, go for deeper peach shades; for dark skin, look for tangerine shades; and for deep skin, try red (yes, red) shades of concealer.
“If you’re still working on the process of getting laser hair removal, you need to be conscientious of the texture of your skin, especially around your beard, which means you should avoid dewy foundations," says Harwood, noting that not only will sheer, glow-y formulas slide off your face by noon (“men naturally sweat more on the face than woman do”), but they’ll also draw attention to every nook and cranny on your skin. “It’s like painting gloss over an unfinished wooden wall,” he says.
Instead, Harwood suggests finding a matte, full-coverage foundation that you can press and stipple into your beard line without it looking cakey.
“It doesn’t necessarily matter how you apply the foundation—though I like to do it with the flat side of a sponge—it just matters that, after applying it, you press setting powder into your skin with an old-fashioned powder puff (opens in new tab) , which will help you get the smoothest texture possible,” he says. His favorites? Urban Decay All-Nighter Foundation BUY IT (opens in new tab) as a base, and Kryolan Setting Powder BUY IT (opens in new tab) .
Just because you’re using matte formulas, it doesn’t mean you’re now relegated to a life of matte, flat skin until you finish transitioning. But rather than grabbing a strobing powder and slathering it across your face like a disco ball, stick to a blush with a bit of iridescence.
“I love using MAC Skinfinish Natural powders BUY IT (opens in new tab) as blush, since they’re not pink or rosy—they’re just baked, satin-y powders that can give you a soft, feminine glow that doesn’t look dewy,” says Harwood. “Just pick a formula that matches your skin tone and swirl it around your cheeks and the temples to brighten up the face a bit.”
This trick sounds odd, but trust us: The results are kind of magical . “One thing that’s very noticeably different in males and female faces is the hairline,” says Harwood. “The form of testosterone that creates balding in men ends up giving you a squarer face shape as your hairline recedes, but with women, their hairlines tend to be pulled down and rounded out.”
Luckily, you can fake a softer, more-feminine hairline, without resulting to hair transplant surgery, as long as you have some matte eyeshadow that matches your hair color. “It’s honestly so easy—just swirl a short smudge brush in a matte shadow, then gently fill in and round out the sparse areas around your hairline using smooth strokes,” says Harwood, who uses the MAC 214 Shader Brush BUY IT (opens in new tab) with MAC Omega or Espresso matte eyeshadows BUY THEM (opens in new tab) , depending on his hair color. “It’s all an optical illusion, but if you start slow and add sheer layers, you’ll get a really soft, rounder face that completely changes your appearance,” he says.
And if all of the above tips just sounded like anxiety-producing jargon, don’t freak—Harwood has a slew of feminizing makeup videos on his page, including one, below, that demonstrates a bunch of the tips and tricks above. Watch them, study them, and then try these tricks on yourself; we’ll be happily waiting for the pictures.
Chloe Metzger is the deputy beauty director at Cosmopolitan , overseeing the editorial content and growth strategy of the hair, makeup, and skin space on digital, while also obsessively writing about the best hair products for every hair type ( curly girl here; whattup), and the skincare routines that really, truly work ( follow her on Instagram to see behind-the-scenes pics of that magazine life). She brings nearly a decade of writing and editing expertise, and her work has appeared in Allure , Health , Fitness , Marie Claire , StyleCaster , and Parents . She also has an unhealthy adoration for Tom Hanks and would like to please meet him one day, if you could arrange that. Thanks.

Still, she has a lot in common with the late Diana.

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Apply a layer of beauty balm. This will smooth out your skin and conceal some blemishes and discolorations. You should use balm over foundation. Foundation will make it obvious you're wearing makeup. Balm will smooth out your features, prepping your face for makeup, without making the fact you're wearing makeup obvious. [1]
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Use your index finger to dab dots of beauty balm around your face. Focus on areas in which your skin is uneven.
Use a fluff brush or your fingers to blend the balm into your skin. Use circular motions and keep blending until the foundation looks natural. You should not see any obvious lines or marks on your face.

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Cover up blemishes with concealer. Focus on areas prone to acne, like the chin and forehead, as well as under your eyes. You can use your fingers to apply concealer. You can also use the wand that came with the package. [2]
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As with the foundation, work the concealer into your skin with circular motions. You can use your fingers, a brush, or a makeup sponge.
Keep blending until the concealer looks natural. It should blend into your foundation and skin tone. There should not be any lines on your face.

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Use a powder to reduce shine. After applying foundation and concealer, your makeup will not appear that different than feminine makeup. You should take steps to reduce the shiny appearance left by foundation and cover up. Makeup powder should be dabbed across your face to dull the appearance of your foundational makeup. [3]
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Choose a powder foundation that matches your natural skin tone. Dab the foundation over your face using a large brush.
Target the areas on your face that are the shiniest. Your cheeks and cheekbones, for example, may be shiny after applying cream foundation and cover up.

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Contour around your face. Men tend to have more angular features. You can create this affect by using a darker shade of highlighter or foundation to create the illusion of shadows around your cheekbones, jaw, and forehead. Use a small contouring brush to apply the makeup. [4]
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Expert Source

Daniel Vann Licensed Aesthetician

Expert Interview. 12 April 2019.

Start with your cheekbones. Suck in your cheeks and draw a dark line running down your cheekbones. Draw another line tracing your chin and lower jawline. This will create a sharper, more masculine facial structure.
Draw a slight l-shape on both your temples. Then, on your forehead, shade a triangular shape on both sides of the forehead. Draw the triangle just above the arch of each eyebrow.
Use a light powder to blend the contour shades throughout your face. It should not be obvious you're wearing makeup. Use a large brush and circular motions to blend.
Aim for sharper lines without making the contouring harsher. [5]
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Expert Source

Yuka Arora Makeup Artist

Expert Interview. 7 October 2018.

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Shade around your nose to make it look bigger. Men tend to have larger and more defined noses. Using a dark foundation or highlighter, you can shade around your nose to make it more prominent. Use a large brush to apply. [6]
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Shade both sides of the nose. This will also darken the area. Men tend not to wear foundation, so areas of the face usually look darker. Make sure to shade under the tip of your nose, as well as the sides of each nostril.
Shade the area where your nose meets your brow bone. This create the appearance of a shadow under the eyebrow. This is important, as men tend to have more prominent fore brows.

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Use makeup to make your eyes smaller. Men tend to have eyes that are smaller in appearance. Therefore, you want to make your eyes look smaller with the use of makeup. To do so, use a concealer lighter than your skin tone under your eyes. [7]
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Use your fingers to apply the concealer right under your eyes. Apply in an arch that follows along your lower eyelid.
Keep working the concealer in until it blends naturally with your skin. When you're done, your eyes should look slightly smaller.

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Female To Male Makeup

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