By Sherri

I was quite surprised when Cindy asked me to share a few beauty secret tips and tricks. I am, after all, only a part- time crossdresser. I don't have the opportunity to spend as much time en femme as many readers and sisters do. I have decided, however, that I will present the best possible image when I am en femme. That, I suppose is the basis for Cindy's request and certainly is the basis for my rambling remarks! I'm not certain that I can offer anything new to most readers. Perhaps, however, I can remind you of a few things, present ideas in a slightly different way, and cause you to think about a few things.

First, let me say that our personal beauty comes from within. It is the how we think, feel, act, and react. When we are happy with ourselves, our inner beauty is apparent to others. That is not to suggest that we should not be concerned with our outward appearance. We all won't be diva's or fem fatale's. We all, however, want to look our best as present ourselves to others.

One thing I have noticed is that many girls don't smile in their pictures or in real life. A pretty and happy smile is one feminine feature that helps create beauty. If you are happy, let is show through your smile. I must admit that I am not a "smiler" by nature, it is not part of my male persona. En femme, however, I smile because I'm happiest when dressed. Believe it or not, I actually had to practice developing my smile! I wasn't used to smiling. To overcome this, I stood in front of a mirror and practiced the smile that you see in my photograph. Sound silly, maybe, but think about it. Every girl is prettier with a smile on her face, and you will be too!

Your clothing color and style choices also go a long way in helping to create that beautiful appearance we all strive for. If you haven't done it, have a color analysis done. You can have this done professionally or get a book from the library and do it yourself, but do it. Deep down, we all know that there are certain colors that look best on us. Learn what colors look best on you and work for you and stick to them. No matter how tempted you are to buy that cute little dress, if it isn't your color keep shopping.

I'm not going into clothing style because that is a personal decision. There are a few things that you should keep in mind however. You wouldn't wear a beaded gown to the mall or jeans to a dinner dance - we all know that! When you are going out, think about how other women will be dressed and plan your outfits accordingly. Remember, the idea is to fit in with the other women you will be around. Don't make yourself stand out by being overdressed, which is a mistake many girls make.

I've been asked many times about my makeup. Now we are really getting personal. Again, it is a matter of personal style and appropriateness. As you all know, perfecting your makeup takes practice - lots of practice. There are, however, at least a few hints I want to offer. First, you don't have to do full makeup to practice. There have been many days when I only had an hour to spend on or as Sheri. Again, I was in front of the mirror practicing. But while I was practicing my smile, I was also practicing some part of my makeup.

Putting on the perfect makeup is difficult, there are so many things to remember! Practice your makeup by practicing the individual parts. Practice just doing your lips. Learn to apply your lip liner to create fuller lips while keeping them equal and even. Practice filling in your lipstick, and learn to apply just a touch of lip gloss to make your lips glisten against your smile!

Practice doing your eye's too. Who hasn't had, or doesn't still have trouble with eye liner? Again, the key is practice. Work with an eye pencil or liquid liner to get the look and results you want. Practice putting on those false eyelashes for that special evening out. Experiment with different eye shadow colors and techniques. Next to the smile and your lips, your eye's may be the most important makeup area to concentrate on. You also need to practice different makeup styles for your eyes. Keep in mind that you will wear different "eyes" during different times of the day and to different places. Again, look at the eyes of other women around you. You probably wouldn't wear your false eye lashes to the super market on Saturday morning. You might, however, put them on Saturday night to go clubbing.

Your choice of foundation is critical in two areas, type and color. First, if you are using a liquid foundation don't (unless you have no beard)! Liquid foundation, no matter how expensive or good it is, isn't adequate to cover the shadow of a beard that most of us deal with. There are several good foundation products available. I use DermaBlend foundation and their setting powder. Pick the foundation that works for you, is easy to apply, and looks good. Remember that you will probably need to change the color of your foundation at least twice during the year. In the summer you will probably have some tan and will need a darker foundation color than you will wear in the winter when your skin color will tend to be somewhat lighter.

The next two makeup items to concentrate on are powder and blush. I use loose powder and have several different shades that I use to define the shape of my face and to create some basic contouring. It is not unusual for me to use up to four colors of powder when preparing for an evening out. Just remember to blend the areas where the shades meet with a soft brush so create the look of continuous color. One tip that is dictated by your skin color and the outfit you will be wearing is that you may want to apply foundation and powder on your neck and down onto your chest, remembering to cover all the way back to behind your ears.

Use your blush to create those great cheek bones we all want and to help contour and shape your face. I use at least three different shades of blush just on my cheek bones. I begin with the darkest shade just below my cheek bone, a medium shade above that right on top of the cheek bone, and finally a lighter shade just above the cheek bone. I blend all the shades together with a soft brush creating a continuous line of color that highlights my cheek bones and defines the shape of that portion of my face. You can also use your blush, and certain colors of eye shadow, for contouring and shaping your face. There is information available on contouring and shaping that you should read if this is of interest to you. Contouring and shaping, however, require practice and patience. Properly done, contouring and shaping can create a dramatic look. Done poorly, it can destroy your feminine appearance.

Next, I want to comment on hair. Most of us aren't fortunate enough to be able to wear our own hair when en femme and depend on wigs. There is nothing wrong with wigs and in fact it can be fun to be able to change hair styles and colors in seconds as the mood hits us. Do keep in mind that they are hot in the summer and can slip and slide if not pinned to your own hair. A couple of hints about wigs. First, buy the best one you can afford. Ideally, you'll be keeping and wearing you wig for some time. Wig prices and quality vary greatly and it pays to do some comparative shopping. There is, however, a big difference between a $60 wig and a $120 wig. The better wigs look good and hold their style with minimal care. The better wigs can actually be style, carefully, with steam rollers and low heat curling irons at home. The other hint about wigs is color selection. In most cases, the wig color that closely matches your natural hair color will look the best on you. Yes, I know, everybody wants to be a blond once in their life and it can be fun so give it a try! Just remember that if you are a brunette, you will probably look best in a brunette shaded wig.

My last comments are reserved for your hands and two specific areas, your nails and your jewelry. First, if your hands are exceeding hairy, you may have to shave them or bleach the hair to a lighter shade. Feminine hands are not covered with hair! Next, polished nails give your hands a feminine look and are the finishing touch on creating your feminine image. If you are fortunate, you can go to a salon and have your nails done, have tips or acrylics put on, and get a manicure. Most of us, however, can't do that as much as we would like. You can of course, paint your own nails. Again, this is something that takes practice - lots of practice. Another option is to use fake nails. These come in a variety of sizes and styles and can be purchased at beauty supply shops, drug stores, and discount stores in larger quantities. Some are already finished and some must be painted. I can tell you from experience it is far easier to paint a fake nail before it is attached to your own finger nail. Fake nails can be attached with adhesive tabs or super glue. The adhesive tabs may not hold as well for you as the super glue will, but they are much easier to get off an clean-up after. If you decide to super glue on your nails, make certain you have the appropriate product at home to remove the nail and glue.

In terms of jewelry, make certain it matches the size of your hand. Larger hands require rings that are larger in size so that they look proportionate with your hands and fingers. I have long slender fingers, so I look for rings that have that basic shape, on oval or diamond shape. The ring flows with the length of my fingers. If I had smaller hands and shorter fingers, I'd look for rings that were round or square and were of proportionate size.

There is nothing quite as elegant or feminine as manicured and painted nails and a gorgeous ring on your finger as you extend your hand to greet someone, hold you wine glass during a conversation, or cross your hands on your keys while sitting. Don't forget about your nails as you present yourself en femme. Today, every woman has beautiful nails and there is no reason you shouldn't.

As I said in the beginning sentences, I'm not certain there is anything new here and I know that everything I've said should have been covered in greater detail and depth. There are lots of resources for makeup and beauty advice here in TGF and elsewhere on the Internet. There are several good books on make-up available in bookstores and theatrical supply houses. Everywhere you go there are women around you who you can observe. Your ultimate success, however, will come as a result of continual practice in applying your makeup.

Have fun ladies, and smile as your practice perfecting your makeup.