By makeup artist Meg Hall

The art of makeup goes beyond fluttering eyelashes and perfectly glossed lips. It is also a tool to enhance the kind of shape and feel you want for your face. As a professional makeup artist with a feminine to more masculine fluidity, I’ve experimented and adapted makeup to suit my personal needs as well as the needs of those with masculine-of-center or genderqueer identities.

As with clothes, it all comes down to shape. When sculpting and shaping a “feminine” face you are striving to create the illusion of the perfect oval face shape; applying your blush, lipstick, and even eyebrow products in a way that accentuates curves and soft round shapes. To sculpt a more “masculine” face, you are striving for strong, chiseled features, and looking to create a more square shape. This is absolutely possible when you know which products and techniques to use when applying makeup.

STEP 1: COMPLEXION PERFECTION

You will need:

Primer
Recommended: MAC Cosmetics Prep+Prime Natural Radiance (all skin types) or
Too Faced Primed & Poreless (combination-oily skin)

Tinted Moisturizer
Recommended: Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer

OR

Sheer Water Based Foundation
Recommended:  MAC Cosmetics Face & Body Foundation

You want to begin by creating a good canvas to work on. Following your usual skincare routine, apply a primer. Once primed, you want to apply your foundation or tinted moisturizer. I recommend going for something lightweight, like a tinted moisturizer or sheer water based foundation. Tinted moisturizer or foundation should be applied before concealer to save you from over concealing.

STEP 2: CONCEAL & BRIGHTEN

You will need:

Concealer
Recommended: MAC Cosmetics Pro Longwear Concealer, or
Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer

Eye Brightener
Recommended: MAC Cosmetics Prep+Prime Highlighter

If you see any areas or spots that your foundation didn’t cover, now is the time to conceal. I recommend using a lightweight and/or liquid concealer to help maintain a “no makeup” look. 

Following concealer, use an eye brightener to make yourself appear naturally awake and refreshed. Apply a small amount under the eyes and blend in with a brush using circular motions, going around the outside of the eye and over the brow bone.

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Annoymous asked: I need a hairstyle that I can wear to my nan’s birthday dinner. It’s going to be quite fancy, so I need it to look nice, but I’m sick of only being able to do girly hairstyles. I have long hair, and I want to keep it that way, but I can’t find anything to do with it other than plaits, that don’t suit me at all, or buns, that don’t stay in my hair (it’s thick and wavy). I can’t find anything that isn’t too girly. Any ideas?

Our guest long hair guru, Bing of I Dream of Dapper, says:

Let me introduce “the queer pomp.” It’s simple, looks like it took hours, and is a classy sight.

Bing modeling one of her many pompadours. (source: i-dream-of-dapper.tumblr.com)

1. Imagine having a wide mohawk and isolate all the hair that it would consist of.

2. Pull that hair back as if you’re going to put it into a small pony tail but twist it a few times (depending on how your hair parts, this could be either clockwise or counterclockwise. If done correctly you’ll notice a slight cresting wave effect and not just an awkward poof).

3. Push forward for height and pin it like crazy. Thick hair is hard to tame so don’t be shy with the bobby pins. The secret to getting buns to stay (I prefer messy buns) is to pull your hair into a secure pony tail first and use plenty of hair ties when styling your bun. If your pomp starts to deflate, simply grab your pomp and pull forward. Properly pinned pomps will perk right up!

View More queer pomps at i-dream-of-dapper.tumblr.com and fuckyeahqueerpomps.tumblr.com

Harmony Boucher, English model (source: stopstealingmylook.com)

(source: but-im-a-tomboy.tumblr.com)

Erin Majestic Legay of glitterpolitic.tumblr.com (source: fuckyeahqueerpomps.tumblr.com)

Janelle Monae (source: stylebistro.com)

Nguyễn Thị Trà My, Vietnamese model (source: femmboy.tumblr.com)

Kellis Rogers (source: fuckyeahqueerpomps.tumblr.com)

(source: ramsesfromtherock.tumblr.com)

Thanks Bing!

Related posts: Queer With Long Hair, Mandy Working the Crowd at Drag Ball