An Experienced

COSMOTOLOGIST Tells Our Readers About Skin Care

And Makeup

01

PART

2

The most basic item for the majority of crossdressers is foun- dation. A more recent innova- tion than eye or lip color, it is the cosmetic that most women recognize as a necessity, yet a surprising number don't use it properly. They make mistakes when choosing the color and/or the consistency, and when apply- ing it, frequently use too much.

Let's talk about foundation itself for a moment. Like so ma- ny of our preferences and ideas on beauty, foundation originated in Hollywood. Makeup men had to develop a skin covering that would hold up to studio lights as well as photograph attractively. At first, it was very much like the theatrical grease- paint used by stage actors throughout the world. Founda- tion was then exceedingly thick as well as greasy and gave much more coverage than was neces- sary. Soon attresses began to develop skin problems that dam- aged their valuable faces. New formulas and foundation chan- ged or came into being and final- ly they came up with a cream that was different from the old stick.

It was then packaged in jars and was thinner and creamier than the old "paint," making it easier to apply. But, even so, not everyone needed the cover- age necessary for stage and film. The American woman wanted a new, thiner formula and she got it. Cream foundation became the even lighter liquid that is most popular today.

Within that bottle there were soon further modifications: a light, water-based foundation that didn't need to be shaken, which provided enough coverage for young smooth faces; a hea- vier oil-based type made for extra coverage.

The cosmetics industry went even further, developing over-the-counter products for every women's needs. Founda- tions now come in cake compact types, bottled liquids, creams in jars and, most recent of all, the gel foundation in a tube for a sheer, see-through look. This truly formidable array of pro- ducts to choose from can make it quite bewildering for a woman, and crossdressers, to find which is right for her special needs.

The first thing to con- sider is what you want to do with a foundation. Foundations perform two separate functions covering and coloring. The two are very different.

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A GUIDE TO CORRECT MAKEUP

Your writer believes that covering is very important. A covering foundation can blend skin tones of your face to a smooth evenness. There are few complexions of perfect, uniform tone, which is why most women use a foundation in the first place. The natural look, whether of the skin on your face, the hair on your head or the leaf of a tree, is composed of a number of shadings of a color. Foundation acts as an equalizer, bringing differences in color together, but not so unified as to resemble a mask.

The imperfections that can be covered include what we call couperose, those tiny broken blood vessels that Occur SO frequently near the nostrils and tend to show up as a pinkish flare. Perhaps the nose itself is too rosy compared with the rest of your complexion and needs to be toned down. There may be dark shadows around the