eye area, the result of uneven pigmentation or skin that is very thin and transperent.

A sudden blemish may ap- pear. You may have acne spots to cover. And most crossdressers have a "beard problem." All of these problems can receive full benefits from the use of foundation. However, the cover- age does not have to be applied all over the face. If you don't need total coverage, use founda- tion sparingly.

I don't believe that founda- tions should be used for changing the color of the complexion. Though many feel that founda- tion can make miraculous chan- ges such as going from pale to tan in the winter

―

I don't a- gree. You cannot color your face to look suntanned without painting every other exposed part of your body, such as your hands and legs. And no matter how refined foundation is today, it cannot believably imitate the effects of the sun.

I love to see a face that has a believable finish to it. A foun- dation should be like your sec- ond skin, blending totally with your natural coloring. The one you should select should be in a shade that resembles your own skin as closely as possible. Find- ing the right foundation tone for your face is very simple. Yet, when I watch women in the store selecting this important item. I am shocked to see that they (as well as the cosmeticians, who certainly should know better) test the colors on themselves in a really meaningless way. By this I mean the practice of strok- ing a bit of color on the back of the hand. You've all seen this. Stop for a moment now and go to the nearest mirror want to show you something. Hold the back of your hand out against the side of your face, fingers pointing upward, so that the skin of the hand can be

I

seen. Look at the colors of the hand and the face: they are com- pletely different! Stroking foun- dation on the skin of your hand won't give you any idea of how it will look on your face.

What you do want is a shade to match your face, not your hand, The place to do this is on the skin of the neck, just at the jaw. The foundation ought to blend in perfectly with the skin tones of this area so that when you apply it to your face there is no demarcation line. Perfect matching will also elim- inate the need to bring the foundation all the way down to the base of the throat, not to mention the unnecessary dry- cleaning bills for stained neck- lines and collars!!!

The truly best test of all for foundation is trying it directly on your face. If you are able to go out en femme and mingle with the public, you can go to a department store and approach a cosmetic counter. You should remove a bit of the foundation you have on. The salesperson at the coun- ter can give you a tissue or a cotton ball for this purpose. It is very important to take the little bit of time to do this. There is no substitute for the proper choice of foundation. I cannot stress the importance enough; even if you do every- thing else correctly, without the right foundation all your at- tention will be wasted. For those crossdressers who do not have the opportunity to go out in public or, are hesitant to go to the cosmetic counter, my sugges- tion is to buy two or three shades that appear to be near what you want and work to see which one is the best. It is possible for a crossdresser to locate an understanding fe- male who can help in this matter. I know, as you read this, many of you who don't like your

27

skin color are thinking that this is marvelous advice for the for- tunate few. "What am I to do with my sallow (or ruddy or ashy or dull) complexion?" I can almost hear you. I want to say now that my solution involves the correct use of rouge, which creates a glow that counteracts these skin-color problems. Re- membering that you can't change the color of your skin without the effort showing. But you can effectively use makeup, and in this case rouge, to help soften and play down problem areas.

A word of reminder. ALL foundations, regardless of their composition, must be put on after moisturizer. It is a shield- ing agent that protects the skin from pollution by the in- gredients in the makeup you put on over it. Moisturizers, in varying degrees, are important for every skin and should never be forgotten. Now to return to the foundation.

The thin, liquid water-based foundation is akin to watercol- ors; it provides the minimum coverage and gives a light look and feeling. This is a very and fresh as well as spontaneous look.

Certainly you choose your makeup to suit an occasion and the time of the day when it will be most appropriate. What- ever your selection, I do not want you to feel dependent on the foundation. For instance, you don't have to wear a heavy oil-based foundation on a formal occasion generally. In fact, heavy foundations can create problems for many women, and especially crossdressers. On ma- ture skin a heavy foundation sinks into wrinkles and lines it is meant to hide if anything, emphasizing them more. Heavy foundations can cause clogging of your pores, too.

―

―

To digress for a moment, for those crossdressers who have