Mrs Benn

Make-up is important to t-girls. The biggest issue is our beards. Getting made up begins with a really close shave. But however close I shave, my chin still looks slightly blue – too blue to walk the streets without feeling acutely self-conscious. One solution is electrolysis, which is as close to permanent a solution as possible, but not cheap. For the rest of us, other solutions are required. I use quite an involved routine. The general advice in the community is to apply an orange lipstick or concealer under foundation, with the idea being that the orange counterbalances the blue. I use a layer of sparingly applied red lipstick, followed by a layer of concealer matched to my skintone, a little powder and then  foundation. Because I have to shave my neck too, the same treatment has to be applied there. Quite a lot of make-up is involved, therefore. I do my best to make it look natural, but for going out in daytime it would be lovely to get away with less makeup.

Today I decided to try an experiment with minimal make-up, to see how little I was comfortable with. First I thought I’d try no make-up at all, but it was immediately clear that would not work. As my hair has greyed, my beard has become less intensely coloured, but not sufficiently so that I can get away without wearing any camouflage. For the photos on this page I used just a little liquid foundation around my mouth and on my nose, some powder and a small amount of blusher (plus lipstick) – not the all-over cover I normally use, and much less make-up where I did apply it.

I have to say I feel quite pleased with the result, although I’m not sure I’d have the courage to go out on the street wearing so little concealment. My paranoia about having a blue chin goes quite deep – but once you go for full cover, then the eyes need to be done too, and it becomes more elaborate. I’ve stuck to the same formula for years. I like being made up nicely, but I’ve always been interested in blending in as much as I can (as much as a 6’2″ t-girl can, anyway), and elaborate make-up is unusual in daytime (although some women like it too). I think I need to challenge myself a bit and I’ll keep experimenting.