My wife had done my makeup, and I was very grateful, but the results weren't super convincing. And those glasses, eurghh, got to go. 

I had never done makeup before, other than lipstick a few times. Having seen the quality of some of the Tgirls online, and a growing desire to head out to a club and dance. I felt I needed professional help. So I looked online. One called TV AMC wasn't too far away, however the woman was rude on the phone, so I looked elsewhere. I found one called The Boudoir. I gave them a call for a Makeup Lesson, and the woman on the other end of the line couldn't have been friendlier. We arranged a date, and I set off to East London. 

A buzzer on the ground floor, and I was soon greeted by Jodie. She lead me into the most... I'm not sure how to describe it. But basically a room with full windows down one side looking out over a marina. On the wall behind were all sorts of TV/Drag paraphernalia. I sat down in a chair, and Jodie began to point out the various requirements of doing a makeup routine. She began with a wig cap, and started on the foundation. Lots of sticks and brushes whisked over me. It wasn't long before my beard shadow had gone, and I looked very different. 

Jodie preceded to tell me about how she'd wanted to do men's makeup since she was an early teenager, and had seen her first tranny. 'That's what I want to do mummy.' And that she did. She now has 6 month waiting lists, goes to Las Vegas for shows and all sorts. She also has stories to rise eyebrows even further than nature intended! We had kids of similar age, so had lots of chat about that, as parents do. 

Jodie started on the eyes, and doing my eye makeup. Eyeshadow going over my eyelids and brow, with lots of talk of how to do it properly. 'Don't do it this way, do it that way. Not too hard' etc. It wasn't long before I had a beautiful set of eyes done, eyebrows shaped and eye's lined. I was starting to look very femme, and I liked it! Ophelia liked it, she was reaching graduation!

There were just the lips left to do, and Jodie whipped out a lipliner pencil, and drew on some lips. She then painted on a crushed lipstick to the lips. I was looking very femme. Part of me inside was terrified, afraid and somewhat unable to cope with what I was becoming. Fighting societal conventions of what it was acceptable for a woman to do. The other part of me was wanting a wig and some heels to go strutting off down the street looking be-autiful!

Jodie did pop a wig on. And finally we both got to see Ophelia for the first time. It was shocking, but also the fact, thanks to Jodie's expert help, looked nice for a TGirl. 

Then came the crushing disappointment. After a few photos, and barely 5mins fully femme. I had to take off the expensive wig and all the makeup! This involved having coconut oil dumped into my hands, and the instruction 'smear it all over your face.' "Whaaaaaatttt?" 'Do you know how great I look?' 'Do you know how much this cost?' OK, she did know the answer to both questions, especially the second one. So i smeared away the lovely makeup with the coconut oil. When finished, Jodie handed me a towel, that had just boiled water on it! More torture. So i used it to wipe away any last traces of makeup. I was back to boring old bloke :(

Jodie had sent me after the lesson a makeup guide, and shopping list. So i bought all the various items and brushes I'd need, and a makeup bag to put them in. And then for a few months. Did nothing. Then one day I tried to follow Jodie's instructions. The results had made me look like Michael Jackson at his whitest. I was very white! I clearly needed more help. And signed up for another makeup lesson with Jodie. This time I would do the makeup myself, with her supervising. My makeup kit below.

Another trip to the room with a view of the marina, and I settled down. I'd brought my own makeup in a bag. Jodie, very impressed. And off we went. When she mentioned the concealer, I started using the one from the Jecca Blac beard shadow kit. 'No, she said, a concealer.' She might as well have been speaking Korean. However it turned out mention of concealer (a separate highlighting product) had been missed off the notes and shopping list. She showed me the one to use, and I added it to my next shopping list. I felt confident with the results, and that I could now do this alone. The coconut oil was brought out, and the tears were buried in the smeared makeup on my face. Then came the steaming towel. 

It would be many more months before I tried again. I realised I'd paid all this money for lessons and the makeup, I should do it. I also realised if I wanted to meet other people and go to clubs, I'd need to get it right. So I chose one of the hottest days of the year to go about having another go, and then, heading out. Crazy!!