How makeup changed a Transpinay's life

I admire bravery. In a society that it not that open yet to the idea of "men wearing makeup" as what most would deem and even more so them openly expressing their love for makeup through blogging and vlogging, Amanda, a Transpinay and blogger at filipinow.com, stepped up to the challenge and approached me via email for a guest post on The Beauty Junkee to talk about makeup. 

I normally don't entertain guest posts most especially if they only want to review products because that's something I can do and I've been doing for 8 years now, but with Amanda, I saw it as an opportunity to reinforce the fact that makeup is not only vanity, but a means of empowerment. And she gladly obliged.

Time and again, I've said that my mission of empowering myself has evolved to empowering others through makeup, skin care, fragrance, fitness, and anything and everything related to beauty, and that mission is for all women including Transpinays. I hope through this opportunity, more Transpinays will be encouraged to express their love for makeup through reviews, and makeup looks.

Here's why makeup is more than just looking pretty, according to a Transpinay:

Beauty is skin deep and I don’t know any other way of articulating it.

Now makeup… That’s another story!

Most Filipinas are quite reserved and still think of makeup as a tool of the devil.

You’ll hear statements like…

“Ano ba yan ang kapal ng makeup, ang landi!”

“Ang arte-arte, grabe mag makeup!”

“Hindi naman maganda, nadaan lang sa makeup”

These phrases reverberate from mouths of boring women who not only have problems with their makeup skills but their brains as well.

The same people who think that the innovation such as the internet is bad, but would reap the same benefits that the rest of us are having.

They are probably unenthusiastic with their own lives that they think that by making fun of people who have an affinity with makeup, they are immediately sitting on a pedestal with their no-product-using flawlessness.

Have you ever noticed that *deez hos* (calm down Amanda, you’re not Nicki Minaj) who often disdain lipstick-loving people are the ones who can’t even color their lips inside the lines?

Anyway, let’s just move on before I grow a wrinkle. I think I’ve defended makeup enough with 120+ words.

Amanda's Rhinoplasty journey

I was born a boy and no I’m not ashamed of it. I think that being transgender gave me the best of both worlds and I see it as an advantage rather than a crippling factor that this ever-punishing world likes to think it is.

Growing up with a sister, one of my favorite things to do was play with her Kikay Kit.

I can still remember the Violet pouch of my ate filled with Maybelline, Chapstick, Eyelash Curler, and etc. that she always had in tow to school.

I didn’t have any idea about Transgenderism when I was a kid. How I got to live as a little girl was vicariously through my sister and my cousin.

I’d borrow my cousin’s Barbie dolls and my sister’s makeup and journal stickers and create a world of femininity on my free time.

I’d listen to stories about their crushes or boyfriends and I’d somehow feel like I was a little girl as well because I at least got the perspective of love from genetic girls.

There’s only one thing about makeup that has hurt me, especially my studies. I got kicked out from an all-boys school which I studied in since Prep to 2^nd year high school… all because of wearing makeup and being too feminine!

I don’t regret it though. At the very least, I was the prettiest one out of all the people in my school because my lashes were always curled to the gods. Whilst my schoolmates were suffering from “puberty pimples”, I was walking the school grounds with my flawless foundation-covered face.

Being a Transpinay, you not only have to learn how a woman feels and thinks, you have to learn the illusion that a woman gives and that is how makeup has changed my life.

Genetically, the majority of women and men are different from each other when it comes to aesthetics. Women tend to have softer skin and facial features like e.g. slimmer nose, poutier lips, less acne, and etc. and I needed to emulate that if I wanted to go on with life as a woman.

Makeup not only changes my looks, it changes how I feel as well. We all have bad days but once we go out of the house with our makeup on point and men swoon over us, we feel instant gratification (huwag kayong echusera girls, you know you love being pretty and being praised by it ^_^).

My love affair with makeup will never end because it’s a part of WHO I AM. It’s a part of what makes me confidently beautiful (hindi pa Miss Universe season Amanda). It’s a part of my skillsets. It’s something that I can share to my friends and family to make them feel better about themselves. It’s part a of what makes me happy…

It’s a part of what makes every fiber of WOMAN I am.

xx

A M A N D A

Amanda is a former paranormal-romance novelist and now blogs at filipinow.com. She talks about makeup, skin care, hormones (for MTF Transgenders like her), surgeries, products, etc. She acknowledges the signature "simple and humble" traits of Filipinas, but believes that in an ever-changing world, Filipinas should now start embracing their newer selves; as she cheekily implied: "Enough with the polbo and lipstick lang, maganda na. A little effort goes a long way."
She also aims to feature accessible, affordable beautifying brands at a non-pretensyosa price point.

**Got a beauty story to share on The Beauty Junkee? Let's talk. I'm sure my readers would love to get to know about you and your story. Email me at martha.stabarbara@yahoo.com.