I bought femme clothes from thrift stores. It’s cheap, I could swap out equivalent masc clothes that I didn’t anticipate needing. It got easier over time as a sense of style developed. I’m 3.5 months HRT and 90% of my clothing was purchased pre-HRT, no significant size changes yet. Exception: Bras were mainly purchased after.

For makeup, even in boy mode a little foundation and blush made me feel cuter. The key with makeup is subtlety. And a lot of foundation to hide shadow, if that’s a concern.

Finally, a skin care routine did wonders for me, especially once HRT began. I use CeraVe cleanser, moisturizer, and a Neutrogena retinol cream between them every other day at night, plus a Neutrogena sunscreen in the morning. It had super noticeable softening effects on my face within two weeks.

What helps me is: you can experiment with all this stuff without necessarily taking it out of your bedroom if you don’t want to. You can wash off the makeup. Or you might feel great and go out.

Good luck!

Love this album. I have it on vinyl and put it on display sometimes.

My first slept like this a lot. Lots of folks like you stopped and commented to tell me that it looked dangerous. Thanks for your concern but it’s just the way the baby cookie crumbles, sometimes.

Eyeliner pencil.

Or pick and choose from this very absolute-beginner friendly make-up video

The euphoria I got from my first application of foundation, eyeliner, and blush was marvelous.

Second suggestion: jewelry. A cute bracelet, subtle necklace.

If you haven’t gotten your ears pierced and want to, go to a piercing studio. If you have them pierced, dangly earrings!

Skin care routine! Cleaning and moisturizing your face every night is very femme.

Get your nails done. If you have a friend who can do it, do that. Or go to a nail salon, a basic polish will only be 20-40 bucks and you get to choose from hundreds of colours. Start with just your toes if you aren’t comfortable.

Pluck your eyebrows. You just need an eyebrow tweezer. Makes you look cleaner even if you’re still largely presenting masc.

Wear women’s underwear, boyshorts are a nice option if you’re not ready for a bikini cut.

Start getting rid of extra boy clothes that you don’t foresee yourself wearing in the future. It can help relieve a burden you didn’t even know was there.

Sorry, I’m 3 months in and these are some of the things that I’ve done. I’m full time, out at work and with family – I moved quickly I guess.