weird question @ transgender makeup

I wasn't sure where to post this but my sister is male to female transgender. She made this transition over the past year and is more fefeminine looking all the time. One thing she can't afford is surgery to feminize the face. She has a prominent brow and a more prominent chin than she would like. I know several of you are make up artists along with the face painting and thought that you may have advice on techniques she could practice to get the softened look she would prefer. I don't even wear foundation so I'm really no good at this.
I thank you in advance for any advice you can give me to pass along to her.

Congrats to your sister for making the transition!

Contouring is going to be a basic technique that is well worth her time to learn. Contouring is the art of using shadow and highlight to bring forward parts of your face and making others recede. In general, darker areas recede, highlighted areas stand out. There are a bunch of different products to do this with, and some very decent ones available at the drug-store price level. BenNye also has some contouring palettes that are good. On the higher end, I love Laura Mercier and Bobbi Brown contouring and highlighting palettes.

YouTube has some fantastic contouring tutorials that will help with placement.

Its an older book now, but Kevin Aucoin's book Making Faces is a good resource for different looks achieved by contouring. Since it's older, you can probably get a copy for less than $5 online.

Best of luck to her!

Thank you for responding so quickly! I will pass the info along to her. Funny coincidence - she actually lives in Portland.

If she can find any theatrical makeup artists, especially drag performers, they will be able to teach her ways to soften even very harsh features. If she prefers/enjoys wearing makeup, she may want to investigate HD makeup, especially graftobian as the coverage is top notch and it can be blended super smooth.

Yesterday, I saw some internet photo show making the rounds showing various women without and then with makeup, and many of them had step by steps that showed the drastic highlighting and shadowing done before the foundation color was blended over- it might be a good tutorial.

http://www.zdouf.com/3244/how-women-transform-with-makeup/

There are a few examples... Now, your sister may want to go for a more natural look- but the principles are still the same.

Thanks for that. I will forward her the link and makeup name. She does seem to like fairly subtle makeup but that is more about the eyes and lips I think. She would probably be more comfortable with the theatrical artists than drag queens. I know she had a big fear early on of over doing makeup and drawing more attention to herself. Most girls get to experiment with makeup early and get those mistakes figured out. She may want a more smokey eye look for a party or something.

It's a bummer that I'm not more help for her but she is already more girly than I am. I feel so weird in makeup and usually just wear a little mascara and lip balm. I remember the first time I played with my grandma's makeup as a kid. I thought the mascara made me look like a clown. I cried.