Cisgender woman here, so my advice is only in relation to makeup. Lipstick is like the icing on a fancy cake. Some days or events you just want to be a cute cupcake rather than a 3-tier fondant covered cake.

If I don't fully make up my face but then add lipstick, it looks quite harsh and unflattering. Similarly if I made up my whole face but didn't use lipstick or mascara - it would look odd. This may be what you saw in the mirror that day. So please don't be disheartened.

Start with light, day makeup. Little bit of mascara, a hint of blush and some tinted lip gloss. That's one cute cupcake. Work your way up to that fancy cake!

As a recent hatchling (about 5 weeks ago) my experience is no it won't be that easy. But it does get easier. Sounds like you may have gone at it a little fast but that's ok! Don't worry about how you look. Try and focus on how it makes you feel. It's going to take some time to explore and find out what you like and don't like.

Those moments of euphoria will come back. And you will have moments of dysphoria. For me, those dysphoria moments got more intense now that I knew what they were, but they're slowly becoming fewer occurrences.

It's a marathon girl, not a sprint. No matter how hard we wish we could just press a button and be a woman, it doesn't happen that fast.

Try and find those moments of your transition you enjoy and slowly build from there ❤️

Love yourself and explore what makes you happy and you'll find your peace. ❤️❤️

So, here's a thing. You've grown up surrounded by transphobia and internalised it. It's the work of a life time to undo that. So my advice to you is to just try and keep that in mind. The voice telling you that you're "a man in a dress" is what years of internalised transphobia looks like.

There is no easy trick to make that voice go away, but you can remember what it is when it sounds in your head, and take away a lot of its power, and you can give yourself permission to go easy on yourself :)

You've got this

HRT is gonna be your friend.

Same girl, I'm still totally hung up on passing, even though I know I'm still questioning whether I am trans or not. Even though cis people don't get euphoria when they see a picture of someone their age passing, or thinking about being referred to with she/her lol. it's gonna take time but we'll get there queen 👑

As your standard middle aged SWM I wish you the best and don't give up. I know you might be worried about people judging you for whatever reason, but to others you are an inspiration. You might not realize, but you are making the world a better place. If everyone had the courage to try and pursue the things that make them happy or make them feel whole we would live in a much better world. Don't be discouraged, just keep loving yourself and be who you are.

❤️

Yep, buckle up, it's the wildest rollercoaster ever.

There will come a day when you see your true self in the mirror without makeup, without a dress or anything else. As women we're just super critical of ourselves and the expectation of "ideal" femininity so high that almost nobody can reach it. When you try your damnest to look for an ugly man in a dress, but all you'll see is a woman, then you've come full circle. That is attainable.

The further along I get, the more women confide in me, and when you've heard enough perfectly lovely gals call themselves hideous because they have wrinkles or peach fuzz on their face, then you realize we're all fighting a similar fight.