Category: Frequently Asked Questions

20 Nov 2015

Dancewear

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The first requirement when wearing Dancewear is to shower and shave in order to get my legs feeling slinky smooth. I then proceed to slip into a white coloured satin deluxe naked tanga followed by a pair of seemless tights, again in white. Feeling 'all femmy' and gloriously comfortable I put on my supersoft bra, padded out with a pair of socks. I then eased my way into a pink and white tutu. The soft flimsy skirt is positioned as to allow a pair of pink frilly panties to be worn and for the multiple layers of pink frills to be visible, front and back at all times. Finally, ballet pumps are worn to complete the look. All I need do is practice my curtsy. The thrill - I am transformed into a fairy princess, all silky smooth and girly. As an alternative to wearing my tutu, more often than not, I wear a satinized body with high cut legs. When worn with 2.5 Inch heels that accentuate my long, shapely legs I am again in heaven. Oh, to gaze down and finger my slinky, smooth nylon clad legs and caress the full majesty of my C cup bra! Colour combination is important. Ecru/white tights with a black or pink body, caramel or nude tights with white body or black tights with black or coloured body. Trixie

20 Nov 2015

Lipstick

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She sashays into the room wrapped in a scarlet sheath. Her nails are the same colour... and her lips? What would this image of feminine allure be without lipstick? Some people's favourite images of femininity might revolve around lingerie, perhaps, or high heels. Mine are firmly focused on the lips. I think, for example, of Robert Palmers 'Addicted to Love' video. The women on the instruments, in their black dresses, wore make-up which seems to obliterate their facial features - except the lips. Their bright red lipstick holds my eye. My favourite pop video - I love it! An equally memorable lip image is the opening sequence of the 'Rocky Horror Picture Show'. Lips, tongue and teeth occupy the screen against a black background, just red lips, pink tongue and white teeth. Other kinds of make-up have their place of course, but lipstick is special. I feel that wearing it lies close to the heart of who I am, and what I do. If I was in a balloon sinking slowly towards the ocean, with all of my feminine trappings aboard, what would I throw out first to gain a little height? Sure as there are no eggs in my basque, it wouldn't be a lipstick. And I feel sure that my final pair of stilettos would go before my last lipstick... As 'last lipstick' implies, one lipstick is certainly not enough for me. I like to have a choice of different manufacturer's products. No two are quite the same - the textures are different, they go on my lips differently, and they don't look quite the same once applied. I like to have more than one type of lipstick - both the 'stay-put' kind, and the ones that leave their mark. Above all, perhaps, I need a choice of shade - the more shades the better in fact. Last night, for example, going out in a green skirt and yellow blouse (a pleasingly spring-like combination, I think) required a muted lip colour. I picked one called 'Strawberry', which may suggest a bold red, but is actually a dark pink. In fact, 'Strawberry' is quite similar to the natural colour of my lips... but, in spite of the similarity, it doesn't leave me looking as if I had forgotten to put my lipstick on - that would never do!!! Going out the week before, I strutted my stuff all in red. Strawberry would not have gone with my outfit, I needed a proper, full-blooded red. The one I selected is called 'Poppy'. It is just about the colour I'd expect a poppy to be, just a little darker than 'Scarlet', another lipstick generally to be found in my handbag.

The colours are lovely, but the names of theses lipstick shades strike me as being a little dull. Of all the shades which have passed through my fingers, I think that my favourite name was 'Hearts Afire'. If I recall correctly, it was a Max Factor one. The name was enought to banish all doubt that this was a lipstick - there is no 'Hearts Afire' in the Dulux range! I don't know whether the the names of the shades are, in general, becoming more dull - or whether it's just the ones I've been buying. Either way, I look forward to them perking up... I always look forward to applying my lipstick, and enjoy prolonging that pleasurable anticipation. When I was a child, I liked to leave the best bit of my dinner to last. It was the same with a packet of fruit gums - I ended up with a pocketful of fluff-coated black ones. I'm still much the same, at least when it comes to getting ready, that is: I now eat my dinner in a more sensible way, and haven't had a fruit gum for years! I have a regular routine for my process of feminisation. I enjoy it all, but some parts are inevitably better than others. First of all comes foundation, then powder, blusher, and eye makeup. With almost all of my makeup on, I dress, then put on my shoes. The wig is almost the last item, an important moment - inspecting myself in the mirror, nearly ready. Finally, the crowning stage, and in many ways the best of all - lipstick. Like any pleasure, putting on my lipstick is not to be rushed. I apply it slowly, lovingly. I roll my lower lip over the upper one, then contemplate my reflection. I apply a little more lipstick... the process can last for quite a long time. Why hurry when I'm enjoying myself? Sometimes I use a lip brush - I have a retractable one which is a very satisfying little gizmo. Once I have finished putting on the lipstick in the usual way, I work round the outline of my lips with the brush. It extends the process a little bit further, makes it last a little but longer, and adds to the enjoyment. Of course, it wasn't always like that. While I have been attracted to, even fascinated by, lipstick since my early teens, I was well into my twenties before I applied it to my lips. In spite of my writing: 'Why hurry when I'm enjoying myself?' - there are limits. My lack of hurry in first sampling the delights of lipstick now seems crazy. Perhaps I was (at least a little bit) crazy when I was a teenager... I handled my sister's lipsticks, removed their tops, slid the lipstick itself out of the tube and then back in again. I would have loved to apply it to my lips, but it would be years before I found the courage to do so. A large part of the problem, I think, was that I didn't know how one went about removing it. Putting on my sister's clothes was one thing, I had a fairly good idea of how they would come off again. If anyone came home unexpectedly, undressing might be a rushed process - but I felt confident I could manage it. But how did girls remove their lipstick? Would washing remove it entirely? Did it require some make-up removal product? If so, which? My sister had a selection of liquids and creams, of whose function I was unsure.

There was a nightmare quality to the idea of trying to discover how to remove lipstick - desperately and in a hurry - as I heard a key in the door. Did I dare risk that possibility? In the end, with much regret, I emphatically did not dare. My not daring to try my sister's lipstick was compounded by the layout of the house. My sister's bedroom and mine were off the same upstairs passage, next to each other. While dressing in her clothes, moving from room to room was no problem. However, I suspected that removing the lipstick might involve using the bathroom, which was downstairs and reached via the kitchen. To get there from my sister's room (or mine) involved going downstairs and past the front door (a likely spot for running into someone entering the house), then through the dining room and into the kitchen (with its back door, the other likely spot for encountering people coming home). Thinking about that now, the solution seems obvious. Take the lipstick down to the bathroom, put some on my lips, and then see how easy or difficult it was to remove. There was no need to wear a skirt in order to experiment with make-up. Oh well, I've thought of that solution three dozen years too late! In fact, of all the things which give me a lot of pleasure, I think that lipstick may be the most recent to have really grabbed me. After my teenage era of feminine experimentation, I grew a beard. Goodness knows why I did it - I was still dressing in private. It was during this bearded period that I first wore lipstick. I was living on my own then, and no longer worried about family members returning unexpectedly, or even paying me the occasional visit. Alas, the effect of the lipstick was far from flattering. My reddened lips served only to emphasise the beard. My reflection was grotesque... well, it was probably always pretty grotesque during that period, but usually I didn't notice the beard. I had developed a sort of beard-blindness, but that selective blindness didn't operate when I looked at my lips... I still can't think about my reflection that first time I tried on lipstick without a little shudder. Ugh! Unsurprisingly, it was only when I lost the beard that I started to enjoy my lipstick. By this time, I was a Transformation customer, and had 'come out' to one of my friends. I took to decorating my letters to him with lipstiuck kisses, I got a lot of a kick out of that. It seemed a continuing 'coming out' process, and also had a slight hint of danger. What if someone else saw the letters? Another pleasure in those lipstick kisses was the realisation that no two people's lip prints are identical. The marks on the paper were as individual as my fingerprints. Just me, and nobody but me.

Here is one of the basic pleasures of lipstick - leaving my mark. I think it satisfies primal instincts - other creatures such as cats and dogs do it with scent. Wearing lipstick, it's visual, but it seems like a very similar thing. Seeing my lipstick on a glass for the very first time gave me a tremendous thrill. I had noticed women leaving such traces many times, but this time it was me. Wow! Leaving my mark continued to give me pleasure, I suppose, but there's nothing like the first time. A different way of leaving one's mark with lipstick is the message on a mirror. I gather that it's an approved way of makeing one's farewell... This is the kiss off, Buster... Or, if one is leaving with the contents of the sap's walletL So long, Sucker... Or even: So long and thanks for all the fish... But I've never used one of my own lipsticks (or anyone else's!) to write on a mirror. It could be that I don't live the right (or wrong) lifestyle for that sort of thing. It could be that I'm too concerned with the condition of my lipsticks. If I see someone in a film using my favourite kind of make-up for that purpose, I do worry about what it's doing to the lipstick. Perhaps I should have been someone's mum: "Look at the state of your lipstick! It was a really nice one too. Whatever have you been doing to it, you bad girl!" Sticking with bad girls - and marks - I have a slight regret that I gave up smoking before I really took to wearing lipstick. Smoking is a vice of by bearded era, and I've never been very sorry that I gave up the habit. All the same, there is an attraction to the idea of seeing lipsticked cigarette ends in the ash tray, and knowing that they're mine. Another pleasure of lipstick is the taste. There is a slight (and sometimes not so slight) waxy taste which remains for as long as the lipstick is on my lips. I enjoy this constant reminder - I don't forget about my lipstick in the way I do, say, my eye shadow. Not the least wonderful aspect of the taste has to do with kissing. Kiss someone wearing lipstick and there is at least a hint of the taste. (This depends on the kind of kissing as well as the kind of lipstick - some kisses carry a lot of flavour!) Kissing someone wearing a different lipstick from me, I realised for the first time that not all lipsticks taste alike.

That was interesting, but the real revelation came with kissing someone wearing the same lipstick as me. I had a slight taste in my mouth - so slight that I was scarcely aware of it. Then, our lips met, and the taste suddenly intensified... Hearts Afire! This is something of which I have never grown tired. Enjoying, as I do, both the taste of and the marks left by lipstick, it seems almost unaccountable that I have taken to wearing lipstick with the minimum taste, and which resists leaving marks. I refer, of course, to the 'stay-put' varieties, available from several manufacturers. I've tried several brands of these. One of them, I bought purely on the grounds of it being recommended by Cosmopolitan. I suppose I figured that if Cosmo didn't know which lipsticks were which, who did? In fact, it didn't prove my favourite and I only bought it in one shade (unlike the ones I prefer, where a single shade is certainly not enough for me!). So, what is the attraction of the stay-put lipsticks? I think that it has something to do with their seeming new, glamorous, in the fashion. There is a novelty in the colour not readily coming off. But, above all, I think that I like the shape of these lipsticks. They are longer and thinner than a conventional lipstick, almost like a tube of mascara. They seem to me to have a lot of style. Touching up my lips in a pub or club, I feel pride in producing my elegant-looking lipstick. It seems a piece of class. This is important because not only is lipstick the kind of make-up I most often touch up in public, but doing so gives me a lot of pleasure. There is a kind of paradox in touching up my lipstick. Colouring my lips is essentially an out-going activity, primarily it changes my appearance to others. Yet, gazing into my handbag mirror, applying the colour to my lips, is an entirely self-absorbed activity. The contrast between the outgoing and inward-looking aspects of doing this seems to me deliciously feminine...

Wearing lipstick is something I seem to do for the benefit of others. Unless I look into a mirror (which, vain as I am, is something I only do occasionally) I cannot see my lips. But this appearance of it being for others is an illusion - I wear it for myself. Perhaps that's why I so treasure the feel of lipstick on my lips, and its slight taste. A part of the pleasure of redoing my lips in public is that it means closely contemplating my lips in a mirror. Nor is this a small part of the pleasure. I enjoy looking back at what lipstick does for my lips, I enjoy lipstick period... ...I sashay into the room wrapped in a scarlet sheath. My nails are the same scarlet colour... And my lips? What would my conjuration of feminine allure be without lipstick?

20 Nov 2015

Perfect Eyelashes

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Perfect Eyelashes

Lightly powder lashes to give mascara a coat to cling to and will give you Perfect Eyelashes Heat eyelash curler with hair dryer for a few seconds. It will act like a curling iron for the eyes. Hint: Curl twice for a rounded curl. Place the open curl near the lash roots and arrange your lashes between the two rims. Squeeze gently for thirty seconds. Squeeze again at mid-lash for another thirty-seconds. It looks very natural. Give upper lashes a second coat of mascara, concentrating on the tips by stroking the brush horizontally across the lash. Never wait when applying second coat of mascara to lashes. Mascara, especially waterproof mascara, dries quickly and can clump. Lightly coat lower lashes

20 Nov 2015

25 Top Beauty Tips

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Our beautician Debbie Shaw offers her top professional Beauty Tips for making the most of your transformation in the simplest and most cost-effective way.

Lips

1 Turn lipstick into lip-gloss with a coat of lip balm after applying the colour. 2 Put your lip and eye pencils in the refrigerator before sharpening. They're less likely to break - and you won't waste so much. 3 Double up your lip liner to fill in your lips as well as outlining them. 4 To prevent lipstick getting on your teeth, try this tip: after putting it on, put your finger in your mouth, purse your lips and pull it out. 5 Dusting a little loose powder over your lipstick will help it stay put for longer.

Eyes

6 Eye shadow doubles up as eyeliner, if applied with a cotton bud. Dampen the end of the bud for a more dramatic effect. 7 Use a little green eye shadow on red eyelids to mask the ruddiness. 8 Turn ordinary mascara into the lash-lengthening variety by dusting your eyelashes with a little translucent powder first. 9 Stand a dried-up mascara in a glass of warm water to bring it back to life. 10 If mascara tends to clog on your lower lashes, try using a small thin brush to paint colour onto individual lashes.

Nails

11 Dried-up nail polish can be revived by stirring in a few drops of polish remover before using. 12 Bubbles of air in the polish ruin its finish. Prevent this by rolling the bottle between the palms of your hands to mix it up before using, rather than shaking it vigorously. 13 Make cheap nail polish last longer by sealing it with a clear top coat. 14 Rub a dab of petroleum jelly around the neck of a new nail polish bottle, and it should be easy to open for the rest of its life. 15 You can dry nail polish very quickly by blasting nails with a cold jet of air from your hair dryer.

Eyebrows

16 When plucking your eyebrows, coat the hairs you want to remove with concealer - it will help you visualise exactly the shape of the brow you're after. 17 Use an old clean toothbrush to slick unruly eyebrows into shape. 18 If you find eyebrow tweezing painful, hold an ice cube over the area first to numb the nerve endings before you start. 19 A little foundation lightly rubbed through your eyebrows and brushed through with an old toothbrush will instantly lighten them. 20 If you don't dare shape your eyebrows into a feminine style, at least get rid of the long hairs and those over the bridge of your nose. That's just good male grooming!

Complexion

21 If you've run out of blusher, dot a little pink lipstick on your cheeks and blend well with your fingertips. 22 Sweep a little loose powder under your eyes when applying dark shades of eye shadow to catch any falling specks and stop them staining your foundation. 23 Always use a cosmetic sponge to apply foundation - using your fingertips can result in an uneven, greasy finish. 24 If you've put on too much blusher, tone it down with a little loose powder over the top until you've reached a shade you're happy with. 25 Keep the plastic seals or paper discs that came with tubs of foundation and replace after each use. It helps prevent air from distributing in the product and breeding bacteria - which means the foundation stays fresh for far longer.

20 Nov 2015

Make Up Guide

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Make Up Guide

Even the majority of genetic women cannot put make-up on professionally. With this detailed step by step pictorial and written guide you should, with practice, be able to achieve a cosmetic effect that highlights your best features (normally your eyes) and disguises any drawbacks you may have. Please remember: personal tuition in the use of cosmetics is available in total confidence at our own fully equipped salons in all Transformation Shops, staffed by professional beauticians. Tissues and cotton buds are essential to have at hand to correct any mistakes as you go along. There is no substitute for practice, so spend time just putting it on and taking it off - you should finally get down to half an hour. Don't despair, it took me 3 hours to begin with!! You can see how the professionals do it on our Make-up Video, available in both European and American formats. Have fun! Stephanie Anne Lloyd

Apply cleanser to face and throat with fingertips in upward and outward movements, remove with cotton wool. Apply toner with cotton wool using the same movements, then smooth moisturiser over face with upward strokes. Apply miracle beard cover using a damp cosmetic sponge, covering all of the beard area. Remember, only the lightest coating is necessary. Use instant cover to hide any dark circles under your eyes, applying with your fingertips or a damp cosmetic sponge. Apply foundation over the whole area of the face and neck ensuring you cover eyelids etc. Blend foundation at neckline to ensure there is no noticable line. Apply powder using a fluffy pad or cotton wool, with a pressing and slightly turning action. Apply kohl pencil carefully to form a line right up against eyelashes top and then bottom as illustrated. Draw a cotton bud across to slightly smudge and soften the line. Starting from the inner corner of the eye, apply the lighter of the two colours you have selected. Always tap the brush after loading with powder to eliminate colour falling on cheeks.

Using the darker colour, work outwards from the center of the eyelid (this makes your eyes look further apart). Remember you are trying to create an almond shape for your eyes. Next, use this colour underneath the eye ina a gradually widening line from the center to the outside corner. Fill in the gap between eyeshadow and eyebrow with highlight and apply a darker crease line as shown. Remember all colours must be carefully blended so that no definate divisions are noticeable. Sucking in your cheeks to provide a guide line, apply blusher, more at night than in the daytime. Carefully note the position for application and work from the hairline inwards. Your blusher should be of the same colour group as the lipstick you intend to use. Apply a light coat of mascara, holding a mirror horizontally against your chest for the upper lashes and vertically in front of you for the upper. Using eyelash curlers, clamp them tightly as near to the roots of your upper lashes as possible and hold for 20 seconds. Repeat for the other eye. Lightly stroke in colour using eyebrow pencil, following the natural arched shape but extending them outwards at the edge. Apply a second light coat of mascara, ensuring that 10 minutes has elapsed since the first application. Using a lipliner that matches your lipstick, outline the natural shape of your lips but accentuating the centre bow slightly.

Fill in with lipstick, blotting after the first coat by gently biting on a tissue then apply a second application. This routine ensures you maintain lip colour even throughout a meal. For a really sexy look, apply a little lip gloss to the center of your lower lip. Yummy, yummy. As an optional extra you can now use false eyelashes. Ours are self adhesive and stik time and time again, simply peel off to remove. An optional third coat of mascara can be applied if necessary, but only for evening wear. Next to eyes, hands are studied most, so you do need to have long elegant nails. Apply the super-realistic nails by very lightly sanding your own nails first and then applying a very small spot of glue. Cut and shape your nails to individual taste using nail clippers and an emery board only. (Never use a metal nail file even on your own nails) Paint your nails with your favourite nail varnish. It will not chip, flake or peel off. Never use acetone based varnish remover, it will melt your nails. Special varnish and nail removers are available. The finished result, a professional make-up that will make

20 Nov 2015

Make Up Tips

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Make Up Tips Your eyes are the most exciting and expressive feature you have. They project your mood, emotion and personality, and so emphasising them with make-up is extremely important.

Bear in mind, as you look at yourself in the mirror, that your eye is divided into three parts: The eyelid The center, or depth area The brow bone The classical ideal eye would be proportioned in the following way: one-third from the base of the lashes to the crease line, and two-thirds from the crease line to the eyebrow. You can achieve this proportion with well judged make-up. Eye Shadow I prefer pressed-powder shadows. They are made in many shades and have either pearl or matt finishes. A pearl finish creates a light-reflective, brighter effect - it does however have a tendency to accentuate any flaws and emphasise eyelid creases. Originally, eye shadow was devised to bring out eye colour, but it is now used in more sophisticated ways to highlight, contour and shape the eyes. Eye shadow can emphasise eye colour; it can contrast or co-ordinate with fashion, or it may simply create a different and dramatic look. One thing I don't advocate is the use of colour charts. Your goal is to choose an eye shadow that will emphasise or bring out your eyes - this doesn't simply mean choosing a shade that matches your eye colour. Today, make-up has become much more sophisticated and the newer earthy, subtle tones are more exciting regardless of your eye colour. My preference for contouring eyes is the use of softer eye colours, which are easy to apply. The most effective are charcoal, taupe, tawny browns, and plum or wine colours.

In striving for drama and sophistication in applying make-up to enhance your most important feature - your eyes - I prefer using two or three shades of eyeshadow. For example, a lighter to a darker plum shade, or a beige and a tawny brown. The colours should be similar, but slightly different in terms of colour pigment and degree of light and dark. You can always use another colour as an accent shade; for example, lets say you applied charcoal contour shadow then you can choose mauge or amethyst, apricot or yellow ochre for an extra touch of excitement. Highlight shades are most effective when they are lighter than your eyeshadow. Ivory, a pearlised peach, pink or beige on the brow bone is always interesting yet subtle. The following steps will give you a classically contoured eye: 1. You will obtain the best effect by choosing shades that blend from one to the other without leaving a demarcation line. Start with the lighter colour at the base of the lashes and bring it up to the depth area, extending it away from the inner corner of the eye and around the outer corner. Use an applicator or professional brush set for best results. Deftly apply the shadow just under the lower, outer edge of the lid. The deeper colour is then applied from the depth area up onto the brow bone, where it should fade away. I like shades of amethyst, burgundies, tawny brown colours and the smoky shades. 2. Apply highlighter or colour accent to the inner half of the eyelid. 3. The last step is the application of highlighter to the brow bone. Blend shades together so that no demarcation lines spoil the effect.

Outline Your Eyes! An eye pencil is best for outlining your eyes. Your liner should be brown, black, charcoal or navy, so that it looks like part of the eye and gives your lashes a thicker appearance. Black is most effective for a dramatic look (and the one I use), while the lighter shades are softer and more natural. For the top lid: Place you finger on the brow bone and gently lift and stretch the lid so that it's taut. Run a series of short but connected strokes of liner at the lash base from the inner to the outer corner of the eye area. Smudge the liner outward and downward into the lashes with a cotton bud. For further emphasis: Lift the eyelid and stroke on the liner along the inner rim of the lid underneath your upper lashes. Do not use liner under the lid if you wear contact lenses. Use the pencil now to draw a line just below the bottom lashes. The liner should start very thin at the inside of the eye and steadily thicken as you reach the outside. If you don't wear contact lenses then colour the inside lid as well. Eyelashes The eyelash curler is a great help in creating an open-eyed look and adding the appearance of length to the lashes. It is a must when you have very straight lashes or when they droop down at the outer corners. First tilt your head slightly back and look straight ahead into the mirror (a magnifying mirror is best). Now place the lash curler close to the base of the top lashes and carefully clamp it closed for about thirty seconds. This should give a nice curl to the lashes. If you have not achieved the desired effect, go through the procedure once more. Curling the lashes should always be done before the mascara is applied. False Lashes False lashes are not usually necessary, especially for daytime make-up, but they can add beauty to the eye not graced with long lashes and add glamour to an otherwise plain eye. Choose only very fine lashes, not too long, and they should look absolutely natural.

Mascara Only use the wand type. Black is best for brunettes, and brown for blondes and redheads. Lightly apply to to bottom lashes. When using mascara on upper lashes, look up and lightly apply it to the undersurface of your lashes - then look downwards and layer the top surface. Repeat this procedure several times until you achieve the desired thickness. Eyebrow Tips The following tips will help you care for and maintain those well-groomed eyebrows: Generally 'underplay' the eyebrows. Subtlety works best. Follow the natural shape of the brow. Never apply colour in heavy, solid lines. Rather, use light, fine, feathery strokes to simulate the natural eyebrow hairs. Eyebrows should always be a few shades lighter than your hair colour - never darker! When they are darker they look artificial and have a tendency to distract attention from the beauty of your eyes. Never shave your eyebrows - they will only grow back stronger and more coarse. Use a dipilatory cream instead. If your brows are a bit flaky or scaly, lubricate them at night with a little vaseline or castor oil. We hope you found this article useful!

20 Nov 2015

Christine Jorgensen

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" I could never understand why I was receiving so much attention," Jorgensen said in a 1986 interview. "Now looking back, I realize it was the beginning of the Sexual Revolution, and I just happened to be one of the trigger mechanisms." Christine Jorgensen-with her sleek hair, smokey voice, slender body and smart clothes, exploded into the nation's consciousness in the halcyon days of the post war Baby Boom, in the placid I-like-Ike, I-love-Lucy era when issues of sexuality, much less transsexuality, were strictly taboo. It didn't take much to propel her private, two-year odyssey from man to woman into the object of international debate and ridicule. "EX-GI BECOMES BLONDE BOMBSHELL," screamed the headline in the Daily News, which broke the story on Dec. 1, 1952, after it was leaked about the second of Jorgensen's three operations. Unwittingly, Jorgensen's surgery proved to be something more than the lurid tale it was made out to be at the time: It was also the begining of greater candor and understanding in the way the world looked at issues of transsexuality. According to the International Gender Dysphoria Association, by 1980 an estimated 3,000 to 6,000 American adults had undergone hormonal and surgical sex changes. Among them, tennis pro Renee Richards and British-born writer Jan Morris.

And while transsexual surgery has hardly become commonplace since it was pioneered in Europe in the 1930s, it certainly has become less-than-scandalous in most quarters. Indeed, by 1982, when news spread that a Nassau County police officer had undergone a sex-change operation and was planning to return to the force, the response, from the county executive to the police commissioner, was more support that embarrassment. "It (the surgery) wouldn't get on the 95th page of the newspaper if it happened today," Jorgensen said last year in an interview with the Los Angeles Time. "It's not news anymore." But it was news-scandalous news-when Jorgensen did it. In those pre-feminist days, there was no end to the cutting appellations: The press described her variously as mankind's gift to female species," "The latest thing in blonde bombshells," "tops in swaps" and "the turnabout gal." In and out of the press, she became subject of endless conversation and the butt of thousands of titillating jokes. And that was just the beginning. While Jorgensen was still in Denmark, she had sold the rights to her life story to the Hearst Corp.'s American Weekly Magazine for $20,000. But that contract did little to dissuade other journalists-and evryone else-from besieging her. On Feb. 12, 1953, when she stepped off the plane from Denmark, at what was then Idlewild Airport, Jorgensen was greeted by more than 350 "admirers, autograph hounds and just plain curious people." Not to mention hordes of reporters and photographers who catalogued everything from her baggage (13 pieces of luggage) to her destination ("the Swank Carlyle Hotel" in Manhatten) to her first beverage in America (a Bloody Mary "containing two shots of vodka and tomato juice") From then on, wherever Jorgensen went, neither the press nor the attendant carnival atmosphere was far behind. Every detail was grist for the mill: Her size 9-AA shoes. Her $10 contribution to a volounteer fire department in her new Long Island's hometown. Her first Easter bonnet, which landed her on the front page of Newsday on Easter weekend in 1953, a much-vaunted accolade traditionally reserved for Long Island's society matrons.

The press couldn't get enough of Jorgensen. The press was there on Feb. 26, 1953, when she took her drivers test in Garden City. A Newsday reporter noted on the occasion, "She, then he, had once been employed as a chauffeur. But her license had expired and so, said one wag, had the sex of the owner." The press was there on May 8, 1953, when Jorgensen made her debut at Hollywoods Orpheum theater, narrating a 20-minute travel documentary she filmed in Europe: "Her paycheck is reported to be $12,500 for a weeks work." And the press was there a week later, on the flight back to New York, when Jorgensen announced that she planned to make her home in Massapequa, on a 150-by-100-square-foot parcel of land where her father, George, a carpenter, would build a six-room, $25,000 ranch-style house, complete with the most up-to-date burglar alarm system. "Long Island," she said, "[is] a lovely spot to settle." It became her home base until 1967, when her parents died and she moved to California. But if the press fueled the furor over Jorgensen, it was feeding a public that couldn't get enough of her and a society that didn't know what to make of her. Was she some sort of side show freak? Or a modern pioneer? There was no consensus. While gossip columnist Walter Winchell ridiculed her, hostess Elsa Maxwell feted her. While the Stork Club banned her, the Waldorf-Astoria welcomed her. Jorgensen, from the beginning never regretted what she did, "I regretted at the beginning, that the press got hold of it and made my life such an open book," she said in a 1979 Newsday interwiew. "But the publicity, too, hasn't been altogether bad. It's enabled me to make an awful lot of money." Although Jorgensen preferred to be known as "the noted colour photographer"-she even went to London in 1953 to photograph the coronation of Queen Elizabeth-she made her money, and her mark, from her celebrity. The offers of Hollywood stardom that poured in from film producers when she returned to the United States never panned out. Nevertheless, Jorgensen decided that if the notoriety that was following her wasn't going to die out, she might as well cash in on it. During the '50s and '60s she earned a more-than-comfortable living on the talk show and lecture circuit and, most notably, as a stage actress and nightclub performer. The act, which she took from the Latin Quarter in New York to the Interlude in Los Angeles to clubs in Havana, Caracas and throughout England and Australia, was both serious and fun. With a straight face she sang "I enjoy being a Girl." With tongue-in-cheek, she performed "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" as a parody of her life before the operation.

Throughout the years of living under a magnifying glass, Jorgensen retained her sense of humor. But in her 1967 book, "Christine Jorgensen: A Personal Biography," it was obvious that she had considered life before the operation anything but joyous. As a child growing up in the Bronx, Jorgensen said she was a "frail, tow-headed, introverted" little boy who "ran from fistfights and rough-and-tumble games." When she was 5, she wrote, her Christmas dream was for "a pretty doll with long gold hair." Under the tree, there was a red railroad train. A graduate of Christopher Columbus High School in the Bronx-Class of '45-Jorgensen was drafted into the Army a few months after the end of World War II, as a 19-year-old who admitted years later that he felt like a woman trapped in a mans body. The road to Jorgensen's transsexual surgery in Copenhagen began in New York, with years of independent research. At the Manhattan Medical and Dental Assistants School, Jorgensen devoured information on the subject of sexual hormones and glandular imbalances. Then, through a friend who was a physician, the young man discovered it was possible to obtain sex change treatments and operations in Scandinavia. In 1950, George Jorgensen Jr. left for Denmark, staying with friends and keeping his plans a secret from everyone, including his family. It was not until two years later-on the eve of the second operation-that Christine Jorgensen finally wrote to her parents in New York: "Nature made a mistake, which I have corrected, and I am now your daughter." Although Jorgensen's parents were shocked by the news, they welcomed their child home. Jorgensen herself never married, but there were countless reports of liassons: In 1952, a Texas GI told the world that he had dated her in Copenhagen "and she had the best body of any girl I ever met." In 1959, she became engaged; her first fiance later broke the engagement. "I've never been married," she said in the Newsday interview, "but I have been engaged twice, and I've been deeply in love twice. I was never engaged to the men I was in love with, and I was never in love with the men I was engaged to." When the noteriety died down, Jorgensen settled into a fairly private existence. After she left Long Island in 1967, she lived quietly in California, first at the Chateau Marmont, the historic apartment-hotel on Hollywood's Sunset Strip, then in a four bedroomed house in Laguna Niguel, 60 miles south of L.A., and for the last two years in San Clemente. Although she had dropped out of the lecture circuit for 15 years, she returned on-and-off during the 1980s. She had also been lpanning a sequel to her autobiography and had been trying to find a U.S. distributer for a Dutch-made documentary on transsexuals, lesbians and female impersonators. After she was diagnosed as having cancer in 1987, she confessed that one of her remaining dreams was to appear on the hit T.V. show, "Murder She Wrote." Jorgensen never found even fleeting fame on T.V. But she didn't need it. To many, she had won more enduring recognition, as a pioneer, as a man-turned-woman who broke down at least one of society's sexual barriers. For her own part, though, she saw it as nothing more that a case of self-preservation. "Does it take bravery and courage for a person with polio to want to walk?" she once said. "It's very hard to speculate on, but if I hadn't done what I did, I may not have survived. I may not have wanted to live. Life simply wasn't worth much. Some people may find it easy to live a lie, I can't. And that's what it would have been-telling the world I'm something I'm not."

20 Nov 2015

From He to She

Admin Frequently Asked Questions , How to guides

FROM HE TO SHE

For one in 10,000 of the population, a hormonal imbalance in the uterus about six to nine weeks after conception is where it all starts. A study from the Netherlands examined the brains of straight and gay men, women and male-to-female transsexuals. They looked at part of the hypothalmus, an area of the brain that is affected by sex hormones during its development, and discovered that while the brains of straight and gay men were the same, the transsexual-to-female brains were almost identical to the brains of women.

However, knowing that the way you feel is due to a quirk of nature doesn’t make life any easier, especially when puberty kicks in and your body starts to head off down a route that is diametrically opposed to the way you want to go.

“I have people turning up who are on the point of suicide,” says Fran Springfield, specialist gender identity counsellor, “and self mutilation is not uncommon.” But, in a strange way, these are the lucky ones – they’ve recognised their situation and have taken the first step. Others are not so lucky. “Many transsexuals go through periods when they attempt to suppress or deny their condition. Some choose hobbies or jobs that are hyper-masculine in order to try to prove that they are not transsexual.”

Transsexuals can be found in all walks of life: Springfield has even had former SAS members come to her for help. Some transsexual-to-females who visit are in the 40s or 50s, have married and have children. Having made the initial contact the patient is now ready to embark on the journey from transsexual-to-female.

STEP ONE: Counselling

“Clients undergo many hours of counselling to determine that they are really transsexual and to rule out other psychiatric problems,” says Springfield. The only specialist nurse gender counsellor in the country, she has worked in the gender field for ten years, and is a member of the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, an organisation which governs the treatment of transsexuals. The client is then referred to a psychiatrist for further evaluation.

STEP TWO: Hormone Treatment

Transsexual-to-females are given oestrogen which prompts them to develop breasts and a smaller waist. They will see more fat on their hips and smoother skin along with a reduction of body hair and loss of libido. Hormones do not usually stop beard growth which has to be removed by electrolysis. It can take up to 1,000 hours of electrolysis at £35 per hour to remove a full beard. Hormones do not alter voice pitch either, although speech therapy can help in that respect.

STEP THREE : Changing gender role

Patients will have to live in their new gender role for at least 12 months before an operation can be performed. During this time, all documents relating to the client are changed – driving license, National Insurance, everything except birth certificate. The patient must also come out at work – following the case of P vs Cornwall Council in the European Court in April 1996, transsexuals are now protected against discrimination in the workplace. A Home Office working party is expected to report in 2000/2001 on changing the birth certificates of post-operative transsexuals to reflect their new gender identity.

“The real life experience is important,” says Springfield. The 12-month period is a duration laid down by Harry Benjamin, who actually coined the term transsexual and, on a quite unrelated point, lived to be 102 years old. During this time transsexuals are checked up on to make sure that they are not cheating.

STEP FOUR : Counselling and Referral

Psychiatric examination follows more counselling to rule out delusion in the patient. After all, there will be no going back after the operation.

STEP FIVE : Surgery

It’s not only the end results that are good, there are also very few complications following the 4-5 hour operation. The patient is out of hospital in ten days and can be back at work in three months. The risk of prolapse is small and usually only occurs if patients have sex too soon after surgery or if the surgery is poor. Satisfaction rates with good surgery are 100 per cent. “The patient has got they body they always wanted,” says Springfield. “To see patients going from desperation to complete satisfaction makes the job very rewarding.”

Following surgery cases, 40 per cent of transsexual-to-females live as heterosexual women, 40 per cent are lesbian and 20 per cent pursue a bisexual lifestyle.

“Transsexuals are ordinary people who’ve gone through an extraordinary experience,” says Springfield. “Many live their lives without anyone knowing their background. You have probably met some without even knowing.”

You can contact Fran Springfield at http://members.aol.com/gics

20 Nov 2015

Easy Pedicure

---cdata-eal-admin--- Frequently Asked Questions , How to guides

Transgender Resources

Easy Pedicure

Smooth, feminine looking feet are an absolute must in the warm weather when sandals are worn. Giving yourself a pedicure at home is not nearly as complicated as you might think. Here is an easy step-by-step proceedure that guarantees gorgeous toes. You will need the following items (as for the manicure): Towel Bowl Warm water or olive oil Emery Board Oily polish remover Base coat / ridge filler Coloured nail varnish Polish sealer / clear varnish Cotton wool Orange stick Cuticle remover / conditioner moisturising cream In addition you will need toe dividers, a pumice stone and nail clipper. 1. Begin by clipping each toenail straight across with your nail clipper. File each nail lightly with an emery board until nice and even. 2. Now soak your feet in warm water for 10 to 15 minutes. Pat them just dry enough so water doesn't drip, and apply cuticle conditioner to each nail base, gently pushing back with an orange stick. 3. If corns and hard skin are a problem, try using a pumice stone on these rough area while feet are still moist. After scrubbing the soles of your feet and the rough spots around each toe, apply a good moisturising cream to the entire foot and between each toe. Clean nail surface with a cotton tipped orange stick dipped in remover. 4. Polished toenails give feet a lovely feminine look. First, place toe dividers between toes. Apply your basecoat, remembering to let it dry on each nail for about one minute. 5. Polish your toenails carefully with the same colour you have on your fingernails or a similar shade. You can then apply your polish sealer and quick dry, making sure polish is completely dry before removing the toe dividers. Handy Hints for Feminine feet Soak nightly if possible ensuring you dry feet thoroughly - especially between the toes - and then massage in moisturising cream Use a nail brush to keep toe nails clean Never shape nails, always cut straight across to avoid ingrowing toe nails If you have sweaty feet put talcum powder in your shoes or stockings, or use a proprietry foot spray Go barefoot as often as possible (I'm famous for it!) Buy correctly fitting leather shoes which give and allow your feet to breathe (unlike cheap synthetic materials) Never try to apply polish without using toe dividers - it will smudge every time Like the manicure, your pedicure can be done in about 30 minutes each week. Once you've invested in the necessary tools and products you'll find that your at-home 'beauty night' will keep you looking and feeling terrific!

20 Nov 2015

Testimonials

Admin Frequently Asked Questions , How to guides

Testimonials

Real extracts from customers letters or emails telling us of their personal results. The originals of all of these letters are held by Transformation for verification.

DO YOU WANT TO APPEAR ON OUR WEBSITE?

We realise that most of our customers guard their privacy & would not want to appear on video. But we also know that there will be a few of you out there that would love to appear as a convincing woman in a short video clip where even your mum would not recognise you!!! If you are interested in shooting a short testimonial video using your phone please ring Diane or Beverley for full details on 0161-773-4477 or email us here.

BECOME AN INSPIRATION TO OTHERS

Hi ladies, Just wanted to tell you about my visit to Manchester on Saturday. I went again for a changeaway and had just the BEST time. It was wonderful, and again, that is down to the staff you had on duty. As I walked in, Debbie remembered me, saying "Hi Sophie....you staying with us today?", which was the perfect introduction. Both her and Eileen were just fantastic. They take real care and have a genuine interest in you, in your choice of outfit, and your make up. You could say that is what they are paid to do...true, but actually, they did seem to genuinely care, and really did welcome me as a woman into their female fold. Eileen helped me pick my two outfits, listening and taking into account what I wanted, and advising me accordingly. Debbie then did expertly did my make up. Then, once changed, both treated me as the woman I want to be. I literally was one of the girls for the duration of my stay. It was just wonderful - truly magnificent. And my wonderful experience was down to their expertise and kindness. It was FAB-U-LOUS!! Can't wait for the next visit.

Sophie x

Hi Diane Just wanted to write and tell you that I went for two changeaways this week, and what a wonderful time I had. Just wanted to let you all in head office know the wonderful job that Eileen and Debbie did, in the makeovers.Both were fabulous, but Debbie was especially superb. She has this wonderful manner about her, which just makes me feel that, whilst I am there, I am a woman. Her makeovers, the way she picks out clothes, and the make up design and hair styling, are just fabulous. But then after that, she talks to you like you are one of the girls, about girly things that women would chat about, and it just comes naturally to her. It is not forced, there's no act, which makes you immediately feel accepted as a woman there. Transformation should be very proud to have her. Thanks Diane....I can't wait to return!

Sophie x

Hi, This is a note of thanks to your company and if one person is to be singled out it would be Beverley on the phone ordering service. After much deliberation and a little therapy I decided time was right to undergo hormone replacement, my first contact with Bev was lovely, I found her proffesional, patient and knowledgable of products so well qualified to guide me through, I placed an order which arrived next day and delighted, I feel Beverley should be congratulated and no, I am not related to her! Many thanks again from

Robyn

Dear Tracey I feel I had to write this letter to extend my thanks to you personally for my experience on Tuesday 22nd February. After plucking up courage the day before to enter the shop, I was made so welcome and comfortable the moment I entered the shop. Your professional attitude and empathy are a credit to you and I wish the world had more people like yourself to make people like myself feel more accepted in society. Once I had gained confidence I made a purchase and agreed that I would return the next day for a Changeaway. Upon arriving the next day I was greeted with the same enthusiasm by you as I was the day before. I then felt nervous again as there was another lady in the shop. I should have had no doubt that this lady (Christine) would show me the same respect as you. She is also a credit to your establishment. The whole experience that I had over the next few hours felt so normal. This is soley down to your relaxed and empathetic manner. As you know I have a very Plain Jane dress sense and you respected that and did not try to make me look like a Drag Queen. And how you gave me a waist I will never know, I have not had a waist since I was 16!!!!! Your knowledge on applying make-up made even me look special (in my opinion I am six foot tall, eighteen stone and look like a battered rugby player) You made me feel so relaxed that I actually found myself chatting to you as if I had known you for years and telling you all about my secret life and I can honestly say I have never talked this candidly and openly with anybody other than my wife. Saying that, I don’t think I have expressed myself so openly and been so frank as I was with you. Just like two sisters twittering on. You also made me feel so comfortable and convincing that I couldn’t believe that I sat in the shop the whole time. Please pass this on to your managers and feel free to use is as a testimonial if necessary. Once again thank you so much for my experience with you. You are a credit to both your company and yourself. Hope to see you next year when I am next in Birmingham Best wishes

Chris

Many thanks for your help recently. As you now know I visited your London shop unexpectedly yesterday as I realised I couldnt make next week after all and what an amazing experience it turned out to be. I don't think I was ever made to feel so welcome in a shop before, it felt like more of a spiritual event than a shopping expedition; many, many thanks to Samantha & Karitas. I left your shop feeling freed from decades of suppressed emotion and truly I haven't felt so good about myself in many a year. If anybody who has only ever cross dressed on their own before and has any doubts about making such a step by visiting such an establishment (and believe me I can understand) just try it otherwise you'll never know what you have missed. Once again thank you to Samantha & Karitas for making it such a special day.

Steve

On Monday (16th) I gave myself a treat by spending a day out, and just over £400, at your branch in London. It is a pleasure to tell you just how helpful and kind both Beverley and Samantha were, Beverley paying particular attention to my needs, and also to tell you how much they both contributed to my enjoyment of my time there. Please pass on my grateful thanks for their time and attentionl. My only regret is that I could not stay any longer than I did as it took me over three hours to get there and roughly the same time to return to my home near Southampton. Highest regards

Dawn

Yesterday, I visited your Birmingham shop and had one of the most fantastic experiences of my life, thanks to Shirley. This was my first-ever visit and my first ever Changeaway. I arrived just before 11 o'clock and Shirley was in the shop. Her sixth sense came into play instantly, as she knew I was self-conscious and sensed I was also confused. She sat me down on the sofa, "magicked" a cup of coffee and asked quite a lot of very discreetly worded questions. The result was that she put me very much at ease (not completely, but that was down to me, not her) and established, out of her questions, a look that would suit me - I had no real idea except that I didn't want to look tarty, because this was not a joke to me. Shirley selected a breast size, measured me, selected a pair of suitable shoes, guided me on an ideal pair of panties (I wore them today all day) and off we went. She left me to strip down to underwear then came back and started work. With a suitable corset, she whittled eight inches off my waist, fitted my bra and breasts (fantastic - if only they had been real!) and made an elegant woman of me. She did a fantastic job - my face was the only bit I wasn't entirely comfortable with, but Shirley could only work with what she had! Here's the fantastic part of it all - when she had finished, Shirley walked round me and then looked me in the eye and said: "You look fabulous". And I thought she was right - but it was she who had made this fabulous transformation - and by saying what she did so spontaneously gave me a massive confidence boost. It has given me the resolve that this will not be my last visit. I had a particularly difficult phsychological obstacle to overcome and almost without my realising it, Shirley led me through it to perform true magic. Not only did I look fantastic, I felt fantastic. I sat in the lounge for quite a while, getting used to this new me, read a few magazines, learned how to sit from what I read and I loved it. Shirley, you are a marvel and I'm looking forward very much to my next visit and experiencing you working your wonders again. Thankyou so much - and thankyou Transformations for being there.

Love, Sarah

I want to thank you. my last order was complete and on time like every order i placed. the three gifts were perfect. i will make use of them throughout my transformation. they are needed essentials for the m/f transformation. i will put them to the test when i go out to clubs and concerts. when i started transformation at first, i was very uncomfortable. now, i look forward to face the world. I am no longer a closet dresser.

love Martha

Hi girls I want to thank you all for my purchases my new breasts Alice dress ankle boots etc. I now have everything that I need to be a complete woman thank you all

love Carol from Manchester

I'm just emailing to say that the creams arrived early this afternoon and I've already had my first session with them. Here's hoping that I'm able to see some results in the near future. If you like, I'll keep you posted. Can I say once again a very big thank you and how very pleased I am with your service, your promptness in responding to emails, the speedy overnight delivery and for your very kind and discrete help when I called. It is all very much appreciated indeed and I'll certainly have no hesitation in contacting you again by phone. Very many thanks again and my kindest regards.

from Jaydee in the UK

This is one girl that is beaming with pleasure after receiving my new Realistic Vagina. It looks so real and thank you so much.

A Loyal Customer

from Ginger in USA

I would like to thank Maria for all her help and assistance when I have called the customer service line and for the way that she treats me like a woman. Maria has always explained every item I have asked about in a very helpful and respectful manner and I look forward to talking to her again soon. Many thanks

from Karen in Suffolk

Thank you so much Claudia for your understanding and kindness, your service and Customer Service staff are extremely friendly and helpful and are a credit to your company. Cant wait till my next treat from CDC.

from Allan

I have just received my Realistic Vagina and what a wonderful transformation it has made. I started wearing it immediately and have never felt better. Thank you so much for offering this product and I will buy from you again.

from Marryann in USA

Thank you very much for the parcel I received and shall be ordering again very soon and I will be recommending you fast efficient service to all my friends.

from Steffan

Jess United Kingdom

I just wanted to thank you I've been really happy with Transformation and the products are fantastic, they have not only made a difference to my body but also my quality of life. I think I would have committed suicide had I not found out about this site so I just wanted to personaly thank you all at Transformation for your support. Your customer service is amazing and user friendly and I immediately felt at home and I don't have to pretend to be somone im not. Please thank Stephanie Anne Lloyd, I think she is legendary and a true hero to the Trans people and I think shes saved and changed so many lives for the better. I only wish there were more people like that around. Im going to continue to use your services indefinatly where I feel safe and secure. Thanks for your help and have a nice night Jess x