It was just 10 months ago when Joshua affirmed his gender and became Natalie, a 30-year-old transgender person.
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Although Natalie had felt she was female from the age of seven, she had lived as a male, the sex she was assigned at birth, for the past 30 years.
But as she started her journey to identify as female, there were a number of learning curves she had to go through.
One was learning how to wear makeup and do her hair.
It's a scenario Jenni Atkinson is all too familiar with. As the facilitator of the makeovers, an initiative of TranzAustralia, Ms Atkinson – a post-op transgender woman – said it's a chance to share skills and build confidence.
The makeup artist Katie Saarikko and hairdresser Bandi of Hair4U salon in Hume provide the service for free, as often people affirming their gender have little money to spend on luxuries like makeup and pampering.
"If you've been raised presenting as male you don't get to know about makeup and hair and making yourself look nice for the world," Ms Atkinson said.
"This is an attempt to give people a few of those skills but also give them a bit of a treat."
Ms Atkinson met Natalie through the gender-diverse community in Canberra. She said Natalie was thrilled at the prospect of being part of the makeover.
The TranzAustralia makeover initiative began in June this year and Ms Atkinson believes it is unique to the ACT. Every second month the team takes on a makeover, provided free of charge for people in the transgender and sex-diverse community.
"When the first person we made-over looked in the mirror, she said it was the first time she ever felt she looked beautiful," Ms Atkinson said.
For Natalie, the makeover made her feel confident and attractive.
Natalie's decision to start her journey as a female began 10 months ago.
"The urge became too strong and I couldn't resist it anymore," Natalie said.
Prior to that she was too scared to tell anyone about her feelings.
"The makeover was a great experience," she said.
"It made me feel beautiful. I really enjoyed it."
To contact Ms Atkinson or find out more about the TranzAustralia makeovers, search TranzAustralia Makeovers on Facebook.
