Shiho blushes for a moment, then tilts her head and replies, "W-well, good thing your blushes are so cute."

That gets one from Akira. "I, um." She ducks her head and looks away. 

"Thank you?"

"Adorable."

Shiho blushes a bit more and leans against Ann. 

"I... um... I had the thought, and Bradamante wouldn't let me keep it to myself."

She giggles softly and shakes her head.

Ann kisses Shiho's forehead. "Yeah, I know how that is. Carmen does the same for me." 

She looks over at Akira. "So, I bet you want to change? The bathroom's just over to the left here, but please don't feel rushed — I just don't want to hold you up unnecessarily."

Akira's blush stays — she's not used to girls kissing in front of her to any degree — but she nods. "Thank you, Ann. Yeah, I'll duck in and change quickly."

Shiho nods, still blushing a bit herself. "Take your time if you need to. You mentioned shaving your legs, too, right? Don't want you to forget anything. We've got plenty of time, don't we?"

Akira nods. "Yeah, thanks Shiho." 

She ducks into the bathroom and gets out her razor. It's not a very long or complicated process: honestly, it's a bit meditative, and leaves her feeling a little more herself. 

She changes into the ruffled dress and does her tuck with a few of her more specialized supplies (thank goodness her family didn't figure out this pair of briefs was special), then puts her old clothes in her pack and steps out of the bathroom. She feels... Better. A little vulnerable  — her shoulders are cold  — but a little more centered too. More herself.

"Hey, you two," she says as she emerges.

Ann looks over and lightly applauds. "You look wonderful. Care to join us for your makeup?"

There's a slight flush on her cheeks.

Shiho's cheeks also color a bit again as she sees Akira emerge from the bathroom. "That's a really cute dress on you."

"Aw, thanks Shiho." She's also a little flushed. It's nice to get that reaction...

Akira comes and sits by the table. "So, um, how does all this work? Since we're doing a natural look, I'm guessing you just apply, like, foundation and concealer...?"

"And that's where you'd be wrong." Ann smirks. "We'll be doing a full face of makeup today, but it should be undetectable. Certainly undetectable to someone like Ryuji. We're going to be doing a 'your face but better' look. Foundation, concealer, mascara, blush, a nude lipstick, plus a number of secret weapons ranging from false lashes to subtle contouring to brow wax."

She drums her fingers against a makeup case on the table. It's as large as both her hands put together. "This will involve brushes close to your eyes for a lot of it, but we can take it slow and give you plenty of time." 

"If you're applying that much, wouldn't it be obvious...?"

"Not if you're good at it, and my Ann is great at it," Shiho brags with a grin.

"Yeah, you'd think so, but no. We're going to do a whole bunch of little subtle improvements that add up when put together." She pops her case open, revealing several rows of small bottles, brushes, a sponge, and a few odd implements that Akira has no clue to the identities of.

"We'll start with sun balm, then move to foundation and concealer, then do work on the lips, eyes and brows in that order." 

"What have I gotten myself into...?" 

Akira smiles despite herself. "Alright, teach me."

Shiho smiles and steps away for a moment, calling over her shoulder. "I'll grab a mirror so you can follow along with what we're doing. The angle will just be tricky, that's all."

She's back a moment later, positioning a free-standing mirror on the table behind her and Ann, just between them so Akira can get a glimpse of how things are progressing. Then she reaches up and gently removes Akira's glasses, setting them on the table. "Need these out of the way," she says as she does so, then flushes a bit as she looks back up. "You have really pretty eyes. Kind of stormy grey."

She shakes her head for a moment to clear her thoughts, then continues.

"First up is skin prep." She holds up a flattish tube of product. "This sun gel is both hydrating and sun-protecting, to keep your skin healthy. You want two fingers worth. I'll start on this and a lip balm while Ann picks out the right colors for your skin."

She squeezes out a strip of product down the length of the first two fingers on her left hand, then starts scooping little dabs of it up with a fingertip from her right and starts applying it spaced across Akira's face and neck. It's cool to the touch. Then she rubs her hands gently across Akira's face, smoothing the product across her skin in an even layer.

The world blurs out a little, and Akira takes a slow breath. She feels vulnerable with her glasses off in front of another person...

The touches so quickly on the glasses-removal's heels result in a very blushy Akira. She says nothing, though, so as not to disturb the application.

Ann's hands dance over her makeup kit, considering different shades of foundation, concealer, lip liner, lip tint and mascara. "It's important to match the undertones well or the results won't look natural," she says. "Fortunately I'm used to helping other models with their own makeup, so I have a pretty good eye..." 

She selects a set of tints. "I think we'll go with the number seventeen for the lips and cheeks. There's less range for the lip liner than for most of the rest of it." 

Shiho looks over at the selection and nods. "Yeah, I agree. Which tones of foundation and concealer do you think?"

She finishes applying the sun gel and wipes off her hands before grabbing the lip balm and very gently applying it to Akira's lips, blushing again.

"These two, I think." Ann passes the tubes for Shiho to look at.

"So one of the techniques we're going to be using today is mixing foundation with concealer. That gives a lot of the same benefit as pure concealer, but looks more natural."

Akira holds very still as Shiho's fingers run across her lips, tense and flushed. 

When Shiho finally pulls her fingers away, she manages to speak. 

"Huh. That's really interesting."

"Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet."

Ann looks at Shiho. "Those tints look good to you?"

She glances at the tubes and nods. "Good eye as always." Then she gets out of Ann's way, grabbing the almost teardrop-shaped blending sponges while her girlfriend mixes and applies the concealer blend.

Ann selects a few areas to dab with concealer blend, then accepts one of the blending sponges from Shiho to smooth out the application. A layer of foundation then goes overtop of everything to smooth out Akira's skintone and make her skin look perfect. Ann's practiced hands are able to blend the foundation well, and soon Akira gets the basic effect in the mirror.