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POSTED UNDER Permanent Makeup REVIEWS

My Permanent Cosmetics Experience - I Did It Myself

ORIGINAL POST

About 8 years ago a friend recommended I look into...

amity150July 1, 2009
WORTH IT$900

About 8 years ago a friend recommended I look into permanent cosmetics. She was in her 70s and did not want to put on makeup anymore. She had a great experience and got a good result. I went down and got my eyeliner done first, and it worked very well. I was very satisfied. I can't quite remember who suggested taking a course in permanent cosmetics, but it was free, of course hoping to sell you materials, so I did. (Weekend long course by the way!) While there I got my lipliner done for free by someone else as a practice client.

Now, it is like any other profession, even brain surgery has its first time, so I chose a few willing guinea pigs carefully and used very light colors on them, and I did allright.

Mainly though, that $900 kit has been used on ME! Since then I have had under eyeliner put on, a white stripe above my upper eyeliner that I have now added highlighter over, eyebrows, and filled in my lips twice or three times. Oh, yes, also areola color, disguised a couple of scars here and there, and a few other things I have probably forgotten about. I have been very satisfied with the experience, although not always with every stage of it.

When I first did my eyebrows I realized I had chosen the wrong color, and had to go back and add a different shade, and then they looked fine. I also now wish my upper eyeliner was not quite as dark. I do not recommend doing your own eyeliner AT ALL! I tried to touch it up once and found it almost impossible. There is no way I could have done a decent job. Other than that all the procedures have been quite do-able, and I have saved thousands of bucks. It is only a weekend course, it is NOT rocket science. And so far as I know there are no states where one is required to have a cosmetologist's licence or any other specialized training.

If you don't like something, put strong glycolic acid on top of it and it will draw the pigment out, provided you do it within 24 hours or so.

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Replies (13)

Austin_Femme_36
October 16, 2009
Are you now a permanent makeup tattooist?
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Stylishus
February 13, 2010
Oh My Gawd..there are NO words to say how utterly irresponsible your post is. I sincerely hope that NO ONE takes any of your advice and attempts to do permanent makeup on themselves. You are crazy lady! "it's only a weekend course!" That is a complete lie. No one can or does master PMU in one weekend, and in fact it takes well over 50 procedures to even know what pigment is going to do in different skin. This is a SKILL that requires dedication and artistry, and I can only imagine what you must look like! YIKES! White does NOT belong tattooed on anyone's face..it ages poorly and turns into a disgusting yellow that resembles pus. Just plain ugly. Anyone reading this post please take heed....find a professional. You pay for what you get.
amity150
February 14, 2010
I disagree. Permanent cosmetics is way over-priced for what it is. It is a piece of cake to apply, no more difficult than applying regular cosmetics. So if you can apply your own eyebrow pencil, then yes, you can tattoo it on, too. If you can get your lipstick on straight, then you can apply the pigments correctly, i.e. to look the way you want them to look. Permanent cosmetics is a valuable thing to have, and I wish I had done it earlier in life. It really simplifies cosmetics application. For example, I could never wear eyeliner because it would inevitably smudge and give me raccoon eyes. So the eyeliner is the most valuable thing to have IMO. I did NOT do that part of it myself, and I think that would be difficult for anyone to do! I did apply shading under the lower lashes, however. I did my eyebrows, which was really easy and I got a very natural appearance using a single needle, and the lips. I do not like lined lips. They look old fashioned to me. Someone else did my initial lip liner during the one weekend course, and thankfully it has faded. The lip filler color I used is a bit darker and brighter, and so the liner color does not show, or is not obvious anymore. If you really want to pay someone $400 or more to apply your lipstick, at least go in to their studio already made up so that you can show them what you want to look like. Do not let them use their own ideas. In my opinion, it is very hard for other people to get it quite right. Another advantage to self-application is that you are not going to get someone else's case of hepatitis C. The last time I went in to a cosmetic tatooist, she inadvertently stuck her own thumb, and then tried to go ahead and use the same needle on me, thinking that I hadn't seen her! Keep an eye on these ladies!
amity150
February 14, 2010
I disagree. Permanent cosmetics done professionally is waaay overpriced. It is one of those situations where they use $10 of materials, and charge $400 for the procedure. When I have had regular makeup professionally done, they never get it quite the way I want it. I look better when I do it myself, because I am familiar with my own face and have learned through trial and error over many years what looks good on me. Use single point needles for eyebrows and you will get a very natural appearance. I draw lines where my eyebrows are sparse at the outer edge, and then I do a shadowed effect in red to blend my brows in with my hair. It looks quite good. I was taught this technique at the two day school I attended. Like I said, it ain't rocket science!
amity150
February 14, 2010
BTW, the "white stripe" looks great on me. I have deep set eyes, so I used to apply highlighter on my upper lids under the crease. The light color (it is not really white) really make them pop. Really improved the appearance of my eyes. Since then I have added highlighter over my upper lid, so it is not just a stripe any longer, but blended in.
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VeryVegan
May 17, 2011

Hello Amity, I don't know whether one weekend course is sufficient or not but, you seem to have some refined sensibilities as to important details. If you live in NYC, please email me here?: ***removed email***and I may consider becoming your client. :)

Thank you.

Rosedala

amity150
May 17, 2011
No, thank you, I don't do it for money. I am done with it, actually, maybe one more touchup on my lips, because they do fade after awhile, and then I would sell my kit. It was money well spent.

Shop around and you will find someone you like.
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Stylishus
May 23, 2011
NO!...this is your face! Please choose a true professional. I see terrible mistakes made by those who are way better trained than the original poster of this subject. She may sound good, but you haven't seen one photo of her, and you want to go to her????Why?
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VeryVegan
May 24, 2011
Hello and thank you Stylishus! You are right, no photos. But I'm so desperate to find someone to do my (problem) lips that I contact each time I read or hear of someone who does it taking into account all fine details...even if she/he isn't a trained professional. Of course I wouldn't travel to another city.

I had my eyebrows done by a "trained professional" and it's a catastrophe! So I'm now kind of lost as to where to go.

If you happen to know of a RESPONSIBLE trained professional in NYC I'd be ever so grateful to let me know.

I have a problem with my lips and perhaps you have some suggestions for me?:

I'm a senior with lots of vertical wrinkles (or lines) all around - above and below the lips. Two permanent makeup persons said they can't guarantee the liner will come out good because of these wrinkles. They suggested to have them filled in first. I did but my lips became very sore for at least 3 months and I didn't see any smoothing of my wrinkles! They used collagen because, I was told, my wrinkles were too deep for Juvederm. A lot of money down the drain.

I don't know whether you are a trained professional or in what city you live, but I do want my lips tattooed in the worst way but afraid to come out even worse than my own thin/wrinkled lips...lol!

Please forgive the lengthy message and do hope to hear from you and/or others? :)
Nora1212
October 13, 2011
There is no way that I would ever do permanent cosmetics to myself! But I must say I am impressed that you did it. You should upload some pics of the outcomes. I had it done by a professional (check out nouveaucontourusa (dot) com), and I love it. I don't think I'll ever go back to conventional cosmetics.
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