Permanent makeup artist has her Eyeliner Tattooed

If you've ever heard about people tattooing on eyebrows or getting permanent lip liner and wondered “Who DOES that?!?” Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tamara D. Ferrigno I'm wearing dark brown eyeliner—forever—and it's been one of my better life decisions, right up there with learning Microblading and having kids. I paid a friend and artist in Summerlin to do it (found her in one of my advanced continuing education classes for permanent makeup!), and now I'm considering getting my lips permanently tinted, too.The whole experience has been great and so freeing. I only wear makeup now when it sounds fun and I'm excited to do it. For me, cosmetics are a great means of self-expression, but on Monday at 8 am when all I'm trying to express is my need to be at work in a half hour, the goal is to put as little work as possible into looking good. Hence my willingness to let a Permanent makeup hand held pen penetrate my lash lines. It was an uncomfortable experience to say the least, the fact that I do this for a living and I'm OCD creates a huge trust factor for me. But now for the rest of my life I never even have to consider whether my eye makeup will smudge. It's actually cheaper than getting new products on a regular basis. Of course, like any tattoo, permanent makeup fades over time. So in a few years I'll go back in to have the ink freshened up. But a few hundred dollars in tattoo maintenance over a decade is still a substantial money/time/frustration savings over replacing $20 liquid liner every few months, Right?

Long story short, I'm very, very happy and if you're interested, here are the things I'd recommend you do to get the best possible permanent makeup:

– Absolutely research and read every review you can. Find the artist on social media and read reviews on Yelp.

-Make sure your artist is reputable, licensed by the state, and has excellent studio hygiene.

-Look for photos of your artist's work online to make sure their cosmetic style is compatible with what you want—any professional will have a large portfolio posted on their website, mine is MMbrows.com.

-Take super close-up, clear photos of your eyes wearing the kind of liner you want use them as a guide.

-Talk about how thin/dark you want the ink and be very precise; the more straightforward you are the easier it is for your artist.

-Have the artist draw practice lines on your eyes beforehand until it's exactly the shape you want.

-Ask for the slightly more expensive hand-tattooing (SofTaps) option rather than the tattoo machine if it's available—you'll get finer, more precise results.

If needles/pain are your main concerns, I have some good news...and some bad news. The good news: there's numbing cream, so it won't hurt unless you're getting liner tattooed right next to your eyeball, literally on the rims of your eyes (which is what I did; it hurt, but it was worth it). The bad news: there's no avoiding the needle. If you're terrified of shots and may start freaking out, please, please do not go get this done. I don't want to see you on the front page of The Review Journal talking about how your eyeball is permanently polka dotted.

There's some healing time involved, just as with any tattoo. I had minor scabbing that no one besides me even noticed, and some places will try to sell you a healing ointment to speed up the process, but an ointment like Aquaphor or Re Coverall will work just as well.

Eyeliner is probably the least traumatic/noticeable permanent makeup, so if I'm making my experience sound suspiciously easy, that's because it was. If I'd gone in to get my eyebrows or lips done, there would have been significantly more scabbing and a longer healing time. Other than that, I think I'm just about ready to give permanent lip color a try! I think I do this myself on myself is this crazy? Or should I have them done by a fellow artist??, so if you have suggestions, let me know. Also, if you have any other questions, I'll answer them to the best of my abilities—just go to my website www.MMbrows.com and put 'em in the contact section! or email me at: info@SofTapLv.com