Your Mission: Tell us what you love, hate, or are otherwise indifferent to about permanent makeup (e.g. tattooed makeup). Â Do you use them all the time? Â What are your favorites (or least favorites)?
Thanks to Christopher for today’s topic!
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Tattoo liner I think is about extreme as most people would go. If someone lost their lashes through chemo I’ve seen it done.
Also I’ve seen lips done but would rather not since it’s a sensitive membrane of skin.
I don’t dislike tattoo makeup but it’s not for me. There are some circumstances where tattoo makeup, done right, looks wonderful on people who are unable to apply makeup. It really brightens up their face and they didn’t have to struggle to put it on. My rant would be that it’s too easy to get a license to do this type my application. There should be tighter rules for this. A cosmetologist studied makeup by using brushes. Tattoo artists studied ink application with a needle. So, a cosmetologist should stick with what they know. (No offense to all cosmetologists.)
My mom recently got her eyeliner tattoo’d onto her eyelids… At first I was freaked out by it, but when it’s done correctly, it’s actually quite cool. She told me that it saves her a lot of time every morning doing hre make up, since it acts as a eyeliner/guideline for the eyeliner. She has really oily lids, so she had hard time keeping her eyeliner on without smudging it an hour later. I personally wouldn’t do it, but it looks pretty natural on her!
I have permanent eyebrows and I love them. They save me so much time. I also have eyeliner very thin line on upper and lower lesh line…you almost can’t see it but it makes lashes look thicker. 🙂
I would NEVER get permanent makeup. I would be so worried that I would get tired of whatever I got.
Totally agree
I think it’s a cool idea if you do the same thing every day anyway. Very convenient.
not a fan. It takes away all the fun!! (and fashion changes…you may not like anynmore what you tattooed -lips or eyeliner – in a few years time….
my mom did er lower and upper lash lines and her eyebrows. For me it’s really eighty’s, plus it has lost a lot of pigmentation specialy her brows so no they kind of look pink… I think i would never do it just for saving time.
Its a harsh look on a lot of people, especially if they’re older. However, I knew a girl in high school who got her eyebrows singed off while lighting a barbecue and it was either draw them on everyday for the rest of her life or get them tattooed. I think it makes sense there. Id never do it myself.
I think the real issue for me would be the inability to change it if I wanted. Make up, like fashion changes and if you happen to get something done that dates your look that would be tragic.
Perhaps a subtle lining of the lash line for a fuller lash look might be ok, but the idea of a needle near my eye is not appealing in the least.
Definitely not for me, but those who can work it, more power to you.
I got my step-sister into coloring in her eyebrows everyday since we both have naturally very blonde eyebrows, they never looked great to me and I never said anything because I figured she’d learn to do it better like I did… but she ended up getting them tattooed on in an awkward shape! The perfectionist in me cries a little every time I see her face…
I wouldn’t dare. What if styles change? What if you start to sag? What if your perfect black tattoo’d eyeliner fades to blue as you age and now you’re stuck with it?
I’m pretty adventurous with my day-to-day makeup, so I guess I’d just be afraid to commit. One of my friends, however, has talked about getting tattoo’d eyeliner when she goes to Med School because eyeliner is the one thing she absolutely MUST put on every day and it would pretty much eliminate the need for makeup each morning. I guess I can see the appeal, but I would never do it.
My cousin tattooed her eyeliner, inner rim!! (in blue!), eyebrows and lips (in a pinky-ish tone). I remember her mentioning how extremely painful it was. Now that a few years have passed, the colours have faded unevenly and what was “popular” for a younger woman doesn’t look that flattering now. Our taste and the way we wear makeup changes throughout the years. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to be stuck wearing the same look forever. I am (as you can tell) completely against permanent makeup.
Well my mother had her eyebrows, eyeliner, lipliner, and a beauty mark tattooed on her face. Luckily it turned out really nice. The down fall is that it fades in less than 5 years and needs to be retouched. She had it done because she was sick of drawing on her eyebrows and constantly reapplying liner. She has oily skin and sweats at her job so she didn’t want the eyeliner smudging or running all over the place. I don’t recommend 18-30 year olds doing the whole tattoo thing because your still growing and your face is still going thru changes due to weight gain or weightless. If I were to get Id probably do a beauty mark. Now my mom wakes up washes her face applies mac msf, mascara and pops in her dentures and shes good to go lol.
I think if you find the right experienced person, that only does this for a living, then if you want it done its the right thing. It really only matter what the person that’s having it done thinks.
I have done permanent makeup for 5 years now and the thing women get the most is eyebrows, then eyeliner and the least is lips. But u can always put lipstick over what u have done or add concealer. Eyebrows u can only draw in thinker. And eyeliner.. Well u can’t really cover that one. I have had my lips done by someone else buy it didn’t last. I do plan on getting eyeliner in the future!
I think permanent makeup looks really tacky. Not to mention that none of the color additives for tattoo makeup are approved by the FDA. Different makeup trends come and go and do you really want to have dark tattooed eyebrows or eyeliner when you’re 80? Also, tattoos fade over time. It just seems a bit extreme to me. Maybe if you don’t have eyebrows (not people who have light eyebrows, but people who don’t have any at all, like people with alopecia) I can understand it, but for most people I think the risks far outweigh the benefits.
Exactly! Even putting aside my concerns about makeup styles changing, tattoos fading unevenly, and the artist potentially messing up and leaving me with a stray line across my face (A stray black line from my eye to my temple! An eyebrow shaped like a lightening bolt!), there is no way I’m injecting something into my skin that is not FDA approved.
I don’t think I’d want to have it done on myself for the same reason I’m not planning to get tattoos on other parts of my body. I think it’s cool-looking, initially. But over time, it tends to fade and bleed. I suppose if you maintain it, then it might continue to look natural, but “for the rest of my life” is a long time. I understand some people have accidents or some other misfortune which would justify it though.
Ehh not for me. I change my mind too much! I could never even get a regular tattoo, much less one on my face. I prefer funky ear piercings. They have a little edge, but if I get bored, I can take them out.
For me, half the fun is in applying 😛 So really, permanent make-up is definitely not for me. To be fair, I have dark eyebrows which don’t need filling in and decent eyelashes. A friend of my mum’s had eyeliner and lipliner tattooed on, and I personally thought it didn’t look too great. Some Youtubers also have tattooed eyeliner where the black has all faded away and you’re left with a whitish line… Not great either.
Nah, it’s not for me! I can’t even commit to a foundation much less tattooed makeup lol. That goes for tattoo anything, not just makeup.
Too funny that this topic came up today as I just got my eyeliner (upper and lower) and my eyebrows tattooed this weekend. actually, this is my 3rd time in 10 years (I’m 30btw). I overplucked my brows in HS and killed the root and though I’m blessed with extremely long eyelashes (my bottoms are as long as most people’s top lashes) I wanted them to look fuller. The pigment for the eyeliner is placed in between the eyelashes so not on the waterline, and not on the lid. It just looks like I have a lot of eyelashes. As for the eyebrows, wow, a god-send! I save so much time from having to draw them on every morning. The draw back of course, is they fade and about every 3yrs I need them re-done.
I go to a reputable location (it’s at my plastic surgeons office) so they are able to numb my forehead with lidocaine making it much easier to handle. the eyeliner, now the pain there is something else because they can’t numb that, but not too unbearable.
all in all, if you are going to get it done, don’t go to the salon down the street. Please go to a reputable, licensed person.
It’s not for me. Along with the many excellent reasons everyone has already made, for me the application process is why I love makeup. I’m not fashionable at all, and most people I know are surprised that I wear as much makeup as I do. But I love art. I love taking the time to carefully do my makeup, and admire my work when I’m finished. If I got makeup tattoo’d on, then it would be done once, by someone else, and that would be it. Where’s the fun then?
I think this is not a bad idea. Nevertheless, once applied it should be very discrete, enhancing the natural beauty of the face, but not visible at all. I don’t think I would have it done in the near future, but later I might change my mind.
I am so against it. When I was younger, I nearly plucked out all my eyebrows and they refused to grow back. Some of my relatives suggested getting my eyebrow tattooed. After being fed up taking almost an hour drawing in my eyebrows every day, I decided to get them tattooed.
When I walked out after getting them done, I went home and looked at them in the mirror and I started bawling. They looked SO UNNATURAL and she tattooed them unevenly. I had to go in for a touchup a few days later and that still didn’t help. I was immediately regretful.
They did fade into a more natural color, but I still didn’t like the shape. It was a bit more convenient not having to take so long drawing in my brows, but I still had to fill in the areas that were uneven. And then they kept fading and fading. You have to touch them up all the time and I didn’t want to get them done again.
One of my aunts got permanent eyeliner, top and bottom, and she totally hates it. She wishes she never gotten them done. It actually makes her look tired.
I slowly grew back my brows using Rogaine on a Q-tip every night. After a few months, my brows grew back. But now I have these red lines from the faded tattoos. The line she tattooed extends past my natural brow line and now I have to conceal the lines every single day. How ironic is that? I have eyebrows, but now I have to waste my time concealing my ugly, faded, red tattoo lines.
I totally regret getting them done. Now the only way I can get rid of the tattoos is if I laser them off and that’s just way too expensive. So, warning to those who want to get your eyebrows tattooed. Try Rogaine first! You might regret getting tattooed like I do.
I’m going to have to try Rogaine! I realized almost three years ago that I had been plucking my eyebrows slightly unevenly; you don’t notice it unless you’re actively looking for it, but it drives me crazy. I’ve tried several different products, but they haven’t worked. I just started using something new a month ago, so I’m going to give it some more time, but if I see no improvement within a few months, I’ll definitely pick up some Rogaine. What strength did you use?
Sorry, about the late response. I didn’t realize anyone responded to my post! I shouldn’t say Rogaine because I actually used a generic brand. I used Men’s extra-strength minoxidil from CVS. I’m sure you could probably use minoxidil for women, but I had the men’s formula readily available so I just used that. You don’t need to spend so much especially if you’re just going to use it on your eyebrows. And if the generic brand worked for me, it could work for you too. I literally had no eyebrows and the ends of my brows never grew back until I used minoxidil. Good luck!
No worries — thanks for getting back to me! I’ll pick some up sometime soon. My latest product doesn’t seem to be doing anything. Also, it’s bright turquoise which means I can only use it at night, lol. I really can’t rock teal eyebrows…
I’d be scared to do this, because my tastes do change and I’m not big on such a big commitment to one look.
Sometimes I like just doing subtle washes of colour on my eyelids so I wouldn’t do a permanent eyeliner. I’ve seen tattooed eyebrows on older Asian ladies and I think as hair lightens with age it can look really harsh.
Permanent make-up on lips might make it harder to wear an array of lip colours, especially the lighter or nuder ones.
I’m sure it can look nice when done right, but definitely not for me!
My boyfriend-at-the-time’s mother got her eyebrows tattooed and it looked strange. she had blonde eyebrows and said she asked for a blonde color but they decided it wouldn’t show up so they used light brown. it didn’t look natural at all and made a harsh line. it looked less harsh over time, i guess. i wouldn’t do it.
I personally wouldn’t do it (already regret my tattoos that aren’t on my face) but to each her own. I’ve only seen people with the eyeliner. Some came out really nice and others (the more mature women) looked awful. All tattoos get distorted a bit over time, as everyone’s skin changes with age. That’s gotta suck when it happens on your eyes and lips!
I can’t think if a single makeup item that I would want to wear EVERY SINGLE day for the rest of my life. Not even eyeliner!
I would love to get my quite sparse brows filled in, but I’m scared it wouldn’t look right.. I know these days, the colour is matched/blended much better than back when it was first introduced, and technically, it’s not a tattoo needle, and the ink isn’t deposited as deeply, but I’m still very wary..
It looks tacky. Who NEEDS make-up? Goodness…
Some ppl do need makeup. I barely have eyebrows and if i dont colour them in ppl always comment so ya…
im not against it, but its not something i would do.. i like change, as in often with eye makeup, lips, my hair color changes every few months..
although i have trouble maintaining my eyebrows, i would not go to the extent to shave it and tattoo new ones…
i know my mom has her bottom waterline tattoo’ed.
i would like to try lash extensions someday 🙂
does lazer removal of moles consider as this?
the only strange thing i dont get, is why some ladies shave off their eyebrows and have them tattoo’ed on their foreheads.
I would never want to wear the same makeup every day. How boring.
Thanks for posting my submission Christine! In my opinion, I don’t think its a very good idea. different eyebrow shapes change with the seasons, and pencil thin eyebrows tend to look good only on a certain age. People change their eyeliner color often too. To me it just limits your possibilities for metamorphing yourself into something new. However, if someone does not know how to apply liner or has oily lids, it could be useful. Under no circumstance should anyone get their lipliner tattoed… wear more than one color!
One of my old co-workers got her lips tattooed a “berry” color and it looked hideous and so obvious. I wouldn’t do it.
My mom had her eyebrows done and she said it hurt and won’t do it again. Frankly, I thought it looked awful on her (and my mom is really pretty normally), so at least I know I’d never get it done.
I also find that tattooed eyebrows are often quite thin? And it just makes the person look strange. Not sure about anything else, i.e. lip liner or eyeliner…I guess some people feel the need to, and that’s their prerogative.
I don’t think I’d ever want to get permanent makeup done! My makeup looks are changing all the time, and sometimes I just like to play with makeup & learn something new!
I would LOVE to get my lips tatooed a very natural pale pink (my lips but better shade). I have very thing, pale lips, and at least 3 times a day I have to reapply lipliner, lipstick and gloss or my face looks so washed out and severe (I have very pale skin, so pair that with thin pale lips, and it’s not a good look). It would be lovely to just wear lip balm and that’s it!! I could only do that if my lips had some more color to them. I’ve thought about it quite a few times. I would not tattoo eye brows because I may want a different shape later. I would also be afraid to tattoo eyeliner becuase the needle would be so close to my eye, eeek! but I can see why people would like to do this.
I meant very *thin* lips, not thing lol!
I love tattoos, I mean I have enough of them, but wouldn’t ever do tattooed makeup. It just takes all the fun out of it!
I HATE IT! a friend tattoed her eyebrows and now she looks like a clown! and another one did the tattoo liner… I think is kind of boring always look the same… :/ it’s fun to play with colors…
I am 43 years old and work for a cosmetics company. Due to my profession I *must* wear makeup to work. I have permanent eyeliner and just had the 5-year touch-up in February. I love it. I have genetically watery eyes and cannot keep normal eyeliner on. I also have hooded lids and my eyeliner always wound up on my lids. I did my research and found a highly reputable technician. My eyes are a pretty grayish-green color so I had the technician use a purple tint with the black base. It does not look garish and I receive tons of compliments. I think it’s all personal choice, but I do recommend finding someone with style and color experience to ensure it looks good.
ugh, my mom got her eyebrows tattooed a couple of years ago, now they faded to a strange reddish color that’s really hard to cover up. She has Asian coloring by the way.
I don’t think permanent makeup is worth the trouble of retouching and removal.
…I’m 26 years old, with fair skin + dark hair.
After ten years of doing eyeliner the same way, I finally decided that no matter how the style changes over the years I will always be applying eyeliner!
There’s a woman in Sacramento that consistently receives AMAZING reviews for the permanent makeup work she does…
…I showed up for the eyeliner, and ended up getting brow work too. She “feathered” the brows, instead of drawing an unnatural “sharpie” line. TRUST me, I was terrified until I saw her portfolio.
The brow work healed completely natural — it’s barely there. They just look slightly fuller with a washed face.
…The eyeliner is AMAZING, i love it. She did natural + symmetrical work. There are 2 appointments: She went light on the first and you can add more work on the 2nd.
I still re-line in the morning because I enjoy a deep black and mascara, but when I wake up or go on vacation where pools are involved, I don’t have that “self conscious” oh-my-gawd all-my-makeup-came-off feeling. =)
It’s GREAT to always have a lil’ emphasizing makeup on in the areas I’ve worn it for 10 years anyway. –Brooke
I’ll never get it done. My mom has a friend who got it done years ago, back when it was popular to draw “tails” with you eyeliner. are tails popular now? nope! maybe in the fashion world, but not for every day life. trends come and go, I don’t claim to be on the up and up all the time, but I sure don’t want to be caught with make up that is wayyyyyy out of style.
My mother had her lip liner tattooed on, it’s pretty light so if she has to wear a bare lip (extremely rare occurrence) it’s not really noticeable, just just adds some neatness to when she’s wearing a lipstick. I think she wears regular lip liner on top of it half the time, though. She’s just one of those people who think lip liner is the ultimate must have.
I don’t really care for it and the eyeliner one freaks me out. I guess if you didn’t really have eyebrows/eyelashes permanent makeup would be good for that but I can’t think of many instances where it’s done out of necessity.
Not my thing. Tattooed eye liner, lipstick, and eye brows if done incorrectly look very harsh. I have never seen them done right but if they were done by an experienced person I guess they could look alright. The idea in theory is cool.
I’ve been considering it. I have very pigmented lips; my upper lip and the outline of my lower lip is brown, while my inner bottom lip is pretty close to red. While that may sound scary (LOL) I’m Indian and a NC42 so while it may not look alarming, it’s still noticeable. I have to fill in my lips every day with a lip liner just for it to look natural. I think tattooing would not only save time, it would make me feel just as confident as I do with makeup, without.
There are professionals who will do it right, you just have to be willing to find them and pay for it.
I would love to do a thin line on the upper lash line.
I would never do lipliner. If you get permant lip liner you can not have laser hair removal on your upper lip or chin. It is extreamly dangerous. Ive seen what happens if you come too close!!! OUCH….
My mother got it done. Looks like FU MAN CHU. One eyebrow higher than the other. Then the color fades and then you left with this ruddy brown on the skin.
I’ve toyed with the idea of eyeliner… but the idea of needles near my eyes makes me a bit squeamish. Plus the fact that lines only stay crisp for about three years before they start to get a bit blurry… unless you are MILITANT about sunblock, then you might get five or six good years out of it before it goes to poo. So you’d end up having to do your eyeliner yourself after a few years anyway. Kinda not worth it.
I would never get perm makeup unless i somehow lost my eyebrows and then i’d make sure it was at a place that made them look real. The problem is like with any other tattoo the color fades and many people don’t get the work redone in time so it looks tacky.
I have perm eyeliner (upper & lower lid) since over 2 years now. Only a very thin line in both cases. It was done by a very good pro cosmetic artist. I don’t regret at all that I tried it. Noone realizes that I had that done. Everyone just thinks I am so talented at making eyeliner each day 🙂 If you are looking for something really natural I would only do the lower eyeliner and skip the upper. Noone will notice if its done right. Its also called “lashline enhancement” and thats what it does.
Personally I’m not a fan just because I like to change my make up all the time but my mother had her lips done a few years ago (unlike me, hers’ are really thin) and she looked great.
Totally for it, as long as you go to professional cosmetic tattoo artist. I have my brows tattooed on. When I was a kid I had an accident where my left eye brow was cut open in 3 spots, the right one got cut at the end, now the hair won’t grow there, never has, never will. My eye brows naturally have an odd shape now and the bald patches filled with pencil looked horrible, so now my brows are permanent, they look great, no worring about them except for touch-ups in a few years. Couldn’t be happier! 😀
I would never do it to myself, personally, but I feel about it the same way I do about plastic surgery – if it makes the person doing it happier and more confident, why not? I just like to change stuff up too much to want to do that. Also, trying to get me near a tattoo gun is like a cat to a bath tub! I tried to get tattooed once and chickened out, so I don’t think I could ever let anyone near my eyelids or lips with it!! But overall if it helps others with their confidence and such, go for it!
I did my eyebrows at 35 and it was the best thing I did in my life. The shape is great, the colour did fade a bit too much but I’m ok with it. My natural eyebrows are invisible and it looked terrible (imagine a face without eyebrows?). It also didn’t hurt that much.
My mom had her eyebrows tattoed and they look amazing! The give shape for the whole face and they look very natural. I’d like to get mine done too 🙂
I think I would consider eyebrows; eyeliner… Not sure
Check out some rave music on Smirnoff to go to a rave party with rave make up…
Hmmm… The closest things I can do to permanent makeup are wearing Wet ‘n’ Wild H20 Proof Eyeliner & Benefit Posietint/Benetint. I won’t put something permanent on my face because makeup & fashion trends changes and I can get bored easily.
Plus, I won’t risk my health (and my look) for a permanent makeup, as simple as that.
Not a fan of tatooed makeup – I have very fair, delicate coloring and it would look too harsh on me, plus I like to switch up my makeup look alot and want the option of the no makeup look. But my when fiancee’s mom got very sick and couldn’t see well enough to do her makeup everyday she had it tatooed on, so I could see the upside in doing it in a situation like that.