I met my husband 3 years ago in Barcelona, sitting on a bench in the old city, sipping a glass of wine as everyone does in the evening in Spain. We talked about everything from Latin literature to Polish Politics (of which I knew nothing) to art which we both knew a great deal. The conversation gradually led to what we liked and didn’t and who we’d dated and why it hadn’t lasted, which brought up the subject of a lady he had dated who had tattoos (and how it had been a total turnoff).
By about 3:00 AM, as he walked me to my flat, he asked if he could see me again. I replied that I was leaving for Seville in the morning and wouldn’t be back for some time, but that I was certainly wrong for him because I had tattoos. He stopped in his tracks and looked me in the eye. “Where?” he asked with disbelief.
“You’ve been looking at four of them all evening,” I said with a laugh.
He found it rather humorous to discover my only tattoos consisted of permanent make up, but I found it comforting to know that my choice to have cosmetic tattooing was not so obvious so as to scream FAKE at first glance. And the tattoo situation didn’t hinder me returning to Barcelona, falling love, and having a wonderful man chase me around the world until we finally married a year later in Hong Kong (where I had my eyeliner tattoo refreshed).
Me and my permanent eye make up
Needless to say I have been very pleased with my choice to have cosmetic tattoos because it has freed me of countless wasted hours of primping in the morning and helped me to feel relaxed and secure knowing I wake up looking like I went to bed and emerge from swimming pools and other physical activities without makeup running down my face.
My husband has often commented on is the speed at which I can be ready to go out. He is a rather spontaneous man and many times in the past 3 years he has entered the house and announced, “You have 7 minutes to be gorgeous and ready to leave!” To date, I have been ready on time!
I know that there are risks in telling other women of how fabulous permanent eyebrow tattoos and eyeliner can be because it isn’t always true. I also know that many of the ladies who will read this are from western countries where the idea of permanent make-up is relatively new and still perhaps classified as faddish. Yet it’s not a new concept at all. It’s an ancient art that has been used by ladies of style and class, by courtesans and by princesses for centuries. In India it is such a common practice to have eyebrow tattoos and permanent eyeliner etched around eyes that there is a tattoo shop or ladies beauty parlor that offers permanent cosmetic tattooing every few blocks.
In China and Japan almost all the mature, elegant ladies have some form of cosmetic tattooing that is quite obvious (and not very natural) since the applications from 30 or 40 years ago were much more dramatic than what is stylish today. But young women also indulge in having an eyebrow tattoo or eyeliner or lip liners tattooed because the techniques used today can be subtle and naturally blend with hair and skin tones.
Permanent make up may not actually change your life, but it certainly can give a little more freedom to a woman who values being feminine without having to arrive fashionably late.
I had my eyebrow and eyelids tattoo and looks 20 years younger. I realized (from looking at my before and after pictures) that lines around my eyes shaped my face. By enhancing my eyebrows and eyelids defined my features much more youthfully. The hair- lines around the eyes could add or take away age and or a different look on how a woman looks. Daily, I use to pencil on eyebrow and eyelid lines to enhance my looks, but to swim, walk in the rain, or shed a tear drop (from laughing or crying) and another face appeared on the seen (lol)! Additionally, the habit of putting the lines on the same track of the eyebrow and eyelid is not refreshing when you have to walk with your tools for your face in a makeup bag and you cannot excuse yourself to re-fix and refresh your face.