When the State of CA Board of Cosmetology took away my ability to tint eyebrows and eyelashes, I was left crushed. Since then I have been helping my clients with their lashes and brows with waxing, shaping, and extensions. Something still didn't seem like it was good enough, and I am ALWAYS on the hunt for solutions to my clients' problems. Permanent makeup solves MANY of these problems, but permanent makeup today is not the same permanent makeup of the 90s.
When I was first starting to work in makeup, I worked for Macy's and Nordstrom, helping women find the perfect foundation or the perfect lipstick. What also came with this, was full makeup application appointments, some of which were focused on me trying to work around bad, faded, or improperly applied permanent makeup. I would have to conceal brows that had faded to a light grey or red, had drooped down the face, or were the wrong shape entirely. I was absolutely TERRIFIED of permanent makeup and I advised all of my clients against it. Well, that was 10 years ago and I can safely say that times have changed.
I first rekindled my love for permanent makeup (especially permanent brows) about a year ago, when following various makeup artist on Instagram, and someone had posted the work of a woman in the Concord area. Her work blew my mind. The brows were not the blockish, dark, looming inky brows of the 90s, no, they were beautiful, natural, hairlike strokes placed perfectly on the client to work with their skin tone and bone structure. Little did I know, an obsession was born.
Over the next year, I followed many artists and researched techniques on permanent makeup, as more of an interest than an actual career path. I found that the techniques for permanent makeup had changed, that inks, tattoo guns, and technique had changed, leaving the brows of yesterday in the dust. It was around this time that my own clients starting to ask me if I was ever going to offer this service, as I would be great at it. I never even gave it a thought, until I did.
About a month ago, I was on a work trip with a friend, and we had a little too much to drink the night before. The next morning, I woke up very early and decided to research some stuff on my laptop, and on a whim I started to look into permanent makeup. I decided, right then and there, that this was something I really wanted to pursue. I had already been a makeup artist for 12 years and an esthetician for two, so a transition to permanent makeup seems like a natural one.
When I was doing my research, I found an academy in Orange County that offers a 100 hour training, in a facility that is dedicated to providing professional education to many permanent makeup artists around the country. I chose the Huntington Academy of Permanent Cosmetics, because they seemed to really be involved in their student's education, as well as not being flashy or wanting to just make money off the student. For the education I will receive, the investment is completely worth it.
In August I will be in the week-long class, and after I am complete, I will hopefully be apprenticing under another permanent makeup artist, with the goal to build a full clientele by next summer. With my existing expertise in makeup, bone structure, color theory, and skin type, I plan to specialize in hairstroke brows (also called microblade, 3d brows, 6d brows, or featherstroke brows) and also eyeliner. I will still be taking lash and makeup clients, but over time I will let those fade out. I am hoping to be closer to the Roseville or Folsom area, to be able to cater to all of my Sacramento clientele and also clients further up the hill.
Please check back with me periodically to inquire about being one of my first clients at a very discounted rate!
