Permanent Eyeliner - Part 1 - Lower Lid

Ok.... so permanent makeup. (that is not my eye pictured!).

I have now had top and bottom eyelid eyeliner done. So a couple of comments first up for basic info:

- At the place that I went to, they only do it in black (which makes sense now that it's done as there's a fair bit of fade)
- They don't use the same tattoo gun(?) pen(?) thing that they use for normal tattoos
- I don't know that they get heaps of training before they start working on people
- Don't do top and bottom on the same day...in fact I challenge you to attempt it because it's almost impossible (your eyes just can't take it)

Alright so where to start. I originally went in thinking I'd get my eyebrows done too, but I soon decided against this when she drew them on and suddenly I had no other facial features except eyebrows. They were just way too perfect and way too obvious. Just not how I roll.

The reason i thought to get the permanent makeup done is... well you already know I like trying new stuff. You also probably have figured I'm pretty keen on stuff that saves time (laser hair removal, permanent hair straightening)...kind of a natural progression. I also have 3 traditional (usual) tattoos, so there was no fear for me in regards to getting something tattooed.

Also - my Mum has the eyebrows done (she had them done in Malaysia) and she's very happy with them.

I've just moved to Melbourne and I did some googling for places that do the permanent makeup(NB. In Australia it has to be called "semi-permanent makeup" - they can't use the term "permanent" because it does fade and apparently that gives a false impression to the consumer). So I googled about and found a chain that does it. I would normally avoid a chain, but, and this is not a race thing, just a "what I know".... I would have normally tended toward an asian establishment to do it... but as mentioned - new to the city so wasn't really "in the know". So the chain had good info on their website and from what I had researched thus far, seemed to have the right kind of writeup. Check it at www.essentialbeauty.com.au

Ok so from there I just picked a place nearby... yada yada.

Pricing - varies a bit, but it's generally going to cost you at least $200. At this place it was $295 for just the lower lid, if you got both lower and upper it was $395... I think... argh sorry I downloaded two $50 off vouchers (one for Mum, one fro me) so I got a $100 discount. Anyway, somewhere in the $300 - $500 range.

So I had two sessions, two weeks apart, I'll start with the first session...

When I got in there, she popped a white anaesthetic cream on my lower lid. Has to stay on for 30 mins. Didn't go that well for me as my eyes would NOT stop watering. Mum and I had to hold bits of my face taught so I couldn't close my eyes (once I closed them the cream would go in my eye and sting). So 30 mins of holding my face. Good times.

Then she starts tattooing - now if you've had a tattoo, you know the sound of a normal tattoo pen thingy. This had exactly the same sound... high pitched 'eeeeeeeeeeee'

So she puts some ink on her glove and basically dips the needle into the ink and then tattoos it on your eyelid - I watched when she did Mum's eyes - she worked in small strokes. So lots of small strokes along the eyelid, then moves to the other eye, then back, then to the other, then back.... etc. She needs to go over it about 4 to 5 times to get good colour and coverage.

The first round was fine, I could feel it, but no pain. So kind of like scratching, pulling a bit, but no pain. I thought "easy peasy". Oh I forgot to mention both Mum and I took two panadol beforehand as well.

Second round - umm ok it's starting to hurt. Bearable, but I was thinking "I'm not sure if I can do 4 rounds....". I started to tense up at this point. Oh and even though I was supposed to keep my eyes open, I totally couldn't (just cause, well, something near my eye? My eye is going to close). The girl said that was okay though, she could still do it. Alright she wasn't really a girl, I should really refer to her as the "lady" but it seems nicer to call her the "girl".
Anyway...
Okay so I was feeling pain. Imagine umm ok it wasn't burning, it was... PAIN. I guess think of if you had a small cut on your finger and you keep brushing something on it. That kind of pain on an already pained area? Stinging pain, stinging, semi-sharp pain.

Third round. I'm starting to mentally sweat. Before she even starts I'm saying "I'm not sure how I'm going to go here". I suck it up and try to breathe my way through it. It HURTS. Goddamn it hurts. I mean it REALLY really hurts. My eyes teared up throughout the entire process, but in this round, as my Mum described it, I was "really crying from the pain".

After the third round I sat up and said "yep I can't do any more".

Mum went next and she was a bit tougher than me - she went 4 rounds. Her lids seemed to bleed a bit (the girl just wiped it away each time). Mine didn't really bleed.

When done, the girl popped some bepanthen (see my other post on this miracle item) on our eyes, and we were on our way. Pain after leaving? No. Swelling? Mum had a little, I had not really much.

Afterwards:

So you put bepanthen on it and try to keep it dry... I topped up with bepanthen every now and then... probably every couple hours I suppose, or just when i woke up and when I went to bed. When the tattoo is "fresh" it's very dark black. It just looks like you've put on liquid eyeliner. And it's a bit shiny from the bepanthen, but you can certainly be out in public without concern.

They say your eyes might feel gritty and dry.... I didn't have this in the first round. Didn't really feel anything different.

I had it done on a Friday morning, the scab came off on Monday morning. I was putting bepanthen on with a cotton bud and on the Monday morning the bud had all these little black bits on it (the scab) and I could see what the actual tattoo looked like - it was WAY lighter than the liquid eyeliner look that I had just after getting it done. Much thinner too. The girl had mentioned that we would need to come back in two weeks for a touch up. I originally thought "pfft no I won't", but it was clear that I would (plus I needed to come back to do the upper eyelid anyway).

After the scab came off - business as usual. I did already like the way it looked, but definitely wanted a touch up. But no further care or concern was necessary, my eyes were as normal.

Next: Part 2 - Upper Lid & Touch Up of Lower Lid.....

Stay tuned..... (PS Part 2 was a VERY different experience.... mostly due to the addition of another anaesthetic cream....)