Frequently Asked Questions - Your questions abour permanent makeup answered...

Its expensive, I can't afford it.
Initial treatment can seem expensive yet it is very important to be aware of the costs involved before going ahead. That said, I strongly recommend that you be wary if someone is cheap in any industry - and ask yourself why.
However the cost appears to you it can be easy to fit in permanent cosmetics even if you have a limited budget. If spread over a 12 month period, treatment is about the same has having your nails manicured, every fortnight, in a good salon.
Now you are talking about a tattoo on your face – it's going to be there every day and you won't get to grow it out in a month or change the design in a few weeks if you change your mind.  You also don't get to lighten it up, remove it, or change the colour if it's too dark. This is a permanent fixture that is easy to maintain following your first set of treatments.
When you come back for your annual colour boosts, you only need to visit for a single appointment and then it's half the cost. The booster treatments are used to freshen up the colour again and this works out just around the same price as having an eyebrow tint and wax done every month (and much less than a high end "eyebrow service").

Why are you more expensive than some of your competitors?
When comparing practitioners for any procedure look at the experience of the person, the work they produce, the quality of their work and the products they use.  Because of my experience and qualifications in the industry, and of course the knowledge and skill that I apply to each of my treatments, I may appear slightly more than some others. However, I would say that my prices are not expensive and any cheaper competitors should be fully researched.
I usually outline that if my competitors have a website or marketing material, look at the quality of that as an indication of what standards they set. Should they have a very low-end website or poor quality marketing material, it may reflect on their services in the same way. 
You are cheaper than some of your competitors; does that mean they are better than you?
I would strongly urge any client wishing to take up my services to view details regarding my portfolio pictures and the many testimonials that I have received from my clients. 
Keeping prices as low as I possibly can is important, especially in today's climate where lots of women and men have little surplus cash to spend on luxuries. I try to keep treatment prices down by staying away from expensive PR and Marketing – this can increase outgoings ten fold, which means anybody that does advertise vigorously, has to overcome a high level of outgoings. In most cases, those costs are not absorbed by the company or individual, and instead are passed onto the client. 
If you need any questions answered, that do not already appear on the web site, I will happily talk to you. I do not produce a glossy brochure to post to my clients - the cost of doing so would eventually mean an increase in the price of the treatments. I feel strongly about not doing so and this means that more clients with limited budgets can take advantage of my services.  
The more any business has to pay out the more they have to charge. I rely heavily on word of mouth recommendations, along with the power of my website in order to promote Amazing Makeup to you.  I keep it simple and I keep my baseline prices down.

I am seeing a lot of before and after pictures that look the same, is your portfolio of your own work?
Pictures are worth a thousand words. I rely heavily on recommendations and clients finding my website, which is why I am very honest about what I do and about my pricing structure. My reputation has been built on trust and how reliable and effective my services are.
My work and my portfolio are true reflections on what I do and what you can expect. I do not retouch my photo's, they are images of my own work, and I would always recommend that you ask this question whenever you approach companies claiming to offer the same services - you should always be asking this question!!!
I have quite a photographic memory so it's easy for me spot the purchased pictures being published as the artists own work. If you are seeing glossy professional images, it is possible that the company has bought those images, and that they cannot supply you with a true image of their own work. Please act wisely when approaching anyone that cannot answer this question, shows you glossy pictures of models, or who cannot show you what looks like photos' of individuals like you and I.
I am planning to have botox and lip fillers, does this affect my treatment
I strongly suggest that you have permanent make up before botox and lip filling treatment, or before your next top up treatment. This is because pigment shows in the skin longer than any injectable anti-ageing treatments. 
I work closely with teams of aesthetic nurses and doctors and can create treatment plans together in order to achieve with some of the most amazing results.  That said, however, please always have your permanent make up done on a natural surface and one that you have not recently enhanced.
Why?  Because the injectables will change the natural symmetry, which means when the injectable product has worn off, you could have asymmetrical results because permanent makeup will last longer. This could be disastrous and very costly to rectify.

I want fuller lips, should I chose permanent make up or fillers?
There are many trends and "looks" that women want to create, or avoid!
Permanent make up can create symmetry, add colour and slightly volumise the lips. It happens by colouring the vermillion border (white roll between lips and skin) with lip coloured pigment, which gives the appearance of fuller lips.
If you desire more fullness, I would recommend you to my medical aesthetic associates for fillers.

What if I'm not sure which I need?
Come and see me by booking in a consultation and I will give you honest advice to help you achieve the look you want.

My lips have "disappeared" but I'm afraid of them looking false if I have anything done?
I hear this concern regularly. 
Naturally coloured pigments matched carefully to your own lip tones, working within your natural boundaries means I am able to recreate the lost borders of your lip contour. Because I custom blend colour that matches your complex and your hair and eye colouring, and because the colour is blended into the lip tissue, it creates a natural enhancement that recreates how your lips used to look.

My lips are "crinkly" and I have deep "smokers lines".
A combination treatment will give amazing results for this problem, which can be caused by years of smoking heavily.  By using soft filler that alleviates the ravages of time, without the look of "filling", I can provide an almost secret lip treatment that will take years away! You can combine a neutral lip blush with permanent make up for outstanding results – this can be discussed in full, depending on your unique lips, at your personal consultation.

I suffer from cold sores, would the scarring prevent a good result and would the procedure cause any new sores to come up?

Those of us who suffer from cold sores have irregular lip lines, and loss of colour through scarring. If this is the case, permanent make up can be a god. Creating beautiful lips again offers many cold sore sufferers a way to Lovely Lips that you will be proud to show off
I strongly recommend visiting your GP for a course of Aclivor tablets to prevent any infections whilst undergoing treatment with us. 

I wear contact lenses, is it safe for me to have an eyeliner procedure?
Absolutely. I would ask you to bring your glasses to wear as you visit me for treatment, and for a further day - until the day after the procedure. I will provide you with the correct aftercare to irrigate your eyes so that your lenses are not uncomfortable when you wear them again. 

Lens wearers find the eye procedure particularly easy as they are used to having their eyes touched. Also, the risk of infection from the use of traditional make up is reduced so overall this is a perfect solution for lens wearers.  

Perfection in application design is difficult for anyone without 20/20 vision, so you will be delighted with professionally applied eyeliner than never moves and that you do not have to reapply.

I want my eyes defined but I don't want to look like I'm wearing make up, is there anything you can do?
All my eye procedures use an eyelash enhancement as a base, which means colour is placed at the root of the lashes down the length of the lash line. This alone will make your eyes "pop" and stand out, when you look down there are no traces of any make up and you are simply left with very neat looking lashes and stunning eyes, without looking like you are wearing any form of cosmetics. My procedures are THAT natural!

I wear my make up a little smudgy but the pictures I see on various websites all look quite hard.  Can you create a softer look?
Yes is the simple answer. 
The procedure I follow is very accurate and by using a combination of techniques and colour blending, it is possible to create both smokey and smudgy looking eyeliners that reflect the way you usually apply and wear your makeup.

Do you offer many colours for eyeliners?  I am blonde and do not want black!
Yes. I carry a large selection of colours and will always custom-blend colours to achieve the very best customised effect. I do this for every one of my clients, because every one of us is uniquely special – black doesn't suit every skin tone and I completely understand that you need natural looking results that are not harsh.

Black can be very hard to wear and any good glossy magazine will advise older and fair women to choose softer colours. I can demonstrate the colour selection on your skin before going ahead with any application. I do this every time because it is essential to see the type of result you can expect. Please be advised that softer colours will require more frequent retouches as they can fade faster than dark tones.

I am Asian and want very dark thick eyeliner exactly as I draw it on.  Can you do that for me?
I only ever carefully place pigments around the eyes and that means I will not take the pigment any further than the length of the eyelashes. 

Pigment taken to the inner corner of the eye (near the nose) and joined has the possibility of "migrating" into the tear duct. This has the chance of showing there as a shadow, and with permanent makeup this is simply a bad choice because the shadow will remain there permanently! 

I can create a very dramatic look for you with full respect for all safety elements that should be considered. I will always discuss any issue with thick and heavy eye makeup at your personal consultation. Please raise these questions when we meet or when I conduct a telephone consultation with you.

I always wear my make up like this – can you do it exactly the same?
As long as it is safe and suits you, and as long as you are not looking to achieve results that are against my high standards, then absolutely!

I regret that I will not take any makeup strokes past the eye, however permanent makeup can be added to with daily cosmetics if you wish to enhance your look or make it heavier, this is often the case when my clients spend evenings out or enjoy a heavier 'evening' look.

If I have a specific colour for my eyeliner, will I be stuck with that?
No! I can create eyeliners in so many colours including blue, green, aqua, purple, grey, taupe, brown – it is easy to create different effects yet some colours will fade faster and you will therefore need regular treatments to maintain the look.

However, traditional make up will mask the underlying pigment within your skin so you can continue to vary your fashion and neutral colours as before. Please note that if you add to your permanent makeup daily by using your usual cosmetics, regular rubbing with makeup remover may mean your permanent makeup fades faster. In this case, you will require more top up treatments.

Do you treat many women of my race?  (asked by Black, Asian, Chinese and other women of Oriental background)
I have had a busy practice in Harley Street for 6 years and practiced in and around London for almost a decade. 

My history in makeup, medical and beauty treatments has encompassed clients of all races and ethnic origins. With this in mind, I am very proud to say I understand different skin types and specific skin problems that are common yet unique to each race.

This, as well as having full knowledge of the variations in design requirements and how pigment behaves in all skin undertones, ensures my clients that I can work on enhancing your features whatever your skin colour or type. 
My vast array of experience over the years ensures that safe and effective treatment is consistently delivered to all of my clients who have origins from around the globe.

I have had PMU done already and need a colour boost, what do you charge?
If you choose me to top up your colour, I am more than happy to. I will charge just the same as I charge my own clients. 

Colour boosting means exactly that, just topping up a perfectly placed tattoo. If you require any type of alteration in shape or colour correction, I will price it on an individual basis. I invite you to contact me with any questions about pricing and procedures.

Do you offer Permanent Makeup or Semi-Permanent Makeup?
TomaRto or TamaYto? These are different names for the same thing.  Permanent makeup, or PMU, is also known as Cosmetic Tattooing and micro pigmentation – they all mean the same thing.

How permanent is permanent? 
The pigment will remain visible in the skin for years (up to about 5 with newer pigments) but to keep great results you need to have the colour refreshed about every 12 months. In addition to this, it is important that you follow my aftercare guidelines so that your new permanent makeup has less chance of fading quickly.

Like any other dye, it fades and dulls down over time, just as a normal tattoo would.

I have had permanent make up elsewhere and I am not happy with the shape and colour, can you help?
If you have had a bad experience or are not happy with your colour or shape, I would strongly recommend that you raise your complaint with the responsible party. I realise that you may not be happy, however I would much prefer my clients come to me with their concerns than go elsewhere.

If you really have not had any joy with your treatment elsewhere, I would certainly want to see you for a consultation. In the majority of cases I can correct colour. Shape can be altered by rebalancing the area with more pigment. Removal of pigment is possible should too much have been misplaced.

If the colour you have is too dark, then nothing can be done except products to speed exfoliation and traditional make up to mask it.

This is exactly why it is very important to ensure you do your research before and after approaching any permanent makeup technician.

It is all too easy to become excited about the promised results without looking into whether the person or company you wish to approach are reputable and highly experienced.

I have a lip pencil and want the exact same colour created permanently, can you do this? 
Usually, yes. I cannot guarantee this 100%, however I can assure you that I can custom blend any of my pigments to match them as closely as possible to lip, brow and eyeliner pencils.

I want my makeup done for a special occasion, how far in advance do I need to book?
At least 5 weeks before a special occasion to allow for healing, and so that your new makeup is allowed to settle.

All too often women try to book for a new procedure a week before their daughter's wedding, special occasion, or a holiday. All procedures have downtime and at least a week needs to be given for colour to exfoliate.

If you are looking to book yourself in for treatment to apply new brows, then please allow time for two appointments, around 4-6 weeks apart, plus a week to heal before the big event.

This is why I say at least 5 weeks prior to a special occasion or event. 
You are having a tattoo on the skin, so it is very important to allow time for healing and so that you can get used to seeing the new you. This is essential if you have asked me to create something really different for you (i.e. if you have no brows and never draw them in, anything is going to feel like a really big change!)

Do I have to come for a consultation first and then come back for treatment?
Not always.  If you are confident that you want to go ahead with the booking then I can go through certain medical questions with you straight away, over the telephone.

Whilst it is important to have a consultation to ensure there are no reasons why you cannot have treatment, and there are no reasons why I would need you to postpone your treatment, then I can conduct treatment that day. One reason you may not be able to undergo permanent makeup treatment may be that you had Botox last week and you are wishing to book a new eyebrow procedure. 

Once I establish you are suitable for treatment with a telephone consultation, I will book you in for your appointment and consultation for the same day and I will send a patch test through the post for you to complete at home. 

I am not in the UK very often; can I still come to you for treatment?
I have a vast clientele database, some of which are from overseas. For that reason, the answer is most definitely yes. 

For new treatments I would draw your attention to the need for a follow up visit within 12 weeks of your initial appointment in order to complete treatment and finalise your colour.

I strongly recommend that you are able to attend the follow up appointment otherwise you risk being very unhappy with the results. 

I will offer a discounted price for a follow up appointment at a later or earlier date, if you cannot make a return visit within this time.

Do you offer late night or weekend appointments?
Whilst main appointments are held at Harley Street, I hold clinics on a Sunday in Buckhurst Hill, Essex - that is just 30 minutes from Liverpool Street on the Central Line, and 10 minutes from Junction 25 on the M25. 

Evening appointments are not available.

Do you treat any celebrities I would know?
I pride myself on offering a very discreet service. I am very aware that this question could evoke an interesting conversation; however, I want all of my clients to be confident that I would never discuss them, or their treatment plan, with anyone else. 

I would like a private appointment?
I respect that well-known or recognised women often prefer their treatment and visit to remain confidential.

I am more than happy to schedule a private appointment for you. This will ensure that you will avoid the use of waiting rooms and meeting other clients and staff. I take client privacy and special requests seriously and in doing so will ensure your privacy for the duration of time that you spend with me at my Amazingt Makeup clinics.

Colour Palette
Eyeliners – I want extended eyeliner with "flicks" as I draw on myself most days, can you do this?
I do not recommend flicks, also known as extended eyeliners. This is because as a person ages, the area of skin that these are implanted in will move.

As dark pigments can show in the skin for an unpredictable amount of time I regret that I will not carry out any type of procedure that may reposition over time, or that will not be flattering in the future.

I want thick eyeliner joined at the outer corners but I've been told this cannot be done.  Is that correct?
Many people extend eyeliner past the end of the eyelids and that looks great. However, I never recommend joining the outer corners of permanent eyeliner as the risk of pigment migration is increased.  This means that the pigment may move under the skin or give the effect of a colour "bleed" and can be quite significant in size. 

A skilled technician will take the length of the eyeliner to the last lash and once healed, gives a great effect. If you wish to extend the tattoo for special occasions or daily wear then you can do that with daily makeup.

Is it possible to have top eyeliner only?
Yes of course.  Most procedures are booked for both top and bottom, but it is not essential to have both if not desired. I realise that not everybody requires a complete eyelash or lid enhancement.

I am nervous of having the bottom liner done as they often look hard or obvious, what would you suggest?
Bottom lines require as much thought to design as the top and this is largely dependent on the shape of the eye and the look required.  I would strongly recommend that you look at my portfolio images containing different types of design. We can work together to come up with the most ideal, and most stunning, design that best suits your features.

I only draw my underneath line from the outer edge to the centre,  about half way across, and do not want it to be placed the full length of my lashes, will you do this?
I will assess your eye shape and suggest a look that will create the most flattering effect to your eyes. The length and depth of under eyeliners are given as much consideration as the top.

Every client is assessed as an individual, because we are all individuals. Therefore, your make up will be designed uniquely for you.

I love to deliver exactly what you want, but I regularly exceed client expectations. I will always make suggestions and create looks and designs that you just would not have thought of for yourself. This gives you full scope to make an informed decision about the result you wish to achieve.

I never go ahead with treatment until my clients are excited about what we have talked about together, and until I know you are happy with the designs and colours I have suggested. I never forget that it is you, the client, who will be wearing the permanent make up. Looking your best and looking at your results, every day means that I have to do a great job. I put my experience and skills to use every time I carry out treatment, and if I don't think you will like the result then I will not go ahead.

For that reason, it is in my interests as well as yours to do an outstanding job so that you are completely happy with your finished look.

Retouches – How often does my make up need Colour Boosting and what is the cost?
I recommend having your colour boosted every 12 to 18 months.
When my client maintains the work I have carried out regularly, following my aftercare regime and keeping it in good condition, a single appointment is usually all that is necessary.

Because of this, the price of a booster appointment can be around half of the price of the initial treatment, so you can help yourself to reduce costs by looking after your results carefully.

If no retouch has been undertaken for a long time, and colour has faded dramatically, an extra top up following the Colour Boost may become necessary This incurs extra costs, of course, as the cost will be increased with the number of appointments that become necessary.

 

More Permanent Makeup Frequently Asked Questions