Permanently Beautiful

Your mother may have been horrified when you got your first tattoo, but it wouldn’t be surprising if she had a tattoo of her own now. Tattoos have been gaining in popularity since the 1970s. Getting “inked” isn’t the social taboo it was when your parents were young and tattoos were associated with felons, bikers and the seamier side of life. Today, tattoos are mainstream, as likely to be seen in the corporate board room as at a university coffee shop.

Whether you have a small, discretely-placed butterfly or a sexy, eye-catching low rider, wearing a tat makes you feel sexy, sensuous, independent, free-spirited and maybe just a little bit dangerous. Tattoos are all about the attitude, how they make us feel about ourselves. Interestingly, this isn’t the only time in modern history that tattoos have gained wide acceptance. Tattoos were popular among wealthy high society women (and men) during the 1930s. The rich and famous used to host elegant soirees so they could show off their newest tats to their envious friends.

Permanent makeup is the ultimate beauty tattoo. Using safe, sterile paramedical tattooing techniques, the highly experienced technician like Melany Whitney can give you perfectly shaped eyebrows; line your eyes with no flake, no run eyeliner; permanently add your signature color to lips and more. Artistic permanent makeup tattooing can correct facial flaws and enhance your natural beauty. And because it’s a tattoo, you look amazing 24/7. For your next tattoo, consider permanent makeup.

Just a year after a double mastectomy for breast cancer, Christina Applegate looked radiant at this year’s Emmy Awards in a stunning navy silk charmeuse gown from Basil Soda. I loved the sensually draped bodice and eye-catching sheer lace midriff. At the January SAG awards, the Samantha Who? star was just as gorgeous in an emerald green off-the-shoulder gown from Emanuel Ungaro. Christina hasn’t let her battle with breast cancer or her decision to undergo a double mastectomy hold her back. Thanks to the surgery, the television comedian is cancer free, as lovely as ever and working hard.

Like many women who undergo a mastectomy for breast cancer, Christina had breast reconstruction surgery. While surgery can return nature’s curves to a woman’s body, the lack of visible areola and nipples can make reconstructed breasts seem less than real to cancer survivors. It was her desire to help cancer survivors reclaim their femininity that led nationally recognized paramedical tattoo artist and permanent makeup specialist Melany Whitney to develop a realistic-looking three-dimensional areola/nipple complex for reconstructed breasts. Click here to see the amazingly realistic results of Melany’s unique nipple and areola restoration technique.

As Christina knows, self confidence comes from within, but how we look does affect how we feel. Paramedical tattooing restores the breast’s natural beauty, helping cancer victims regain confidence in their own femininity.

Don’t you just love award shows? I don’t care that much about who wins, but I love the dresses, the jewels, the hair, the makeup — the glam! Red was the star of Sunday night’s 61st Emmy Awards, and I’m not talking about the red carpet. Sure there were plenty of metallic bronzes and silvers and, of course, the traditional black, but it was the bright reds that took center stage.

Debra Messing’s gorgeous, bright red, beaded, one-shoulder Michael Kors gown gave her the look of a modern Greek goddess. Loved her beautiful sculptured-leaf dangle earrings. Hayden Panettiere was absolutely stunning in a regal, rich scarlet, one-shouldered gown with a softly draped skirt. With matching red lipstick and an upswept do, Hayden looked like a queen. For old-fashioned glamour, I loved Drew Barrymore’s vintage spun-sugar blush gown. Set off with a perfect candy-apple red mouth, Drew looked good enough to eat!

I’m always turn a critical eye to the stars’ makeup, and this year my eye was drawn to sexy red lips. Maybe it’s the Mad Men 1960s influence, but red was definitely the lip hue favored by Hollywood’s brightest stars. There’s nothing more sensual than full, bright red lips. With permanent makeup, you can create your own signature red lips, sexy 24 hours a day. Or choose permanent lips in the perfect neutral pink for your skin tone. This season’s hottest lip colors can be easily applied right over permanent lips, the permanent color adding rich depth.

Since Angelina Jolie stormed onto the silver screen as the Laura Croft in black leather and blue steel, plumped lips have been the rage in Hollywood. Sure, we know Brad Pitt’s main squeeze has well-developed acting chomps, but it was the adventurous Laura Croft in Tomb Raider that shot Jolie’s star — and her pouty lips — soaring into the celebrity stratosphere. Angie’s sexy pucker may be the real deal; but when stars turn to Botox to copy her signature poufy pucker, they often wind up with an ugly trout pout. Click the links to check out these “what was she thinking?” pics of pop wreck Lindsay Lohan’s fugly pout and Boston Legal’s Saffron Burrows’ bee sting pucker.

We understand the desire to look young and beautiful, but a Botox-injected pouf pout is not the answer. No one wants fish lips — or wants to kiss them. By cleverly accenting or correcting your natural lip line, permanent makeup can give you the gorgeous, full, youthful lips you desire — without the risk of hideous trout pout. Permanent lips artistically created by permanent cosmetics expert Melany Whitney augment your natural beauty. Thin lips can be made fuller. Too much fullness can be de-emphasized. Irregular lip lines can be perfectly defined. Permanent makeup lip enhancements include permanent lip liner and full lip color. With permanent lips, you know your lips are sexy, gorgeous — and kissable — 24 hours a day.

Ever wonder how top fashion models keep their makeup looking fresh and perfect during long photo shoots? You expect that perfection on the glossy pages of Vogue, but not when top models are caught unaware in the tabloids. Yet even when caught in the paparazzi’s glare, every face in every photo is perfectly beautiful. Follow these top model makeup tips and you, too, will always look your best in photos:

• Camera flash whites out color. Makeup looks lighter, leaving faces pale and pasty. Top foundation with a light brush of bronzer along cheeks, chin and neck.
• Avoid the shiny look by blotting face with blotting paper to remove excess oil. Blotting paper won’t remove makeup, just that nasty shine.
• Counteract the camera’s natural plumping tendency by contouring your face. Sweep sculpting powder in a shade slightly darker than your foundation down the center of nose, under chin and below cheekbones to create defining shadows. Blend edges for a natural look.
• Open and brighten eyes with heavier eyeliner and an extra sweep of mascara.
• Dark lips add age in photos. Choose medium tones for lip color. For a completely natural look, go with pinkish nudes instead of tans or beiges. A dab of clear or light gloss in the middle of your bottom lip makes lips appear fuller.

Permanent makeup can add beautiful contour and definition to your face 24/7, in and out of the spotlight.

Women aren’t the only ones seeking permanent eyebrow enhancements (see our Sept. 8 post). More men are recognizing the youthful effect of full, thick eyebrows and turning to permanent cosmetics for men to recapture lost youth. Maintaining a young, virile appearance isn’t about ego; it’s about keeping your competitive edge. In today’s uber-competitive job market, it’s essential to look young. Show your age and people start to wonder if you’ve lost your edge. You become an easy target for up-and-coming young turks battling for a spot on the corporate ladder and easy pickings for layoff-hunting executives. Full, thick eyebrows created with paramedical tattooing can restore that predatory look of youthful vigor and turn you back into the hunter, instead of the hunted.

As men age, they start to lose hair not just from their scalps, but from their eyebrows. Once strong, virile, commanding brows become thin, particularly in the inner nasal area that defines a man’s face. Aging brows become soft and sparse and seem to disappear into the face, leaving the impression of ineffectiveness, indecision and weakness. Exactingly performed, single stroke paramedical tattooing can recreate each individual natural hair, adding depth and thickness to brows and restoring the virile look of youth.

Visit the Whitney Center for Permanent Cosmetics website just for men to learn more.

Brooke Shield’s fabulous eyebrows seem to be everywhere on TV these days. The former model and last season’s Lipstick Jungle star probably has the most famous brows in Hollywood. Lush, thick, richly colored and perfectly shaped, Brooke’s unique brows have made her famous. Until Brooke hit the cover of Vogue, the youngest model ever to earn that honor, Hollywood brows were narrow, plucked arches that framed the face without being particularly noticed. Brooke brought the natural brow back to popularity.

Just like eyes, eyebrows vary in size and shape. Your brows frame the most important and expressive part of your face and must be sculpted to enhance your unique facial features. Not everyone can pull off Brooke’s thick eyebrows, but most of us could use a little help to achieve the polished Hollywood perfection of Courtney Cox’s or Angelina Jolie’s expressive brows. Properly placed and defined brows can open up your eyes and improve the appearance of your face. Permanent eyebrows artfully applied by nationally recognized permanent makeup artist Melany Whitney will get you Hollywood star notice.

Using exacting hair stroke simulation, Melany uses her skill and experience as a professional makeup artist to artistically reshape and thicken brows so they perfectly frame your face. Even brows that have been destroyed by Trichotillomania can be restored with permanent makeup so that TTM sufferers feel beautiful again.

The sensual Smoky Eyes that super model Heidi Klum shows off to such spectacular effect are the ultimate in dramatic eye makeup. Softly smudged shadows surround and feather out from the eyes, creating dramatic depth and making it seem that your eyes truly are the window to your romantic soul. It’s a look meant for romantic, candlelit dinners in exotic restaurants or red carpet nights dancing at the hottest new club. But it’s not an easy look to achieve. Start with too thick a line of eyeliner or get a little heavy-handed with the eye shadow and you have raccoon eyes, disaster unless you’re going Goth to a midnight showing of Rocky Horror.

Here’s how to create Smoky Eyes without the raccoon effect. Start with a very fine line of black eyeliner. For perfectly outlined eyes every time, consider permanent makeup eyeliner. Thicken the line slightly at the middle of the eye to create depth. Don’t use black for the eye shadow. Runway makeup artist Linda Hay creates Heidi’s smoky eyes using soft gray or chocolate shadows. Dark greens also work, but avoid blue shadows. Choose two shades of the same color, a dark and a lighter, neutral tone. Sweep the darkest shade from your lash line to the eyelid crease. Apply the lighter tone from the crease to the brow bone. With a cotton swab, stroke gray or medium-dark brown shadow under your lower lash line. Finish with three coats of black volumizing mascara on the top lashes only.

A financial analyst happy to snag a job on the janitorial crew at the Iowa State Fair. BMAs lining up to apply for entry-level data entry jobs in Ohio. College grads elbowing aside high schoolers to flip burgers while waiting for someone — anyone — to take an interest in their resumes. With unemployment at a 25-year high, competition for jobs is brutal. Everyone is looking for an edge. A growing number of women — and men — are turning to plastic surgery to put their best face forward during their job hunt. In a survey conducted by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 75% of physicians said patients had undergone procedures to maintain their competitiveness in the workplace. Despite the considerable expense and risk, some job seekers consider an investment in Botox or even a face lift a small price to pay for a better chance at getting a decent job.

It’s all about looking your best and having confidence in yourself. The two go hand-in-hand. When you know you look good, you feel empowered and that self-confidence shines through, whether in a job interview or on the job. But risky plastic surgery seems an extreme solution when you can achieve the same confidence-lifting results with permanent makeup beautifully applied by nationally-recognized expert Melany Whitney.