Permanently Beautiful

The possibility of infection begins the minute you open a new tube of mascara or unscrew the lid on a new pot of creme eye shadow. Every time you touch the point of an eyeliner pencil or glide a wand of lip gloss across your lips you are collecting and spreading potentially harmful bacteria. Makeup applicators and the makeup itself are prime breeding grounds for harmful Staphylococcus bacteria, dermatologists warn.

Makeup contamination begins from the moment you open the package of a new cosmetic. The more often you use and the longer you keep a makeup product, the greater your risk of developing a serious bacterial or fungal infection on your skin or in your eye. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received 169 reports of serious cosmetic-linked infections last year, but noted that the majority of infections attributed to cosmetics are never reported.

Contaminated makeup can cause irritation of the skin or trigger an allergic reaction. However, the most dangerous and most frequent health risk occurs when bacteria enter the eye where they can cause itching, highly contagious conjunctivitis, painful styes and, if left untreated, vision damage.

Dermatologists say creme and liquid cosmetics present the greatest risk and recommend replacing powdered makeup products every 12 to 18 months and creme or liquid cosmetics, as well as all eye makeup, every 3 months. That can be expensive if you wear quality cosmetics that often sell for $30 to $50 or more per item. The safe, cost-effective solution is permanent cosmetics.

When people decide to replace their glasses with contact lenses, they generally do so to improve their appearance and vision. Unfortunately, if tiny flakes of eye liner, mascara, eye shadow or foundation fall into a contact lens-covered eye; vision blurs and eyes turn red and watery — not the most attractive look!

Bits of makeup trapped behind a contact lens can cause serious eye damage, ophthalmologists warn those who wear contacts. Trapped makeup can scratch the cornea, introduce bacteria into the eye, and cause serious eye infections. According to studies, incidents of ulcerative microbial keratitis, a serious eye infection that can permanently damage sight and result in blindness, have increased by 400% since contact lenses gained popularity. Contact lenses are now considered the leading risk factor for development of this sight-robbing infection.

To prevent eye infection, physicians recommend that contact lenses be inserted before applying makeup to prevent contamination of the lens. Lenses should also be removed before removing makeup, again to prevent contamination and lessen the risk of infection. Many contact lens wearers, as well as women with sensitive eyes and those who suffer from airborne allergies, solve the problem with permanent eyeliner, permanent eye shadow and permanent eyebrows. Permanent makeup eliminates the application of eye makeup and the potentially dangerous residual flaking that occurs with use of liners and powders.

On NBC’s The Doctors yesterday, permanent makeup took center stage as the doctors discussed the benefits permanent makeup offers many women. As obstetrician/gynecologist Dr. Lisa Masterson and plastic surgeon and reconstructive surgery expert Dr. Drew Ordon pointed out, permanent makeup offers time-saving advantages for busy women from soccer moms to corporate executives who want to look their best but don’t have time to spend on makeup. Permanent makeup also meets the beauty and grooming needs of women who are allergic to makeup; people who suffer small motor impairment caused by arthritis, disease or aging and find it difficult to apply makeup; and women with vision problems who cannot see well enough to apply makeup.

The audience observed permanent cosmetic procedures being performed on 35-year-old mom and pilot Trish. Extremely fair, Trish had very light eyebrows with some small gaps in the hair growth and nearly invisible eyelashes. With facial skin, lips and eye lids nearly the same tone, Trish’s face lacked color and definition, leaving her looking sallow and washed-out without makeup. Using permanent cosmetics, Trish’s eyebrows were darkened and the gaps filled with hair-like brush strokes. Permanent eyeliner was added to bring out Trish’s eyes and add definition to her lashes. Permanent lip color in a shade somewhat darker than her skin tone was applied to define her lips. The transformation was stunning. Trish went from mousy to vibrant right before the audience’s eyes!

Next time: Permanent makeup advice from The Doctors

Glam-rock is back and it has put punky, dramatic, kohl-rimmed eyes back in the spotlight. With the opening of the Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning film The Runaways, eye makeup is stepping back in time to revisit the 1960s when Joan Jett and Cherie Currie formed one of rock’s most famous all-girl bands. In keeping with the film’s realistic portrayal of the young teens’ rise to fame, makeup artists were instructed to create a look that was realistic, teen-aged blemishes and all. Without the typical Hollywood flawless skin to wow the camera, makeup artists for The Runaways focused on the eyes.

Pouring over old magazine ads and watching hours of concert footage of the real Runaways performing, makeup artists for the film focused on weird, tiny details to create an authentic look on screen. For instance, Jett and Currie painted only one fingernail red. But it was their dark smoky eyes that created the band’s signature look in the ’60s.

With permanent cosmetics you can create your own permanent signature look. Permanent eyes can rim your lids in thin or thick permanent eyeliner in the color of your choice so you look beautiful day and nice. When you want to glam or punk it up, add a thicker layer right over your permanent cosmetics. Permanent makeup gives you the best of both worlds.

Jen's Natural Look

Jennifer Aniston worked her way into American hearts as Rachel on Friends and never left. She’s the proverbial “girl next door,” fresh and wholesome looking. Jennifer uses a few special makeup tricks to create her very natural look. She may look like she’s not wearing makeup, but it’s a light hand and adept application that give Jen the natural appearance admired by so many.

How does she do it? Jen only applies eyeliner to her top eyelid, usually leaving the bottom lid naked or applying only a faint, thin stroke of liner to the bottom lid. To enhance her natural look, Jennifer chooses eyeliners in pale grays and light browns. She counts on a medium coating of mascara on both top and bottom lashes to make her eyes pop. To enhance her eyes, Jennifer favors barely there, lightly applied eye shadow in pale grays, beiges, pinks and lavenders. Jen sticks to natural looking lip colors in light brown, peach or pink. Her trick is to color her lips just slightly darker than their natural color.

Permanent makeup can give you Jennifer Aniston’s natural look 24 hours a day without tedious time in front of the mirror. You can have permanent eyeliner in a natural shade tattooed on just your upper lid or add a barely there line to your lower lid. Permanent eye shadow can enhance your eyes with natural beauty 24/7 and it never cakes or creases. Your lips will always look naturally beautiful with permanent lip color. Permanent makeup is the ultimate natural look!

Have you ever heard a woman say, “I feel naked until I put my face on”? For many women putting on their makeup is more than part of their morning routine, it’s a symbol of their femininity. Like doing their hair and dabbing on their favorite scent, applying eye makeup and lipstick makes women feel more beautiful, self-confident and ready to meet whatever the day has in store. Even women who favor the natural look and choose to skip foundation prefer the way they look with a dash of eyeliner, a swipe of mascara and a touch of lipstick. Makeup enhances our natural beauty and makes us feel good about ourselves.

A stroke, arthritis, muscular dystrophy, long illness, accident or other degenerative condition or disease strikes at the very core of who a person is as an individual and a woman. The inability to apply makeup when motor skills are lost and hands shake can be a tragic blow to a woman’s sense of femininity and sense of self. Without makeup she no longer sees in the mirror the woman she once was. It makes her loss cut even deeper. Permanent cosmetics can restore a woman’s sense of personal beauty and her self confidence in her appearance.

Artfully applied cosmetic tattooing can create beauty-enhancing permanent eyeliner, permanent eyebrows, permanent lips or even a full face enhancement. With permanent makeup, a woman who is no longer able to apply her own cosmetics can still look like she’s just applied fresh makeup.

The economy will continue to drive the way we dress and live in 2010. Realistic fashionistas are going practical with a return to smart basics. Expect clothing to feature good, sturdy fabrics in mixable neutral shades of brown and gray. Clean lines, simple cuts and a more classic look will dominate 2010 fashion. Versatility will be the name of the game. Women will splurge on just a few fabulous pieces that offer multiple ways to dress up or dress down their wardrobe. For example, savvy shoppers will look for items like a sleek leather tunic that can be worn as a mini-dress, vest, tunic over leggings or even light outerwear. Women will continue to look for smart ways to stretch their clothing budgets. Individual expression in the midst of Plain Jane fashions will come from colorful custom-designed jewelry and artfully applied permanent makeup.

This year the eyes have it! In 2010, permanent eye makeup will focus attention on your beautiful face. It’s your eyes that will add that special spark of alluring fire to practical fashions. Perfectly arched and feathered permanent eyebrows will provide a window to eyes exquisitely lined with permanent eyeliner. Add neutral shadows for serious work hours, then go wild with a slash of neon bright shadow for evening wear. The spring release of Tim Burton’s film version of Alice in Wonderland is expected to add a hint of Victorian whimsy and wild psychedelic colors to fashion accessories and makeup pallets this spring.

New Moon, the second eagerly-awaited installment in the Twilight Saga, is opening in theaters. With brooding, blood-sucking hunk Edward (Robert Pattinson) off doing vampire things, will beautiful Bella (Kristen Stewart) turn for comfort — and romance? — to mysterious werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner)? The allure of the Twilight series goes beyond teenybopper fandom. The best selling series by Stephenie Meyer has women of all ages turning pages late into the night. Sensuous and sexual without being explicit, Meyer has transformed sex into the more emotionally powerful yearning. In a Time magazine interview, saga screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg called it “safe sexuality. It’s the ultimate romantic ideal. You have the allure of danger. And yet there’s only so far you can go.”

Who knows how far you’ll go when you slip into New Moon’s mysterious “Twilight Eyes.” The dangerous allure of New Moon’s otherworldliness begins with the eyes. Create Bella’s sensuously tortured look by first defining eyes with a thin line of chocolate eyeliner. Thicken and define brows. Use a pale neutral pink shadow under the brow. Apply russet brown shadow lightly to eyelid, feathering and slightly smudging up toward inner brow terminus and slightly beyond outer eye line. Add a very light swipe of shadow under eye and feather slightly toward cheek; don’t smudge the eyeliner.

Permanent makeup provides the perfect foundation for Twilight Eyes or any look. Lush permanent eyebrows perfectly frame your face. Permanent eyeliner flawlessly defines eyes. Add shadow and you’re ready to prowl!

With the last chocolate bar a fading memory, it’s time to put away the Halloween grease paint and start thinking about your holiday look. Thanksgiving marks the start of holiday festivities. Dress up cocktail parties, family gatherings, office bashes, potlucks with friends, dancing ’til dawn, shopping junkets with the girls – a girl’s got to look good! So what’s hot for the holidays? Sex, smoke and shimmer!

Soft, smoky eyes get the holiday touch with a little shimmery shadow on the lid. Carefully apply then smudge a thin line of deep brown or gray eyeliner to top and bottom lashes. Stay away from black; you don’t want sepulcher eyes (Halloween is over). Add mascara, a swipe of shimmery blush to your cheeks and finish with a light lipstick or gloss. Stay away from dark lips to keep the focus on your eyes. Permanent eyeliner adds depth to your eyes. Smudge a little eyeliner on top to smoke up your eyes.

Go sexy this holiday with deep red lips. Line lips first, then use a lipstick brush to fill with your favorite show-stopping red color. Shimmer a sparkling blush along your cheek bones. For this look, keep the focus on your sexy lips by pairing with a light matte eye shadow that’s close to your skin tone and a swipe of mascara. Permanent makeup creates a perfect lip line for the sexiest lips this holiday. Create permanent lips in your favorite lipstick color or apply new shades over the ideal background for your skin tone.

Let’s face it. Face, hair or figure, certain female physical traits have been considered as classic beauty by our culture for centuries.  Tastes change and politics change. But some things remain the same.

Take hair. We’ve had feminists, mullets and mohawks. Yet most people – male and female – still consider long flowing tresses to be a key part of feminine allure.  Venus on that half shell and Mona Lisa both have long locks just like Brigitte Bardot and Beyonce.

Scientists who have studied trait preferences will tell you it’s because long hair symbolizes youth and vitality. Males are programmed to be attracted to ladies with long hair, large eyes, rosy lips and symmetrical figures.

Scientists will further tell you that all of this is because the attracting traits that signify a young female indicate fertility. It’s those genes talking. But the funny thing is even if a guy doesn’t want any heirs, he’s still attracted to long hair and all the rest.

So why not just follow the rules of attraction?  To turn heads, simply let your hair down and augment your lips, eyes and eyebrows with permanent makeup.

Today’s magnificent lip colors will make your lips look beautiful, soft and natural, just as if you were born that way. No need for that painted lipstick look although you can always put lipstick on over permanent color when you want extra drama. Add some permanent eyeliner and brows, and you’re putting you’re best face forward.  Fluff your hair to its fullest potential. And voila, you’re a classic beauty.