My Permanent Makeup Experience* (Part 1 of 2)

When I was 16 my eyebrows were absolutely shameful, between years of over plucking and trying to grow them out to emulate my ultimate girl crush Cara Delevigne, I tried waxing, threading, careful tweezing, embracing the natural look, tinting, pencils powders and every other product under the sun. The concept of Permanent Makeup had been floating about on my radar online, mentioned in YouTube videos, articles and blogs, but up until a few weeks ago, I had never given it proper consideration. That's when Olena came into my life! She's a Permanent Make Up and Aesthetic Skin Care Specialist. I took this as a sign, my poor little brows were to be saved!

My face, no makeup, with the most pathetic brows.
This was taken on March 3rd in Amsterdam. 

My issue with my brows wasn't that they were thinning, it was how uneven they were! One always looked good and the other one was pathetic. I would make sure my fringe hid the sad pathetic brow and showed off the decent one! Funny, really, if you think about it. They were also always brown because I could never find a product to suit my pigmentation. It's also worth noting that absolutely anyone can get beautiful, natural looking brows with Olenas technique, I have seen some incredible before and after shots of Alopecia sufferers, who had no brows whatsoever beforehand, and afterwards had the most wonderful, natural looking finished brows.

So. My experience. I opted to have my work done in Dublin, and I arrived really early, in true Amy style! When  I arrived I read and signed a long form with all of the fine details on it, had some chats and then we got started. I sat up on a chair facing directly forward and Olena got started freehanding the guide marks. This process took about 30-40 minutes, all in all, with lots of checking and rechecking, as well as talking and laughing and making faces to determine the angles and lines. This makes sure that your brows are perfectly placed, so they work with every expression, every moment of every day.

Stencils (ignore my dopey face)

Once the guides were perfected, Olena mixed the ink. Yes, ink! She created a custom shade that we were both happy with and got to the business at hand, The machine she uses is not too dissimilar to a tattoo gun, just more compact and not as noisy. The sensation of the needle on the skin is equal to that of a tattoo, but it does make you want to sneeze a little - mind you, it's not enough to make you actually sneeze, so don't worry. After the first few minutes, Olena applied a topical numbing ointment. This made the whole appointment fly by, without any dwelling on the discomfort. Then, in a flash, it was all over, and it was time for the great reveal,

Getting Started! 

I was stunned and delighted to see how natural they looked! My first words were "Oh my god, Olena they're amazing, and they're ginger!!". They really look incredibly natural, yet bold and defined without being overpowering. So far I'm only two days into healing, and I'll get more into that when they're all healed and I've been for my second appointment. So far, I am incredibly impressed, and I can see how it's so popular with women the world over. These brows make me feel bulletproof!

Almost finished! 

The cool thing about Olena is that not only does she do amazing brows, but she also does a whole plethora of other permanent makeup applications. Eyeliner, lippie, the works! I've added a link HERE to a gallery of all the before and after shots, so you can see the incredible work that Olena is a master of.

Immediately after the initial session!

Two days after the first session, brows looking incredible with absolutely NO product or makeup applied to them.
Obviously I am wearing a full face but there is nothing applied to my brow area, 

As you know, I don't push products or services I wouldn't willingly take on myself. I wouldn't rave about something I don't genuinely feel excited and enthusiastic about! Permanent Makeup by Olena is one of the best things I've ever had the pleasure of being asked to review, I hope you enjoyed this first installment of my experience. 

Amy

xo

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*I was invited to try Permanent Makeup by Olena herself with no fee. My opinions are my own. 

Things Every Vinyl Owner Should Have

It's no secret that I adore vinyl, I've been collecting it for around a year now. I've had a hand in a couple of peoples first "hit" as it were. It's an addiction, ask any audiophile. There's a problem though. It's expensive. I've upgraded my set up once so far and I'm gearing up to do so again this year, hopefully for the long haul. Anyways, with that said, I'm going to presume you have a player and some records, and hit you with the accessories!

A Vinyl Cleaning Cloth or Kit. 

This one really should not be optional. Vinyl is a seriously expensive habit and you should want to keep your records in pristine condition. I have a specially made cloth for cleaning my records, just to take the dust and that off them before I start spinning them. Mine is from Planet Waves, but you can get them from a whole bunch of brands. If you click HERE I've linked a similar one from Amazon.

Decent Headphones 

Again, probably shouldn't be optional, but there you are! I have a set of these exact headphones and they're literally the best thing since sliced bread. With a 6m cable you can enjoy your records without disturbing anyone else and move around the room with a sense of freedom you wouldn't ordinarily have if you just plugged in a pair of Beats or iPhone earbuds... Click HERE for the link!

Friends Who are into Records Too! 

This one makes life so much more easy and fun, honestly! Himself and I frequently go record shopping and trade records here and there, which keeps things fresh and means we always have something new to listen to. Currently, I'm all about Torres and Daft Punk, which I wouldn't be if D hadn't forced them into my bag a few weekends ago, and I slid two of The Darkness onto his shelf as well as Woven Skull! It's fun, it keeps your tastes fresh and it sparks conversations, what's not to love?!

A General Idea of What Perfection is to You. 

I'd also like to just mention that you should have a sense of the kind of music you want to have on vinyl. It's not a cheap hobby, so you want to invest your wedge wisely. I've got records by bands I absolutely wholeheartedly adore, and honestly. I wouldn't want my collection to have anything in it I didn't passionately think was the epitome of audio perfection. If, to you, perfection is vintage records, go for it! Same for new records - have a ball! Just build up your ideal collection, don't buy stuff you think is "meh".

Time To Spare...

...to spend at record fairs! Go to the Thomas House Record Fair, go to the Grand Social Flea Market, dig around in car boot sales, learn where all the secret hidden gem stores are, This hobby requires digging around in record bins, flipping through oceans of re-issues, but it's worth it! I bought a vintage Lord Of The Rings soundtrack because I had the patience to flip through all the crap to get to it!

So there you have it, some things every record-aficionado should have, from the tangible to the thoughtful! Let me know what your necessities are, folks! 

Amy x

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