A Brisbane Woman has been scared for life after going to a foreign trained permanent makeup artist to get a cut price makeup tattoo procedure.  The Daily Mail and A Current Affair has reported.

Mary Malargic, 49 paid $300 Australian Dollars for a procedure that commonly costs $2000.

Oh…where to even begin.  There are a catalogue of errors of judgement happening here.

1.  Never has there been more truth to the term “you get what you pay for” than in the permanent makeup world.
2. Did she check to make sure the technician had insurance?
3. Where was the technician trained if at all?  The salon was a Turkish Bath…so the clue is in the name.  She asked for a subtle look and I think she got one…if you live in Turkey.
4. Why was she tattooed in the middle of a hair salon?
5. She was there for 7 hours!

This is the sort of thing that makes me despair.  It gives our beloved industry a bad name.  There is very little regulation happening although I will be making an announcement in the next couple of weeks about steps being taken in the UK to remedy this.

The good news for this lady is that we need to recognise that this can REALLY happen to anyone and that I can fix it if she can get to the UK.

Most people don’t really understand the difficulty and level of skill required of a permanent makeup artist.  Those wonderful natural brows cost thousands because the training costs a fortune.  What’s worse is that just because you train does not mean you will be any good at it.

The removal for this lady will be painful and expensive but should not be difficult.  If she were in the UK I would approach her to help her.  Because eyeliner removal is performed by so few people in the world, she may end up needing to come see me after all.

You can read the full article here.