Tracie Giles Semi-Permanent Make-up

When it comes to being naturally gifted in the follicle department, South Asian girls are not normally found wanting.  If anything, the problem often lies in the constant and regular need to de-fuzz, and this includes the frequent trips to have eyebrows shaped and tidied.

But what if you really do feel that your brows need beefing up?  With fashions for brows fluctuating from the very thin and almost plucked away to the other extreme of almost bushy, au naturel Brooke Shields / Natalie Portman brows, what's a girl to do?  And worse still, if you've plucked and tweezed for years, only to be left with a thin straggly arch over your eyes that needs filling in every day before you face your public, the effect can be demoralising to say the least. (And ultra time-consuming!)

Mention semi-permanent make-up, and most people will conjure up images of heavy-handed, badly done eyebrows and lips, verging on clown-like faces.  True, it has in the past had some bad press, most recently Coleen Rooney's eyebrows.  But it's not all bad.

Tracie hard at work

Tracie Giles is the known to be the UK's leading semi-permanent make-up specialist so when I was invited (by the very lovely Lucy Dartford PR) to an event at which Tracie was to show us why sheis number one in her field, I jumped at the chance.  Tracie is famed for her ability to create perfectly formed, natural looking eyebrows, using the right shape and length and custom-blended dye to exactly match the wearer's hair colour.

The huge range of mineral pigments used to create the perfect colour match

Make-up artist and fellow blogger Aly Hazlewood had volunteered to have her eyebrows perfected (she already has great eyebrows, but I guess there's always room for improvement!)  Tracie showed us in great detail how she carefully measures the distances and angles with callipers to ensure that the end result is not just symmetrical, but perfect for the face in question.  As she explained, most faces are not symmetrical themselves, and to put a pair of perfectly symmetrical eyebrows onto a non-symmetrical face can sometimes throw the whole face "off".  Before a needle even comes close to the face, Tracie pencils in the brows, so that you can see exactly what the end result will be - no nasty surprises here, while numbing cream is used to minimise the pain.

Aly, pre-treatment

Measuring up with callipers

Laying down the dye in short strokes for a natural look

Aly was really pleased with the results, and even the immediate effect, even though the skin was still a little sore from the procedure, looked amazing.  Yes, amazing enough for me to consider facing my abject fear of needles.  Check out Aly's own words on her experience here.

Aly, post-treatment, with perfect brows

Priya Sonn, another fab beauty blogger and photographer, elected to have a beauty spot applied to the side of the mouth. After discussing with Priya exactly where she wanted the spot, how big and the correct shade, the actual process of applied the dye into the skin was over in a matter of literally minutes!  And it looked so effective.

Pigment mixing tray

Mid-treatment

Priya's beauty spot

You can read Priya's account of her experience here.

For both procedures, a short check-up a month after the treatment is needed, to top up the dye, and then again after 6 months.  The treatments can last upto several years before you might need to do it again, and for those really frustrated by straggly brows, this can be a life-saver in terms of confidence, not to mention the time you'd save every morning when putting your face on!

To find out more about Tracie Giles and to get in contact, visit her website here.