Everything You Need to Know About Permanent Makeup

My combined morning skincare and makeup routine eats up an hour of my life every morning—which is why the allure of permanent makeup is tempting. Not having to bounce my beauty blender on my dark circles, put on lip gloss, or re-do my eyeliner eleven billion times would make time for at least three extra cups of coffee in the morning (so necessary). Here's the thing: My pain tolerance is so low that I've cried while getting my teeth cleaned (I still blame the hygienist and not the fact that I hadn't flossed in two months). As for commitment? I can't even make up my mind about I want to have for breakfast in the morning.

Exactly how painful and permanent is permanent makeup, anyway?

I asked Dr. Jackie David—the microblading and permanent makeup expert at NYC's Jackie David Skincare—to breakdown the good, the bad, and the ugly about the four most requested permanent makeup services: Permanent eyebrows, permanent eyeliner, lip blushing, and permanent concealer.

"Microblading involves using a handheld, manual tool—either a blade or a rotary pen with different configurations of needles depending on what the client is going for," explains David. "If they want a soft, powdery brow then I like to use the rotary pen with the appropriate configuration of needles to deposit pigment, whereas using a blade creates sharper, more angular strokes. With the blade, you create slices in the skin, and in the slices you put the pigment on top and rub it in and let it sit. From start to finish, I like to give myself 1.5 hours."