Giving Hope to Breast Cancer Survivors

I realized after years of performing areola tattooing that many breast cancer survivors were simply not able to go that last mile to have their areola tattooed. Countless women would share with me that their mastectomy and reconstructive surgery had been several years prior and they just couldn't do one more thing, emotionally or physically. Another obstacle some encountered was their reconstructive surgeon had moved out of state or retired. These survivors would have to pay, out of pocket, for the tattooing and this simply became another deterrent.

So, I decided to create a volunteer program, called The Beau Day of Hope where I contacted other practitioners that specialize in areola tattooing to join me at my location and provide this service for some of these women. Our first year was a huge success and we were able to give several women the 3-D areola tattooing, at no charge. There were hugs and tears of joy that continued throughout the day. There was such a magnificent synergy; we decided to announce it to out of state practitioners, so they can hold a Day of Hope in their own facilities, across the country. Their participation meant, as a profession, we could accompany many more women to the end of their arduous journey and provide the confidence, familiarity and femininity that they so deserve.



Hope is defined as the expectation of fulfillment and that was what I wished to achieve during this day. To help women feel that fulfillment & completion when they have the areola tattooed. I wanted to put an end to the heart wrenching experiences that my client survivors share with me regarding their aesthetic issues. Many tell me they hadn't looked at themselves in a mirror for several years or they wouldn't allow their husbands to see their breasts since their reconstruction. I have found that some survivors even feel a little guilty worrying about how they look or don't look and they should just be happy being alive and well. They tell me that when they faced their mortality, their emotions riddled their minds and this was the last thing on their list in surviving.

It's so difficult to hear because I know the simplicity of the tattooing and how much it will do for her, on so many levels. I know that her reconstructive surgery will suddenly take on a new life and appear realistic. Although, her breasts may not be the same as they were before her cancer and mastectomy, they will appear convincingly feminine and beautiful. I know that this is often the final step in this most difficult journey. I am always so grateful to be able to share in this and so happy she found her way to us. 

Our Beau Day of Hope is October 28th. Join us and help us spread the word!

Fall into Brow Fashion

Fall is here, and gone are the laid back days of summer. It’s no wonder why fall is the favorite season for so many, with the crisp air and the spectacular colors that it brings. However, Howeverfall is also one of the busiest times of the year. For some, it’s back to school and for most, hectic routines begin once again.  One great way to simplify your life and save time in your daily routine is with permanent makeup.

Permanent eyebrows can be a huge time saver during your morning rush. This is our most requested procedure, as brows are the power feature of the face.

Imagine waking up every morning with beautifully defined brows, framing your face and defining your eyes. Even on makeup-free days, beautifully full brows can give your face a more sculpted, put-together look.

Today’s permanent makeup is soft and natural. One of the latest techniques in permanent makeup are 3D Brows, or HD Brows. With this technique, individual hairs are tattooed amidst your natural hairs to create a beautiful and natural effect. This technique appears realistic even in the absence of eyebrow hairs. It is truly magnificent.

Fuller eyebrows have been revived, and this I am glad to see.  The classic beauties of all time have never had a thin, contrived eyebrow. From Audrey to Beyonce, fuller brows never go out of style and are always considered in vogue.

Fuller brows add softness to the face and give a more youthful appearance. This is especially appreciated and dramatic in mature women. Fuller brows add instant glamour and take years away from the face.

Permanent Makeup Artists...if you want to learn more about 3D brows visit Beau Institute at The Philadelphia International Congress of Esthetics and Sps [Click here to go to website] on Monday, October 26 at 2:00 at the Image Conference for my presentation “ Investing in Illusion: 3D Brow-Wow."You can also come visit us at our booth #230.  We will be there 10/25 and 10/26.

Gray Eyebrows, Don't Yank Them Out, The Men Have the Answer!

Performing permanent eyebrow procedures for more than 25 years, I can't believe that I still hear countless women telling me they YANK their gray eyebrows out! I cringe every time I hear this. 

When tattooing eyebrows, we desperately need every hair that is within the design of the eyebrow and this includes the GRAYS! Ridding yourself of them is quite simple. 

Just for Men Beard and Mustache Tint is the easiest and safest way to color those pesky grays. Your gray brows will be gone in just 10 minutes! Select a shade that is lighter than your brow color since this product has no lifting power but simply stains the hairs. 

Each kit consists of 2 tubes: one is the tint and the other is the developer. You can discard the remaining items in the kit. Using the cap of a water bottle or a something slightly larger than thimble size, is perfect. 

Squeeze out a pea size amount from each tube into the small cap you chose and stir with a toothpick or better yet, break a cotton swab and stir with the stick part. Now, using that same stick, dip into the mixture and pat it onto your brows, being sure you get to the roots of them.

Leave it on for 10 minutes and wipe off with a tissue and then, using soap and water on a terry cloth, clean off the residual. 

Walla! No more gray! I personally repeat this process every 2 weeks.

What I like about this product is how little time it takes and its viscosity. It is not runny at all, but instead, a thick formula that stays in place and reduces any chance of it getting into your eyes.

Disclaimer...if you are allergic to hair dyes or any of the ingredients in them, this procedure is not for you! If you manage to get this product into your eyes, I can't imagine how you even did that.

If allergies prevent you from this process, a colored mascara can be applied to your brows or you can wet an eye-shadow and paint it on with a brush. Although, temporary, it's better than winning the Andy Rooney look-alike contest! Be sure to trim up your brows, especially if those gray hairs are very long. Stop into a salon and have them groomed. It will be so much easier to color them and care for them. 

Can a beauty mark make you look sexier?

This blog is from Guest Blogger – Maria Concepcion – Assistant Trainer and Practitioner at the Beau Institute

It sure can. The first thing is placement. Test the placement of your beauty mark on different areas of your face. You can test placement before you apply your full makeup. You can place a beauty mark below your left eye or your right eye directly above your cheek bone.

 Or you can place one on your right cheek or your left cheek. Or you can place one above your lips (left or right side). Or below your lips (left or right side). You can also place a beauty mark about a half inch to an inch from the corner of your lips. (left or right side).

Be careful with this placement because when you smile you don't want your beauty mark in the crease of you smile. It's best to use a dark pencil, either a dark brown, brown/black or black pencil.

Place the point of your pencil on your skin and turn it clockwise and counter clockwise. Repeat the process if you want your beauty mark bigger and/or darker. Don't make it too big. You don't want your beauty mark to overpower your face. You want it to compliment your face and your makeup. One beauty mark will make you look sexy even two. Anything more than that will make you look too spotty or freckled.

Once you find your perfect placement for your beauty mark, consider having it permanently tattooed at the Beau Institute!

For more information about Permanent Cosmetic Procedures visit out website at: www.BeauInstitute.com

This blog is from Guest Blogger – Maria Concepcion – Assistant Trainer and Practioner at the Beau Institute

3-D Areola Tattooing...Re-acquainting Femininity with Art

Too often my clients say, as they opened their examining gowns to show me their reconstructed breasts, that they are not thrilled and even unhappy with their results. However, when they unfold their gowns they reveal magnificent breasts that they simply cannot see. Without the nipple areola complex, it is difficult for them to see the forest through the trees. It always saddens me to hear this.  Without the areola/nipple complex, many women have difficulty appreciating the brilliant surgical and artistic skills that were perfectly executed by their surgeons.

Before 3-D Tattoo	Healed 3-D Tattoo

Once the 3-D tattoo is done, their breasts take on a new life that brings with it, familiarity, femininity, confidence and a new appreciation for their reconstructive surgery.

Opting for the Art of 3-D Areola Tattooing Instead of a Nipple Graf

Women talk! We are excellent at reaching out to other women that have the same or similar issues. It could be anything from a housekeeping issue, child rearing questions that they want answers to and most certainly health issues. We see the countless support groups that have been formed by women dealing with cancer and facing the loss of their breasts. These women may be presented with several options for reconstruction and will seek out other women who have had these various surgeries for their input. This helps her make an informed decision. Blessed with the technology of today, these groups have been placed within arm's reach and distance is no longer an issue.

I have found that many women that have the choice of a nipple graft or the 3-D areola tattoo are opting for the 3-D tattoo. There are a couple of reasons for this decision. The tattoo avoids the additional surgical procedure as well as the risk of the nipple showing through her clothing, since it remains erect.  Many women, following a mastectomy, are not in need of a bra and find this so freeing. A nipple that protrudes can dash this opportunity. The beauty of the tattooing is she can still have a nipple graft at a later date if she wishes. The tattoo will not prevent any future change of heart.

When a Nipple Graft is Not an Option

Often, when a mastectomy is accompanied by radiation or even complications from surgery, a nipple graft is not an option. However, being able to offer the realistic effects of the 3-D areola/nipple tattoo is a truly wonderful solution and with little to no compromise.

Even the texture of a natural areola/nipple complex can be achieved. It is such an amazingly natural effect and brings symmetry and realism to reconstructed breasts.

Here at the Beau Institute we offer 3-D areola tattooing free of charge for those who choose this option.  The joy and appreciation they express when this procedure is complete is so very rewarding to us.  Their courage inspires us to reach out and share this experience with anyone in need of this procedure.

For more information regarding 3 D Areola Tattooing and The Beau Institute, Visit Our Areola Nipple Tattooing page on our website by clicking here.

The Truth About Mascaras

I love experimenting with inexpensive makeup. I often find them to be as good or better than expensive designer brands. Mascaras are a great example of this.

Our eyelashes have a texture, just like our hair, so they respond differently to various mascaras. Think of mascaras as you would hair preparations like mousses, sprays and gels you would put in your hair to achieve specific effects. Some will be too heavy and weigh it down and some will lend body and add volume. Finding the right weight and viscosity of mascara for your eyelashes can be a trial and error drill but doesn't have to be an expensive one. 

The fine texture of eyelashes, which most women have, will appear longer and thicker with a more viscous and dryer formula. Wet formulas will stick fine eyelashes together, weigh them down and won't be able to separate them. The dryer mascara will separate, lengthen and volumize finer eyelashes.  

If you have eyelashes that are more coarse, your eyelashes can handle a more wet formula without being weighed down.  

Recently, I have found love with Maybelline Great Lash and L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly mascaras. I was never a fan of a real wet mascara, the kind that sticks your lashes together and appears as though you just lifted your face out of the water. I prefer a dryer formula that separates, lifts and thickens each eyelash. Actually, I like my mascaras best about 3 weeks after I first open them. They thicken and become a bit dryer and then they really separate and add volume to my eyelashes.  

A former Borghese mascara user, I swore I could never live without it and then forgot to pack it for a vacation. The closest store was a pharmacy and I decided to just grab a Great Lash, since so many of my clients had told me they used it. I shuttered at the packaging, the tacky pink and green. No sleek tube? It seemed a bit wet, at first, but by the end of the week I was in love! The brush was firm and separated my lashes, beautifully. My bottom eyelashes are extremely long and most mascaras would leave me with black dots under my eyes just from looking down all day, since I am a permanent makeup artist. With Great Lash, no black dots! Since I have permanent eyeliner, myself, I found I could even place my wetting drops in my eyes, after a long day of work, without the mascara running. It was water-resistant! Could this be? Perfect! 

My other backup was L'Oreal Voluminous mascara. Working as a makeup artist for many years, many artists knew that L'Oreal made a great mascara. It was inexpensive and went pretty far. It was also a formula that was gentle and didn't irritate sensitive eyes. We didn't get the benefit of its full, round brush since we had to use our skimpy disposable brushes. However, it worked on various textures of eyelashes, separating and creating fullness without clumping. 

When they recently began to advertise the L'Oreal Butterfly mascara, I had to try it. It is truly great! It has a great brush that lifts and separates beautifully. The Waterproof Butterfly Mascara is fabulous from the very first application but a mascara remover is necessary to remove it. This formula is simply wicked and perfect for that special occasion where you really want to flaunt your lashes at their longest. 

The brushes in your mascara tube are important but not as critical as the mascara, itself. When the formula is right, the brush was always secondary to me.   

If you find your mascara is melting into your eyeliner every time you wear them together, consider changing your eyeliner or consider permanent eyeliner. If they eyeliner you are using has oils that meltdown, they can manage to smear and displace any mascara. Experiment to see if this is the case by just wearing your mascara without eyeliner to see if it remains intact. 

The best part, these 3 tubes of mascara, collectively, are still less expensive than just one tube of most department store designer brands and every bit as good or better.  

 

In closing, I do have one major Pet Peeve that I must put out there. How stupid do mascara manufacturer think we are when we look at their ads in magazines and they are showing eyes with false eyelashes, while bragging about their fabulous lash-lengthening mascaras??? The public, especially anyone that has any makeup experience, can see this from across a room. It is insulting women's intelligence.  Please stop!!!