Permanent makeup is becoming more and more popular, so you’ve probably heard about something called eyeliner embroidery. You may have also heard about an eyeliner tattoo, or permanent eyeliner.
With all those names, things can get confusing. Getting a treatment that will give you the look of wearing on-point eyeliner without having to reapply it for years certainly sounds great! But push comes to shove, which of the treatments mentioned should you ask for?
Here’s the secret – they’re all the same thing! Here’s all you need to know about eyeliner embroidery.
What Is Eyeliner Embroidery?
Eyeliner embroidery is a treatment that recreates the look of wearing eyeliner, but in its permanent version. It’s actually something like a tattoo, with colors being implemented into the skin, rather than onto it. Permanent eyeliner is in fact cosmetic tattooing, so the results last a limited time and fade away eventually.
It enhances your eyes and gives you a glammed up look, but it doesn’t come off for up to 3 years. That’s 3 years without fighting the battle against one eye turning out great and the other one a total mess!
How Is It Done?
Eyeliner embroidery is done by implementing pigments designed for permanent makeup into the skin of your eyelids. An electric PMU device similar to a tattooing machine is used to inject pigments into the upper dermis layer of the skin.
The pigments are gradually broken down by the body, and they’ll eventually become invisible unless you replenish them. This is great, because it allows you to modify the look every couple of years, or let the results fade away if you don’t want it anymore.
Image source: Instagram Screenshot @shayli_phimaster
Why Is It Called Eyeliner Embroidery?
As we said, it’s done with a hand-held electric device that features a vibrating needle. The artist who performs the treatment pierces the skin and injects countless tiny dots of pigment, creating the look to best suit your features and make your eyes pop.
The motion of creating the look resembles the act of embroidering fabric, an ancient artform.
Permanent makeup is also a form of art. It generates beauty, and that’s the ultimate masterpiece! Plus, it’s a skill that takes a while to perfect – it requires a sharp eye and an artistic touch.
For all those reasons, artists came up with a creative name that encompasses both the technical and the artistic aspect – eyeliner embroidery!
What Styles of Eyeliner Embroidery Are There?
Eyeliner embroidery is a very versatile technique. The results can recreate any shape and style of eyeliner you normally wear. It’s totally customizable, and it’s done in such a way that best suits your features for a bespoke look.
That said, there are a handful of styles that emerged as the most popular:
1. Eyelash Enhancement
This is the most subtle style of an eyeliner tattoo. It implies darkening the lash line, without going outside of it too much. In fact, it’s done by injecting pigments just above the lashes. It can feature a very thin, subtle wing that extends outside of the lash line.
It makes your lashes look fuller, and it can give the illusion of lashes to clients who don’t have them due to certain conditions, or have very light or sparse lashes.
Image source: Instagram @dareendiabofficial
2. Classic Eyeliner Embroidery
The classic style implies a thin line that follows the lashes. It can be done with or without the wing, but it’s usually not too dramatic. The line has straight edges, so it’s usually avoided by clients who have fine lines in the area, as the texture of the skin makes it look blurry.
Image source: Instagram @phibrows_veska_todorova
3. Designer Eyeliner
This style of eyeliner embroidery has many names: designer eyeliner, shaded eyeliner, smokey eyeliner… Whatever you want to call it, it adds shading to the line drawn above the lashes. The smokey effect can be done in the same color as the initial line, or in a slightly different tone that resembles an eyeshadow.
The shade can be as subtle or as obvious as you want it, and so can the wing. However, it’s generally not advised to go overboard and get the wings too long, since trends change and it’s always risky getting something you can’t cover up or camouflage with topical makeup.
Image source: Instagram @bespoke_esthetique_academy
4. Lower Lid Eyeliner
This one is usually done as an add-on to one of the styles of upper lid eyeliner embroidery. It’s a thin line that follows the lower eyelashes.
What’s important to note is that the lower and the upper eyeliner should never be connected, because a) it makes the eyes look smaller, and b) the skin that connects the two lash lines is prone to pigment blurring and migrating outside the desired shape.
You can find more details about eyeliner embroidery styles in this article.
Image source: Instagram @eternalradiance_bybec
Why Is Eyeliner Embroidery Great?
Eyeliner embroidery gives you many benefits.
It absolves you from having to reapply eyeliner every day, since it doesn’t wash off for up to 3 years. It can never run or smudge, so you can forget all about worrying whether your eyeliner is still as crisp as you drew it.
It’s a very versatile technique that can give you the exact look you normally wear (okay, except for the waterline eyeliner, which shouldn’t be tattooed). Of course, it’s advisable to start with a more subtle look you can build up and modify with regular makeup when you feel like it, but there are super-talented artists out there who can create true masterpieces.
It’s a really great treatment, but make sure you find a licensed, experienced artist to perform it. Since it is a form of tattooing, you don’t want to go to someone uncertified and end up with an eyeliner tattoo gone wrong!
Cover image source: Pexels
