Julie Dowdeswell lost her eyebrows 20 years ago due to a condition called hypothyroidism, and consequently struggled to leave the house without a full face of make-up. She told Express.co.uk how she came across permanent makeup, which transformed her face, mind and, surprisingly, her weight.
Julie exclusively told Express.co.uk: “I used to have very, big, heavy brows, and then over a period of about two or three years, they just disappeared.
“I have hypothyroidism and one of the side effects of that is that you lose the majority of your eyebrows – you’re only left with the front bit.”
And this drastic change in her appearance had a dramatic affect on her self-confidence.
“I hated it to be honest, I drew them on everyday but it really did something to my confidence.”
Imprisoned by her condition, Julie admitted: ” I couldn’t leave the house without my eyebrows.”
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But despite drawing them on everyday, Julie still felt that she “never quite got it right” when it came to her make-up.
Unable to cope with this any longer, Julie decided to visit Tracie Giles London, a salon which administers permanent make-up, in December 2021.
Julie said: “One artist in particular stood out to me, Mari.
“She’s got a degree in fine art so I knew she would know exactly what she was doing.”
Having received Hyper-Realism Brows, which aims to create a totally natural brow look, Julie said: “It’s absolutely changed my life.”
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“I had eyebrows, which I hadn’t had in 20 years.
“I couldn’t stop smiling, it’s completely changed the look of my face.”
And the Hyper-Realism Brows impacted her life in more ways than one.
Because she was so unhappy in herself after losing her eyebrows, Julie turned to food for years as a source of comfort.
“But since getting this done, I’ve lost nearly three stone because I feel so much more confident.”
And in turn, it has had an astronomical impact on her mental health.
She revealed: “It’s brought me out of myself.
“I feel like people aren’t looking at my wobbly face anymore which makes me feel really, really good.”
As for the cost of perfect hyper-realistic brows, Julie paid £995, which is not to be sniffed at; that is a big chunk of money, and each year going forward will be £550.
However, the surge of confidence she received post-permanent make-up was priceless.
“It just blew me away, and it was the best money I’ve ever spent.
“I’d always thought that you can’t buy confidence, but if you don’t feel good inside, you won’t feel good.”
The treatment was also entirely painless, making Julie wish she had gone “years ago”.
Julie used to get through two Estée Lauder eyebrow pencils per month in an attempt to conceal her biggest insecurity, but now she goes barefaced.
Her advice to others considering permanent make-up: “If you can do it, do it for yourself because it will really make you feel so much happier.”
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