Sigil + Skin

👩🏼‍🎓 A few weeks ago, I started my Level 4 in Advanced Beauty Techniques at Gateshead College.

I’m really excited to get stuck into this one and build on everything I’ve learnt in the past, although I do have one fairly major complaint…

WHITE BLOODY SCRUBS!!! 😂

My goth sensibilities just can’t cope, and I’m honestly surprised I haven’t thrown coffee all over them already. 🖤

Theres also a wass reading pile, which should keep me out of trouble and cure any chance of boredom over the next year.

Skin. Anatomy + physiology (not my strongest point, I’ll admit). Microneedling. Mesotherapy. Chemical peels. Laser + IPL. Ingredients… 📚

Joking aside, I’m genuinely looking forward to getting stuck in and then, fingers crossed, progressing onto my Level 5 in Non-Surgical Aesthetic Procedures. 🤞🏻

I also have a very low-noise WhatsApp group where I ask for models for college assignments or whenever I have something I want to practise. It’s only updated as and when needed, so there’s no constant chatter or spam.

If you’d like to be added, just send me a DM. Priority will always be given to existing clients. 💚

✨Fresh eyelash enhancement on the lovely Abi. ✨

Still one of my favourite PMU treatments to carry out. This is PMU for people who want definition without looking like they’re permanently wearing eyeliner.

Pigment is worked right along the lash line to make lashes look darker, fuller + more defined, while still looking really natural.

And just look at Abi’s eyes. 😍

This is immediately after treatment, so it’ll soften slightly as it heals.

For the PMU nerds:
🖤 Pigment:
🖤 Stellar Peak cartridges from
🖤 Machine: Mast P60

Black too bold for you? I also offer a softer brown lash enhancement for a more subtle finish.

Ready to book? Send me a DM or head to Fresha to arrange your consultation + patch test.

https://www.fresha.com/book-now/sigil-skin-zb60dcy0/all-offer?share=true&pId=733849

Woop! 🥰🥳

Apparently we're sharing screenshots of our Notes apps now, so here's my contribution to the chaos. 😂

I was diagnosed with ADHD just over a year ago and, weirdly, I'd never really considered myself before that.

Looking back now, there were obviously signs. But I'd spent decades developing my own little coping strategies without even realising that's what they were.

Then arrived and it was like someone flicked a switch. Every coping mechanism I'd unknowingly built over the previous 40-odd years didn't just stop working, they went hurling out of the window. Whilst on fire.

Suddenly my brain seemed louder/cloudier, concentrating became harder, remembering why I'd walked into a room became an extreme sport and my ability to keep 700 completely unrelated thoughts organised disappeared into the ether.

I can't even walk through The Bridges these days because it's just too much sensory overload what with the noise, smells, lighting, music + people. I actually used to work in The Bridges many moons ago, so that sudden 180 is absolutely wild to me.

Hence... the Notes app. 😂

Random thoughts. Things I need to remember. Things I have no recollection of writing. Business ideas at stupid o'clock. Notes that presumably made perfect sense to Past Me but are now indecipherable.

Although I will say, Alexa has been an absolute game changer for shopping lists. 😂

I'm possibly going to be trying ADHD medication soon, which I'm actually a little nervous about as I've heard mixed opinions.

But I'd also really quite like to know what it's like to have my brain quit its yapping.

Something else I find really reassuring is that, before I was even diagnosed, a fellow client told me my studio felt neurodivergent-friendly and I genuinely love that.

Without consciously setting out to do it, I'd somehow created the kind of safe, low-pressure space that apparently my own brain needed, and I find it quite lovely that other neurodivergent people can feel that when they come in. 🖤

Anyway, here's a glimpse inside my brain. 🫠🖤

August Empties: I’d forgotten how much I like this combo, especially the shampoo. Makes my hair super ashy/witcher silver. Debating buying litre bottles next time I’m stocking up on studio bits at the wholesalers as OLAPLEX is spenny.

I reviewed this brand a few months ago and I said I wasn’t that impressed and the company then reached out and sent me a few newer/fresher ones to try which they really didn’t have to and I’m very grateful that they did because I may have been a bit harsh in my original review. Both hubby and I have been using these during the day but we’re both evening shower people and it’s nice to use on a night time too. Thanks Salt of the Earth, you’ve redeemed yourselves.

I got this as a birthday pressie which I’m glad about as I’ve since seen its price tag. I’ve enjoyed using this a lot, it’s lasted months (like 5-6 months) and it contains an SPF and Vitamin C so I may be persuaded to repurchase in future. I would use this on normal days and this, plus an SPF 50 on particularly sunny days. Overall I’m a big fan of Medik8. 🥰

🧴✨ July Empties ✨🧴

Another random collection of things I've used up...

🕊️ Dove Deodorant - It's fine. 😂 I don't really like aerosol deodorants and only bought this because I was caught short whilst travelling. Does the job, nowt wrong with it, but I'll stick to my usual options.

❌ Wouldn't repurchase unless desperate.

👽 Mugler Perfume Samples - I've been an Angel fan since the '90s and own a lot of their fragrances, but I have no idea whether these new formulations or my skin chemistry have changed because they didn't last two minutes on me.

❌ For Mugler, home of the powerhouse perfume, I was disappointed.

👻 Quasi Sheet Mask - Fun, I'll give it that. Watching it turn clear and peeling it off is weirdly satisfying. Did it actually do anything though? Ehhhh... 🤷🏼‍♀️

Didn't hate it, didn't notice much either.

🧴 Skin + Me Retinol - I actually liked this. The applicator dispenses exactly the right amount and the retinol does what it says on the tin tbh.

I just don't like subscriptions. Plus, I'm constantly waxing my chin (cheers, perimenopause 🙄), so I'm not using retinol around waxing and one tube lasts much longer than a month.

❌ Good product, wouldn't resubscribe.

🤎 Lattafa Fakhar - For under £20? Not bad at all. I used this as an everyday fragrance and it reminds me of Madonna's Truth or Dare, which reminds me of Versace Blonde.

I bloody LOVED Versace Blonde and would give pretty much anything to have a boff of it today. 😂

✅ Would buy again.

🪷 Ritual Blue Lotus Oil - Love. Love. LOVE. A staple for years and probably always will be. Smells gorgeous, feels gorgeous, loads of uses.

✅ Forever a repurchase.

🖤 Shay & Blue Oud Alif - Another fragrance win. Rich, gorgeous and one I genuinely looked forward to wearing.

✅ Next time I'll get the big bottle.

So that's July's casualties. 🫡

Does anyone remember Versace Blonde or, even better, have a dreg in a bottle I can inhale? 😂

If you could resurrect ONE discontinued perfume or beauty product from the '90s/00s, what would it be?

Pigments In Positivity CIC finally has a website. It includes treatment photos, an faq and a tonne of information about what the CIC does. Please go show it some love. 🥰

https://www.pigmentsinpositivity.org.uk/

🐾 Apparently today is International Cat Day and, in crazy cat lady form, I’m using it as an excuse to show off the lasses. 🐾

🐈‍⬛ PANDORA: AKA Dora, Dora The Explorer, Wizadora (we adore her), The Void.

An elderly diva. She was a stray kitten, so we *think* she’s at least 14. Slightly antisocial and would absolutely prefer to be an only child.

She’s got a dodgy paw that she’s always had. We’ve had her X-rayed and all sorts, but the vets can’t find anything wrong with it. She walks with a limp unless she’s running, and it doesn’t seem to bother her much.

Likes:
🐟 Felix in jelly. Will probably change her mind soon as I’ve just stocked up.
🌱 Going outside to eat grass + drink puddle water.
🤮 Coming back inside to vomit the above all over the carpet.
☀️ Sunshine naps.
🎶 Singing the song of her people at 6am for access to the back garden, usually for her morning grass + puddles.

Will accept a cuddle, but only if she isn’t facing you. May be an eye contact thing, I don’t know. 🤷🏼‍♀️

😼 LADY HAMILTON: AKA Fakey Nakey, Lady Lumps (yes, I sing the Black Eyed Peas to her), Ladytron, Lady Havoc, Chaos.

Named after a trip to Portsmouth to see HMS Victory and Nelson’s bit stuff, Emma Hamilton. She’s deffo a Sphynx, I know her bio mam + dad 😂, but a fuzzy one, hence Fakey Nakey.

She was actually born with some fur, but it seemed to grow more after she was spayed and gets even fuzzier in winter. It just adds to the chaos tbf.

Likes:
🎡 Her cat wheel. In fact, any play time.
🍗 ALL FOOD.
👨 Her dad. She’s an absolute daddy’s girl.
🛏️ Sleeping in our bed + being all over us.
📦 Cardboard boxes.
🖤 Jumping on the mantelpiece. We don’t own ornaments.
🍑 Charging STAIR TAX, payable in butt slaps. She literally charges past you to get to the top of the stairs and won’t let you past until the tax is paid.

Specialist skills include:
🥷 Sneaking into rooms she isn’t allowed in.
☣️ Litter tray visits akin to chemical warfare. 💩
🤤 Recently having dental surgery + now drooling all over us.

Please introduce me to your feline mates. Bonus points for pics, names + their personality type. Ta. 👇🐾

Another day, another certificate. 👩🏼‍🎓

After spending a week in Leeds last year training with ANTONY PMU, I've been working my way through my case studies ever since. A few weeks ago I finally completed them all and sent them off to be marked, and when I got back from Essex last week, this was waiting for me.

Honestly, I've loved training with Antony and Antony Turner. They're an absolute power couple, incredibly knowledgeable, hardworking, and genuinely want the best for their students.

One of the things I've appreciated most is that the support doesn't stop once the course finishes. Even now, if I need help or advice, I know I can send them a message and they'll always point me in the right direction.

Thank you both for everything. 🖤

Anyway, here are some of the case studies that got me here. If you're interested in any of the permanent make-up or restorative tattooing services I offer, feel free to send me a DM. ☺️

✨ Appointments available via Fresha or by DM.

Happens to us all... 🤦🏼‍♀️

A momentary slip in concentration earlier today and I double dipped into my wax pot. Absolutely mortified and shocked at myself, so the rest has gone straight in the bin and the wax pot has had a thorough clean and disinfect.

I take hygiene very seriously, probably a lot more seriously than needed... but is that even a thing? 😅 I've never had anyone complain that I'm *too* clean.

In the past I've worked in catering and in tattoo studios and obviously health and safety was drilled into me at college too. It was reiterated during my permanent make-up training and again just last week during my restorative tattooing training.

After every treatment I disinfect all surfaces, replace towels and scrub reusable items with antibacterial soap. If it fits in the ultrasonic cleaner, it goes in there. Once it's rinsed and dried, everything either goes into Barbicide or is wiped over with a Clinell | Infection Prevention wipe (seriously, Clinell should just sponsor me 😂).

I have contracts in place for the safe disposal of sharps and clinical waste, and I always wear the appropriate PPE when required.

Brushes are washed after every use and, once dry, are sanitised with ISOCLEAN.
My studio has also been inspected and licensed by Sunderland City Council.

You're all far too important to me to ever knowingly put you at risk. If there's anything I can do to eliminate or reduce a hazard, I'll do it. Every single time. 🖤