The Bold And The Beautiful: How Cosmetic Tattooing Gave Me Téa Leoni's Eyebrows

Writer Laurie Yarnell enters the world of cosmetic tattooing with Yonkers tattoo artist Carrie Pataky.

I’m obsessed with Téa Leoni’s eyebrows. As I watch her save the world in her hit TV series Madam Secretary, I’m hopelessly lost when it comes to the intricacies of the plot because I can’t take my eyes off them. I lust after Leoni’s look—lush and full darker brows paired with blondish hair. I had the blondish hair. And now I have more Leoni-like brows, thanks to the very talented cosmetic tattoo artist, Carrie Pataky of Yonkers.

Bold brows, big and dramatic, are trending right now. They frame the eyes and really make them pop—check out any recent red carpet photos and you’ll see what I mean. For someone like me, who grew up in the era of over-tweezing to create the then-popular pencil-thin look—which basically destroys natural brows—cosmetic tattooing is the only way other than time-consuming efforts with eyebrow pencils to get the lush, shapely brows like Leoni’s. And after two sessions under Pataky’s careful ministrations, she is the only person I’d trust to work so close to my eyes. I’m kind of squeamish when it comes to them, but Pataky puts me totally at ease with her warm but totally professional manner. Plus, I like her iPod playlist—lots of fun oldies.

No wonder I’m so impressed by her skills—she’s been tattooing professionally since 1990, and has pursued continuing education to learn more about the intricacies of color for the face. Thanks to her, I now wake up each morning with bolder brows that are perfectly shaped and natural looking with brush strokes that imitate individual hairs—Pataky achieves the natural look by using a special individual hairline and shading technique—and they’ll last for a couple of years.

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Most impressive is that Pataky works with plastic surgeons as a specialist in the field of micro-pigmentation to help women after breast cancer surgery by tattooing nipples and areolas—people have come to her from as far as England for this procedure. Pataky says she finds it especially rewarding to help cancer survivors feel beautiful again, and she was recognized for her efforts as one of Yonkers’ “Women of Distinction” a few years ago. If cancer survivors can trust her for such a delicate procedure, I feel very comfortable trusting her to work with sharp objects near my eyes.

Lots of people have commented on my eye “make-up” recently. When I tell them I had cosmetic tattooing on my brows, the question everyone asks first is: did it hurt? Honestly, no. For the first half hour or so of each appointment, I sit answering emails on my iPhone in the reception area while the topical anesthetic Pataky uses on my brows kicks in. I feel the procedure, but it doesn’t hurt. And when the anesthetic starts to wear off, she re-applies it. Session last about an hour and a half or so, depending upon your particular needs, and you’re lying down on a comfy spa table.

The second session, scheduled about a month after the first, is shorter and more of a touch-up to see how the color was absorbed and if I like the shape. The first few days after each procedure, when a little bleeding may occur—she has me apply petroleum jelly on my brows to help the skin heal—the effect is really a bit too Morticia Addams for general consumption. But after a few days I look great—and throw away my eyebrow pencils. Still, don’t schedule your appointment too soon before a big social event, to be on the safe side. A New York State Licensed Esthetician and a Certified Laser Technician, Pataky also does tattooed eyeliner, laser hair remover, facials, and other skin care procedures. And while she sees clients in her own space in the Oggi Adam & Eve Salon and Day Spa, she will also come to your home or office.

Carrie Pataky, Cariangel’s Total Laser, Spa & Skincare
770 Central Park Ave
Scarsdale
(914) 337-0777; cariangel.com, cariangel@cariangel.com

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