Canadian Fashion Magazine

 

Pierre Ly gives an easy smile as he speaks. His hands rest easily in his lap while he relaxes in his chair. A steady confidence emerges as he talks about his work as a Permanent Cosmetics Artist. An accomplished Micropigmentation Specialist, Pierre

works in permanent cosmetic design.  He refers to his work as “Cosmetic Tattooing” which, in concept, sounds similar to the traditional body tattoo but the process is recognized as a type of permanent make up. He discusses the precision of his work with an equally concise description and a devotion to details which is the essence of his work and the crux of his success.

 

Pierre started as an artist at an early age and continued with it all of his life, receiving an education and even training in France for two years. But he found it difficult to sustain a career through painting and drawings alone, and worked as an accountant for a period of time. He continued to maintain his artwork on the side until he found himself working in a plastic surgery clinic. There he met his eventual fellow permanent makeup technicians and quickly found himself working with them, drawing eyebrows. Soon he was working his way through training, attaining a two year apprenticeship at Leyen Esthetics and

becoming a Certified Intradermal Cosmetic Specialist of the American Institute of Intradermal Cosmetic, a leading institution in this field.

 

His background as an artist has given him a leading edge to his contemporaries, enhancing the specializations which he masters today. This list includes colour science and mixing precise skin pigmentations, the study of facial morphology to design eyebrows, eyeliners and lip contours, and color removal and corrective camouflage techniques for scars and skin

discoloration. His artistic eye combined with technical skill, and passion for the quality of his work has earned him the respect from his clients. Pierre Ly has become one of the most relied upon Permanent Cosmetics Artist in the industry today. He explains the process behind his work and sheds light on Permanent Cosmetics, “We don’t go as keep on the skin as they do on the body and because we don’t go as deep, it doesn’t last forever, it only lasts up to four or five years.” The idea is to use

pigments which are closer to the skin and not create as drastic a contrast as would be on a normal body tattoo. Cosmetic tattoos are typically used in place of makeup worn everyday which is prone to being smeared or removed through normal everyday eating and physical contact of any kind. The only risk comes from having too much color or makeup added.

Pierre prefers to use subtle contrasts and pigments, “I like to go soft and natural,” which only compliments the skin or, in some cases, covers up existing scars or inconsistencies. However, some clients request the stronger colors and the appearance of a full amount of normal cosmetics, rather than a softer more natural look which they will be comfortable with for a long period of time.

 

With now over 10 years of experience in his practice Pierre is among one of the few men in Canada in the field of Permanent Cosmetics. It is a position he holds with great pride. He states that along with male chefs and make-up artists, “We’re good too. I think because we’re passionate about women, we like to do this passionately.” He recalls how wonderful he feels when he is called upon to contribute to questions of beauty for women. “One of my clients said ‘I come to you because you’re a man’ I said ‘Why?’ and she said ‘I don’t know, I just think that you will see how women should look like.’ So it’s a blessing,” He states humbly flattered. When asked of his own personal definition of what makes a woman beautiful, Pierre states, ‘In the morning, when they wake up”,  elating to a woman’s natural beauty. Pierre’s work is sought out by models, male and female, actors, journalists, and socially active individuals. However, both in his location and online, are testimonials and work of ordinary everyday people shown immediately after a procedure with no digital alterations whatsoever. “They are not fancy pictures.... I display regular clients, regular people, they are not super models … Most of my clients are regular people, they’re working people, they’re athletic people,” Pierre understands the need to make his work accessible and show women that they themselves are beautiful and permanent cosmetics are meant to enhance that natural beauty, not hide it, “… they work with me and tell me how, more or less, they like it, we work together and we can achieve something nice that will last a long time.”

 

He gives his clients a no pressure environment where the clients are encouraged to seek his recommendation, allowing the individual to compare his work with others, and to return at anytime. This is rare in an industry filled with consultation fees and set

packages where a person is made to feel obligated or pressured rather than establishing a relationship where the client can be totally confident of the service and quality provided. “I always take time to listen to what they want. I always draw and show them the shape first, show them every procedure and every tool involved, and how everything is clean and sterilized.”

 

Pierre Ly has combined a highly specialized medical skill with an understanding of how shape and aesthetic form can compliment one’s structure. However in speaking about a woman’s face as her temple, a part that is not often given to the

trust of others that easily, it has been Pierre’s innate understanding of  a person’s character, through listening and knowing his client, that truly has earned him their lasting trust.