Permanent makeup options at On Point
By Shelley Widhalm
The Surveyor
Berthoud resident Hillary Bacigalupo found the perfect business for her combined loves of makeup, art and tattoos — permanent makeup.
Bacigalupo opened On Point Permanent, LLC, 1211 Lake Ave., No. 204, in mid-June after getting her cosmetic tattoo and aesthetician licenses in May, to offer a long list of services, from threading to permanent eyebrows.
“I pretty much do anything from the neck up,” Bacigalupo said. “I get to make people feel awesome about themselves.”
Permanent makeup, or cosmetic tattooing, replaces the need to put on makeup every day; filling in eyebrows, putting on eyeliner, curling eyelashes, and adding lipstick. The makeup is tattooed onto the face and remains in place for several weeks or months until it wears away and needs to be refreshed, since the ink pigment is not implanted as deeply into the skin. Permanent makeup is different from body-art tattooing, which uses a mechanized coil machine and more intense colors than cosmetic makeup’s organic, less vibrant colors.
The makeup is ideal for those who live active lifestyles and don’t want to have to redo their makeup mid-day, may have shaky hands, or want to save time in their routines, Bacigalupo said. The makeup can be done in two or three sessions.
“I allow them to live pretty maintenance free,” said Bacigalupo, who has permanent makeup of eyebrow fills, lip coloring and freckles. “I give them a little bit more freedom.”
Bacigalupo provides threading, lash lifts, and permanent makeup, using microblading and shading.
Threading is an alternative to waxing, using thread to manually twist out facial hair. The procedure can be done every two weeks, unlike waxing that requires the hair to be at a certain length and can be done every four weeks. Lash lifts add a curl to eyelashes and last six to eight weeks as lashes regenerate. Lash tints add color to the lashes.
Cosmetic tattooing involves a handle-and-blade tool to tattoo in the ink for procedures such as eyebrow fills or to create new eyebrows.
“They are hair-stroke tattoos,” Bacigalupo said. “It’s a way more natural look than a solidly tattooed eyebrow.”
The handle-and-blade tool also is used for eyeliner and lash fill, a more subtle form of eyeliner that places dots between the eyelashes to provide a darker lash line and make lashes look thicker. Other procedures include freckles, beauty marks and lip blush, staying in the natural lip line or creating the appearance of fuller lips by extending the color slightly outside that line.
“We pick a complementary color,” Bacigalupo said. “It’s not like a bright red lipstick.”
Cassie Davis of Commerce City likes what Bacigalupo did for her with an eyelash curl in early July.
“She’s so upbeat,” Davis said. “She always knows what she’s talking about. She’s full of information about the services she has. Any question you ask, she’s on it.”
Davis also likes how Bacigalupo is constantly smiling.
“She makes you feel like you’re not just a customer,” Davis said.
Amanda Kuhl of Wheatbridge hasn’t worn makeup for a week after getting her eyebrows microbladded and a lash lift and tint.
“I thought it was an awesome experience,” Kuhl said. “I loved how she shaped up my brows for me, and she let me pick which color and shape I wanted for them. I just got it done for fun, and I loved it.”
Bacigalupo likes working with the public and wanted to be a tattoo artist since she was a child. Her father, who is a physician, would use gel pens to color glittery flowers and other temporary tattoos on her skin. She also is artsy and likes to draw and paint in her free time, and over the years she applied makeup on her friends for going out or photo shoots.
“Putting makeup on every day to me is a form of art,” Bacigalupo said.
Instead of pursuing her interest after high school, Bacigalupo first studied political science at the University of Hawaii in Oahu and was encouraged to get a degree, which she earned in 2013. She originally thought she’d become a lawyer but didn’t want to spend additional years in school. After earning her degree she worked in sales in new construction and real estate.
In 2016 Bacigalupo and her husband Robert moved to Berthoud to be closer to family and live in an outdoors-focused area. “I love people, but I wasn’t totally satisfied or fulfilled,” Bacigalupo said, adding she has seen plenty of people hate their jobs and didn’t want to experience that. She had what she calls a “quarter-life crisis” and decided to make a change and enter a career she wanted.
Bacigalupo attended The Looking Glass School of Permanent Makeup in Erie, certified by the Private Occupational School Board, to earn her licenses, which she received on May 23. She is certified in permanent makeup, threading and Brazilian waxing, among other things — the state of Colorado requires cosmetic tattoo artists to have an aesthetician or cosmetology license and a permanent makeup license.
On June 16 Bacigalupo opened On Point Permanent, decorating the lobby and service room with furnishings she purchased at Berthoud consignment stores and on Craig’s List, also aiming for local items.
“I tried to source everything locally and secondhand. I don’t like to buy into mass purchasing,” Bacigalupo said.
On Point is open by appointment 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday.
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