LIPS (PMU)

Lip blush puts colour back into lips that have lost it. Not lipstick, and not a lip liner tattoo — pigment worked softly into the lip itself, so your mouth looks like it does on the day you feel good, without anything on it.

It's the treatment that surprises people most. Lips lose definition and tone from your late twenties onward, and restoring both changes how rested your whole face reads. I'm Katrin Brant — ten years in permanent makeup, an international championship title and a judging seat at competitions — and I work in Yaletown, Vancouver.

WHICH LIP TREATMENT IS RIGHT FOR YOU

3D Healed Lip Blush — initial CA$500 · touch-up within 4–8 weeks CA$200 · refresh at 6–12 months CA$300. Colour is built in layers to give depth rather than a flat wash, so the centre reads fuller and the edge stays soft. It restores your natural border without drawing one and heals to a finish that looks like your own lips in good light.

Full Lip Colour, also called Lipstick Effect — initial CA$450 · touch-up within 4–8 weeks CA$200 · refresh at 6–12 months CA$300. Pigment across the whole lip for even, saturated colour, the closest thing to waking up with lipstick already on. Best for lips that have gone pale or uneven with age, for correcting asymmetry, and for anyone who wants noticeable colour rather than a tint.

WHAT HAPPENS AT YOUR APPOINTMENT

Shape and colour, 30–40 minutes. We map the border to your natural lip line and mix the pigment against your undertone. Bring a lipstick you love if you have one — it tells me more than a photo does.

Numbing. Lips are more sensitive than brows and they get more anaesthetic, before and throughout.

The work. Three hours or a little over.

Aftercare. Written instructions and balm to take home.

HEALING, DAY BY DAY

Day 1. Lips are swollen and the colour is intense, much brighter than the result. Both settle quickly.

Days 2–4. Swelling drops. Lips feel tight and dry. Balm, constantly.

Days 4–7. Peeling. Let it come off on its own — picking takes pigment with it and can leave gaps you'll be looking at for a year.

Days 7–14. Colour disappears almost entirely. This stage is more dramatic on lips than anywhere else on the face. It comes back.

Weeks 3–5. Pigment resurfaces at roughly half the intensity of day one — that's the real result.

AFTERCARE

Balm as often as you think of it for the first ten days. Dry lips heal badly.

No spicy, salty or acidic food for a week — it stings and it draws colour.

Drink through a straw for the first few days.

No kissing, no swimming, no sauna until the peeling has finished.

No exfoliating scrubs on your lips, ever, once they're healed. It's the fastest way to lose the colour you paid for.

IF YOU'VE EVER HAD A COLD SORE

Lip tattooing can wake up dormant herpes simplex. If you have ever had a cold sore — even once, even years ago — see your doctor or pharmacist for antiviral medication and start it before your appointment. This matters: an outbreak during healing can pull pigment out of the area and leave you needing a correction. Tell me at consultation either way.

ABOUT THE TOUCH-UP — READ THIS BEFORE YOU BOOK

The touch-up is a separate appointment at a separate cost, and lips need it more than any other area. Lip tissue regenerates faster than skin, so it pushes out more pigment while it heals — often 40% or more, and rarely evenly.

The first session establishes the shape and the base tone. The touch-up fills what didn't hold, evens the colour, and takes the result from good to finished. It has to be booked within 4–8 weeks of the first session — after that the treatment has to be started again from the beginning at full price.

WHEN LIP BLUSH ISN'T THE RIGHT CALL

Not during pregnancy or breastfeeding, not on an active cold sore, and not within two weeks of lip filler in either direction — filler changes the shape we'd be working to. If you're on blood thinners or Accutane, or being treated for an autoimmune condition, mention it at consultation.

QUESTIONS I GET ASKED

Does it hurt? More than brows, less than people fear. Lips numb well, and most clients read or nap through the second half.

Will it look like lipstick? Only if you choose Full Lip Colour and a strong shade. Lip blush heals to a tint — noticeable to you, not obvious to anyone else.

My lips are naturally dark. They can be neutralised and brightened, but it takes more than one session and I'll tell you at consultation what's realistic. Send a daylight photo without makeup and I'll be straight with you before you book.

How long does it last? One and a half to two years with a refresh. Sun, smoking and lip scrubs shorten it.

BOOK YOUR LIPS IN YALETOWN

Message me on WhatsApp with a daylight photo if you want my honest read before committing. A 20-minute consultation is CA$1 and comes off your treatment.

1003 Cambie Street, Yaletown, Vancouver · Sunday to Friday, 10:00–19:00 · (672) 998-0990