A 70-year-old woman sitting in the Permanent Makeup chair was smiling with grace. wearing a crisp cotton sari, the perfect pearl earrings, and those thin, drawn, not so equal eyebrows. I, as a ritual, asked her, “Ji ma’am, how may I help you?” She inquired about Permanent Makeup, which I answered and removed all her doubts about. I asked her the reason for getting permanent eyebrows done at this age, and the reason she gave was very different. She said she was suffering from cancer, and she didn’t have many days left. She has lived with pride and is known for her beauty. The day she will die and they will give her the last bath, her pencilled eyebrows will fade off, and she won’t look this picture-perfect.

She wanted me to draw those permanent eyebrows to make her look picture perfect for that last bath.

This incident left me with goosebumps for days. The thought of how much it matters, how much we think, and how much we indulge has no limits.

Post this when people ask me, “How do you define Permanent Makeup,  My favourite answer is, “It’s makeup for the soul.