Vanessa Dougherty - Artist, Permanent Makeup and Medical Tattooing.
Hi, I’m Vanessa Dougherty,
Owner, lead artist, and instructor here at Restorative Permanent Makeup.
I have been in the cosmetic/medical tattoo industry for over 20 years. Born with a passion for art, I excelled at painting and drawing. At 18 I got a job doing makeup at a local department store and fell in love with makeup application. It was there that I first learned about permanent makeup. I became certified in 2002.
Wanting to learn more, I acquired a position at a local tattoo shop and became a tattoo artist part-time. I continued doing makeup for weddings and special events and did permanent makeup for a local doctor’s office. I worked all three jobs for several years. When I was 30, I started working at a plastic surgery center, and my permanent makeup business exploded! My experience with makeup coupled with my tattoo artistry skills allowed me to give my clients realistic natural-looking results. Working with plastic surgery offices, I began to experiment with camouflaging scars and helping to restore areolas after breast lifts and other reconstructive surgeries.
I am now in my early 40’s and have spent the past 12 years working for more than 3 plastic surgery centers. One of the most notable being the Plastic Surgery Institute owned by Dr. Ordon and Dr. Chopra, from the syndicated TV show “The Doctors”. I recently opened my own location in La Jolla near the beach. There I see clients and operate a permanent makeup academy where I teach classes and workshops. Learn More