Sigil + Skin

BORING BUT IMPORTANT STUDIO GUBBINS 🖤

I've updated my booking policy + studio boundaries, so if you book in with me, please have a little swipe through.

Most of it is common sense + the vast majority of you are absolutely lovely and already do it anyway.

Basically, life happens. People get ill, cars break etc. I'm genuinely pretty easygoing, so if something goes wrong, literally just talk to me.

I'd always rather work something out + actually see you for your treatment than charge you for one you haven't had.

The policies aren't there to make booking awkward. They're just there to protect my time, keep my little studio running smoothly + make sure everyone who comes through the door, including me, feels safe + respected.

So have a swipe through the boring bits + then we can get back to skin, brows, tattoos, massages + general witchy shizz.

📍 Sigil + Skin, Sunderland
🖤 Private + appointment only

SEPTEMBER EMPTIES 🗑️

🖤 Medik8 Ultimate Recovery - I really love this. Lasts ages because you need so little, and it's lush when my skin is feeling particularly dry, sensitive or just having a strop. It's packed with the sort of stuff my skin likes too, such as jojoba oil, arnica + squalane. I literally cut the tube open + scraped the inside dry, which probably tells you everything. I've already bought a replacement.

🦷 IcyBear Diamond Whitening Toothpaste - Really minty, which I loved. Whitening? Absolute chod. 😂 Contains hydrated silica + actual diamond powder to help polish surface staining, but hydrogen peroxide is only 0.01%. For around £18 a tube, I was expecting considerably more razzle dazzle. Would not repurchase.

🌿 Aveda Botanical Repair Intensive Strengthening Masque: Light - Smells INCREDIBLE. My friend's dog agrees because he wouldn't leave me alone after I'd used it. 😂 Contains avocado, sacha inchi, camellia, sunflower + meadowfoam oils. Despite all those oils, it didn't feel heavy + my hair was lovely and soft afterwards. I got this free with an order though, and while I really enjoyed it, it's around £40, so I doubt I'll repurchase.

So that's one definite winner, one expensive minty disappointment + one hair mask endorsed by dogs.

I've also finally signed up for the Boots recycling scheme, so any empties they accept now get saved up + taken there rather than going in the bin. ♻️

What have you used up this month + anything you'd like me to try? 🖤

🚨 NEW AT SIGIL + SKIN: Li-FT® SALINE LIGHTENING 🚨

Li-FT is a professional saline pigment lightening system used to gradually lighten unwanted pigment.

Maybe your old brows are too saturated to work over. Maybe the colour or shape isn't quite right. Or maybe you simply don't want your PMU anymore.

There are two ways I may be able to help:

✨ HEALED PMU LIGHTENING

For older, fully healed PMU, Li-FT can gradually lighten unwanted pigment over a course of treatments.

We don't necessarily need to remove every last trace either. Sometimes the aim is simply to lighten existing pigment enough to make a future correction or fresh set of PMU possible.

🚨 EMERGENCY LIGHTENING

If you've VERY recently had PMU or a tattoo and immediately thought, “Oh s**t... what have I done?” 😬 Li-FT may be an option within the first 48 hours.

That window is pretty small, so don't wait for a normal appointment slot. Message me ASAP with clear photos + exactly *when* your treatment was carried out.

Since the 48-hour window may not particularly care whether I'm at the studio or sitting at home in my PJs 😂, emergency/out-of-hours appointments may be available where possible.

As always, I'll assess the area first + be realistic about what we can achieve. Li-FT isn't a magic eraser, results vary + multiple sessions may be needed. If you're unsure, I offer free consultations.

All Li-FT treatments include an aftercare kit + complimentary 4-week review. 🖤

So if you've got some unwanted pigment you'd quite like to see the back of, give me a shout.

DM me to chat about your options or head to Fresha to book. 🖤

📍 Sigil + Skin, Sunderland
🖤 Private, appointment-only studio

🎄 CHRISTMAS + NEW YEAR APPOINTMENTS ARE NOW OPEN 🎄

Yes, I know it's early and no, I don't particularly want to think about Christmas yet either. 😂

BUT I also know some of you are far more organised than I am, so I've opened my diary right through the festive period for all appointments at Sigil + Skin. 🖤

So if you're already thinking about your festive brows, lashes, skin, PMU, massage, Reiki, facials or just booking yourself an hour to escape + decompress from the general December chaos, you can now get it in the diary.

I'd especially recommend booking ahead if you need an appointment:

✨ Before Christmas parties + events
✨ Before going away
✨ For brows + lashes
✨ For treatments with healing/downtime to consider
✨ For your annual “I've survived December and require lying down in a darkened room” grounding sesh 😂

As always, Sigil + Skin is appointment only, and December appointments tend to disappear much faster than I expect them to.

You can book online via Fresha:

https://www.fresha.com/book-now/sigil-skin-zb60dcy0/all-offer?share=true&pId=733849

Or give me a message if you're not sure what to book + I'll point you in the right direction. 🖤

📍 Sigil + Skin, Sunderland
🖤 Private, appointment-only studio

👩🏼‍🎓 A few weeks ago, I started my Level 4 in Advanced Beauty Techniques at Gateshead College.

I’m really excited to get stuck into this one and build on everything I’ve learnt in the past, although I do have one fairly major complaint…

WHITE BLOODY SCRUBS!!! 😂

My goth sensibilities just can’t cope, and I’m honestly surprised I haven’t thrown coffee all over them already. 🖤

Theres also a wass reading pile, which should keep me out of trouble and cure any chance of boredom over the next year.

Skin. Anatomy + physiology (not my strongest point, I’ll admit). Microneedling. Mesotherapy. Chemical peels. Laser + IPL. Ingredients… 📚

Joking aside, I’m genuinely looking forward to getting stuck in and then, fingers crossed, progressing onto my Level 5 in Non-Surgical Aesthetic Procedures. 🤞🏻

I also have a very low-noise WhatsApp group where I ask for models for college assignments or whenever I have something I want to practise. It’s only updated as and when needed, so there’s no constant chatter or spam.

If you’d like to be added, just send me a DM. Priority will always be given to existing clients. 💚

✨Fresh eyelash enhancement on the lovely Abi. ✨

Still one of my favourite PMU treatments to carry out. This is PMU for people who want definition without looking like they’re permanently wearing eyeliner.

Pigment is worked right along the lash line to make lashes look darker, fuller + more defined, while still looking really natural.

And just look at Abi’s eyes. 😍

This is immediately after treatment, so it’ll soften slightly as it heals.

For the PMU nerds:
🖤 Pigment:
🖤 Stellar Peak cartridges from
🖤 Machine: Mast P60

Black too bold for you? I also offer a softer brown lash enhancement for a more subtle finish.

Ready to book? Send me a DM or head to Fresha to arrange your consultation + patch test.

https://www.fresha.com/book-now/sigil-skin-zb60dcy0/all-offer?share=true&pId=733849

Woop! 🥰🥳

Apparently we're sharing screenshots of our Notes apps now, so here's my contribution to the chaos. 😂

I was diagnosed with ADHD just over a year ago and, weirdly, I'd never really considered myself before that.

Looking back now, there were obviously signs. But I'd spent decades developing my own little coping strategies without even realising that's what they were.

Then arrived and it was like someone flicked a switch. Every coping mechanism I'd unknowingly built over the previous 40-odd years didn't just stop working, they went hurling out of the window. Whilst on fire.

Suddenly my brain seemed louder/cloudier, concentrating became harder, remembering why I'd walked into a room became an extreme sport and my ability to keep 700 completely unrelated thoughts organised disappeared into the ether.

I can't even walk through The Bridges these days because it's just too much sensory overload what with the noise, smells, lighting, music + people. I actually used to work in The Bridges many moons ago, so that sudden 180 is absolutely wild to me.

Hence... the Notes app. 😂

Random thoughts. Things I need to remember. Things I have no recollection of writing. Business ideas at stupid o'clock. Notes that presumably made perfect sense to Past Me but are now indecipherable.

Although I will say, Alexa has been an absolute game changer for shopping lists. 😂

I'm possibly going to be trying ADHD medication soon, which I'm actually a little nervous about as I've heard mixed opinions.

But I'd also really quite like to know what it's like to have my brain quit its yapping.

Something else I find really reassuring is that, before I was even diagnosed, a fellow client told me my studio felt neurodivergent-friendly and I genuinely love that.

Without consciously setting out to do it, I'd somehow created the kind of safe, low-pressure space that apparently my own brain needed, and I find it quite lovely that other neurodivergent people can feel that when they come in. 🖤

Anyway, here's a glimpse inside my brain. 🫠🖤

August Empties: I’d forgotten how much I like this combo, especially the shampoo. Makes my hair super ashy/witcher silver. Debating buying litre bottles next time I’m stocking up on studio bits at the wholesalers as OLAPLEX is spenny.

I reviewed this brand a few months ago and I said I wasn’t that impressed and the company then reached out and sent me a few newer/fresher ones to try which they really didn’t have to and I’m very grateful that they did because I may have been a bit harsh in my original review. Both hubby and I have been using these during the day but we’re both evening shower people and it’s nice to use on a night time too. Thanks Salt of the Earth, you’ve redeemed yourselves.

I got this as a birthday pressie which I’m glad about as I’ve since seen its price tag. I’ve enjoyed using this a lot, it’s lasted months (like 5-6 months) and it contains an SPF and Vitamin C so I may be persuaded to repurchase in future. I would use this on normal days and this, plus an SPF 50 on particularly sunny days. Overall I’m a big fan of Medik8. 🥰

🧴✨ July Empties ✨🧴

Another random collection of things I've used up...

🕊️ Dove Deodorant - It's fine. 😂 I don't really like aerosol deodorants and only bought this because I was caught short whilst travelling. Does the job, nowt wrong with it, but I'll stick to my usual options.

❌ Wouldn't repurchase unless desperate.

👽 Mugler Perfume Samples - I've been an Angel fan since the '90s and own a lot of their fragrances, but I have no idea whether these new formulations or my skin chemistry have changed because they didn't last two minutes on me.

❌ For Mugler, home of the powerhouse perfume, I was disappointed.

👻 Quasi Sheet Mask - Fun, I'll give it that. Watching it turn clear and peeling it off is weirdly satisfying. Did it actually do anything though? Ehhhh... 🤷🏼‍♀️

Didn't hate it, didn't notice much either.

🧴 Skin + Me Retinol - I actually liked this. The applicator dispenses exactly the right amount and the retinol does what it says on the tin tbh.

I just don't like subscriptions. Plus, I'm constantly waxing my chin (cheers, perimenopause 🙄), so I'm not using retinol around waxing and one tube lasts much longer than a month.

❌ Good product, wouldn't resubscribe.

🤎 Lattafa Fakhar - For under £20? Not bad at all. I used this as an everyday fragrance and it reminds me of Madonna's Truth or Dare, which reminds me of Versace Blonde.

I bloody LOVED Versace Blonde and would give pretty much anything to have a boff of it today. 😂

✅ Would buy again.

🪷 Ritual Blue Lotus Oil - Love. Love. LOVE. A staple for years and probably always will be. Smells gorgeous, feels gorgeous, loads of uses.

✅ Forever a repurchase.

🖤 Shay & Blue Oud Alif - Another fragrance win. Rich, gorgeous and one I genuinely looked forward to wearing.

✅ Next time I'll get the big bottle.

So that's July's casualties. 🫡

Does anyone remember Versace Blonde or, even better, have a dreg in a bottle I can inhale? 😂

If you could resurrect ONE discontinued perfume or beauty product from the '90s/00s, what would it be?