SAN ANTONIO -- "Wake up with makeup" is a sales line often used by cosmetic artists on women who are searching for permanent makeup.

The cosmetic craft involves tattooing color on the skin that creates the appearance of eyeliner, eye shadow or lipstick.

But some San Antonio women who gave permanent makeup a try in hopes of beauty and convenience instead saw horror in the mirror.

"I just kept saying pain is beauty, beauty is pain, and 'Hail Mary,'" said Lydia Tse, who tried permanent makeup.

"I completely put my trust in her and she completely destroyed my face," said a woman who didn't want to be identified. "My eyebrows looked like blocks of a green, angry cartoon villain."

The beauty blunder caused the woman's self-esteem to plummet, so she turned to permanent cosmetic artist John Shumate to undo the damage.

Shumate, whose office is based in Alamo Heights, said that correcting beauty blunders isn't always easy.

"You've either got to cut it out, burn it out with a laser, or overcome it and change it," he said.

Shumate has a photo album in the lobby of his office that shows how bad some permanent makeup applications turn out. There are pictures of uneven lip lining, blotchy patches of eye shadow, blocked eyebrows and burned brows.

Shumate said it doesn't take much to get a license to practice permanent cosmetics. All it takes is a few hundred dollars and some paperwork to get a license. He added there is no training for the practice.

"They require you to be clean, but they do not tell you how to do it, so whatever you end up with is what that person did for you," Shumate said.

For those interested in getting permanent makeup, Shumate suggests researching online, meeting the artist before committing to an appointment, asking to see their work and talking with previous customers.

Consumers can log on to the Texas Department of State Health Services web site to learn more about a cosmetic artist's license and their record.