Same day, by every reputable Markham artist. Upper goes first (longer session, more numbing time), then lower after a 15-minute break and a re-numbing. Splitting them across two days doubles your healing windows (you would be in restriction mode for 28 days instead of 14) and doubles the appointment fees most studios charge. Combined session runs 2–2.5 hours total.

On clients 40+, on hooded or downturned eyes, or on faces with already-shadowed under-eye areas — yes. Bottom liner emphasises the lower lid border and can read as 'tired' or 'aged' rather than 'defined'. On younger faces, almond or round eyes, and bright under-eye areas it works the opposite way and brightens. A $0 test: draw a soft bottom liner with a pencil, photograph yourself in three lighting conditions (window light, ring light, harsh overhead), and see if you like it. If the pencil version looks tired, the permanent version will too.

Not in trained hands. The needle never enters the eye in either procedure. Lower lash line work uses a sterile eye-safe contact shield (similar to a soft contact lens) to protect the cornea. In studios with proper training, complication rates are statistically identical. The real risk is under-trained artists doing lower — pigment migration into the tear duct area is more common with low-volume practitioners. Ask how many lower-lash sessions the artist does per year before booking.

Wings extend from the upper lash line outward — so a winged eyeliner is technically an extended upper. The wing adds 15–25 minutes to the upper session and roughly $50–100 to the price. Wings work best on almond eyes, are challenging on downturned or hooded eyes (the wing must be drawn at a corrective angle that fights the eye's natural slope), and are not recommended as a first eyeliner project. Get a standard upper first; if you still want the wing at the 6-week touch-up, add it then.

Yes, but you must remove the lash extensions 48 hours before the session and not refill them for at least 6 weeks (after touch-up healing). The cyanoacrylate adhesive in lash extensions is chemically incompatible with the still-stabilising lower lid pigment edge. If you cannot live without extensions, schedule them around your lip blush cycle instead and reserve lower eyeliner for an extension-break period.

Self-test in a mirror: place your fingertip lightly on the lower waterline border. If the eye widens visually, lower will brighten you — proceed. If the eye narrows or the lash border feels heavier, lower will close the eye and you should skip it. Check three age markers too — under-eye darkness visible more than 50% of days, visible crow's feet at the outer corner, tired-looking eyes in unedited photos. Two or more 'yes' answers mean lower will likely emphasise rather than brighten.

Yes — this is what we recommend to every undecided client. Adding lower to the 6–8 week touch-up appointment costs the same as a standalone lower session (no bundling penalty for splitting). You will have lived with upper for 6 weeks, seen it in real lighting, and have real data on whether you want more. About 60% of clients who say 'maybe lower later' decide they do not need it once upper has fully healed.

Yes. Old saturated black tattoos (often blue-green faded by the time you book) need to be addressed first. Modern semi-permanent pigment laid over old tattoo can read muddy or bluish. Two paths: (1) laser removal first (Q-switched, 3–5 sessions, $200–400 each), then permanent makeup 6 weeks after the final laser, or (2) corrective colour work to neutralise the cool undertones before final design. Either path requires an in-person consultation — we do not quote either remotely from a photo.