Meet Your Neighbor: Astrid Schneider of Permanent-Line Makeup in Middleburg
Written by Lia Hobel | Photos by Joanne Maisano
To wake up without the fuss of applying makeup is a gift that Permanent-Line owner Astrid Schneider has provided clients for decades. “I hear from people all the time, ‘You know, Astrid, I’ll look in the mirror every morning and I think of you because you changed my life.’”
From customizing ink for eyebrows, eyeliner, and lips to correcting scars, Schneider has improved customers’ quality of life from her office in Middleburg for the last 20 years. Permanent makeup is the microimplantation of coloring pigments into the skin for aesthetic purposes to enhance and outline facial features. It’s also a valuable procedure for camouflaging scars, burns, skin pigmentation variances, and more. As explained on its website, Permanent-Line uses safe coloring pigments approved by the European Regulatory Agencies, whose guidelines are far stricter than those of the U.S. FDA.
What many may not know is that Schneider is the founder of the Permanent-Line brand, which goes back 40 years to her German roots. She and her mother, Barbara Schneider, were the pioneers of perfecting the technique that delivers natural-looking and lasting results. “My mom came up with the idea of using a fine artist’s paintbrush and drawing on individual feathered strokes for eyebrows, and I thought that was the coolest thing in the cosmetic industry,” she recalls.
Her brother then figured out how to make the ink stick and developed the technology that their specialists would use to apply the ink. “It’s really a family business. All the girls, my mom, myself, sisters, sister-in-law, and niece — they’re the practitioners, trainers, and instructors. The men, my dad, my brother, my nephew, they’re in the business end of the operation.”
The company’s outstanding reputation for serving beauty needs has made Permanent-Line a trusted global brand, with offices in Germany and Spain as well as the U.S. It was Schneider who brought the technology to the U.S. in 1986, sparking a local demand for the innovative concept of permanent makeup.
She first lived in Potomac, Maryland, but as an equestrian, always had eyes on Middleburg. “I fell in love with Middleburg in the ’90s and early 2000s and moved here in 2005,” she shares. Now she’s “living the dream.”
Schneider, who enjoys foxhunting and riding lessons, has had many friends become clients after realizing the convenience of not having to apply makeup. This was how Katherine Schuh discovered Permanent-Line. She opted for micropigmentation to her eyebrows, which is different from microblading. “During the consult, [Schneider] explained the difference between the two services. It turns out micropigmentation is dramatically safer, it lasts longer, there’s no downtime, and it’s very natural-looking,” Schuh explains, who was thrilled with her results.
Permanent-Line services are not only for those seeking the convenience of being “makeup ready,” but truly lend a helping hand. “One of my clients broke her neck at the Upperville Horse Show and could not use her hands at all, and so I did eyeliner, eyebrows, and lips for her,” Schneider shares. “Some of these busy and active event riders also enjoy having the permanent makeup. You have to look like you’re awake, but certainly in the horse world it’s not always possible to do makeup nice and neat.”
One of the perks of the job is also healing clients through conversation. “People come to me and share their life story. It’s just amazing,” Schneider says. “I get to listen to them and what they’re going through and all the intimate and family life situations that they share with me. Sometimes we end up praying together.”
For Schneider, the corrective makeup for scars has been the most rewarding work. She’s helped one woman move on by camouflaging scars from self-harm. She’s also boosted the confidence of a taxi driver who was insecure about scars from a past ear-pinning surgery, as he was worried passengers could see them. Schneider says scars that are raised up are harder to disguise, but if the scar is flat and white, she can work her inking magic.
In general, most procedures take only one to two hours. Some mild swelling and redness can occur for a day, but when you use the Permanent-Line brand, you can feel assured that the ink is safe and will stay true to color, with gradual fading to a lighter shade over time. “There’s nothing else in the cosmetic industry that gives you a meaningful and tangible long-lasting result,” says Schneider. ML
Permanent-Line
107 W. Federal Street, Unit 13
Middleburg, VA 20117
(540) 687-4746
permanent-line.com
Published in the January 2025 issue of Middleburg Life.