our team
Owner, founder
My name is Natalia Markajani and I’m the owner of ALTRA. I was born and raised in Saint-Petersburg, Russia and moved to the United States in 2013.
Due to my artistic background and passion for beauty, I have always been into skincare and makeup.
I started permanent makeup career in 2019 and by August 2020 I formed a cosmetic tattoo studio – Altra beauty lab in Columbia, MD.
I received extensive fundamental training in Maryland and Saint-Petersburg, Russia and continued attending conferences and advanced classes all over the US and overseas.
My specialties are Powder/Ombre brows, Lip blushing and Lip neutralization. I’m also one of an exclusive group of artists in Maryland who does Smokey Shaded eyeliner. In early 2022 I started my journey as a trainer.
- May 2022 - Certified in teaching by St. Petersburg Russia’s premier PMU trainer Maria Oparina.
- October 2023 - completed a 5 month long trainer’s course by the top trainer, Irina Korob and won a prize as one of the best out of 550 students.
- October 2023 - non-stop speaker at the largest PMU conference in Las Vegas, presenting technique in Lip neutralization.
- October 2023 - 1st place in Lipblushing category in Las Vegas championship.
In the fall of 2023, Altra beauty lab was rebranded to ALTRA permanent makeup and academy, and moved to a spacious suite in Columbia, Maryland, to host private and group classes for beginners and advanced artists.
The courses have an extensive online theory and pre-training program, and in-person classes are focused on hands-on practice, so my students have no other choice but succeed in the industry.
In 2024 I am a sought after speaker at conferences:
- June - Etalon mix conference in NYC “Lip neutralization”
- July - Etalon mix conference in Moscow, Russia “Working with melanated skin”
- August - WULOP championship in PA «Lip neutralization”
In addition to my passion for pmu, I’m also a devoted wife and mom to an 8 and 6 year olds – ausome Leo and adventurous Nina.
When I’m not immersed in the world of beauty and education, you can find me enjoying time with my family or indulging in my other interests. Music holds a special place in my heart; before delving into permanent makeup, I pursued a career as a professional singer. I find joy in exploring new destinations through traveling and cherish moments filled with laughter and connection with loved ones. Life is a beautiful journey, and I’m grateful to experience its many facets.
Anastasia top artist
I came into the beauty industry as a 9th grade student, doing eyelash extensions.
Having entered medical university, I continued doing lashes after classes, but one day I saw an advertising about upcoming courses on eyebrow design and microblading.
The training was very expensive, but my parents believed in me, they sold shares in the plant where my mother worked for many years, and invested this money in my dream. I dreamt eyebrows day and night and bit by bit built my own style and approach to work.
After microblading I learnt machine technique from the elite German company Long Time Liner, which not only taught, but also manufactured induction devices for permanent makeup – it was truly the Rolls Royce of permanent makeup, since the device was assembled entirely by hand and had the highest cost of 6500 €. The cost of training, pigments and other consumables was insane for a college student. Soon enough I completely stopped working in the Microblading technique, since it limited me in many ways and was too traumatic for my clients’ skin. At that time, I had already become the most sought-after artist in my city.
I achieved excellent results in Powder brows, mastered laser removal and helped clients get rid of low-quality permanent makeup and tattoos.
In 2017, my heart was captured by the realistic Nano hair stroke technique, it looked so natural! I plunged into studying this technique, have gone through a lot of training and I finally found my own approach and vision, which I continue to teach my students to this day.
My concept and approach is that I approach each client individually, without templates.
It is important for me to do my work the way I would do it for myself, so that it looks natural, not aesthetically pleasing and expensive. That’s why I have tens of thousands of satisfied, grateful clients and hundreds of successful students around the world.
- MBA in dermatology;
- Bachelor degree in Arts;
- Author of courses on PMU: realistic hair techniques, laser and chemical removal;
- Speaker of international PMU congresses;
- Absolute Champion in hair stroke technique (WORLD 2022);
- Absolute US champion WULOP 2023 in the nano brows and lipblushing categories;
- Speaker at WORLD’s Miami 2024;
- Speaker WULOP USA 2024;
- Speaker PMU VEGAS conf 2024.
Artist Natasha Andrade
Natasha Andrade is a highly skilled PMU artist from Brazil with over 7 years of expertise in cosmetic tattooing. She has built a solid reputation by serving thousands of clients and training hundreds of students in the beauty industry. With numerous PMU certifications, Natasha is also a proud graduate of ALTRA Academy, where she trained under Natalia and Anastasia.
Known for her precision and attention to detail, Natasha is one of the most meticulous and talented artists you’ll ever meet, committed to delivering flawless results every time.