When Marjorie Erickson sits down with a client, permanent makeup tools in hand, she’s not just crafting a symmetrical wing or perfectly arched brow on people — she’s rebuilding confidence, one meticulous stroke at a time.
“It’s not about vanity,” Erickson said. “It’s usually people who struggle with some confidence issues and it helps them with it.”
Erickson is the founder and owner of Decadent Beauty, a growing permanent makeup business she opened at Image Studios in Englewood. She spends her time between operating Decadent Beauty in Englewood and its other location in Nebraska.
After years of working in a different career – an investigator for the Colorado Public Defender’s Office – Erickson took a leap of faith to pursue her lifelong passion for aesthetics and helping others feel comfortable in their skin.
As a survivor of the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, Erickson said the trauma shaped her life, making traditional schooling difficult.
“After Columbine, I was pretty scared of school and didn’t do well with anything in person,” she said. “I did online stuff, but you can’t be an esthetician online. It doesn’t work like that.”
Despite those obstacles, Erickson persevered. She earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Colorado Denver — in 2010 and 2013, respectively — through online and hybrid programs.
However, after relocating to rural Julesburg in northeast Colorado with her husband Craig, she realized her position at the public defenders’ office was no longer feasible.
That opened the door to her long-deferred dream. So, with her husband’s encouragement, Erickson felt she could finally pursue her calling.
“I had done a lot of years of therapy … and felt I was in a position where I could go to class in person,” Erickson said.
In April 2023, Erickson enrolled in esthetician school. By December, she was licensed and by the beginning of 2024, she began training in permanent makeup. After completing over 130 hours of hands-on training and an apprenticeship in June last year, she officially opened Decadent Beauty on July 5, 2024. In April of this year, she began renting her space at Image Studios, located at 200 W. #120 Belleview Ave. in Englewood.
Currently, Erickson offers permanent eyeliner and eyebrow tattooing, with plans to expand her services to include brow and lash lamination, tinting, chemical peels and microneedling.
But the heart of her work lies in the deep, personal impact it can have on her clients.
Her clientele spans from young women facing autoimmune disorders to elderly clients struggling with tremors or fading features. She’s also worked with individuals who sustained facial injuries.
“The world is so hard on people if you don’t look a certain way,” Erickson said. “And people have this ingrained in them…If I can take away one of the things that chips away at their self-esteem so that they can go out and live their lives without ever thinking about that again, I love that.”
Erickson isn’t walking this path alone. Her sister, Sara Lindholm, joined her in attending both esthetician and permanent makeup school. Lindholm specializes in areola tattooing for breast cancer survivors — a direction Erickson herself is now pursuing.
“My sister also dealt with a lot of the devastating parts of Columbine,” Erickson said. “She was at Ken Caryl Middle School during it, but she was still in my household unit … It impacted my household so tremendously. So, at my husband’s suggestion, he paid for us both to go to esthetician school and permanent makeup school.”
Craig, who now works as an ER doctor in Nebraska, has been a constant source of support for Erickson.
“He’s absolutely wonderful,” Erickson said.
For Erickson, there are many challenges to going into business for herself – including the actual practice of tattooing – but she said she relies heavily on her training to soothe her anxieties.
However, starting over in her 40s was the aspect of her journey that really terrified her.
“It is scary to start over in your 40s,” Erickson said. “When I first did this, I was like, ‘yes, this is the best idea ever.’ But the actuality of it, I was really scared. I was like, ‘I’m going to be the oldest in my class. And people are going to think I’m a loser because I’m brand new in this field. And there’s people who literally could be my child training me’… It’s really humbling to start over again.”
But she also found strength in her mother, who, after losing her husband to addiction following Columbine, became a counselor later in life.
“I think she was 47 and she was interviewing daycares and everywhere to just try and to make it,” Erickson said. “Now she’s a very successful counselor. So, I look to her for that strength because it’s humbling.”
Going forward, Erickson’s goals include expanding her business and mastering areola tattooing — especially in rural communities where such services are nearly nonexistent. She’s also interested in eventually offering scalp micropigmentation for clients experiencing hair loss and dreams of one day teaching and mentoring others in the field.
“The great thing about this job is there are no limits on the possibility of it,” Erickson said.
Erickson travels monthly between Colorado and Nebraska to offer her services.
“I’m just happy to be back in the community I grew up in and able to offer my services here and have the support of my community,” Erickson said.
While she’s seen steady success in rural areas, Erickson admits that getting her name out in the competitive Denver market has been more difficult. Still, she said her clients are consistently thrilled with the results.
For Erickson, it’s not just about beauty — it’s about healing, empowerment and helping others find the freedom to finally feel at home in their own skin.
For more information on Decadent Beauty visit Erickson’s Instagram account at decadentbeautypmu.