Several times per month clients will ask me how I feel about permanently tattooing their eyebrows or makeup. As a rule, I’m very opposed because it’s so permenent. With eyebrows, for example, the brows may continue to thin over time and the tattoo will become more obvious. also, your face changes with age and you may end up with eyebrows where you don’t want them. They can turn to a blue or grey color and require more makeup to correct than would have been required to simply fill in your brows without the tattoo. Years ago, when I was just starting out as a makeup artist, I had a client who came for a makeup lesson. She was German and didn’t speak a word of English. She had on a bright turquoise eyeliner all around her eyes, giving her the distinct appearance of a parakeet. I tried removing the liner with a strong makeup remover, but it wouldn’t budge. Not wanting to rub too aggressively, I handed her the cotton ball doused in makeup remover and suggested that she remove the eyeliner. She rubbed her eyes with the cotton and the eyeliner still wouldn’t budge. She saw the frustration on my face and said the one english word she knew, “Permanent!” as she pointed to her eyeliner. Oy. I used a brown liner to cover up the bright blue and it looked fine, but the experience showed me that styles and trends change and this woman’s eyeliner was permanently stuck in 1973.

The other concern is if the tattoo is not well done – do you really want permanently mis-shaped eyebrows or splotchy eyeliner? While newer technology offer less pigmented tattoos for cosmetic purposes, they do not fade on everyone over time, as promised.

On my way to work this morning, I passed a sweet little grey haired lady who reminded me of the old lady in the Sylvester and Tweety cartoons. She had a circular tattoo on the back of her neck. THE BACK OF HER NECK! I wondered if she had it done twenty years ealier or if it was a recent addition. My instinct says it was recent. I’ve always toyed with the idea of getting a tattoo on my shoulder, something like a heart with the words, “Your Name Here!” so it would have a chance of not becoming obsolete. My reluctance isnt fear of pain, it’s that I get bored and I know I’ll tire of it almost immediately – and then what? I even get bored with temporary tattoos, which only last a few days (See photo below) My best friend has tattoos on his arms and I see the way people respond to it. It sends a message: Sexy. Dangerous. Rebel.

I would love to elicit that kind of reaction, but even my friend got tired of the big tribal symbol that circled his bicep and I went with him to the tattoo shop to see what could be done. He ended up getting a giant eagle with its wings spread because that was the only thing that could successfully cover the previous tattoo.  

  The deciding factor for me was that when I was just out of college and considering “getting inked” a friend said to me that they look great until you turn thirty, then you just look tired. I started noticing older people with tattoos and kind of agreed. Though it’s all relative. It’s still fun to think about getting one, and maybe someday I will, but never, EVER on my face!!!