Weddingbee Blog

BM E was 19 years old when she started the road trip from our hometown NJ all the way to Southern California for a move that would change her life. She would spend about 8 years there until finally moving back to the East Coast sometime in 2007. At the time of her trek across country, I was living in Ohio and enduring my second year of school. Luckily I was on the way so she, along with Y ( who was keeping her company during the week long drive, and is the same person who designed my invites) stopped by to visit for a few days. To be honest I don’t remember much of what we did. We probably ate a lot, drank a lot, and laughed a lot. But the one thing I DO remember - and very clearly remember - is the day we walked into a tattoo parlor together because she wanted something to remember her first road trip. Her move to California wasn’t exactly a carefully planned forecast of the next few years of her life. She wasn’t moving for a particular school, or a job, or even a guy. After living her entire life in NJ and even starting college there, she just thought to herself one day, “I’m going to move to Cali!” and not longer after she did, with everything she owned piled into the backseat of her Honda Accord. So why stop the craziness there? Why not get a tattoo?

I have to admit I was pretty close to getting one too. I was young, just starting to crack out of my sheltered shell, and this crazy friend was trying convince me that tattoos were cool! Thinking back, I am both glad and sad that I never went through with it. Glad because who knows what I would have gotten and where (I thank God everyday that I didn’t get a tattoo during my Hello Kitty phase), and sad because it’s an experience I will never have now that I’m too old to use the “Hey, I was young!” excuse when asked why there is a life-sized image of Han Solo’s face covering most of my back.

So I chickened out, and instead I watched the whole thing happen before my eyes as she got her second tattoo on the back of her shoulder.

Fast forward about 10 years. The scene is RK Bridal as BM E, BM L and I are frantically searching for a BM dress that will flatter six ladies. Only the main thing on BM E’s mind is not exactly on the dress. Her mind is frantically searching for ways to cover up her tattoo on the wedding day. You see, her parents will be attending the wedding as well, and 10 years later, her parents still do not know about either of her tattoos. She decided to visit Sephora to find a solution and used me as the “makeup artist” to test them out for her.

The sales consultant there mixed her a couple of samples to try out.

Result: looked like bruising because of wrong shades


Her tattoo before the coverup

Using my foundation brush to work in the the makeup.

The shade was poorly mixed and WAY too light for her back. I tried to brush a bit of face powder over it to neutralize the color, but as you can see the outline of the tattoo still remains, and from far away it looked like a huge bruise.

Result: Even worse, but it could have been my fault.

Since the first trial made her look as if she got punched in the back, I thought maybe it would be better to color in just the tattoo instead of trying to blend in a large area. This apparently is what NOT to do when trying to cover up a tattoo. It just looked… horrible.

Defeated, she headed over to the MAC counter at the local mall a few days later. Time and time again, MAC has never failed to impress me with their products, and this time was no different. A makeup artist at the counter helped cover up her tattoo, and showed her exactly what she needed to do to duplicate the look. I wasn’t with her, so I unfortunately I don’t have a picture, but below is the information she got from MAC and the products she bought. She didn’t mind spending money on these products, because they were all things she could use other than for covering up her tattoo. And the best part? She swears it was as if she never got one!

Trial 3 - Mac Counter

Have you ever had to cover up your tattoo for a wedding? What tips do you have for covering up a tattoo on the wedding day?