Teaching Thursday!

Happy Thursday, aka: the day to let you know the weekend is finally not so far away! As you probably remember from last month, today is all about teaching! Once a month, for a week in the middle of the month, I host a beauty week for my blog. Each day gets its own theme, Thursday being Teaching Thursday, where I give a mini lesson a technique for makeup application and so much more. Since many of my readers will be going back to school in a few short weeks or maybe beginning a new job after graduating this summer, or have a fall wedding coming up, I thought this lesson would be perfect for my readers and beyond since this applies to a large group of people. Without any further adieu:

Teaching Thursdays (#2 August 16, 2012)

For Teaching Thursday in my second installment of beauty week, August edition, I will be covering ... drum roll please ... TATTOO COVERAGE ... AND FOR UNDER $15! For those of you who have ever looked into this and the products on the market designed for tattoo covering, you know the individual concealer can run well into $20-$30, not to mention the foundation/body makeup and setting powder you'd need to get it to look natural. Anyway, I will include a list of items used, step-by-step directions, with step-by-step pictures so you can see for yourself! My husband volunteered to be my model so thank you very much to him for letting me play with makeup on him!

Products Used:
- Hard Candy Glamoflauge Heavy Duty Concealer with Concealer Pencil (I used "Medium 313") - $6.00 (can be found at Walmart)
- NYC (New York Color) Smooth Skin Liquid Makeup in "Classic Beige" - $2.99 (Walmart)
- NYC (New York Color) Loose Setting Powder in "Translucent" - $2.99 (Walmart)
- L.A. Colors Expressions Pressed Powder in "Nude" - $1.00 (Dollar Tree)
- e.l.f. Professional Foundation Brush - $1.00 (Dollar Tree)
- e.l.f. Essential Powder Brush - $1.00 (eyeslipsface.com, Dollar Tree, Kmart, Target)
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For a grand total of: $14.98 (plus applicable taxes in your area + shipping if ordered online)

*Keep in mind if you already have a foundation brush, powder brush, foundation and/or powders you are happy with, you may only have to buy the Hard Candy Concealing set. I just wanted to let all my readers know exactly what I used in case you don't have success with your own products so you know what to buy without breaking the bank.*

1. Make sure the area is clean and dry. I used a baby wipe on it first to remove any dirt, oil, and/or impurities and allowed it to dry.

2. Take the Hard Candy Concealer Pencil and line the outline and boarders of the tattoo and then fill in between the lines, coloring over the tattoo.

3. Take the Hard Candy Glamoflauge Heavy Duty Concealer and apply it to the area using the foundation brush. Use a "stippling" application technique, meaning you essentially dab the brush repeatedly and quickly over the area. Painting it on can end up removing makeup you had already applied or just moving around the concealer instead of applying it for good coverage.

4. Take the NYC Foundation and apply it over the concealer to give a blended look so it can be smoothed into the skin. Apply this using the stippling technique as well to avoid moving and/or removing work you've already done.

5. Now, apply the loose powder to set the makeup using a powder brush. Again, don't "paint" it on, rather dab over as if you are pressing the powder into the skin.

*This is how the tattoo looked after 1 layer, so I needed a second one.*
6. This step may vary for you depending on how dark your tattoo is. As you can see from the original picture, some places on the skull are very dark, like the eye sockets, so I did a second layer of product for coverage. If yours is lighter or you just feel you have enough coverage, this is the point where you'd apply your pressed powder for the finishing touch to have a natural, blended look and fully set your work. Remember to use (especially for this final touch) a powder that matches your skin tone IN THAT AREA, not just a face powder unless it matches!!!

7. I reapplied a second layer, skipping the concealing pencil. I applied Hard Candy Glamoflauge Heavy Duty Concealer, followed by the NYC Foundation, using the stippling technique for both. I applied the Translucent setting powder, followed by the pressed powder to match the skin tone.




And there you have it! You can go get that tattoo you've always wanted and know you can cover it for special events rather inexpensively. You can keep the tattoo concealed while you're in the process of having it removed without going into any more debt, since tattoo removal is painful, physically AND financially. And if you're sticking with what you've got, but have one in a hard to hide location, this post is for you! It doesn't take too long, many of the products you may already have, and even buying it all, it still doesn't cost much.

Give it a try and let me know how it works for you! If you have any questions, suggestions, and/or tips for tattoo concealing let me and all of the readers know!

*My husband didn't remove the makeup for about 6 hours and it didn't fade or sweat/melt off so you know you'll be good for awhile.*