Confession: I don't have any tattoos. When I recently visited an exhibition on the history of tattoos at the New-York Historical Society, I found myself admiring some vintage designs, but I think my moment to get "inked" has passed. When I was a college student, tattoos were still a rarity on my campus, sported only by a few punk rockers and metal heads. When tattoos became popular with mainstream twenty-somethings, I developed a certain level of scorn for the butterflies and "tribal" swirls and Japanese characters everyone suddenly seemed to have on their calves and shoulders and lower backs. And by the time tattooing became legal again in New York and some truly talented tattoo artists were available, I was trying to maintain a serious façade at my then-workplace, for reasons I can no longer remember.
Changing public standards and personal circumstances would now allow me to get a tattoo, if I wanted, but I still don't think I'll take the plunge. The main reason: I wouldn't be able to decide on one image or even several images. I work with art every day, and I live in a pleasurable state of visual satiety. I do enjoy ornamenting myself daily with jewelry, cosmetics and perfume, but those surface delights are all easily changeable. I can become a blank slate and then start over whenever I like.
So, what about temporary tattoos? Until this year, I thought they were all of the gumball-machine variety, very basic in design and fun for kids' birthday parties, but nothing more. Then I started noticing mentions of Tattly in magazines, and once I visited the Tattly website, I was obsessed. Tattly is a Brooklyn-based company that produces temporary tattoos designed by actual artists, with categories ranging from "animals" to "vintage vogue" to — yes — "scented." I've been testing some tattoos from their Bouquet Garni Set and Perennial Set, and even before I smelled them, I was impressed by their look. They're designed by Vincent Jeannerot, who specializes in botanical illustrations, and they're as detailed and finely shaded as actual watercolors. At the same time, once I'd applied them the skin (very easy!) they looked "real" enough to fool a few co-workers (at my current, more open-minded place of employment).
Tattly's Perennial Set includes images of Blue Hydrangea, Pink Peony, Purple Peony and Rose La France, all scented with a fragrance "created in collaboration with Agilex Fragrances," featuring notes of fuchsia, poppy, ylang ylang and poplar wood. On my skin, the fragrance lasts well for one day, and the tattoo lasted for four days (with faded edges on the second day, and further wear and losses after that). The fragrance was stronger than I expected on that first day, and if I'd been wearing more than one tattoo, I might not even have needed to wear actual perfume. To my nose, it's a fruity, musky rose, with some sweet woodiness underneath. It's a perfume-y scent, and I respect Tattly for going in this direction; they could have easily used a watery "fresh" scent that wouldn't match those flowers in full bloom. And have I already mentioned how pretty these designs are?!
On the other hand, if you're not quite up to wearing a big blossom like these (even for a few days), Tattly's Bouquet Garni collection is a little more subtle and unisex in appearance and in fragrance. This set includes Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme (cue up the Simon and Garfunkel!). These herbal designs are more delicate, all branching stems and tiny leaves (although Sage also includes some purple flowers). They can be applied around wrists and ankles as well as running up arms and legs; I felt a bit druid-like wearing this decorative greenery.
The Bouquet Garni scent (also developed by Agilex) is very different from the Perennial scent: it's an uncanny evocation of a bunch of garden herbs. Its list of notes includes red thyme, bergamot, "sheer white spice accord," parsley, Moroccan rosemary, wild sage, white musk, "clear musk" and white sandalwood. It's a peppery-green scent with an earthy undercurrent that would probably fool me into thinking I was smelling actual herbs if I were blindfolded and you waved it under my nose. Unfortunately, it doesn't last as long as the Perennial fragrance (partially because the herb designs have less surface area?), but it's a summery, natural-smelling pleasure for a couple hours until it dissipates.
Now that I've been inducted into the world of artistic temporary tattoos (and scented ones, no less!) I may be hooked. I'd recommend these treats to someone looking for a whimsical "accessory" for a special occasion or just for a summer outing, or for anyone (like me) who is indecisive or shy of ink-commitment.
And here's a quick poll: If you could have any tattoo, what would it be? Or, if you already have your dream tattoo, and you're comfortable telling us, what is it?
Tattly Bouquet Garni and Perennial scented temporary tattoos are available as sets ($18 for 8 tattoos, 2 of each design). The Blue Hydrangea, Pink Peony, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme tattoos are also available in smaller individual sets ($6 for 2 of the same image), via Tattly.
I have a tattoo — a large Immaculate Heart of Mary on my back (done in stained-glass style) with wreaths of flowers that go over my shoulders to wrap around a Hand of Fatima on the front of either shoulder. There’s a picture of it still up on the artist’s site… http://bartwillis.com/contemporary-tattoo/
Wow. That is a gorgeous tattoo. I see a lot of tattoos when I do physical exams. He does good work.
Thanks! I like it (though I’m glad I don’t have to sit through getting it again!).
Your tattoo is awesome!
Amazing and yicks all at the same time. The time and the pain! But it is awesome.
Excellent, Doc Sinister!
Beautiful!
Fantastic! And ouch!
Wow! Gorgeous. Thanks for sharing that!
Wow! That’s beautiful!!!
I don’t plan to get a tattoo, but I know what it would be – a gun with a barrel full of flowers. Meaning both peace and an individual commitment to softening the hard things in the world with love.
Great concept, love the idea. 🙂
I love that, too. I can imagine it!
These are completely enticing to me. Thanks so much for the review! I would likely have a tattoo but had a virulently anti-tattoo mother back in the day when they were rare and now that they are ubiquitous my person is really against them, so even though my mother’s been dead for a long time I still haven’t gotten one. I want the eye that is on the outside of Egyptian sarcophagi. I am one-eyed, from a childhood accident, and this always seemed like the extra eye I needed. Ah well. I can — obviously –live without it.
Understandable, but it would be a sweet tattoo 😉 Maybe you could find the same design in a piece of jewelry?
The Eye of Horus?
That would make for an amazing tattoo.
That’s if. Wouldn’t it? I really want it on the inside of my forearm.
That would be great! I love anything Egyptian, always have.
Amy, we are almost one eyed sisters! Many moons ago I got a tattoo on my ankle of the Eye of Horus, and I considered it my third eye. Then one day I woke up “right eye blind”. I thought “what a coincidence!”
Wow that’s amazing coincidence! But a real bummer for you to have become right eye blind. Is it permanent?
No, I was very unlucky in that I was initially misdiagnosed, then 3 days later was luckily correctly diagnosed! Now, after 3 surgeries and some other “work,” I have functional vision. My right eye sees everything like a funhouse mirror, and I misstep sometimes, but I am amazingly lucky to be able to see at all. After all that, I celebrated by hiking the Grand Canyon, which was a little tricky ????
I’m very sorry you lost your vision, as a child no less! My favorite poet, Jim Harrison, also lost sight in the left eye as a result of a childhood incident. In an Equire interview he stated, I probably wouldn’t have been a poet if I hadn’t lost my left eye when I was a boy.”
That still sounds like a huge drag, but glad that you got the vision back!
I know what you mean… my mother is alive and her opinion is still very much in the back of my mind, even though I’ve been an adult for a long time! 😉
That Egyptian eye-of-Horus idea is wonderful!
Yeah the ghost of my mother would surely come after me, but I could live with that! She was from the WWII generation for whom it meant something very different than for us now.
I think that’s a great idea for a tattoo! I am legally blind in my right eye but it still has sight, fortunately, just not enough to read with. It must be tough with monocular vision. I love to read so much, I dread the thought of losing my vision.
I was small enough when it happened that I don’t even notice. But I do try and take super good care of my ‘good eye.’ Reading is almost my entire life! Hope yours stay strong.
I love that tattoo idea. Very poignant and thanks for sharing that about yourself!
Wow that sounds like an awesome idea for a tattoo! If you ever do take the plunge, I hope you’ll post pictures here. My mom’s mom is very anti-tattoo, but lo and behold, my mom caught the tattoo bug as a fifty-something and she now has more tattoos than me (I have three). Her mom has come around a bit, I think 🙂
No ink for me, and not likely to happen. For starters, I am afraid of needles. So much so that I can’t even watch my cats getting vaccinated at the vet.
Hah, well, that’s another reason I’ve never done it! Our sweet old cat is getting subcutaneous fluids now, and I just can’t. stick. the. needle. into. her. My husband does that part while I hold her and distract her!
Oh, I am so sorry that your and your old lady cat are going through sub-q fluids! We had to do that with a cat as well, and I did the same thing that you are doing. I couldn’t do that stick either.
I love tattoos. I used to have a lot of tattoo magazines, though I don’t keep up with that kind of stuff as much as I used to. I have a few small-ish ones (insides of both ankles, upper back, left upper arm), but I’d like more. The one on my arm hasn’t aged super well, so I think about getting it covered, though it would have to be at least a partial sleeve to do it. I have ideas for what I would like to do. It’s mostly the expense that has kept me from doing it.
That, too…from what I hear from friends, good tattoos aren’t cheap…you get what you pay for!
I love these scented temporary tattoos! In fact I purchased the Perennial set as a trial for the floral tattoo I was considering. I was so pleased with the temporary tattoos that I decided to pull the trigger and get the real deal. I now have jasmine blossoms (and leaves) on my right arm from my shoulder to my elbow. In the fall I am returning to have more blossoms done on my shoulder-the overall tattoo will be an homage to Chanel No. 5- the top and heart floral notes. I am so in love with my tattoo and encourage everyone to check out these temporary tattoos from Tattly!
Oooh! I hope someone from Tattly will see this. What a nice tale! Your permanent flowers sound lovely!
That sounds like a beautiful tattoo!
I’ve always wanted a small tattoo of a dragon on my back, but health issues prevent me from doing so. My initial inspiration was the Russian volleyball player Aleksander Volkov’s dragon but then I found a more graphic style dragon.
Perhaps in my next life, I’ll get my chance! Below is a link that’s pretty close to what I’m looking for.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/c3/a8/51/c3a851b3717da8e21f890191848d0cfc.jpg
Ooh, dramatic! I like it! Yes, there’s always our next life. I’ll have all kinds of flowers and poetry quotes and details of favorite paintings… 🙂
I was living in Glasgow in the late 1980s and kept walking past a tattoo parlour called Terry’s Tattoo Parlour, with the words “10 000 Sailors Can’t Be Wrong”. I should have paid more attention to the fact that only sailors can’t be wrong. Got a tattoo of my own design, hated it, got it covered (basically a big black blob) and haven’t worn a sleeveless dress since. However, I still like tattoos and would like a long finned eel on my hand and I really like intricate sleeves of images especially now that not all tatttoos are so heavy handed. Back when i was a curator I curated an exhibition of tattoos and got involved with The Heavily Tattooed Club of Lower Hutt which was fascinating. Became clear that tattoos for many people are a visual form of story telling – related to personal stories, losses, memories, reclaiming self, etc.
Photographer Michael Stokes did an amazing series (ultimately a book)Michael with veterans who had lost limbs, with and without their prosthetics. Most had tattoos. Of course, we don’t know if they got them before or after their injuries, but for some it may have been, as you say, about reclaiming themselves.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3165402/Photographer-captures-amputee-war-veterans-posing-naked-proudly-revealing-injuries-powerful-picture-series.html#ixzz4k70wVG8D
A la “The Illustrated Man” ????
10000 pirates. This reminds me that a friend and I were going to get small BC tattoos years ago. BC for Bad Character, which apparently the British navy would tattoo on deserters . . . if they found them.
I think you are absolutely right about the story telling and often the history of trauma written on the body with tattoos.
The more I learn about the cultural history of tattoos, the more I want one! lol
Those gold ones by the Rifle Paper Co. on the Tattly site look perfect for summer evenings.
I think I’d go all out with a large Japanese tattoo on the back, but it would have to magically appear – no needles! 😉
“no needles” haha
Here you go, your own design and no needles. I think there should be a section on infusing scent!
https://www.amazon.com/DIY-Temporary-Tattoos-Draw-Print/dp/1250087708/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497568404&sr=8-1&keywords=DIY+temporary+tattoos+%3A+draw+it%2C+print+it%2C+ink+it+%2F+Pepper+Baldwin
aha, the needles and pain…that’s another reason I’ve never done it!
JAMA did a neat little article on tattoos as part of breast reconstruction surgery after mastectomy. I have never been tempted to have a tattoo, but if I ever had to have that surgery, I would totally get this:
http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2603907
Gorgeous!
The show at the N-YHS had a few images from this series…amazing.
I have the same problem as you, there are so many choices! Maybe the Librairie Philosoophique Vrin logo? I adore that and could not see myself regretting it. Or a witch? Maybe a dragon? Rosa Luxemburg’s face?
I could see any of those being perfect choices! argh. You understand!! Instead, I just buy art books and collect postcards and hoard magazines and bookmark images online…
I have four small blackwork tattoos, two on each ankle, the two on the outside just above the anklebone and the ones on the inside curling around the bone (now THAT was painful). I love the idea of getting more — I genuinely enjoyed the experience, of which the pain was just a part — but for a number of reasons I’ll just be happy with the ones I have.
Ouch! but I do love seeing a simple and striking black tattoo on the right person!
No tattoos ever for me but if I were to fantasize about what image, it would be that of a snake…or an owl. Some people tattoo their eyelids so they never have to spend time putting on eye shadow / eye liner.
I can imagine you with an owl!
I don’t think I’d ever do the eye thing. I mean, won’t it settle weirdly as I age and my eyelids shift? and I actually *enjoy* putting on makeup. 🙂
My sister got eyeliner tattooed on, and it faded completely after a few years.
A tattoo? I have no idea what I would do if I had the artistic inspiration + time + courage + $$$, must think on that.
I enjoy the Swiss Miss blog (fun stuff!) where I first saw Tattly scented tattoos. They look wonderful and sound fun to try. I enjoyed reading your experience. 🙂
Yesterday morning I noticed a new tattoo studio in the shopping center where I buy groceries. It was closed so I stood and stared in the window of the large, inviting, well-lit space, mostly white with black and chrome accents. It looked like an artists’ studio. Tempting!
Glad you enjoyed the post! So hard to choose…also, I feel like I’d have a hard time trusting the artist. Would it really come out the way I envisioned it? etc. etc.
I have a lot of tattoos (23), and each one means something very important to me or represents an important event/ achievement in my life. I got the last one 7 years ago – it’s a design of a tree in winter and summer representing the need to remain balanced.
For me, it’s a combination of the storytelling that Kanuka mentioned and the fact that I wasn’t really comfortable in my own skin when I was much younger, so being a literalist, I decided to change the skin. I love them all and regret none of them.
The storytelling/souvenir angle does appeal to me! and your tree sounds beautiful.
Good for you – and especially the no regrets!
I have one tattoo on my shoulder. Its the Chinese symbol for “love”. It hurt so bad, I swore that I would never get another one. The tattoo artist was intrigued that I was an educator and said that he gives a lot of us tattoos and that we always come back for more. He said to me, “You’ll be back!”
Well, 13 years later, I recently considered getting another one; when Prince died. I said that I wanted to get “the symbol”.
Now, I don’t know about the scented tattoos. Since they are temporary and already made, I probably wouldnt get it.
Wow, the Prince “symbol” would be a classic!
I thought about getting the Bauhaus symbol at one point — the symbol for the Bauhaus school, which the band called Bauhaus then adopted — but I didn’t go through with it, which is just as well. I still like both Bauhauses, but not *that* much.
I feel like I missed the boat on getting a tattoo – it just completely missed my generation. I would totally get a package of these scented ones and the price is totally reasonable.
Yeah, timing is a big part of it!!
I’ve had so much fun wearing these, even though half the time they’re covered by the cardigan I have to wear in our chilly A/C office space. They’ve given me lots of pleasure.
I have two! A snake curled into an infinity symbol (located squarely on the lower abdomen, and much less painful than my monthly cramps), and a large tiger beetle on my back (an insect that held relevance for my brother and I; it hurt, but less than kidney stones or sciatica). I love both, and have a couple more tattoos planned out for someday. Both of my current ones were an easy decision for me. I have a pretty high pain tolerance (so that part’s not an issue), and there are a few things that hold enough meaning to me that I am or would be delighted to have them as a permanent part of my skin…so these two were naturals.
They’re both hidden with office clothing, so no issues there. My next one will not be easily-hidden, but I’m nearly 40 and am career-established and everyone knows me at work, so it’s just less of a concern, even in a somewhat-conservative office. 🙂
LOVE those botanical tattoos!
I have three tattoos, all of them following a loosely “goth” theme (unplanned but fortuitous, since I’m nearing 30 and still primarily wear all-black clothing and much eyeliner):
-a small group of bats flying up behind my right ear. They’re very diminutive, the largest is probably smaller than a dime, and they’re covered up most of the time by my hair. I got these when I was 18 to commemorate somehow managing to stay alive through my teen years, and as a symbol of good luck
-an eye of Horus/Wadjet on my right shoulder, this is maybe the size of a quarter and was done in the old school “stick-poke” style, by a reputable licensed tattoo artist friend of mine
-a crow wearing a pair of boots on my left hip. This is the biggest by far and is based on this lithograph by Rudi Hurzlmeier
I’m considering ordering some of these Tattly temporary tattoos, they sound really tempting! I think about getting more real tattoos from time to time, but I think my need for ink might be sated for the moment.
Your tattoos sound great.
I have 1 tattoo – a dragonfly on my lower back. Yes, the dreaded tramp stamp. Though it isn’t quite low enough to qualify as a tramp stamp. I just really like dragonflies (see icon and user name, which is the scientific family name for dragonflies). Originally, I intended to get some waterlilies underneath/around it in kind of a art nouveau design, but never found exactly what I wanted and now that time has passed (got it about 17 years ago). I was visiting a friend who has a lot of tattoos and she was like, you want to get a tattoo? So I said sure. It was a crazy spur of the moment thing, but I don’t regret it. I do wish I ornamented it a little more. I wouldn’t mind getting more, but there are so many things I would like to get – poppies (my favorite flower), various Art Nouveau/Mucha designs, japanese plum blossoms, Totoro, hanafuda cards, and on and on.
Even in my youth, a tattoo never sounded like a good idea to me for longer than an hour or so. I’d have regretted getting one pretty much immediately. Temporary and scented would be just my speed.
Many years ago, when I lost my hair to chemotherapy, I started wearing a temporary dragon tattoo on my scalp (this was before the “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” books). I was college faculty at the time and my students loved it (my colleagues, not so much).
These scented tattoos look great! Thinking of trying the Bouquet Garni set.
These temporaries look really pretty. I just might have to look into them. I got a tattoo in the mid 90s for my 25th birthday when tattoo/piercing shops were spouting up in the East Village where I lived at the time. I got a fairy crouching in a leaf with long, diaphenous wings and was based on an illustration from Brian Froud that was in a book on fairies- still have a couple of his books and still love the illustration. It starts on my lower back/left hip and the wings stretch up to about mid back. It was much larger than I thought it would be and hasn’t aged particularly well, but I don’t see it day to day so I tend to forget I even have it. I’ve thought about getting another and it would probably be an illustration from Edward Gorey but doubt I’ll actually do it.
No tattoos for me…something I have thought about from time to time through my life but realized the main challenge would be the decision on what. I think it’d likely be one in the blue-black color…I’m always drawn to those as opposed to multi-color.
I was fascinated by a guy in the subway the other day. He obviously liked space stuff. Tattoos of the space shuttle, satellite dish, planets. Yes, I was staring.
Fascinating reading about all of the tattoos this community has!
Helps with understanding personalities, especially in a non-seeing, social platform like this.
I thought about a tattoo in my 20s but never went through with it.. something small but meaningful for me but could never make up my mind. My cousin is an amazing tattoo artist and he posts his work periodically on FB.
Fun discussion!
I have a tattoo of Hello Kitty peeking over a winged heart on my stomach. It means a lot to me for several reasons: I’ve been a fan of Hello Kitty since her inception (I was 6 when she was introduced to the world!), I love cats, and I love Japanese pop culture. Plus Hello Kitty reminds me of wonderful summer afternoons with my mom, browsing the Sanrio store and begging for just one more scented eraser! It’s looking a little faded since it’s almost 20 years old, but I still love it.
Ha! I love Hello Kitty too and for the safe friendly innocent aesthetic she and the other characters represent. I used to save up my allowance and buy little things from the Sanrio store and get my card stamped towards a gift once the card was filled up. My memories include my dad (literally,never my mom) going grocery shopping while us kids raced to another part of the shopping center where the Sanrio store was located.