Body Magic and Temporary Tattoos Revisited

 

 

Several weeks ago I blogged about a method of utilizing liquid eyeliner to create a temporary tattoo that could be used in a magical working (read that here). Since that time I have employed that method of tattoo construction to work a bit of body magic (which is, by the way, manifesting far better than anticipated). Consequently, I think it would be a good idea to offer some comments regarding that method.

First, since I did not have tracing paper, I took the suggestion of video #1 and used wax paper as a medium to transfer the tattoo onto my arm. Unfortunately, no matter what drawing device I used (liquid eyeliner, ballpoint pen, sharpie marker), I could not get the image to transfer to my skin. So I give the wax paper technique a thumbs-down! I simply had to free-hand the image.
 

Second, the liquid bandage used to seal the tattoo actually absorbed the eyeliner and caused it to smear slightly. This was not an issue until the liquid bandage dried and started to crack in places my skin stretched during movement. As the liquid bandage cracked, it actually lifted the tattoo off the skin. If any of the bandage flaked away, it took a bit of the tattoo with it. Of course, I have to admit that I bought the cheapest liquid eyeliner I could find and the type I purchased was not water-proof, so that probably led to some of my negative results. For me, the biggest drawback to using liquid bandage to seal the tattoo is that I “lost” the tattoo when it came time to remove the bandage to fix/repair the tattoo. If the tattoo is only going to be on your skin for a short time, this is not an issue. However, since my tattoo will be on my body for weeks or possibly months, I find it inconvenient to have to completely redraw it each time I want to spruce it up.

I have found that simply drawing the tattoo with liquid eyeliner and setting it with baby powder is sufficient to keep my tattoo visible for about 24 hours, if I am able to keep it dry. Near the end of the 24 hour period (i.e., sometime the next day) I redraw the tattoo using the faded lines that still remain visible.