At A Glance
Author	Lara
Contact	[email protected]
IAM	ta2lu
When	N/A

I'm not a make-up artist, however, I do play one in front of my powder room mirror every morning.� This week, I realized that applying make-up is similar to getting a tattoo.� There are different techniques, various tools to get the job done, and color, color, color. My husband, Jay Crockett, is tattoo artist.� Does he think that my daily grooming is in any way analogous to his profession?� Yeah, he does.� He says that they are "similar in the fact of being creative or getting creative [and] experimenting or trying new methods or approaches to get different effects and final outcomes."

My daily grind begins with battling my skin that is blotchy, wrinkled, and bears the scars of � what feels like a- lifetime battle with acne.� After magic potions are applied to treat said ailments, it's time to start the cover-up.� Tinted gel from Hungary is the first step to obtaining a falsely clear canvas.� Clinique acne and undereye concealers follow.� And then, my MAC Studio Fix.� These are all givens.� There is no deviation from this routine.� Ever.

Jay, too, has a routine for every tattoo that he does.� He never deviates from this.� Ever.� His work area is set up- anything that might be touched during the tattoo process is covered with disposable barrier film, tape, or saran wrap and plastic bags.� Disposable inkcaps (filled with chosen colors) and A&D ointment are put out and machines are set up.� And then, similar to my layering of makeup, he starts the tattoo process:� wash, stencil, outline, shade, color from light to dark, clean, bandage.�

Once the modus operandi is finished, the fun begins and it's time to get innovative.� Using a method harking back to my Culture-Club-listening high school days, I tend to match my eye make-up to my outfit.� (Yes, I said outfit.)� Since I have beady little rat eyes, extra effort is put forth to make them more alluring.� There is a designated drawer in the bathroom devoted exclusively to the eyes.� Shadows not only from Clinique and MAC, but also Maybelline and Rimmel.�Blues.�� Purples.� Blacks.� (For you naysayers out there, believe you me, there is more than one shade of black.)� Brown in every conceivable hue.� And recently, green.� Complementary eyeliners in the form of pencils and pots of gel.� Every day, I look into this drawer with a feeling of glee and great anticipation of what I will look like 15 minutes later.� Hey, the eyes are the windows to the soul, so, in addition to matching my outfit (said it again), I like to match my mood.� And the weather.� And the day of the week.�

In the way that a good tattoo artist will use shading, so do I.� Sometimes, that lilac purple needs a little kick in the ass.� I break out the deep purple haze, or one of those shades of black, and add some depth.� Contour a little.� Maybe just darken a corner.� Alternately, if I want a part to stand out, I'll use a lighter, frostier shade as a highlighter.� And always- ALWAYS- I use eyeliner.� In the vein of a good, solid tattoo outline, eyeliner defines and holds the color in.� And, as in tattooing, black is the basic.�

I don't have one single, solitary favorite brand of eyeshadow or eyeliner.� Different days and different looks mean different favorites.� Mr. Tattoo Artist Husband has his favorites, too.� For his "eyeliner" he likes Talens Black Drawing Ink.� When it comes to quality and selection, he chooses Starbrite or Waverly.� Over the years, some of my loyalties have remained the same.� However, I've also fallen in love with new kids on the block and have bed-hopped with the latest trends.�

There are also fads in tattooing.� A barbwire armband screams new millennium louder than a mullet yells 1985.� However, just like a screen siren's red lipstick, some things are just too good to let go of.� What is more classically beautiful than a Filip Leu backpiece?� Or a Henning Jorgensen Japanese-style chest plate?

[Jay's chest by Henning]

Or a fine, clean traditional sacred heart?�

Because my make-up is a temporary design, I don't normally use a stencil.� Usually, I wing-it, not unlike how Jay will wing-it when he breaks out the Sharpie and draws on my arm.� This creates a one-of-a-kind, personal tattoo.� And an infinitely more artistic one.� For those of us who aren't this talented, we can resort to templates.� You know- when you want a certain look but you lack the innate skill to achieve it on your own.� MAC provides these on their website.� The templates really do remind me of tattoo flash and the accompanying line sheets.� A bonus with MAC is that they add the exact colors that you need to use to create the look- be it Twillery or Clean Contemporary.

Colors and stencils are all well and good, but if you don't have the proper tools, the job just ain't gonna get done.� For me, this means brushes.� My Kabuki brush lays the foundation.� Channel makes an eyeliner brush that is on par with Jay's Mickey Sharpz. Fluffy shadow brushes are reminiscent of a 9 round shader from Luckys.�

There's just one minor difference between a tattoo and make-up:� degree of permanence.� A cotton ball and some make-up remover later, and I am back to fresh-faced bareness.� Removal of a tattoo � laser- is a costlier and much more painful process.� The perfect hybrid of the two?� Cosmetic tattooing.� I'll tell ya more about that after I get my lips done.