Fashion and beauty Archives - Page 18 of 33

May 3, 2016May 6, 2016

Tattooed Mama: Hannah Daisy

We chatted to full time mama 22-year-old Hannah Daisy from London about becoming a mum, how she sees her body differently now and her tattoos…

Pregnancy is such an enlightening journey, there’s no way you can come out the other side and look at yourself in the same way. It was so uplifting for me, my body worked HARD, and I’ve come to respect it so much more. I’ve struggled with self esteem, I still do from time to time, but I try not to worry about the small things any more and just appreciate it as a whole. If I wanted to look like I hadn’t had a baby then I wouldn’t have had had one.

Honestly, my tattoos haven’t changed much at all since I was pregnant. I have got a stretch mark that’s gone straight through the bottom of the dagger, but it’s not noticeable, it all comes with the territory and I had anticipated some change, so no biggy!

Every aspect of life has changed. I’m still trying to find that balance between being a mum and being my own person. Having a career and keeping up with hobbies have both been on hold since being pregnant and having Reuben, which has been the most frustrating thing, but I’m finally starting to weave them back into the mum schedule, we’ll get there eventually. The kid makes the rules right now!

Instagram was never meant to be more than a place to share photos for family and friends. My pregnancy started off a bit rocky and I wasn’t really sure how to cope. I’m normally one of those people who bottles everything up, but I started to talk about my experiences and converse with other women and it really helped, it became more of an outlet and played a huge part in me healing.

I started @two.plus.roo so I didn’t end up bombarding everyone on my main account (@hannah.daisy) with endless bump updates intended for family and friends. I felt this huge urge to capture everything, I’m glad I did because it’s been such a magical journey so far. Finding this little corner of the internet where women really pull together as a community was a huge eye opener and I can only try to add to that.

I don’t think anyone is really qualified to give advise on pregnancy/motherhood, everyone has their own ways and it can get quite patronising, so I’d say have faith in your own instincts and don’t feel bad if you need to politely ask someone to back off. Keep a positive head on your shoulders, make some mama friends and enjoy every second!

I miss being pregnant so much, I loved being pregnant. It’s a such a surreal feeling to be carrying a little human, when you think about it it’s almost alien isn’t it?! I’m really selfish and enjoyed being the closest one to him! I certainly don’t miss waking up every 20 minutes through the night though, that I could have done without.

Tattooing was something I took interest in quite early on in life, a lot of my other interests at that time were easily interwoven with tattooing so it was something I was bound to bump into at some point. My partner George tattoos, we both paint together and get tattooed, so it’s something that would be hard for me to avoid. My tattoos don’t have any great personal meanings or anything fancy like that, they’re just a collection of designs I like by people I’ve wanted to get tattooed by. George and I tend to spend the year saving and then travel to different parts of the world to get tattooed by some awesome artists. It’s allowed me to meet people I otherwise wouldn’t of crossed paths with, and it’s a great reason to travel. We have plans to travel and get tattooed a lot more this year, this time with Reuben in tow, I’m excited to show him the world this time round!

April 29, 2016June 7, 2016

Rachel Pitman permanent make-up

Our Managing Editor and resident make-up artist, Keely, recently got her eyebrows tattooed by the superbly talented Rachel Pitman. She kept a diary of the overall experience of having what technically is a face tattoo and how they healed over a few weeks.

As a make-up artist I have always been interested in permanent make-up and the attraction it has for many people. My mother got her eyebrows tattooed over 12 years ago when it first gained attention in the UK – I always used to think it was quite badass that my mum had got her face tattooed. But as I got older I became wary about tattooing your face with what will be a permanent feature. What if one day you didn’t want to have black eyeliner or drawn-on brows? But all of this changed once I saw the subtle and beautiful technique used by Rachel…

Luckily enough I have been gifted quite full brows, but I was always dyeing them and drawing them in when applying my own make-up, so I thought, why not take away all of that hassle and have permanent brows ‘on fleek?’ (God I hate that term…!) So off I went to meet with Rachel who is based in Soho, London, with slight trepidation and excitement. I had dragged Alice, our Editor, along to kindly take photos and possibly hold my hand… I had also been trying to convince Alice to do it with me but her fear of face tats got the better of her.

Rachel began by drawing on my desired shape and spent a long time perfecting this until I was 100% happy with the shape and thickness. We then discussed how dark I wanted them to be and agreed on a dark brown with a hint of a lighter brown to take away the edge. I was then treated to a nice surprise of an anaesthetic cream which takes approximately 30 minutes to come into effect. I was not expecting this so definitely helped to calm my nerves! The tattooing then began and I was told by Rachel not to talk due to movements in my face and that the whole procedure would be finished within an hour.

The most uncomfortable part of the whole procedure was the ticklish sensation that Rachel’s gloves made while resting on my nose… the rest was a-ok! There were parts where I could feel the needle so Rachel just added a bit more of the anaesthetic cream and moved onto the other brow but all in all, it was pain-free. She uses the tiniest of hair strokes so that the overall result is very natural and looks like actual hair, rather than a block of colour.

After Rachel finished tattooing, she then paints the ink over the brows so that some of the ink can sink into the open wounds for about 10 minutes.

Rachel then gives me the lowdown on the healing process and is very strict on what I can and can’t do. She recommends keeping my face as dry as possible for the next 5-7 days, which means not wearing make-up over the brows or soaking them in water. She also recommends staying away from any exercise for the next 5-7 days as she believes that when you exercise our skin heats up and this could possibly push some of the ink out. The ink can also be pushed out more easily on people with oily skin, which is my skin type sadly, so I agree to do everything in my power to keep my brows dry, sweat and oil free! Rachel also gives me a balm to apply once a day sparingly with a cotton bud to help with any dryness and flakiness during the healing process.

Unlike traditional tattooing, I booked in to come back in 6 weeks time to have them tattooed again to make sure that the ink holds. This is complimentary with the overall treatment as the technique used for PMU is slightly different to that of traditional tattooing… you can read more about the difference in techniques in an interview with Rachel that we will be sharing in the next week or so. Watch this space!

Before and after the tattooing

I was worried about leaving the clinic with a very red, swollen looking face and having to wear my largest sunglasses for the next few days but surprisingly there was no redness whatsoever and you would never have known I’d just been under the needle on my face for one hour! The next few days of healing were stress free and I stayed away from exercise as promised and only cleansed my face with Bioderma micellar water (which is my absolute beauty must-have, btw) and avoided putting any make-up directly on my brows.

Day two after having my brows tattooed

Day 4 and 5 saw a bit of flakiness but nothing in comparison to the healing of a traditional tattoo and after using the balm this quickly got rid of any dryness. My brows were completely healed after about 10 days and this is when I felt that I could put makeup directly over them… which wasn’t at all necessary as they looked totally made up without having to draw them in… I’m just an obsessive when it comes to a strong brow! Even though I work as a make-up artist, I do spend a great amount of time without any makeup on my face so having my brows look perfectly symmetrical and defined is my dream come true.

Six weeks later and I am back in the clinic with Rachel ready to go under the needle again. Rachel is very pleased with how they have healed and how disciplined I had been with not exercising and looking after them properly (I’m not always the most obedient when it comes to being told what to do.) We discuss whether I want to change anything about them and I decide to go a bit thicker, darker and extend them slightly at the ends. Rachel says this is quite common when people come back for their second round of tattooing, as the first time most people are a bit nervous and don’t want to go too heavy in case of not liking it.

So after having my brows drawn in and the anaesthetic cream applied we begin. The second time around hurt sightly more than the first and Rachel said this may be due to the fact that my skin was still healing hence feeling a bit tender, but the pain was nothing in comparison to a traditional tattoo. After about 40 minutes of tattooing we are finished and I am again over the moon with the result! I am really happy I decided to go a bit thicker and darker as I felt like I was ready for my brows to be a bolder.

The healing process was very much the same as the first time around and I avoided exercise and washing my face with water for the next 7 days which I do think is a must for successful healing.

My healed brows after two rounds of tattooing and 10 days of healing

Overall I could not be happier with the results and I love looking as if my face is ‘done’ without having to wear a speck of makeup. I had a recent spell in hospital which is never an enjoyable experience and I swear my saving grace for not looking like a zombie was the fact that my brows always looked amazing and framed my face. Rachel does say that I will probably want a top up after about five years due to the fact that the technique is different to traditional tattooing and can fade slightly. But without a shadow of a doubt I will be having them topped up if needs be because I could not imagine my face without my spectacular tattooed brows.

Read an interview with Rachel where she explains a bit more about what permanent make-up actually is and the difference in traditional tattooing compared to PMU.

Rachel can be contacted via her website: rachel-pitman.com or via Facebook and her Instagram @permanent_makeup_london and her tattoo apprentice page is also @p_i_t_m_a_n

April 27, 2016April 27, 2016

Alex Garant Art

Alex Garant aka. Queen of Double Eyes is a French Canadian artist known for her double-exposed oil paintings featuring beautifully haunting women.

On her website Alex Garant paintings are described as:

[…] not far from a perfect optical illusion: her protagonists trying to escape themselves, almost possessed by a distinct version of their own individuality, an exorcism of the soul. The viewers shall try to unearth the main figure by focusing on making those multiples into one.

alex

Way Down

thelongestwinter

The Longest Winter

MakeBelieve

Make Believe

fragment

Fragments of her Mind

April 23, 2016

LUST, CAUTION: A NIGHT IN THE TORTURE GARDEN

Taking inspiration from Torture Garden’s 25th anniversary this weekend, Hunger beauty editor-at-large Andrew Gallimore and photographer Louie Banks have teamed up to recreate some of the looks you may encounter tonight at the legendary fetish club.

See full shoot on Hunger website.

creative director Vicky Lawton
photography Louie Banks
make-up Andrew Gallimore at CLM Hair and Make Up for Nars Cosmetics
stylist Keanoush Da Rosa
hair Brady Lea
make-up assistant Ana Fry
nails Lyndsay McIntosh
assistants Stephanie Galea, Rui Jeorge
models Maisie at Profile Models, Alina at First Model Management

April 14, 2016April 14, 2016

Inkluded Launch New Online Store

Here at Things&Ink we are big fans of the Inkluded blog founded by freelance journalist Beccy Rimmer. So when we heard Inkluded launched a brand-new online store, we had to share it!

We’ve teamed up with Inkluded to give you the chance to win a T-shirt! Check out our Instagram for more details.

Inkluded have created a clothing range in which every design has been drawn by tattoo artists. Inkluded has worked with five UK tattoo artists, Hannya Jayne, Dan Metcalfe, Mike Love, Clare Lambert and Kat Winifred, who have all designed something from scratch for the launch range.

Founder of Inkluded, Beccy Rimmer, said: “At Inkluded, we’re passionate about showcasing and sharing amazing tattoo art. This country’s creative tattoo scene is fast-growing and flourishing with talented artists, remarkable artwork and innovative styles – we thought it was time tattoo enthusiasts had one online place from which they could buy tattoo products and fashion.”

Inkluded was set up with a strong mission, to raise awareness of exceptional tattoo art through blog posts, art exhibitions and by creating an artistic community that people can feel included in. As well as browsing the new products, readers can meet the artists through a series of interviews published on the blog.

A selection of limited edition T-shirts and vests (prices from £15) are available from www.inkluded.co.uk/store.

Photographs by JustJodie Photography