00:00Your lips do have a lot of nerve endings in them,
00:03so they can be a little bit sensitive to get tattooed.
00:06Luckily with the numbing cream we use, though,
00:08you're just going to feel a little bitty sharp sting,
00:10and that's about it.
00:12I'm Anna Rose Kern, and today I'm
00:15getting the Lip Blush Tattoo Procedure.
00:17I want to get the Lip Blush Tattoo
00:19Procedure because I naturally have really pale lip color.
00:24I have had some permanent makeup done before.
00:26I have my eyebrows microbladed.
00:28That was my first time getting permanent makeup,
00:30and I love it.
00:32It totally changed my life.
00:33It made me feel so much more confident.
00:35As a makeup artist, I've heard a lot of people
00:37be really nervous about permanent makeup
00:39because they're scared that it's going to heal
00:41and look really bad, and I know that now on the market,
00:45the pigments that they have are, you know,
00:48so much better than what was around even five years ago.
00:51I love my lips.
00:52I'm lucky to have very nice lips naturally,
00:55but they are really pale,
00:57and I feel like sometimes if I don't have lipstick on,
00:59I kind of look a little bit washed out.
01:01I feel like this procedure will make me really confident.
01:04I feel like I'll look a little bit more vibrant.
01:06I think lip blush tattooing is kind of a newer approach
01:09to traditional lip tattooing.
01:11It's made to be a little bit softer, a little more sheer,
01:14and it really ages well with you as well.
01:16I'm Nora Grace, and I'm a cosmetic tattoo artist
01:19and partner at Fiction Cosmetic Tattooing in Echo Park.
01:22I've been doing cosmetic tattooing for about four years now.
01:25Callie and I started Fiction Cosmetic Tattooing
01:28just to create this really warm and welcoming space
01:30where people feel comfortable to come and get tattooed.
01:33We know getting cosmetic tattooing can kind of be
01:35a nerve-wracking thing, so coming to this really nice,
01:38beautiful environment really helps soothe people,
01:40and we try to offer a wide range of services
01:43for all different types of people so that whatever you want,
01:45we can provide it for you.
01:46I personally have a lip blush tattoo.
01:48I think lip blush tattooing is really popular right now
01:51because it just gives you that no makeup makeup look.
01:54It's not like old school lip tattoos
01:56where it's really harsh and looks like lip liner or lipstick.
01:59It more so just looks like your lip color but better.
02:03The pigments that we use in lip blush tattooing
02:06are really kind of based on the existing undertones
02:09in the client's natural lips and then based off
02:11of their target color.
02:12I show Anna Rose a lot of different color options
02:15that she can choose from.
02:16I'll custom mix of color based on your skin tone
02:19and the undertones existing in your lip,
02:21but I like to know kind of the target color
02:23that you're looking for.
02:24I think like this one and this one look the most
02:28like that lip liner that I love.
02:30Totally perfect, I love that.
02:32I am a little nervous about having a needle near my lips.
02:37I've never had them injected or anything,
02:39so I don't actually know what that feels like.
02:40Bring on the numbing cream, extra numbing cream for me.
02:47First, I lay down Anna and start drawing the shape of her lips.
02:52I stay inside of her natural lip border
02:55and just really define the edges so I know
02:57exactly where and where not to tattoo.
03:01After I perfect Anna Rose's shape, I carefully apply
03:05numbing cream to the lips, cover it with plastic,
03:07and then she gets to numb for about 20 to 30 minutes.
03:11After Anna Rose numbs, I begin to etch in an outline.
03:16This just helps me really lock in the shape of her lips
03:19so that I don't lose it while I'm tattooing.
03:30While performing the procedure, I will numb Anna Rose again
03:34after each pass of shading just to make sure
03:36that she stays really nice and comfortable.
03:39The shading process is pretty slow as I'm slowly building up
03:43the saturation of color in Anna Rose's lips.
03:53I use a really quiet and gentle machine,
03:56so it's not rattly and scary like your traditional tattoo machine,
03:59but there is a little bit of a sound and a little bit of vibration.
04:07After a few passes of shading with my first needle,
04:11I then switch over to a different type of needle that I really like to use.
04:15It just kind of helps me even everything out.
04:21After I've reached the desired amount of saturation,
04:25I like to put a little bit of a moisturizer on Anna Rose's lips
04:28and just let it sit for a couple of minutes so they can get really nice and plump.
04:34Next, I just clean up her lips, sit Anna Rose up,
04:37and have her take a look at her fresh lip tattoo.
04:48Okay, Anna Rose, are you ready to see your new lips?
04:50Yes, I'm ready.
04:51Go ahead and take a look.
04:54Oh my God.
04:55Oh, they look so good.
04:57The swelling is natural.
04:59It'll go down in just a couple hours.
05:00Yeah.
05:01Oh my God.
05:02I can't get over the color.
05:03It's perfect.
05:04Lips are usually peeled in about a week,
05:07but they're not fully healed and ready for a touch-up for two months.
05:11Your skin kind of goes through a couple of stages of regenerating itself and rebuilding,
05:15so we really want to wait those two months to truly assess the full healed color before you
05:20come back for another session.
05:21A lot of times if they just need a little bit more definition in their border or if they want
05:25to bump up the
05:26color a little bit, we'll have them come back in for a second session.
05:30Otherwise, they're good for about two to five years until they need to come back for an annual refresh.
05:35The actual procedure on my lips initially felt a little bit like somebody was writing on me with
05:41a really sharp pen. At first, it was a little bit uncomfortable, but then she added more numbing,
05:46and by the end of the procedure, I couldn't feel anything at all.
05:48The healing process, I feel like Nora was super honest with me about what it was going to be.
05:53The first day, the color was really bright, and I was a little bit scared, but every day,
05:58the color got more and more natural, and my lips, they just peeled a little bit on the third day.
06:04The pigment just kind of oxidizes in your skin and makes it look really bright and bold,
06:08but luckily, they healed really quickly. So usually by day three or four,
06:12they've already started to peel and reveal this really soft color underneath.
06:15Working with Anna Rose was such a pleasure. She was a total dream client.
06:20Working with Nora is amazing. She was so attuned to the discomfort levels and made sure that
06:26I knew what was going on every step of the process. She's checked in on me ever since then,
06:31and she's just a dream to work with. I would definitely go and see Nora again for a touch-up.
06:37I'm actually going to see her again for a different procedure a little bit later today.
06:43I think I'm hooked. When I first looked in the mirror, my initial thought was,
06:47I can't believe how she got the shape of my lips so perfect. Everybody has their certain features
06:53on their own face that they're really comfortable with, and they like a certain way, and for me,
06:58that's my lips, and she really nailed it, so I was thrilled. I used to carry this bag in my
07:03purse
07:03that has like, I think like five or six different lip liners, and five or six different colors of
07:09lipstick, and now I really don't even need this anymore because all I carry with me is just
07:14a clear gloss. If you're afraid of needles but you really want this procedure, I promise it's not that
07:19bad. You really can't see the needle. It's over before you know it, and the results last for a
07:24really long time, so I would say go for it.
07:28Thank you for watching Refinery29. To watch more videos, click here, and to subscribe, click here.
