Tattoo Makeup Cover for the DIY ( Do it yourself ) Type

Although I offer tattoo cover, it is pricey and that can be a huge turn-off to brides trying to keep down their wedding costs. The products I use are a professional grade cosmetic, designed to withstand sweat, heat, water, rain, tears and anything else that could dampen the best laid coverage. 

I highly recommend hiring a professional, but if you can't or don't want to hire a professional makeup artist to cover your tattoo, I will give you the low-down on some of the different tattoo makeup available. Keep in mind that these are far inferior to the products I use but are designed for the consumer who wants to save a buck or two.   

The location of the tattoo has a lot to do with how well the coverage stays put. Tattoos on the arms or legs; areas that are the least likely to sweat, will have better results than tattoos on the back or chest areas. But tattoos that are on the underside of the arm or areas that rub against the body, may result in makeup transferring onto the clothing. The below products will work for a short period of time, perhaps for a job interview or photoshoot, but may not hold up to a full wedding day filled with drinking, dancing and hugging....

Comparing brands of Tattoo Cover Makeup

Mehron Tattoo Cover is available in 5 shades individually or as a color wheel.  If you have a large tattoo, the color wheel may not provide enough product to fully conceal the tattoo. You may need to purchase the individual colors and hopefully you are able to blend the colors to match your skintone.  You will also need to purchase the Colorset Powder plus the Barrier Spray. The items may be ordered at their online website. The product takes some time to completely dry and does not work exceptionally well on colorful tattoos. It does work great for blemishes or evening out pigmented skin. Based on the cream consistency, the product may soften and melt as your skin heats up, causing the makeup to slide and rub off.

Dermablend has been long noted as a tattoo cover for brides although not specifically designed for tattoo covering. Dermablend requires several steps with a lot of layering to completely cover the tattoo. It is slow drying and will require a Setting Spray. Because the product contains sunscreen, it ends up looking very visible in the sunlight and will be very noticeable on the camera. It takes lots of time and practice to get the coverage down correctly and you need to be sure to have a good color match to keep it blended with your skin. It will still look like makeup and may be more noticeable than you want. Color matching seems to be the biggest complaint as it's pricey to purchase several shades and it has been noted to rub off. 

CoverMark has a Tattoo Cover kit that contains samples of their full-size products. The product appears not to cover tattoos completely and ends up looking like a large bruise. Several steps and lots of practice are needed. Skin tone matching is an issue with the product and there are complaints of it fading away through the night. Again, the product fails in remaining skin-like and ends up looking like a shiny patch of plastic.

Kat Von D's Tattoo Concealer is not designed as a tattoo cover makeup. It is simply using the name and talent of the artist to sell product. It's a great concealer for under eye circles, skin flaws or blemishes. But as tattoo cover, it is not meant to last or conceal a tattoo and using it will not warrant satisfactory results.

ColorTration's Tattoo Cover Kit comes with 9 blendable shades, application tools plus the Sealing Spray. The professional Camouflage Brush is not included and would need to be purchased separately. The small applicator brushes are not user friendly and the product vials are extremely small and would not be useful to cover anything but a small tattoo. Designed more for skin imperfections rather than tattoos, the full-size individual colors are pricey. Again practice in blending to match the skin tone is important and the Sealing Spray is not suggested to be used anywhere but on the legs and the body. The Sealing Spray is identical to Mehron's Barrier Spray, just renamed to include the Colortration name.

If you are considering covering your tattoo and plan the Do It Yourself route, please be sure to practice well in advance of the wedding day. There is honestly no guaranteed way to cover a tattoo. No matter what product is used, professional or otherwise, it is never going to look like you didn't get tattooed. The tattoo changes the skin's consistency and may be raised or otherwise noticeable even with the best coverage. The products used to conceal a tattoo are just that, products. They are removable and as a result transferable to clothing. They are not permanent and will not last for days. If they did, then they'd be called a "tattoo".