BEAUTY

Meghan Markle Has Inspired This Latest Tattoo Trend

Note: it's not for the faint-hearted

Whatever you thought of her dress, the verdict on Meghan Markle’s wedding day makeup – fresh, natural and glowing – was unanimous: she looked amazing. While we crossed our fingers her look might end the era of overdone Instagram makeup, the royal newlywed was unknowingly giving rise to another beauty trend: semi-permanent freckle tattoos.

It seems that Markle, whose penchant for her natural freckles is well-documented, is behind the burgeoning trend for women getting inked with fake freckles.

Cosmetic tattoo artist Gabrielle Rainbow is just one technician who’s noticed the trend, telling New Beauty she’s been “crazy busy” ever since the royal wedding. 

The semi-permanent tattoos – which cause “bee-sting-like swelling” initially – can last one to three years, fading over time just like natural freckles would.

But be warned: Cosmetic Tattoo Australia educator Val Glover-Hovan cautions that semi-permanent freckle tattoos can turn grey over time, “depending on what base colour is used,” she told The New Daily last year, and the procedure poses the same health risks as standard tattooing.

If you want to fake a freckly face, there are simpler  ways to do it: using two shades of waterproof eyeliner – one pale brown, one slightly darker – dot across the bridge of the nose and lightly onto cheeks to give the impression you’ve spent a day in the sunshine – no skin damage or needles required.

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