Philadelphia Tatto Arts Convention

 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If this old adage ever rang true, it was at the Philadelphia Tattoo Convention, last week. Why is it the ultimate reminder? As opposed to strolling through an art gallery and marveling or even purchasing an admired piece, these owners embellish their bodies with personal masterpieces.  Their bodies are decorated with the permanence of art varying from bloody, gory and frighteningly dark images to the lightness and gaiety of Pixar characters and the 50’s classic, calendar girls. There were many expressions of spirituality and religion, as well.

If you are a lover of art, this was the place to be. The talent in this convention center was staggering and leaves one in awe, whether or not you choose to adorn. 

Walking proudly, shirtless, sleeveless, or with one pant leg rolled up, people were showing off their bandages that covered the newly decorated raw skin like badges of honor. They appeared so happy to have purchased their fresh ink. 

One thing that struck me is there was the medley of people attending. Every age, size, weight and color was represented. There is no judgment or prejudice there. The common thread was they were all there for their appreciation of the art and the ink! The loud buzz of the coil machines was steady as every artist drew their permanent design on their eager for the pain, customer.

I love hearing the stories behind the selection of a tattoo. Men are often surprisingly romantic and sentimental in their selection. They are passionate and have deep rooted reasons for their designs, not that women don’t. But, it does take me back when the 6 ft. 5 in. guy explains that the angel on his shoulder represents his mother because she raised him right. I love it!

My experience in performing scar re-pigmentation or guy-liner on men is that they typically have less tolerance for elective pain than women. Women start yanking their brows out at 12. We are just more accustomed to choosing pain, especially in the name of aesthetics. Men typically avoid pain, whenever possible. I remember, years back, attempting to wax a man’s back and he screamed so loud, I swallowed my gum. I left him with a stripe down his back like a skunk, and no, I didn’t feel bad. Generally, when I have a male client, I pray he has tattoos, so I know he will tolerate scar camouflage or an aesthetic tattoo of sort. Now, I am in awe at the patience and tolerance of the men I witnessed sitting for hours to sport an adornment that touches their heart. Many come equipped with head phones and zone out with their music. Some even have the ability to fall asleep! Seriously? I touch some guys with my machine and they coil into fetal position. Go figure.

I also noticed much more light and romantic art as opposed to the dark, skull and dagger art. Beautiful women’s faces were being tatted up and down arms and legs and wings spanning across the backs of both guys and girls, women and men were quite popular. Mom and daughter tattoos are the rage and listening to them agree on a design was hysterical. Countless tattoos so magnificently done, kept my head spinning as I perused the isles filled with more than 500 artists. I did notice the lack of tribal arm bands and tramp stamps going on. There were more sides, ribcages and shoulders being inscribed. Sleeves and half sleeves were plentiful. They were so elaborate, intricate and colorful and some crawled up onto the chest. The art was breathtaking. Some sleeves had a theme and some were just unrelated yet meaningful images to the beholder that were woven with flow and connectivity. It’s hard not to stare as you try to decipher a beautiful collage in a sleeve.

Of course, some attendees as well as artists go to extremes. Some had gauges in their ears that I could hop through, they were so painfully large. There was one set of enormous dreads on a blonde I found quite interesting. There were confusingly woven with various colors of yarn and several other unrelated textiles. I couldn’t tear my eyes off them. I found myself looking for my lost cat in there.

At our Beau Institute booth, bystanders were amazed at our creation of eyebrows that simulated hair. The photos of before and after a woman’s mastectomy, sporting the 3-D nipple areola complex blew them away. Many artists as well as attendees flocked our booth to inquire about our training and our techniques. My entire staff and I enjoyed the experience and can’t wait until next year. We all left incredibly inspired, profoundly moved and beyond impressed. If you see a tattoo convention in your area, you won’t want to miss it. Be sure you are on our email list to stay tuned for our next tattoo show exhibit.

Rose Marie Beauchemin

President, Director of Education, The Beau Institute

Is RED in your makeup bag?

As we clean our closets and change them over to our wools and cold weather gear, have you recently dumped your makeup bag to clean and change your makeup? The Winter colors tend to be vibrant but deeper in tone and you couldn't possibly miss how huge Red is, this year. Even Taylor Swift named her recent album, Red!

Where do you begin cleaning up your makeup? I suggest a case for your Summer makeup that gets put away, much like our clothes do. Bring out and bring on the deeper more robust tones of your colors, such as:
Mossy Greens for the crease of your eyes with a light pearly green or a pearly beige for your lids.
Add to this an earthy brick or deep apricot for your lips to bring balance to this gorgeous selection.

Aren't sure if you can wear Red or which Red you should be wearing? Ask yourself the following questions to help you make the perfect decision. But, let me first mention that we all have a Red that is OUR Red! Now, lets go.

Where does your SKIN appear creamier in the following colors? Don't match your hair or your eyes, and don't think about which colors you already own or prefer. Just take notice to your SKIN.
Is it:

• black vs brown
• white vs ivory
• hot pink vs orange
• light pink vs peach
• mauve vs granny apple green
• burgundy vs rust
• Camel color Beige vs charcoal gray?

If your SKIN appears creamier and you know you look well and get compliments in the colors in the column on the left, you will most likely wear a cool, pink Red or even a burgundy Red. Avoid orangey or tomato reds to look your best. A Red that is too warm on you can appear garish and the cool Red will appear elegant.

If your SKIN appears creamier in the colors on the right, you will want to wear a tomato, Mandarin or a brick Red. Avoid the pink Reds and blue Reds and stay to the warmer spectrum. These will light you up and make you glow!
This rule will also apply when you are selecting a blush shade. Knowing if you should be in the warm or cool spectrum makes selection easy and fun and you won’t accumulate the One-Hit-Wonders that you pick up after a week and ask yourself, what was I thinking? You will find you have direction and will wear what you purchase.

Now you have the tools you need to make your selection - go red!!

Nouveau Contour World Conference in Amsterdam - Inspiration for all involved!

It was an honor to be invited to present at The Nouveau Contour World Conference in Amsterdam, last month, hosted by Armand Hoes. Practitioners, distributors and trainers from Twenty-five different countries attended and Armand graciously welcomed them in each of their native language.

Each presenter demonstrated their unique approach and application to procedures. Those attending the classes left with new techniques and renewed inspiration, myself included. There's nothing like getting to watch your peers work. This happens so infrequently and is such a gift. Karen Betts did eyebrows on a young, Alopecia girl that were breathtaking. I did an areola tattoo on a breast cancer survivor that turned out to be a Reiki Master. She had a spellbinding effect on the audience and did incredibly interesting work in hospice. It seemed as though every model in every case had some inspirational quality that permeated the room.

There was such a beautiful exchange amidst the attendees. Nothing was sold, pitched or purchased. This conference was pure education.

Armand was definitely the Host with the Most! He saw to every detail and arranged evenings for us global distributors to exchange ideas and share marketing strategies, etc. It is also so interesting to hear our business benefits and challenges from around the world, first hand.

Amsterdam is the sweetest city, filled with the bustle of bicycles and canal boats. I always feel so at home there. It is super friendly, compact and completely accessible and filled with extraordinary scenery. Romantically lit bridges over the countless canals make Amsterdam such a great walking city. Its rich history is intriguing and the art galleries are breathtaking. This was my third trip there for Nouveau Contour and I look forward to going back. We will keep you posted on the dates for 2014 and if at all possible, try to make it and become inspired.

The Beau National Day of Hope-The Reward of a Lifetime!

There is no greater reward than helping to restore the confidence in someone's appearance and I found this great reward along with tremendous inspiration working with breast cancer survivors.

For years I repeatedly heard from women that they couldn''t do one more thing or go through one more surgery or procedure, not even the tattooing, following their mastectomy. The duress of facing their mortality and often the debilitation of chemotherapy, was all they could bear.

These clients would painfully explain how they avoided both mirrors and their husband's or significant other's eyes from viewing this unfinished canvas. Then, once the dimensional areola complex was tattooed, the naked breast mound took on a new life of realism and familiarity, thus producing confidence.

The issue these women have is they find difficulty in getting their health insurance to cover the tattooing procedure after they are years away from their breast reconstruction. So, I began to offer The Beau Day of Hope, twice each year, (October and May) where I volunteer my services for these women.

Other practitioners offered to come and work with me and we were able to accommodate many more women. It was then, I realized, collectively, permanent makeup practitioners can make this a national volunteer program and reach hundreds of women in need of areola tattooing. I launched the concept at the Naturalook Conference in California, in August, and the excitement was infectious.

To be a part of this process is exhilarating and I am hoping that 100 practitioners across the country will participate in our first year, as a national effort for the October 29, 2013, Beau National Day of Hope.

NaturaLook Conference in Disneyland

WOW! It was truly inspirational! After spending five days with fellow practitioners and trainers, I came away so inspired. As an instructor and practitioner, I always say,"when you teach you learn!"

It was a honor to be among so many great speakers and amazing women. A beautiful tapestry of work and friendship was continuously woven through our 84 attendees over the two days. As I watched new friendships being born and listened to their exchange of commonalities, approaches and ultimately questions to each other regarding procedures. The absence of a personal agenda and focus on sharing ones' experience and knowledge helped to create the magical atmosphere. Given this, the focus remained on education and that was our goal. I was in awe. I am deeply appreciative of the graciousness of all of our attendees and the way in which my presentations were received. I also am thankful for the insightful comments.

A very special thank you and gratitude to Jeanne Lusby and her staff for putting together a wonderful conference that allowed us to create a community of sharing and learning which helps us all to grow and make positive advances in the field of permanent cosmetics. I am looking forward to the next one; until then stay beautiful, grow and continue to be inspired!

We are ALL in this together - Breast Cancer does not discriminate

We must continue to be brave, courage and support all women who are faced with breast cancer.

As an instructor that specializes in teaching 3-dimensional areola tattooing following a mastectomy, I have had the privilege of working with many brave women that have been faced with the same difficult choice made recently by Angelina Jolie. I commend her for sharing her plight with the world. I believe her bravery and generosity will reach far and wide in giving many woman the courage to choose the same.

So often, women are not given the opportunity to choose a prophylactic mastectomy. The presence of a cancer made this choice for them. Although, it may be understood that this is a life-saving surgery, this knowledge does not make it any less traumatic for a woman to be faced with losing her breasts. Electing this surgery is yet, another story.

Angelina's sharing this can impact women in several ways. First, it reminds us that cancer does not discriminate. Money and fame do not make you any less exempt. Also, young women facing cancer can relate to Jolie. She is a busy mom, a career woman and wife and admittedly a magnificent representation of feminine beauty, even if you are not a fan. Yet, she appears to feel no less feminine as she recently strutted the red carpet.

The rich and famous celebrities have proven to be as vulnerable as ever other woman have provided us with great role models who have chosen various modalities of breast cancer treatment. Christina Applegate barely missed a beat, rising like a phoenix following a bilateral mastectomy. We also have Suzanne Sommers who inspired many by taking the naturopathic route and appears to be in robust health. We thank them all for sharing.

In reality, we, as women are all in this together. Breast cancer appears to be at epidemic proportions. Having the privilege of teaching in cancer institutes such as Memorial Sloan Kettering and Stephanie Spielman Cancer Center, countless more and in my own practice, I have met many breast cancer survivors that have become my heroes and role models. I am in awe at the bravery and healthy attitudes of these women. There is much to be said about the camaraderie and the support that these women extend to one another and I am grateful to be invited to join hands with them and womankind until we find the cure.

'

It's All About You & Your BEAUty, Inside & Out. Commit Today to Filling Your Bucket

It's that time of year again - to show off your skin (whether you want to or not).

Take the time to evaluate your skin to put your best face forward.

Start this summer with a clean, fresh face and a commitment to a daily sunscreen.  We are excited to introduce a new light weight foundation with at SP15 that is perfect for summer and all year long.

Does your face have residual damage from last summer's sun exposure? This is the perfect time to schedule your skin care treatments, whether it is: IPL Treatments (Intense Pulse Light), Microdermabrasion or a more serious peel to remove any telltale sun spots or hyper-pigmentation.

 

Photo-damage is accumulative, so don't allow discolorations to build up or darken before seeing your aesthetician or doctor for removal.

Don't forget about your legs. Many of us suffer from unsightly leg veins. Don't let it keep you from wearing, shorts, skirts and capris this summer. Consider Sclerotherapy for leg veins. Please consider scheduling an appointment with your doctor today. There may be some residual bruising or multiple sessions, so don't wait.

My commitment to writing this blog to remind you, each and every one of you how important you are and share my personal favorite lessons learned.
Feel free to share how you are going to fill your cup with your beauty plans, this month, on our FaceBook page. We will look forward to hearing from you. Remember, we love video and pictures too! 

If we do not take care of ourselves, our cups feel empty. No one, not even our loving significant others or our children will come to us and say "you look a bit tired, you seem to do everything for everyone so I made you an appointment for your eyebrows to be touched up". Its not happening! You will be considered fortunate if your significant other scheduled you a manicure. We must go off and fill our own cups and ultimately, I always find I have more to give when I have taken care of myself.

 

ITS ALL ABOUT YOU AND YOUR BEAUTY INSIDE AND OUT, COMMIT TODAY TO FILLING YOUR BUCKET!