Mica Tattoos.. am I doing something wrong?

HELP! lol

They are NOT opaque and look gross

Is that normal? Is that how they are supposed to look?

I didn;t *exactly* buy mica powder, I bought 2 sets of 1 oz oxides
http://www.coastalscents.com/cfwebstore/index.cfm/product/1499_34/complete-oxide-1oz-kit.cfm

One of the sets I dumped about 2 teaspoons of pearl mica and bam, they are all shimmery.

How I do it! (which i don't recomend because again, it looks like crap)

1. rub the entire area with alcohol
2. wait for it to dry
3. apply stencil
4. apply pros-aide glue
5. grab a nasty old brush and brush/dab it on
6. Take off stencil and wipe of excess with a giant soft haired blush brush
Problem with this step is that if this stuff gets on the skin it SUCKS to take off completely. like i end up ruining the stencil trying to rub off the stuff that landed outside the stencil or excess on the stencil

Worst still, it isn't all that opaque.
Le me see if i can get a pic

What i did was NOT picture worthy.

I forgot to mention that because this stuff is so potent that I feel like i have to leave the stencil on because it is so impossible to get off on the skin around it...
BUT!!!
when i take off the stencil all the edges have dried and it comes out looking all NASTY

Also, I am not getting even coverage.....

some spots with be darker than others and somethines i get a "texture" in the middle of the tattoo where you can see i tried to apply with my old nasty brush.

Even still, the darkest parts are where the glue was the wettest.

On futher inspection...
The darkest part s indeed dark enough....
just not the rest of the tattoo lol

Are the dark spots wet (not clear) when you put them on? I find putting on one layer of glue, let it be clear, then a second layer let it be white and then powder produces a more solid look.....

Try using an applicator sponge- like for eyeshadow- to apply the oxides instead of the brush.

I don't know

I have used my micas for tats and they look good and have major staying power.. of course I just used my Pearl-Ex ones... which aren't really cosmetic, but they are all non-metal and you have the barrier of glue(and I only did them on myself..)

There are pics on this thread:http://www.facepaintforum.com/t6401-is-eyeshadow-just-as-good?highlight=eyeshadow

not sure why yours are acting like they have more filler than they should...

I leave the stencil on when I use the coastal scents Mica because- yeah- it is tough stuff! If you try to use the fluffy brush after to dust it.. whew! It turns to a big grey blob. (but when it washes off it looks great and lasts forever!) Maybe just don't brush it?

Yeah i bought poofers so i don't have to *brush* is on and a ling remover to get rid of the excess. I will keep you all updated

I am having problems with mica tattoos too. I use the glimmer glue and stencils. I have tried removing the stencil, let the glue dry, apply the mica, and try to get rid of the gray blob that results. This doesn't really look the greatest. I have tried leaving the stencil on, applying the mica while the glue is still wet, and removing the stencil which results in some of the glue and mica powder sticking to the stencil and lifting off parts of the design which looks horrible. I've tried letting the glue dry with the stencil on, apply the mica, lift the stencil, which also results in lifting part of the design. My glitter tattoos work and look great, but I don't know what to do with the mica!

I don't have much trouble with smaller stencils and the mica. I find that the mica really does work better with freehand designs. For the "mess" around the tatt, I just either take a cotton swab or makeup remover cloth and clean around it and it looks better. I guess practice will make perfect but I hate practicing with my stencils because it is such a big investment for me anyway and I really like to save them for my events.

Lori, I can DITTO everything you said to the letter. I am having some luck removing excess with my little spray bottles I use for spraying my sponges to wash off the excess.

I've got to practice again before next week at the fair. For some reason the girls want the mica instead of the gitter. We had a near disaster trying to get a line work stencil off some girls and ended up giving them free hand tattoos to compensate...it was a mess.

I feel a step-by-step experiment coming on.

D.

Thank God nobody has asked for the mica tattoos yet. I've been doing well with the glitter. I also hate practicing because I feel like I'm throwing money away when I just keep trying and trying. I'm going to try a few more times, though. I hate to just give up.

I apply just the same as I do glitter tats. I leave the stencil on. Let the glue dry to clear. I use a brush (though I am switching to eye shadow sponges, since I have a tonne of them already). Is there enough mica getting on your brush?
Grey blob? I'm confused. What's that from?

The peacock feather is mica. It stayed 7 days and I took it off, but it was still going strong at that point.

Lynnie--The gray blob happens when I remove the stencil while the glue is still wet. The mica sticks to the glue, but it also leaves gray residue on the surrounding skin, especially when the skin is sweaty. I don't get the gray residue when I leave the stencil on, but then part of the glue and mica get pulled up with the stencil when I remove it. I am using Glimmer brand glue. I am wondering if maybe I should be using a different brand.

Is the first tattoo on your arm mica also? I haven't used the different colors like the peacock feather. I only have black. I love that feather, though.

Who is your stencil supplier--I love those designs!

Update: I transferred all my micas into poofer bottles and now they are VERY opaque and super easy and exact yo apply. I no longer have an issue with "transparency" or the brush you are using to apply the mica picking up the glue.

Lori, thanks! Are you making sure your glue is clear before taking it off? I know when I started if I put it on too thickly or didn't wait long enough it would lift parts of the tattoo but I've found a thin coating and waiting works wonders.
I've used Glimmer, Amerikan Body Art, Tulip and Moonlight glues. They all work the same for me as long as I do that.

Oh, and the first tattoo is one of our velvet tattoos, not mica.

Anniel, the peacock is a stencil that I made from a woodworking stencil my friend had. The velvet tat design is freehand.

Yay, Melinda! I'm glad you figured it out!

Smart Melinda! Great idea.

D.

Thanks for the help. I tried the tulip glue last night and tonight with better results. I think the lip gloss applicator made it easier to apply a thinner layer of glue. I really didn't like the Tulip glue for glitter tattoos. It seemed like the glitter started coming off by the next morning. However, my son's mica tattoo still looked fine today. I will be watching to see how long it lasts. This bottle is almost gone. I wonder if I can refill it with Glimmer glue?

You can refill with any glue. I do. I have a squeezy bottle from a cake decorating kit (I think it was for chocolate) and I use that to refill my glue vials.

I'm so glad it worked for you!

So it seems like Denise and Lynnie have conflicting results...Denise's experiment (from another thread) showed it was best to lay the glue on thick and don't let it dry, and Lynnie says the opposite works for her. Is this just a difference between the glitter and mica?

The thicker glue when wet helps hold more glitter but I also removed the stencil right afterwards so it was probably still a little wet so there wasn't edge lifting.

I think Mica is different because it just sits on top. I would try Lynnie's directions for mica because she's done more of them (successfully) I'm going to do as Melinda suggested and transfer my black Mica to a bottle.

Maybe we can talk Lynnie into a tutorial on Mica tats??? I haven't bought any other colors of Mica powders but they look good in the pictures.

D.