Glitter Tattoos - How to get crisp lines with mutli colours?

Hi Everyone

Hope you can help me, I have started doing glitter tattoos and they are awesome, however I cant seem to get the crisp straight lines when changing from one colour to another.

Ive tried leaving the stencil on and applying some glue and one colour, bit more glue and another colour, but it takes a long time and the stencil lifts up the glue off the skin when I remove it.

Ive tried glueing the whole thing and taking the stencil off, and adding the different colours to where I need it to go, but it invariably drops some off in the wrong spot and its hard to get a straight line between colours.

I use a brush to apply the glitter.

Anyone have any tips, I would appreciate it!

Thanks
Sally

I have only just started doing Glitter Tattoos myself a few weeks ago but I have been practising with different methods to find the best one. I have found the one that works best for me is to rub the skin with an alcohol wipe first and then wait a minute for the skin to warm up or rub it a little (apparently the alcohol makes the skin go cold and the stencil sticks better on warm skin). Peel the backing sticker off and place stencil on the skin. Peel the top layer off and then brush glue onto the whole stencil, wait about 30 seconds for the glue to go transparent. I use poofer bottles and a small filbert brush. Dip the brush into the glitter and instead of painting the glitter on, use the flat side of the brush and pat it down onto the stencil. To use multi colours I just put each colour where I want it to go and try to contain it to that spot. When you have finished with the glitter, peel off the stencil carefully and take care around the intricate parts. I have posted a pic of the peace sign stencil before the final peel and then after it has been taken off. There is also a pic of a multi coloured star stencil. I put the gold in the middle first and then worked my way around each "arm".
Another thing I do is wipe the brush in between colours so there is not much spill in the next colour. Hope this helps.

yeah they come out cleaner if you glue the whole thing... leave the stencil on, wait until the glue goes clear, put your colours in... I prefer to use a brush.
When it's all glittered carefully remove the stencil, remembering any seperate bits that may be covered with glitter... and then get a big brush...like a blusher brush and run it vigorously over the top. it won't ruin the tattoo but it will make it clean and crisp.
If the stencil is big sometimes I have to reapply a little glue if it's dried by the time I get to the bottom...

Wow those tattoos came out really nice!

I've been having a hard time with mine - have tried applying the glitter before removing the tattoo and the design stuck to the stencil...and then tried removing the tattoo before applying the glitter and the design didn't look anything like it was supposed to...

I guess it's just a matter of practicing to see which works best?

I do love how they look when done correctly tho' and that they'll stay on even with water, so I'll continue trying... not sure I'll ever get them quicker than a face painting though

Thanks for the tipping on warming up the skin. I never thought of that!

Carefull not to put too much glue onto the edges of the stencil.... that will lift the edges of your glitter tat when you lift the stencil up. The more acurate with the glue you can be the better... it will mean can reuse the stencil if you don't get glue all over it.
I find that if I glitter after I nave taken the stencil off the glitter sticks to whatever moisteriser or fake tan they have applied and getting the risidual off can be impossible.

Also it's good to keep in mind - sometimes the glitter tat looks better after a shower.... much cleaner, you'll probably find that the people you gave a tattoo to went home and were very happy with a very clean tattoo the next day.... it was just a bit fuzzy straight after...... just a thought.

I meant to also say that I have discovered there are different glues..... well different consistancies anyway.
The stuff I got from Glimmer was thick and awesome, in a bottle with a like nailpolish brush.... too good.... then I got some from Spectrum Face and Body Art, they are the distribitors of Tag here in Oz and the glue was watery and thin.
If I work out who's using what and what the difference is I will let you guys know..... but I will say if that tat is done with Glimmer Glue... it rocks and if it done with the lipglossy type glue... it's weak.... so the tat is only as good as the glue you use.

I use both methods (leave stencil on and apply glitter/take stencil off and apply glitter). It depends on how quick you are. I use Glimmer for all my supplies so I use the brush on method not the poofer bottle. You have to remember your working with very fine glitter. While I try to make it as precise as I can, i'm realistic in that it's going to wander if you catch my drift. Slightest wind blows while i'm applying it and it's all over. It's the nature of it.

Some tricks I use, work from the bottom or furthest out first and work your way in. This way you are not holding your brush over glued areas that don't have glitter yet. To dry the alcohol I use a small battery operated fan, just to dry it quicker. I'm also in Florida so with the humidity I also use that to dry the glue faster. When I'm doing a birthday party I let the kids pick out a max of 3 colors and I do mostly a rainbow. When I do a ppf event, I let them pick what they want. When they are super specific, like "I want tinkerbell's hair yellow" I tell them I will do my very best but remember it is glitter, there are no guarantees. I have yet to have anyone complain about it as they usually come out good regardless. Remember, it's still a form of Art!

Hope that helps!

Thanks very much for the tips! I'll keep practicing

Bumping post.