Valentine's Day is February 14th, and I can't think of a better way to put your favorite fellow in the mood for romance than to surprise him with a carefully placed rose tattoo as illustrated in this photo . You'll find dozens of quality temporary rose tattoos in all sizes and styles at Funtoos.com.

Of course, roses are not the only body art that works for Valentine's day. Hearts are also great for this special holiday.

Whatever the occasion, quality waterslide temporary tattoos can make it special. In Japan, waterslide tattoos are a popular form of body art with businesses that specialize in providing just the right "tattoo" for any special event. Funtoos.com is the exclusive importer for these quality products which are called paper tattoos.

Labels: funtoos, temporary tattoos, Valentine rose, waterslide tattoos

I continue to be impressed with the appearance and long life of the Tinsley Transfer Tattoos I've recently added to the Funtoos.com lineup. Here's what my tester in Canada has to say?

"I am not a fan of spiders (understatement) but I couldn’t resist the Tinsley Black Widow. Looking at it on the website or on the sheet it arrived on, it wasn’t all that impressive but I kept bringing it out and thinking “on the calf, yeah, on the calf” until finally tonight I had to put it on. In the one shot you can just see a small tattoo on my ankle – that one is permanent to celebrate my first marathon. To see the two together in reality versus picture, you can’t tell if they’re permanent or temporary or one of each. It’s really, uh, WOW!

Oh, and the Tinsley Skull and Roses on my arm? Still going strong, even earned me a lecture from a doctor friend until I convinced him it was temporary and he was sitting across the table from me! There’s no wear showing at all after 6 days.

Thanks again for all the fun your products have given me!

Kristie"

These premium quality tattoos have been developed by the award-winning Tinsley Studios to provide makeup artists in the movie and TV industry with realistic tattoo designs that can be quickly applied to actors and last for an extended period of time. The result is a temporary tattoo that far exceeds the quality standards of the traditional waterslide tattoos on the market today. I'm pleased to have another premium quality line to go along with the Japanese Paper Tattoos I offer my customers on Funtoos.com.

Labels: black widow tattoo, funtoos, spider temporary tattoo, temporary tattoos

I did extensive testing with the Tinsley Transfer tattoos before adding them to Funtoos.com, but what's really important is the feedback I get from other people. Kristie C. is one of my "tattoo testers" who is an excellent critic of the quality and appearance of temporary tattoos. Here's what she says about her first encounter with a Tinsley Transfer tattoo.

"Finally got around to putting on one of the three Tinsley Tattoos I ordered. Wow. All day I would get a shock whenever I saw it. It’s the most realistic tattoo I’ve ever worn. I had 3 different people come up and ask me if when I got it done. Another co-worker decided that it couldn’t be real because it wasn’t there yesterday and there was no redness around it today. I’m sorry the pictures show shiny, darn flash! It’s not that the quality of the transfer is better but I think the design looks so real, so traditional that the brain automatically registers it as real.

I can’t thank you enough for all the wonderful tattoos you give us access to and the marvelous ability to change our minds and style as frequently as we want."

You can check out all the Tinsley Transfer tattoos in a special category at Funtoos.com.

Labels: fake tattoo, fake tattoos, funtoos, tattoos, temporary tattoos, waterslide tattoos

Finding quality temporary tattoos is an ongoing challenge. The only way I've ever been able to judge the quality of a fake tattoo is to actually wear it. This real-world testing is what I use when I add new tattoos at Funtoos.com. I tested dozens of tattoos over the past 3 months. Some made the cut, others didn't. You can see the winners in our 2011 New Additions category. When I test a tattoo, I apply it on my arm and judge it as it ages over several days. My reference for premium quality is Japanese Paper Tattoos, but I also accept some traditional tattoos if they meet my standards for artwork and hold up for at least 3 to 5 days.

The photos shown here are some of the tattoos I've tested recently. I usually take pictures of each tattoo at various points of its life so I can compare the appearance as it degrades.

There are two enemies of temporary tattoos. First is abrasion...rubbing from clothing or other things. Second is oil. Contamination by lotions and suntan oil is an obvious example, but the body also secretes oil which is absorbed by the tattoo from contact with the skin. The amount of natural body oils varies from person to person and at different areas on the body. My wife can put the same tattoo on her chest and her ankle at the same time. The one on her chest only lasts 2 or 3 days while the one on her ankle lasts a week or longer. That's why I always do my real-world testing on my arm as a consistent reference.

If you looked at the 2001 New Additions, you'll notice a dozen FX series tattoos. These are the Tinsley Transfer tattoos that were developed for the film and TV industries. My real-world testing showed these to be very near the premium quality of the Japanese Paper Tattoos that I import.

Having been in this business for over 20 years, I know that there is a big difference in quality when it comes to temporary tattoos. That's why I do so much real-world testing to provide my customers with the best quality I can find.

Labels: fake tattoo, fake tattoos, funtooguy, funtoos, paper tattoos, tattoos, temporary tattoos

This photo was sent to me by a customer recently. It was his 3-year old son in 1983 wearing a cobra Japanese Paper Tattoo on each arm. It reminded me of the excitement when waterslide tattoos were first introduced in America.

Don Ling, a Hollywood makeup artist, was working on a film in Japan when he discovered them in the early 80's. Don brought a bunch of them home with him and set up a booth at a festival in California. It was a huge success, and after a few more festivals, Don moved back to his hometown in Minnesota and began distributing his "Removable Tattoo Parlors" nationwide. I became one of his dealers in 1988. Don Ling was the only game in town for a number of years.

I had good success with the events I worked, but due to my background in retail I decided to try selling temporary tattoos to end users by mail order. It worked, and I was soon shipping temporary tattoos all over the country and mailing out color catalogs. I became one of Don Ling's best customer's and negotiated a price that allowed me to supply dealers of my own. For several years my dealer sales exceeded my retail sales.

Everyone was trying to figure out how the Japanese Paper Tattoos were made. Finally, someone discovered they could be printed much the way waterslide decals were. After considerable trial and error, some acceptable products were developed, but nobody has ever been able to duplicate the quality and longevity of Japanese Paper Tattoos.

Since it cost less to produce temporary tattoos on printing presses, the early 90's began to see a flood of temporary tattoos in stores and vending machines. Unfortunately, the quality was not as good as Japanese Paper Tattoos, but the price was lower. It's nice that you can still get a quality product...if you're willing to pay a little more for it.

Labels: fake tattoo, funtooguy, funtoos, paper tattoos, tattoo event, temporary tattoos, waterslide tattoos

I'm continuing my search for new temporary tattoos to add to my catalog. This evaluation includes 3 temporary tattoos from different sources. They all looked pretty good on day 2 and I was especially interested in seeing how the cherries would hold up. The skull in the middle was one of the premium quality Japanese Paper Tattoos I import from Japan. I included it as a reference. The eagle and anchor was from the third source. Click on any of the images for a larger view.

By the third day, The cherries were really breaking down, but the other two were still looking good.

By the fifth day, the cherries were completely gone with just a hint that there was ever anything there. The other two still looked good, but the eagle and anchor was beginning to show signs of breaking down. The skull, of course, still looked good.

This is a good example of how much the quality can vary from one manufacturer to another. During the 23 years I've been marketing temporary tattoos I've seen a wide range of quality in the temporary tattoos flooding the market today. Unlike paper tattoos, they are manufactured on printing presses using special inks and an adhesive to bond it to the skin. The tattoos are printed on a decal stock paper that releases the tattoo image when dampened. By definition, what we refer to as temporary tattoos should actually be called "waterslide tattoos" since they are actually a specialized version of waterslide decals. Traditional temporary tattoos printed on presses (as most are these days) will normally look good for 3 to 5 days.

Although Japanese Paper Tattoos are also waterslide tattoos, they are produced with a more complex process that is similar to silk screening. Due to this more expensive process, they look more realistic and normally last from one week to two weeks of longer.

I should clarify the term "normally" as it applies to how a long a temporary tattoo should last. In addition the the quality of the tattoo, there are other factors that influence how long a waterslide temporary tattoo might look good. Rubbing from clothing or other objects will shorten the life since it is on the surface of the skin. There's a good discussion and video you can view here.

Labels: fake tattoo, fake tattoos, funtooguy, funtoos, paper tattoos, temporary tattoos

Every guy out there would love a rose, strategically placed, on his sweetheart on Valentines Day...or most any day for that matter. For you ladies out there, this is a tip worth noting. The nice thing about temporary tattoos is...they're temporary. You can place them anywhere you like and wear them for a few hours or a few days. Most traditional temporary tattoos, made on printing presses, will last 3 to 5 days and can be removed with alcohol. If you want a temporary tattoo with a longer life and more realistic look, you should choose a Japanese paper tattoo which is made with a more complex printing process.

Just like the jewelery, makeup, and clothes you wear; temporary tattoos can accentuate your appearance. Your "canvas" is your entire body, so let your imagination run wild. There are hundreds of images to select from.

Labels: fake tattoo, fake tattoos, fashion, fashion tattoos, funtooguy, funtoos, Lust Lady, paper tattoos, rose for Valentine's Day, rose tattoo, temporary tattoos, Valentine's Day