By Kristin Wilinkiewicz | Staff Writer –
CAB’s most recent Things for Thursday, Temporary Tattoos, was a hit among students last Thursday on the front lawn of Wakehurst, allowing many to test a temporary version of an often permanent expression.
About 120 people attended the Temporary Tattoo event held by the Campus Activities Board on Thursday, September 19th—a sunny, mild-weathered day. The chatter of students mused about a variety of tattoo templates and colors to choose from.
The students were able to choose from a variety spray-on temporary, glitter or press-on tattoos that could be as simple as a small skull outline to complexly detailed flowers, thanks to the company Party People Inc.
Some of the more popular tattoos, according to Brigid Fleming, a member of the Party People staff, were the anchor and feather tattoos among girls, and, oddly enough, unicorn and kitten designs among guys.
“Some of the most bizarre temporary tattoos for me to do,” says Fleming, “are ones placed just above the waistband on the lower back… on males.”
Temporary tattoos are applied by placing a stencil over the skin, and then a machine is used to spray paint over the stencil. Afterwards, the stencil is peeled away, leaving a blocky design. Depending on the quality of the ink, the tattoo may stay on the skin for more than a week if taken care of correctly.
The glitter tattoos are applied by a very different process, using a glue stencil that is placed directly on the skin, and then covered in glitter.
One student, a sophomore at the university, Viviana Torres, had significant meaning behind her temporary tattoo of an anchor.
“The biggest reason I chose the anchor tattoo was because it has always been a reminder of my dream of wanting to join the Coast Guard… it is actually part of the official Coast Guard emblem. I’ve always dreamed of living my life on the ocean as well, so getting an anchor was a good combination of both of my dreams.”
She says that she is sure that she wants to someday make this tattoo permanent as a reminder of the dream she once had, after she found out she could not join the Coast Guard.
Things for Thursday is an event that often includes interesting, personalized free products for students at Salve. Past Things for Thursdays have ranged from free scarves to cactuses.
The company that was hired for Temporary Tattoos has also been hired by CAB for other events, as they provide a variety of services for entertainment purposes, from carnival games to food stands.
