AIRPLANE DECOR

Freehand henna on myself, a few days ago.

These past days I have been gathering, organizing and purchasing supplies for our henna tattoos season – every summer we get plenty of customers since I have been doing this for quite a few years already – and our weather assures lots of skin exposure :) . Also, I have been remaking my design book because, honestly, I am tired to death of making the same tattoos over and over again LOL… most people come to us without a clear idea of what they want and (very sadly) a complete ignorance of the heritage and meaning of henna tattoos – they only want a pretty, non-permanent adornment, and care very little for its symbolic and magickal meaning.

Henna is the powder made from the leaves of the Lawsonia Inermis plant, which is mixed with an acidic liquid to release its tannins on the skin. Though its use in India is the most known to the general public, there are many other Arabic and African countries that use henna and many different styles for its decorations and symbolism – I particularly love Moroccan style, but since I started my adventures on body art making permanent tattoos, a lot of modern art is included in my work too.

Something I have to explain over and over to our customers is that there is no such thing as black henna. Henna stains in shades from orange to burgundy, and its colour changes from a softer to a darker tone after it is exposed to the air, depending of the type of henna and each person’s skin chemistry. Black henna is very dangerous as it contains PPD (para-phenylenediamine), which can cause permanent scars and severe life-lasting allergies – even if you don’t get black henna again in your life, you will always be allergic to PPD, and there is PPD on may chemical dyes; most hair dyes contain it, as well as fabric dye, fur and leather dye, and many other products.

So, if you are considering getting henna this summer, first of all make sure that the artist knows what he/she’s doing. Do some research on your side if possible, and don’t be afraid to make as many questions as you need to the artist – if he/she is a serious professional, he/she won’t have any problem in giving you all the information you need. If made the natural way, henna is completely harmless, even for kids and pregnant women. Only kids under 6 years old should not get hennaed, to avoid any allergy related to the fact that their immune system it’s still developing.

In a spiritual sense, body art is one of the oldest forms of blessing and protection, and henna is no exception. Getting a henna tattoo should always be a spiritual experience, and when done properly, it’s one of the most relaxing, inspiring experiences you can have. I’ve had customers cry out their problems, tell their deepest secrets and even fall asleep in pure bliss while getting a henna tattoo. Surrounded by the scent of our herbal incense, under the embrace of soft meditation music, our customers not only get a piece of wearable artwork, but a complete spa-like treatment so they can commune with the powerful, magickal energy of Henna.

You can buy this house fully loaded with furniture. I can really see the appeal there. I have more furniture and house decorations in my inventory than skins, hairs, clothes COMBINED so I didn't think that was a good idea, but I did buy some since the textures are perfection and they go so well together, for instance the living room furniture. The kitchen is from RCD and a few bits are from Ramos. Riley came to us from VKC. :)