Here’s what Cat had to say about the experience of getting and caring for her new lovely lip piercing:
“I have always idolized the pinup and burlesque queens of the golden era, especially Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn made me feel comfortable in my own skin. She showed me that being a curvaceous girl was not a flaw. It was an easy decision to get my Monroe pierced in honor of my idol."
The anticipation leading up to the piercing was far worse than the actual piercing itself. I went with my friend and fellow burlesque performer Jojo, who also got her lip and nose pierced that day (check our YouTube channel to see her videos). It was easier to have a friend there in case of panic. This was my first professional piercing. I was dumb and pierced my nose with a safety pin when I was 14, it worked out for me ok, but is NOT recommended. So I did not really know what to expect. After watching about 100 people get the same piercing on YouTube, I was ready.
James, from American Skin Art, was so soothing, professional, and fast. He made me smile in order to find the perfect placement for my permanent beauty mark, then cleaned and clamped the area. The poke did hurt, but in a kind of exhilarating and wonderful way. He effortlessly put the jewelry in and then POOF my look was complete. I felt like that little gem had been there forever. To me this piercing was less of a body modification and more like a step to body completion (which is how I feel about every piercing and tattoo I get). It went with my face so flawlessly that my own Mother, a woman who is VERY against body modification of any kind (especially on her only daughter), said she thought it suited me.
It has now been a little over a month since I got my Monroe pierced and it healed up excellently. The redness and swelling went away within a day. I cleaned it with aftercare spray, which was awesome, because the worst thing you can do to a new piercing is touch it or aggravate it. I must admit it is hard not to play with the new piece of metal in your mouth, but JUST SAY NO; it does bad things. After two weeks I went back in to get a smaller bar put in, because they pierce you with a longer bar to accommodate for swelling. I continued the cleaning regiment until it was completely healed. I now have a healthy, healed, sparkly, new addition to my face. I couldn’t be happier.
The only “problem” with this piercing is the fact that I immediately wanted more. So stay tuned for my next piercing adventure. I am thinking about a microdermal under my right eye (in honor of another one of my heroines’ beauty marks, Dita Von Teese).” What do you guys think?
Style Extra: The lovely Cat got pierced in the same parlor as our other retro vixen, Jojo. The coolest part? As she was receiving her Monroe piercing, images of Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol were still visible in the background.
