Temporary tattoos were "made to fade". Some still aren't.

The temporary tattoo company has updated its product description after customer complaints about persistent tattoos.

In May 2021, Claudia Mangione got a matchstick tattoo on her rib cage. Ephemeral, the studio that tattooed her, had just opened in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood, and her draw was brand name tattoo ink that was advertised as "made to fade" nine to 15 months later. the application.

This is not the case for Ms. Mangione, 25 years old. The clean line art "now looks like a spatula," she said, nearly 22 months later.

For some clients, tattoos of the business turned out to be less short-lived than they had hoped. Nearly two years after the startup opened its studio to a slew of articles, including one in The New York Times, some early customers have flocked to Reddit and TikTok to lament tattoos that have lasted more than 15 months. Several shared their regrets in an article published in The San Francisco Chronicle in November.

Early on, the Ephemeral waiver included warnings that "the exact duration during which the last tattoo may be shorter or longer" than nine to 15 months, and the tattooing process "could leave permanent marks on individuals".

But the company's public descriptions of the tattoos' fade times have changed. The company's website once claimed that the tattoos would disappear in a year — despite the caveat in the disclaimers — but that language no longer exists. On Friday, the tagline reads, "Real tattoos, made to fade."

On February 3, Jeff Liu, Ephemeral's CEO, emailed customers with an update to the company's explanation of how long tattoos last; the email also introduced a "no regrets guarantee" that offers refunds to customers whose tattoos last more than three years.

ImageClaudia Mangione also felt when she got a matchstick tattoo in May 2021 that she would be gone in a year. Twenty-two months later, it's not gone - and "looks like a spatula," she said. Credit... Claudia Mangione

The nine to 15 month timeframe was superseded in Mr. Liu's email by an expectation that "70% of all ephemera will disappear in less than two years and some longer. The website also states: "Don't worry: your ephemera will disappear."

In In an interview with The New York Times on February 10, Mr. Liu said that describing the tattoos as "gone in a year" was "oversimplified" and had caused confusion among customers. nine to 15 months reflected what the company expected from the majority of customers, he said in an email, adding that the company is constantly testing new languages ​​on its website.

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