How Not to F*ck Up Your Face

How Not to F*ck Up Your Face

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How Not to F*ck Up Your Face
How Not to F*ck Up Your Face
This Old Body (Decor)

This Old Body (Decor)

to tattoo or not to tattoo? that's one reader's question

Valerie Monroe's avatar
Valerie Monroe
Nov 12, 2024
∙ Paid
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How Not to F*ck Up Your Face
How Not to F*ck Up Your Face
This Old Body (Decor)
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Welcome readers, old and new!

Please don’t forget to hit the ❤️ to remember that forgiveness—especially self-forgiveness—is an exercise worth practicing every day.

By the time you read this, I’ll be ensconced in my palm-sized apartment in Tokyo, trying to remember how the appliances work and what time the supermarkets open. My identity morphs from girlfriend ➡️ Grammie—a challenging transition as in Japan I’m usually the oldest person in the room, and my son is solicitous about my advanced age and safety to the point where I need to remind him (and myself) I can get along fine without supervision. (To his credit, I’ve required medical care on a couple of trips, first with a slipped disc in my back and then with a fractured ankle when I missed a step at my granddaughter’s gym.)

When I left the kids’ apartment one evening, my son called out, “Bye, Mom! Try not to break anything!” Knowing my visits are time-limited affects me on a meta-level, especially when M says with great affection, “Grammie, I’m glad you’re not dead yet.”

Me, too, Baby. Me, too.

🐉 🐉 🐉

An interesting question arrived from a tattoo-curious reader weighing the pros and cons of permanent body decor. I can’t imagine getting a tattoo, so I asked an astute beauty journalist who has been inking for years for her best advice.

HNTFUYF is a payola-free zone. I get no cut from sales when I mention a product. I share this so you know my recommendations are offered without obligation. The beauty response in this post sits quivering with excitement behind a paywall, waiting for you to discover it. For full access to all posts and the extensive archives, please become a paid subscriber at the currently discounted rate of $40/year. Can’t afford a subscription? Write to me at valeriemonroe@substack.com and I’ll give you a comp (no questions asked). 🙏

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