Bride-To-Be Slams Makeup Artist For 'Trashy' Tattoos

Makeup artist finds out her tattoos are still an issue in 2016

A beauty stylist recently dealt with tattoo discrimination with such grace that we have to applaud her zen-like ways. Kymm McLayne works as a makeup artist in Charlotte, North Carolina. A wedding planner referred her and her beautiful work to a bride-to-be. The unknown potential client checked out her work and instead of booking McLayne or hiring someone else she proceeded to write heinous things about a woman she had never met all because of her tattoos.

“I don’t want someone who is covered in tattoos ewww,” the woman shared. “Sorry but I can’t stand tattoos. It so trashy.” She went on to share that her mom wouldn’t hesitate to discriminate against a stranger because of tattoos. “I just hope my mom doesn’t drive me crazy when I am trying to relax. ‘Why did your planner choose some white trash with tattoos to do your hair and makeup.'” It’s 2016, right?

“And my other concern is when [the photographer] is taking pictures of me. I want to see how beautiful I look,” she wrote. “I don’t want to look at the pictures and just see tattoos. It sticks out you know?” Um, no, we don’t know because that isn’t how wedding photos or beauty work. For one, wedding photos are almost always entirely focused on the bride. Even if tattoos aren’t your thing, your opinion of them is just that – an opinion. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder is a famous saying for a reason.

When choosing someone for a service, judging their outward appearance instead of the merit of their work is just… yuck. McLayne wrote on Facebook, “It’s something I’ve not publicly acknowledged. But I get judged every day because of my tattoos.”

“I can’t deny that it’s hurtful,” McLayne shared. “But like most judgmental hypocrites, this bride texted me today (unaware that the planner shared these texts) and begged me to do her wedding, gushing about how wonderful my work is.” So after all that hateful nonsense the bride had the audacity to reach out to McLayne. This classy stylist handled the situation so well. “I politely informed her I was already booked.”

McLayne went on to explain why treating people with decency is so important to her. “Now you know why I fight so hard for equal rights for women, the gay community, and innocent animals – because despite being a successful, educated, business woman, I’m still considered just white trash.”

“This woman made me look beautiful at my wedding. She drove through snow and ice when other vendors bailed. Tattoos don’t exist to offend people. For thousands of years, humans have decorated their bodies for all kinds of reasons,” friend and former client Maureen Rich Wallace shared about the stylist on Facebook.

She added an important note that’s always worth repeating, “When we dismiss a person’s talent, value and contribution based on the design of their skin, style of their hair or any number of chosen physical attributes, we miss out. Not just on that person, but on the beauty of diversity.”