UK beauty enthusiast Tash Evans went viral after experiencing extreme swelling from a lip blush tattoo procedure, leaving her temporarily resembling a character from Pixar’s “Monsters, Inc.” — but says she has no regrets.
Evans, 21, underwent the trending cosmetic procedure on January 18, aiming to enhance the color and contour of her lips using a needle-based technique. However, she quickly found herself grappling with an unexpected and dramatic reaction.
“Nobody shows you this side of getting lip blush,” Evans shared in the caption of a now-viral TikTok video, which has garnered more than 2.2 million views. In the clip, her lips appear swollen to nearly five times their natural size — a side effect that sparked shock online and drew comparisons to animated characters.
“BRB, lips are en route to the Michelin Man’s family reunion,” she quipped in the post, later telling NeedToKnow that her look reminded her of the character Fungus from Monsters, Inc., who infamously gets his face trapped in a scream machine. “I had a jump scare when I looked at myself in the mirror.”
Evans noted that swelling began almost immediately during the procedure, which was done by a local practitioner. Despite the exaggerated reaction, she said the technician was professional and supportive. “She was really nice and responded promptly to my messages. I don’t think it’s the practitioner’s fault,” Evans said.
The swelling subsided within two days, but not before eliciting some blunt responses from her family. “My mom said how ‘ugly’ I looked,” she recounted. “My dad said I didn’t need it. When my boyfriend saw me, we both burst out laughing and he shut the door on me.”
Still, Evans managed to conceal her temporarily puffed appearance by wearing a face mask during errands and staying home from work. She also declined to seek emergency medical attention, despite an influx of online comments warning of potential allergic reactions. “People were saying it’s an allergic reaction and were telling me to go to [the emergency room],” she said. “I wasn’t going to do that. There are more important people who need [emergency care].”
Lip blush tattoos have surged in popularity among young beauty enthusiasts seeking semi-permanent makeup alternatives. But Evans’ experience underscores the unpredictability of such cosmetic procedures — a reality that has also been echoed by others. Influencer Whitney Leavitt recently shared her own dramatic swelling following a similar treatment, joking, “It’s giving Jeff Fungus from Monsters, Inc.”
Despite the temporary chaos, Evans says she’s thrilled with the final results. “I’m happy with the results and color now that the swelling has gone down,” she said. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever done. Now they look great.
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