If you're here because you've just found out Tattly is gone — we're sorry. Tattly was one of those brands that made temporary tattoos feel like they actually mattered.
Here's what happened, why it happened, and what's worth considering if you're looking for something to fill the gap.
What happened to Tattly?
Tattly officially shut down on 23 February 2026, after 15 years of operation. The website now shows a goodbye message from the team. No more orders, no more new designs.
The short version: BIC killed it.
The longer version: French corporation BIC — yes, the pen and lighter company — acquired Tattly in 2022 as part of a push into what they called "Skin Creative." That division also included Inkbox (the semi-permanent jagua tattoo brand they'd bought for $65 million) and BodyMark (their own temporary tattoo markers).
By late 2025, the numbers weren't working. Sales had declined significantly since the acquisitions. In December 2025, BIC's CEO Rob Versloot announced the entire Skin Creative division would be shut down — Tattly, Inkbox, and Rocketbook (a smart notebook brand they'd also acquired) — all gone by the end of Q1 2026.
23 February 2026 was the last day. Tattly and Inkbox shut down on the exact same date.
Tattly's founder, Tina Roth Eisenberg — a Swiss-born designer based in Brooklyn known online as @swissmiss — had sold the company to BIC in 2022 and moved into an advisory role. Her reaction on Threads after the shutdown was public and raw: she said she'd built Tattly "lovingly" for 11 years and was heartbroken to see BIC shut it down. Some contributing artists said they weren't even notified before the announcement.
What made Tattly special
To understand why people are upset, you have to understand what Tattly actually was — because it wasn't just a temporary tattoo company.
Tina started Tattly in July 2011 because her daughter came home from a birthday party with what she later described as "hideous, badly produced temporary tattoos." As a designer, she couldn't let it go. She reached out to illustrator friends, asked them to create proper designs, and launched Tattly two months later from Brooklyn.
What set it apart from every other temporary tattoo brand:
Real artists, real royalties. Tattly worked with over 120 professional artists and illustrators. Every artist received a cut of every sale — and by the time of the BIC acquisition, Tattly had paid out over $1.5 million in artist royalties. That's not a marketing line. That's a financial commitment to the creative community that very few product companies actually make.
Design-forward, not tattoo-forward. Tattly's designs ranged from watercolour botanicals to glow-in-the-dark skulls to vintage-style illustrations. They collaborated with NPR, Vogue, the National Gallery of Art, Sesame Street, and Starbucks. They even handed out tattoos at the White House Easter Egg Roll under President Obama. This wasn't a tattoo company trying to look artistic — it was a design company that happened to make tattoos.
Safe for everyone. The tattoos were printed with vegetable-based, vegan, cruelty-free ink. Safe for adults and children alike. That's partly why Tattly was so popular with parents — it was one of the few temporary tattoo brands you could trust on a child's skin without checking the label twice.
Sold everywhere. Over 1,000 retail stores across 40 countries carried Tattly — museum shops, design boutiques, gift stores. At $5 to $15 per tattoo or set, it was accessible without feeling cheap.
That combination — artist royalties, design credibility, safety, and accessibility — is what made Tattly rather hard to replace. No single brand did all of those things at once.
Tattly vs Inkbox — same day, different products
Because they shut down on the same day under the same corporate umbrella, people sometimes lump Tattly and Inkbox together. They were very different products serving different audiences.
Tattly made water-transfer decal tattoos. You'd apply them with water, they'd sit on top of the skin, and they'd last 2 to 4 days. The designs were colourful, artistic, and whimsical. The appeal was the art, the fun, and the safety.
Inkbox made semi-permanent tattoos using natural jagua ink. The ink stained the skin itself (not a decal) and lasted 1 to 2 weeks. The result was a realistic deep blue-black that looked like a real permanent tattoo. The appeal was realism and longevity.
Different technology, different look, different duration, different audience. If you were a Tattly person, you weren't necessarily an Inkbox person, and vice versa. That matters when you're looking for alternatives, because what you're actually after depends on which of those things you cared about most.
If you were an Inkbox fan looking for the same jagua experience, we wrote a separate guide on Inkbox alternatives that covers the technology, the timeline, and why the science still works even though the brand is gone.
What Tattly fans are actually looking for
Based on what we've seen people asking since the shutdown, Tattly customers tend to fall into a few camps:
The design lovers. You cared about the art. You wanted temporary tattoos that looked like they were designed by someone with taste, not generated by an algorithm or pulled from a clip-art library. You probably have opinions about typography and colour palettes. You want something you'd actually be proud to wear.
The parents. You bought Tattly for birthday parties, stocking fillers, Easter baskets, reward charts. You trusted the ingredients. Your child loved the dinosaurs or the unicorns or the robots. You need something safe, fun, and not ugly.
The event planners. Tattly was a go-to for weddings, hen dos, brand activations, and corporate gifts. Custom orders, bulk sets, reliable quality. You need that level of professionalism from a temporary tattoo brand.
The "what if I went bigger" crowd. Some Tattly fans started with short-lived decals and eventually wondered: what if I tried something that lasted longer? Something that looked more like a real tattoo? That curiosity is what leads people from water-transfer to jagua.
Where Temporalis fits — and where it doesn't
We want to be upfront: Temporalis is not a direct Tattly replacement.
Tattly made colourful water-transfer decals that lasted a few days. We make jagua temporary tattoos that stain the skin blue-black for 1 to 2 weeks. Different product, different technology, different result.
What we don't do: we don't make colourful tattoos — jagua stains blue-black, full stop. We don't make glow-in-the-dark or metallic or scented tattoos. We don't have a children's-specific line (though our tattoos are natural, vegan, EU-certified, and dermatologically tested). And we haven't collaborated with Sesame Street. Not yet, anyway.
What we do: we make 500+ original designs using natural jagua ink from the Genipa americana fruit. The ink bonds with the top layer of your skin and develops into a deep blue-black stain over 24 to 48 hours. The result looks like a real healed permanent tattoo — properly convincing from any normal distance. It lasts 7 to 15 days depending on placement, then fades naturally as your skin renews.
If what you loved about Tattly was the idea of temporary body art that's thoughtfully designed, plant-based, and actually worth wearing — jagua is a natural next step. It's not a replacement. It's more of a graduation: same philosophy (quality, design, natural ingredients), taken further (realistic, longer-lasting, stains the skin instead of sitting on top).
Designs Tattly fans tend to gravitate towards
Minimalist tattoos — clean lines, simple shapes, the kind of understated design that Tattly did beautifully. In jagua, they look like real fine-line permanent tattoos.
Flower tattoos — botanicals, roses, wildflowers. Tattly had some gorgeous floral designs. Ours are rendered in blue-black jagua, which gives them a realistic tattoo feel rather than an illustrated one.
Zodiac tattoos — Tattly had constellation designs. So do we, plus full zodiac symbol sets and moon phase pieces.
Couple & matching tattoos — if you used to buy Tattly pairs for friends or partners, matching jagua tattoos last a fortnight and make for rather better photos.
Symbol tattoos — hearts, stars, moons, arrows, infinity signs. Small, meaningful, designed to look like the real thing.
UK delivery — sorted
Free tracked delivery on UK orders over £30. Parcels arrive in 4–6 working days from our European workshop. And the bit that matters most post-Brexit: no customs charges, no surprise fees at your door. The price at checkout is the price you pay.
Other alternatives worth knowing about
We don't think it's useful to pretend we're the only option. Here are other brands that cover parts of what Tattly did — and that actually deliver to the UK:
TATTD — UK-based brand using genipa ink (same plant family as jagua). Semi-permanent, 1–2 weeks duration, ships domestically from Britain with free delivery over £35. If fast UK delivery is your top priority, they're worth a look. A different design aesthetic to Temporalis, but a legitimate jagua option based here.
Momentary Ink — custom temporary tattoos where you upload your own design. Water-transfer technology, useful for testing a specific permanent tattoo idea before committing. US-based but ships internationally to the UK via FedEx (free over $50). Bear in mind customs charges may apply on arrival.
BodyMark by BIC — ironically, BIC's own skin-safe marker brand is still operating. Available on Amazon UK and in shops. If you liked the DIY aspect of drawing your own temporary body art, the markers are easy enough to find.
None of these do everything Tattly did. That's the honest truth. Tattly occupied a very specific space — artist-designed, design-community-credible, safe for all ages, accessible price point, with real royalties going back to creators. That particular combination doesn't exist anywhere else right now.
The bigger picture
Tattly and Inkbox shutting down on the same day wasn't a coincidence — it was one corporate decision that wiped out two of the most recognised names in temporary tattoos. BIC bought both brands hoping to build a "skin creativity" business. When the numbers didn't materialise, they cut everything.
That's the risk when beloved indie brands get acquired by corporations that don't share the original vision. Tina Roth Eisenberg bootstrapped Tattly for 11 years, paid her artists, built a community, and created something genuinely beloved. Four years under BIC and it's gone.
We think about that rather a lot. Temporalis is an independent European brand. We're not venture-funded. We don't answer to shareholders chasing quarterly returns. We're a small team that built this because we believe jagua is the best temporary tattoo technology available — and we plan to keep going.
If you're looking for your next temporary tattoo brand — whether that's a Tattly replacement (which, honestly, doesn't exist) or something new to try — we'd be glad to have you.
Fancy something that lasts a bit longer?
Natural jagua ink. Realistic blue-black stain. Lasts 1–2 weeks.
500+ designs, all plant-based, all EU-certified.
Free UK delivery over £30 · No customs charges · 10% off your first 3 tattoos
Frequently asked questions
Why did Tattly shut down?
BIC acquired Tattly in 2022 as part of its Skin Creative division. By late 2025, sales and profitability had declined significantly. BIC's CEO announced the closure of the entire division in December 2025. Tattly took its last orders on 22 February 2026 and officially shut down the following day — the same date as Inkbox.
What happens to my Tattly gift card or outstanding order?
If you have an unredeemed gift card or a pending order, get in touch with hi-tattly@tattly.com as soon as possible. Options depend on your consumer protection rights, but the sooner you contact them, the better your chances of some resolution.
What's the difference between Tattly and jagua tattoos?
Tattly made water-transfer decals — colourful designs printed on a film that sits on top of the skin for 2–4 days. Jagua tattoos use natural fruit ink that stains the skin itself, producing a realistic blue-black that lasts 1–2 weeks. Different technology, different look, different duration.
Is Temporalis a Tattly replacement?
Not exactly. We use jagua ink, which is a different technology to what Tattly used. Our tattoos last longer (1–2 weeks vs 2–4 days), look more like real ink (blue-black stain vs printed decal), and only come in blue-black. If you loved Tattly's colourful, whimsical designs, we're a different product. If you're curious about something more realistic and longer-lasting — same spirit, different execution.
Were Tattly tattoos safe for children?
Yes — Tattly used vegetable-based, vegan, cruelty-free ink considered safe for all ages. If you're looking for a similar standard, look for brands that use plant-based, dermatologically tested ingredients and comply with EU cosmetic safety regulations.
Do you deliver to the UK?
Yes. Free tracked delivery on orders over £30. Parcels arrive in 4–6 working days from our European workshop. No customs charges, no surprise fees — the checkout price is the final price.
Last updated: March 2026. Facts sourced from BIC corporate announcements, Tattly's official sunset page, Tina Roth Eisenberg's Threads post, BetaKit, Beauty Independent, and Retail Dive. Temporalis is not affiliated with Tattly or BIC.
