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Eight Years In, Temporary Tattoo Brand Inked By Dani Is Reinventing Itself

The brand — which was born in a USC dorm room and now occupies shelf space at Ulta Beauty, Revolve and other retailers — isn't done reimagining the temporary tattoo space.

Dani Egna wants everyone to wear their heart on their sleeve. Literally.

Nearly eight years after launching her temporary tattoo brand, Inked By Dani, the founder and chief executive officer is looking to reach new heights — and a wider audience — through a rebrand inclusive of new tattoo designs and an updated, neutral-toned color scheme, logo and campaign imagery.

“[This rebrand] been a long time coming,” said Egna, who drafted Inked By Dani’s first designs from her University of Southern California dorm room while earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2015. “Our customer has grown up with us; we wanted something that feels a bit more elevated, and has more of a gender-neutral feel to it.”

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Inked By Dani temporary tattoos.

The brand — which reports to have sold more than 30 million designs in 2022 — is launching a new collection of face and body tattoos that lean further into a “minimalist, fine-line” aesthetic, and retail for $12.99 per pack.

“When I started [Inked By Dani], it was definitely a little more fun and kitschy, but as we’ve grown, our most popular designs are inspirational words and phrases, motivational quotes, and simple designs — things that people would want as a real tattoo,” said Egna.

The brand is bringing the same fine-tuned approach to its fledgling nail art offerings — and beyond.

“Something we’re working on in the background is licensing; we have a couple of collaborations in the works that would expand our art to other product lines and new product types,” said Egna, who aims to build on the success of Inked By Dani’s recent Casetify phone case collaboration by continuously exploring new mediums for her designs.

Inked By Dani updated packaging and tattoos.
Inked By Dani updated packaging and tattoos. courtesy

While Egna did not specify sales expectations for the rebranded line, industry sources think Inked By Dani is on track to do upward of $25 million in retail sales in 2023.

“What works well for temporary tattoos is that they’re just nostalgic — you open them up and you feel like you’re 5 years old at a birthday party again,” said Egna. “We’re still seeing such a big Y2K revival across the board, so that [nostalgia] is something we wanted to make sure we carried over into the rebrand.”

The revamp appears to already be working as intended: As a result of the aesthetic overhaul, Inked By Dani will be landing at long-coveted retailer (and Coachella hall-of-famer) Revolve.

“Catching the eye of retailers who have maybe said ‘no thank you’ in the past, or whose eye we previously haven’t caught — it’s huge,” said Egna, whose largest retailer to date is Ulta Beauty, where Inked By Dani launched in 2019 and currently resides in all U.S. stores. The brand also sells at more than 2,400 Sally Beauty stores, as well as at Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, American Eagle, Asos and other retailers.

“Retail has been so key to our strategy — it’s that discovery and that impulse, where most people probably aren’t going into the stores being like ‘I’m here today to find temporary tattoos,’ but when they do see it, it’s accessible and a no-brainer purchase item,” Egna said.

Inked By Dani’s debut came at a time when the temporary tattoo arena was enduring both a spike in interest and a slew of new entrants, including Inkbox, Momentary Ink and Tattly. What has enabled Inked By Dani’s success, says Egna, is its “core focus being on hand-drawn art, and letting people tell their stories through it. That’s a vision that can continue to evolve as we explore new lines, collaborations and licenses — it’s limitless.”