- With many young adults getting tattoos -- and some having tattoo remorse -- makeup designed to conceal body art is becoming more popular. It's an alternative to hiding behind clothes or painful and costly laser tattoo-removal procedures. Some brides are using makeup to hide their tattoos for their walk down the aisle.

Other people are using heavy foundations and concealers for job interviews and work. "The tattoo is establishing your identity, but you have to take into account getting a job," says Lee Graff, president and co-founder of the Toronto-based Cover FX Skin Care Inc. "I don't think young people understand that tattoos are permanent.

Makeup helps give you control over something that may be controlling you." Graff created her makeup line in 2000 after working in a dermatology clinic where patients had skin conditions such as rosacea, acne, burns and vitiligo (the melanin-loss condition from which Michael Jackson suffers). Too few makeup lines offered colors that looked natural, she says.

Cover FX produces more than 30 foundation shades designed to hide not only tattoos but also scars, birthmarks, spider veins, stretch marks and other skin conditions. Graff recommends using a brush to apply it, since a sponge absorbs too much of the product and is less hygienic. A setting lotion, Setting FX, makes it water-resistant.

Ample coverage can require two or three layers of the foundation, plus powder and setting lotion. Fashion Fair, M.A.

C., Dermablend and other cosmetics makers also offer temporary fixes for those times when a tattoo is considered taboo. Susan Hlavac, assistant director of career counseling at the University of Houston, says tattoos and body piercings can be distracting in the workplace and disastrous in a job interview.

"Not everyone is open-minded," she said. "You are taking a risk by going into a job interview with your tattoo exposed. You really should err on the conservative side and cover it up.

" Angelina Jolie, one of Hollywood's most tattooed celebrities, has reportedly used Cover FX products to conceal tattoos on-screen. She recently added a tattoo of the geographical coordinates for the countries where her four children were born. The tattoo appears on her left arm, where she once sported ex-hubby Billy Bob Thornton's name.

Johnny Depp also found that tattoos can outlast relationships. He retooled a "Winona Forever" tattoo -- acquired when his flame was actress Winona Ryder -- to read, "Wino Forever." Soccer star David Beckham had a tattoo on his arm with his wife's name (Victoria Beckham) in Hindi, but -- big oops -- it was misspelled.

Covering up Having tattoo remorse or need to cover up your tattoo for a job interview or special occasion? Here are a few products to try. Cover FX Total Coverage Cream Foundation, $37, or Water Based Liquid Foundation, $35; with Setting FX Loose Powder, $30, or Oil Absorbing Pressed Powder, $20; Nordstrom stores, Nordstrom.

com Leg Body Creme or Compact Cover Creme, $18; Dermablend.com - With many young adults getting tattoos -- and some having tattoo remorse -- makeup designed to conceal body art is becoming more popular.