You may think of Madonna or Drew or Gwen or perhaps a Gothic outcast living next store. Unfortunately women and art don't readily come to mind and we can thank major industry for that. Commercialization always distorts things. For starters, just in case you were wondering, Mehndi designs are made by applying henna to the skin, no magic maker ink. Henna is a plant known as Lawsonia Inerma in Latin.
Many people use it to color their hair.
You can take a paint brush and make designs, which dry and later you pick the henna paste off. Underneath is a design which is acutely stained into your skin, so it looks pretty real in the tattoo department but it's of course temporary. Most Mehndi designs are light orange to brown colored. It all depends on your skin color and texture, length you leave the paste on, etc. Now for the history segment.