Spent the day without any fuss. Just my hub taking me back to this lovely tattoo shop he found for me 5 years ago (FYI: They moved from 25th to 41st at a much bigger & easier to find location). This amazingly talented artist, Airu (@honeybeetattoo_airu) doesn't usually do touch-ups or add color (after so many years later). But considering we went to her to mark the year my healing began, it was extremely important to go back to her to commemorate what I was celebrating that day - the official end to my breast cancer journey. Airu is the first and only female artist that tatted me. She is kind, friendly, meticulous, and clean. When she heard about the reason for doing this, she made the exception to make it happen. What a gift! And we're forever grateful! When it fully heals, it will be even more fantastic than it was back then. A lil' more lively with a hint of color. Just like me. Thank you, Airu. #tattoo #cancersurvivor read more

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I had the absolute most wonderful experience with Airu! This was my first tattoo and she made me feel so confident and comfortable with the process. I sent her pictures of what I wanted and she designed from those. I absolutely LOVE the way she does flowers. I feel she gave me wonderful informed consent about her process and fine line tattoos. She doubled and triple checked that I was happy with each step of the way. At the end, when I saw my tattoo, I cried happy tears, it was just perfectly what I wanted and it was so meaningful to me. Her studio is clean and comfortable, exactly what you want when getting a tattoo. Thank you, Airu! read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Airu did an amazing job recommending, designing, and executing a memorial tattoo for my dog. The communication throughout the process was excellent, and the final result on my arm is exactly what I hoped for. Following the provided aftercare instructions, my skin healed perfectly within a couple of weeks. Huge thanks to Honeybee Tattoo and Airu for such a great experience and a beautiful tribute! read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

Amazing tattoo experience with Airu!!! Made the whole process so easy and comfortable! Highly recommend!!

LOVE the owner! So patient and knowledgeable. I've been a recurring customer. Can't wait for my next one.

I received my first tattoos from Airu and would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a professional, detail-oriented, and kind tattoo artist. She delivered exactly what I wanted and has an amazingly steady hand! She's also highly responsive and her studio is clean and comfortable. So happy I chose Airu! read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Fine line tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

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The best experience I have ever had getting a tattoo. Airu is amazing. Patient, kind, helpful, and provides insight into different options to consider. She is extremely detail oriented, creative, talented, and really just wonderful overall. She made an exception and took me on Mother's Day-how sweet is that?! when she could have been with her family, she was with me, fulfilling my Mother's Day wish. Bless her. But really, if you want great, precise, wonderful tattoos, in a clean facility with a wonderful artist look no further. You won't be disappointed. I'll be back for sure!! Thank you for helping me make this Mother's Day one of the best! read more

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Went here with 5 of my family members, finally ready for us all to get a matching tattoo! This was my fourth tattoo, and several of their 1st tattoos and Airu was amazing! Her line work was beautiful and she made their first tattoo experience a great one! We had been planning this for years and trying to find dates/times and opinions that matched up was a lot of work! We found Honeybee and Airu and loved her stuff, and were able to send her our design with our specifications. When we got there she pulled out the design on her ipad and was able to make changes we wanted right in front of us. She brought out different sizes of the design and was patient while the 6 of us tried them in different locations to decide what we all liked. She also clearly explained the risks of each placement and gave her advice on where to put the tattoo for the best chance of it holding up long term. She did a great job on all 6 tattoos, keeping the quality high even through the last one! She was so sweet even after the 5 hours the appointment took, and explained all the aftercare instructions in detail. She was very easy to talk to and created a welcoming environment for people who were nervous about their first tattoo experience. While a bit pricey, you pay for what you get, and for something that will be on your body forever, the price was definitely worth it! The shop was super cute and all the tattoos turned out great. Thank you Airu! read more

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This was my first ever tattoo and Airu was so great! She triple checked to make sure everything was spelled correctly and to my liking which I really appreciated. As it was my first tattoo she made sure I knew all of the risks and the aftercare steps, which have been working. I took the photos a little after a full week since the day. It's looking great still and I'm so excited to get future tattoos with Airu! read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Tattoo on forearm that reads "But I will soon forget the color of your eyes and you'll forget mine" - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

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I worked with Leo on a custom design and the process was very easy to do. I found this shop via instagram. Leo was incredibly kind and responsive and had suggestions and advice that were professional. The shop is small and clean and after care instructions were provided and understood. I felt safe and trusted the process. I absolutely love my tattoo! This is a great shop for first timers as well. The payment may depend on artist but I did Zelle for 10% of the cost and then the remaining balance and tip was in cash. read more

Thank you for my new tattoo, I absolutely love it! I reached out to Honeybee to inquire about their services and available appointments. Airu was very kind over text in asking me what my thoughts on design, sizing, and position would be. After I got my appointment set and deposit sent in, we continued communicating over text about my design and potential adjustments I wanted to make. She was super patient with me and all of my questions and inquiries! On the day of the appointment, the office was easy to find, and Airu continued working with me on finalizing the design we discussed over text, and settling on the final size and position. When we were finally complete and the stencil was applied, Leo did the tattooing. He was very courteous and efficient, and I really appreciated his work! After he was done, they wrapped up my tattoo and gave me some after-care directions and I was good to go! From start to finish the process was easy, efficient, and exciting! I appreciate their attention to detail and their patience! Loved working with them! read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Love my new tattoo! - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

Honeybee Tattoo specializes in fine line and lettering tattoo work. I had been looking for an artist in the bay area for well over 6 months... Honeybee Tattoo did not disappoint! Plenty of street parking & easy to find. The interior of this shop was warm, clean, and inviting! Airu was my tattoo artist for my piece. She was exceptional with both her work and professionalism to attending to my concerns about placement and was so so patient! I'm so happy that I came here for my 3rd piece. Absolutely love it!! The healing process is about as expected and Airu was also responsive with my follow-up care questions. I will definitely be back for more pieces in the future. read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

I was convinced my last tattoo was going to be my first and my last... but here I am with yet another one! My best friend and I were tattooed by Airu and Leo. They were very responsive about scheduling and were able to give us estimates prior to our appointment. They were both very kind, super meticulous, and took the time to make sure the placement, sizing, & design were just how we wanted it. I appreciated the honesty regarding the retention of small, fine-line tattoos! She does not do any finger/wrist pieces because of this since they fade SO easily. You can tell that she really cares for the quality of her work. Airu worked on my tattoo and she did an amazing job. I would definitely recommend this place for any fine line or any intricate designs! Love my new tat, thanks Airu :) read more

I wanted to get a gundam corgi tattoo of my dog and Airu was really easy to work with! It was very easy to talk to her about the design, sizes and about the process itself. Really happy about my tattoo and look forward to working with her and Leo again for my tattoo! The lines were done absolutely beautifully and the color is great! During the process they made sure I was comfortable the whole time. Location was clean and tidy. Parking is a little hard to get- especially if you go on a weekday when parking is "watched" so be mindful. read more

Honeybee Tattoo - stencil of my tattoo before starting - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

I was looking for a tattoo shop that specializes in tattoos that are fine line, lettering, new style, mini, etc. and Honeybee checked off all of those boxes. I randomly came across this tattoo shop online and had to check out their work on Instagram and Yelp which I was impressed by. They take appointment only and no walk ins. I texted Airu who is one of the artists and she was great to work with! They do consultations through text only, but it was a very smooth process even if it wasn't done in person. Airu was very patient and nice during the process of setting up my appointment and discussing what I wanted to do for my tattoo. Then I just had to send a small deposit and wait until my appointment date. The new location of their shop is pretty close to the Hillsdale Mall and there was plenty of parking. The shop looks tiny from the outside, but it's pretty spacious inside. It is very clean and you can tell Airu and Leo take Covid precautions and cleanliness very seriously as I was asked to keep my mask on plus the artists wear masks as well. After some paperwork, we also discussed sizing and placement of the tattoo which Airu pays a lot of attention to detail to. I was a total scatter brain in the moment, but she is very patient and wants to make sure your piece is perfect to your liking. My lettering tattoo took around 15 minutes and she did an amazing job! We went over the after care procedures as well after the tattoo and I was overall very satisfied with my experience coming to Honeybee. Some tattoo shops can come off as intimidating or daunting, but this is a very relaxed space and comfortable space. The price is also very affordable when taking into consideration Bay Area prices and the high quality. The customer service and communication was great and I'd definitely recommend this shop to anyone that is interested in this specific style. read more

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Airu seems super dedicated to her business. She made an exception for us when it was her day off because my daughter was out of town the next few months. She helped us figure out what size, position of the tattoo we liked, gave very useful suggestions and overall gave us a clear explanation of how the healing would look like and what we need to be careful about read more

I had such a wonderful time with Airu! She is very attentive to detail and takes pauses fo make sure you are okay, and if you want to make any adjustments to your piece She specializes in light line work but I've also seen some of her work go darker and thicker :) Lots of parking nearby! read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

Just did my first tattoo with Honeybee's Airu. She is friendly, professional and attentive to detail with her work. If you like the modern, dainty kind of tattoo you will definitely love her! The studio is clean and parking is easy as well. Will definitely come back to Airu for all my future tattoos! read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

My younger sister and I came to Honeybee Tattoo to get our matching sister tattoos done. We admired their work on IG so much that we decided to make the drives from San Jose & Davis, CA just to get our pieces done by them. Thank you to Airu and the gentleman who worked on us today to make our little design come to life. They came out looking super nice and we love them so much! I highly recommend these artists! They are very welcoming, patient (thanks Airu for dealing with me changing size/placement so much), polite, professional, and talented. Thanks again for making my first tattoo experience very comfortable and memorable! =) read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

I had a great experience here. The tattoo parlor is an independent, quiet studio. All workers here did safety and quarantine work in place.They offer mask, hand sanitizer. They let me know all the risks and before-care of tattooing ahead of I sent deposit.When I came in, Airu repeated those information again, and explained details about design to me, helped me to choose placement, size, ensure the quality of my tattoos coming out.As a fist timer, I understand the whole process before getting tattoo.The tattooing process is efficient and quality.After the tattooing, I was taught aftercare by Airu in detail to ensure that I can take care of my tattoo. I will definitely come back. read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

I received my first tattoo from them and they were both soo nice! They clear communication when it came to designing my tattoo. Will definitely be back. read more

My very first time here at honeybee tattoo, such a great experience, the final result looked way beyond my expectations. Will definitely visit again and recommend my friends. read more

I was tattooed by Airu and Leo. They were very friendly and responsive when I contacted them about scheduling for a tattoo. I provided references and was updated continuously through out the sketch process. They made me so comfortable that I came back later with a friend. I got two small tattoos done within three weeks, a custom flower on my arm and a constellation tattoo on my ankle. To get the placement just right, they were very helpful and took the time to align the constellation to angle correctly. I'm so happy with the results! I can't speak more highly of them. Very polite and professional. Thank you Honeybee for making the tattoo experience so welcoming! read more

Honeybee Tattoo - custom lily of the valley done on my arm - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

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This is my first time leaving a review and honeybee worths it. It was a great experience and I am very satisfied with my new piece. Airu is professional and patient. She was really specific about the precautions and aftercare to make sure I am aware and have fully understood it. She listened to all my questions and concerns and gave proper advice. The tattooing process was quick but the result turned out amazing, she really fulfills all your requests. The shop is cute and clean, I felt safe and comfortable during the whole process. Airu is available only by appointments. She's very responsive through text messages and you can always text her later if you need help with the aftercare so nothing to worry about. I would recommend honeybee 100%. read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

I am OBSESSED with this tattoo shop. They have 2 tattoo artists, Airu and Leo. Airu does really cute line work, and Leo does incredible pieces with shading. Airu has done three of my dainty tattoos (poppy, matching Iris flower, and butterfly), and Leo did my beautiful hummingbird. Their new shop is super clean and open, and very easy to park at! This is my go-to tattoo shop now:) read more

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Airu is my favorite tattoo artist! I love her style and I already got three tattoos from her. She would make negotiation with you patiently and help you get your dream tattoo. I would Definitely 100% recommend her. read more

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Loved the experience and love my tattoo even more. Arie was super nice and walked me through all the steps. She made me feel comfortable for my first tattoo. Definitely thinking about going back for another one after this heals. read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

I've gotten three tattoos with Airu and have had an excellent experience each time! It's a very clean and cute spot. Airu is detailed and thorough! She makes sure you love the placement and size beforehand. You don't feel rushed at all. You can tell she is not only passionate about her work but wants to make sure her customers love the work. Each tattoo is detailed and exactly what I asked for. Needless to say, I'll be back for more! read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Love my new tattoo written in Farsi! She used a single needle and it came out perfect! - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

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I had a great experience here! I'm from San Jose and took the train over to San Mateo to get my tattoo, definitely worth the trip! My tattoo came out exactly the way I had pictured it! The communication was great and Airu was very understanding and flexible with all the changes I made :)). She helped me decide exactly where I wanted my tattoo and we sorted out tiny details I didn't even think of before coming! I'm glad this is the place I came to for my first tattoo! Definitely recommend! read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Tiny cat tattoo :) - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

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I highly recommend Airu and her tattoo shop to everyone!!! I found her shop on Instagram and texted her and she replied the same day I really appreciated that she communicated quickly, Really appreciate the attention to detail that Airu took when helping me decide the placement and sizing of my tattoo. I couldn't have chosen a better place to get this meaningful piece. Thank you so much Airu for doing such a great job, I will definitely be coming back for more work! My tattoo is perfect! read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

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I want to thank Airu for doing such an amazing job on my tattoo. I am extremely happy with how it turned out, it honestly came out better than I expected! read more

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What an amazing first tattoo experience. I was very nervous going into it but Airu was such a calming presence. She was detail oriented and really puts the customer experience first. I left feeling very well informed on after care and I am absolutely in love with the tattoo - it's better than I imagined. Definitely will be back for future tattoos! read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Ladybug Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

Went here for my second tattoo, and I loved it. Airu was very nice and patient, by the time of my appointment, airu helped me with the size and locating my tattoo to make sure it looks good and straight with my shape, she gave me great suggestions, recommend it! read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Honeybee tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

I stumbled across Honeybee Tattoo on Instagram after looking for a place that specializes in lettering and fine lines. I looked through their photos and was very impressed with what I saw so I went ahead and messaged the number listed on their page, which put me in contact with Airu. She was really quick to respond and began my over text consultation immediately. I was quoted, paid a small deposit and was booked for an appointment all the same day. Today (3/8) was my appointment and upon arrival, I was greeted by Airu at the door. Even with her mask on, you can see her warm and welcoming smile. I was pleasantly surprised to see that this shop is still taking precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 & other illnesses. It was only her and another employee in the shop and they both kept their masks on the entire time. Soon after being greeted, Airu allowed me time to fill out my forms and answer any questions I had. She made sure to ask if I had eaten and went in depth about the type of tattooing they do and any risks associated with improper aftercare. After I completed my forms, Airu printed out a few stencils for me to ensure the proper size and placement of my tattoo. She really took her time to make sure I was happy with everything before moving on. Throughout the entire tattooing process she had a gentle hand and kept ensuring that I was comfortable. She is very detail oriented and got every single bump and squiggle correct. The tattoo only took about 30 minutes. When she was done, I got wrapped up and she went over aftercare instructions again. I'm glad to have found an artist that was as knowledgeable, patient, and skilled as Airu. If you're looking for a considerate, clean, and professional place to get your first tattoo or even your 100th tattoo, Honeybee tattoo is definitely the place to go! I can't thank them enough for helping me honor my Grandma with the perfect piece. Definitely looking forward to coming back! read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Absolutely love my tattoo! They made sure if was perfect and worked with me to make it so. The thin line work and detail is perfect. read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

Great experience for my first tattoo! Very professional, great technique, love the result read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Tattoo from Honeybee - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

It was my best experience to have a tatoo in honeybee. From the appointment scheduling to future maintainance of the tattoo，it was super smooth and sweet. I still remember the first night when I was scheduling the appointment with Airu through text. She was such a wonderful person that both of us cant stop laughing till late night. Airu was extremely nice and professional. Her recommendation on tatoo design， size and place was super advisive. For the tatto pattern，I would bring several ideas to her and let her decide which one could be best. I was so appreciative about all the meticulous effort she gave me. I already have 3 of my tatoo there. Can't wait to have the fourth one！ The environment is great and clean with privacy. Lots of parking and the nearby was pretty quiet and safe. I definitely would recommend it to my friends. read more

This is my 2nd time come to Honeybee. The new location is still at San Mateo and not far from previous one. The new location is very clean and big, all the devices there have been disinfected before tattoo. Airu is my favorite and best tattooer. She always has patient to discuss with u about the design and try to meet all your requirements. If you want to find a clean place and wanna get a satisfied and beautiful tattoo, honeybee will be your best choice. read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

Airu has done four of my tattoos over 2 sessions, and I've had a great experience! She always responds quickly as we work out tattoo details, and you can tell she really cares about your tattoo looking as good as possible for as long as possible. She uses her expertise & experience to suggest tweaks to my ideas if necessary, to prevent them from blowing out/blurring, etc. She works carefully & precisely but surprisingly quickly, and she's friendly and makes sure you are comfortable. My tattoos look awesome & I'll definitely go back to her in the future. read more

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They did a great job! I got two crysanthemums on my foot which were done very efficiently, and a Matisse on my ribcage which was done really well with a lot of attention to detail (which did mean that it took longer than I was prepared for, but they did a great job so I'm not complaining). They were also good about tattoo placement with my existing tattoos, and one of the artists was able to free-hand some small stars and flowers on my ribcage. One of the artists does not speak a lot of English but the other was able to translate. Pricing is not the most competitive but is more or less in line with other good quality but not super bougie ones in the area. I can't speak to any color/shading/complex large pieces, but I would definitely recommend for any fine line or detailed work! read more

Honeybee Tattoo - Matisse and free-handed stars/flowers (next to existing). - Tattoo Near Me - San Mateo, California

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