Tattoos and piercings

I have recently got a few more tattoos and piercings, and although I have done posts previously all about them, I thought it was time for an update. Piercings are something I've been having all my life and have gathered quite the collection, whilst tattoos are something I've only been getting the last year. When people look at me, they wouldn't expect me to have 7 tattoos or 11 piercings but I guess that's where the saying 'don't judge a book by it's cover' comes into play.

Before getting into this post I do just want to say that tattoos and piercings are just a personal thing and everyone has their own taste. I'm not doing this post to push tattoos or piercings upon you 

but instead, to share my designs, meaning and experiences with you and others. I also want to say 

that my tattoos are personal and designed the way I like, however please only take inspiration 

from mine and not copy the tattoo as a whole exactly!

PIERCINGS

My first 3 piercings I got done at Claire's and they were all done with a gun (would not recommend). I got my lobes done when I was about 3 years old, second lobes done when I was 10 years old and my third lobes done when I was about 12 or 13 years old. Each piercing was painless and super quick, whilst the healing process was between 6-12 weeks. I did have to get my second lobes re-pierced when I was about 12 or 13 as they had closed up. This ended up being more painful, as it had to be pierced through scar tissue. Each of my lobe piercings I would rate a 1 out of 5 for pain.

This is where I start to forget the ages I got my piercings!!

My next 2 piercings I got done at the same time at a piercing shop local to me. I decided to get my helix (cartilage) and fourth lobe pierced. I had my helix pierced first with a stud and then had my fourth lobe on my right ear done. Each was done with a needle, so it was a lot less painful than if I had them done with a gone. My helix wasn't really painful but it did hurt more than my lobe, because it is thicker skin. However my fourth lobe pierced hurt quite badly. Out of all the piercings that I've ever had, this is one that hurt the most. Each took about 6-12 weeks to heal. Overall I would rate my helix a 2 out of 5 for pain and my fourth lobe piercing a 3.5 out of 5 for pain. 

Then came the phase when everyone was getting their nose's pierced. I was about 13 or 14 at the time and decided that I wanted to join in and have mine done. I remember desperately wanting a piercing at the time, and couldn't decide between my tragus or nose. But after my mom said nose I decided to go through with it. This time I went to a different piercing shop (still local to me), that has now closed down and got my nose right nostril pierced along with my 2 step siblings. This was pierced with a needle which helped make it less painful than if it was pierced with a gun (I strongly not recommend you getting your nose pierced with a gun as it can shatter your cartilage). At the time I decided I wanted a ring (which is what I got it pierced with), but my school made me change it to a stud. This was probably my least painful piercing that I've had. A lot of people don't even know that I have my nose pierced, as I have a tiny flat stud in my nose that tends to look like a piece of glitter. I would rate my nose piercing as a 1 out of 5 for pain.

This is not my photo

A few years later I decided to get my helix done again, just under my previous one on the same ear. I got it done at the same place with a ring and it had the same pain rating! When I was 16 I got my belly button pierced, which I no longer have. This was frozen and then pierced using a needle. I had this in for 3 months before it started to grow out. Whilst on holiday in Gran Canaria I decided it was time to take it out, as it simply wasn't worth it anymore. As it had started to grow out and reject, I had a purple/red scar there in it's place for a while. Thanks a lot! I still have the scar now, but it has faded and isn't noticed easily. I would have to rate this a 2 out of 5 for pain as it was froze before hand.

My latest piercing I got on a bit of a whim, but was one that I had been thinking about for a while. I had been wanting to get my daith pierced for a while, since hearing that it can help with headaches and migraines. Unfortunately I used to suffer with severe migraines and still get them occasionally now, I decide I wanted to try it. No harm in trying. I got this done at the same place I've had all my ear piercings done (except my lobes at Claire's) and it was done using a needle. This piercing was a lot different than any others that I've had because it didn't hurt but I could still feel it. I would definitely say it was uncomfortable as it is in such an awkward place, but it didn't hurt no where near as much as I thought it would. As I have only had this piercing for about a month, I wouldn't know how long it takes to fully heal. For pain I would have to rate this a 2.5 out of 5.

TATTOOS

Tattoos are something that I've been wanting since I was a little girl. I grew up surrounded by people who had tattoos, and then later on my step dad became a tattoo artist. Lets just say it's a good job you can't get tattoos when you're 9 or 10 (paw prints on my boobs would not have been a good look now). As my 18th birthday was getting closer and closer I started thinking harder about what I wanted doing. I came up with 3 tattoos that I wanted and got them all done at once, the day after my birthday. 

The first tattoo that I got done was a flamingo on the back of my left leg at the bottom. Growing up I loved flamingos and I could never say flamingo properly, which later became a family joke. I love flamingos now and they are my favourite animal to see when I go to the zoo. It was quite hard to find a design that I liked, but I went with a cartoon/comic like illustration. This was done by my step dad, and later recoloured by him too. As this was my first tattoo, I didn't know what to expect but it wasn't as bad as I thought. A day or so later my ankle was swollen but other than that everything was fine. This tattoo does need recolouring for the third time, as I have quite hard to tattoo skin and my skin doesn't seem to like colour too well. I would rate this tattoo a 2 out of 5 for pain.

Just after my flamingo tattoo I had my hip done. OMG it was so painful! I wanted something quite personal and something that represented family to me. I decided to have Roman numerals which meant 46-74-99. This is the year that my nan, mom and I were born. This tattoo is one of my favourites as it is so personal and means so much to me, however it has put me off wanting another hip tattoo. All I remember about getting this tattoo was squeezing my boyfriends hand and being thankful that I hadn't had that one first as I probably wouldn't have anymore. So needless to say this one was my most painful. I would rate this tattoo a 4 out of 5 for pain.

On the same day as the previous two I got a tattoo the right side of my back, just under where my bra ends. I decided to get 'love' in calligraphy tattooed as I think love is one of the most important things in life. I guess you can say 'I love love'. This is such a simple tattoo and one that I always forget but something that I love catching a glimpse of in the mirror. Despite this being such a simple tattoo, it did take about 30 to 45 minutes to do, as the ink wouldn't go in my skin. Like I said, I have hard to tattoo skin. This tattoo was definitely one of my least painful as I would rate it a 1 out of 5.

A few months later when I got my flamingo recoloured I decided to get a tiny t-rex dinosaur done on the inside of my right ankle. There is no reason behind this tattoo other than it makes me smile every time I see it and whenever someone else see's it. This is definitely a tattoo that makes everyone smile. My stepdad also done this tattoo for me and it took about 20 minutes to do so. My favourite thing about this tattoo, other than how it makes people smile, is that it sits perfectly with every pair of shoes that I own. I was quite nervous to get this tattoo done as it is quite low down on my ankle/foot. However this wasn't painful at all and was about a 1.5/5 for pain.

So far the tattoos that my step dad has done for me I haven't had to pay for. So thankful.

August last year I decided to get another tattoo. This is my smallest yet most meaningful tattoo that I have so far. After loving the meaning behind the semi-colon project for years I wanted to get one for myself on my wrist. I have done a whole post on this tattoo on it's own which you can check out here.
This is the first tattoo that I had done that wasn't tattooed by my step dad. I got this done at a tattoo shop in Tamworth called Underground. This is and probably will be my least painful tattoo ever. It honestly took 10 seconds to do, as it is so small. This cost me £25 (minimum charge) and had a pain of 0.5/5.

This then takes me up until mine and Liam's trip to Brighton. We had been talking about getting matching tattoos for a while, but we didn't know what to have. We both knew we didn't want something coupley or super gushy, but we did want something that we both liked. After looking at loads of tattoo designs we found one that we both loved. We took our design to a tattoo shop in Brighton called; North Road, where a lovely tattoo artist called Sarah Whiten drew up a custom design based of our likings. I decided to have mine tattooed just above the inside of my elbow on my right arm, and Liam decided to have his below the inside of his elbow on the same arm. This took about 20-30 minutes to complete and was pretty painless. It was more painful near the bottom, where the point is as it was closer to my nerves in my arm joint. This cost £50 each as it is a small to medium size and I would rate this tattoo a 2 out of 5 for pain.

One of my most recent tattoos was last Wednesday. As soon as I had my matching tattoo done I knew I wanted something about it to make it look a bit more feminine. Just 3 days after my space tattoo I booked in at the same place I got my semi colon tattoo done, to get 'believe' in calligraphy tattooed just above. This cost £25 (minimum charge), as it is a small tattoo and took only about 5 minutes to do. I wanted to get this tattoo done, as it a word that shows meaning to every situation - to truly believe. This was more painful than I thought it would be and it did bleed a lot so I would rate this tattoo a 2.5 out of 5 for pain.

Me and my best friend Lauren, have talked about getting matching tattoos for a long time now. We decided to get a lightening bolt, which I think suits are friendship and our personalities. We got this done at Underground tattoo in Tamworth and I decided to have it tattooed on the inside of my arm, next to my 'believe' tattoo. I wanted it here to make it a nice trio, as well as tie in with the space inspired theme. A pretty simple tattoo, but one I definitely love. I would rate this a 1.5 out of 5 for pain as it is so small and only took 60 seconds to do.

My last and final tattoo I got at the same time my lightening bolt, which was this week!! If you know me in person or you have been reading my blog for a while now then you will know that I have Aspergers syndrome, which is a form of Autism. The autism logo is a jigsaw piece, which I have been wanting since I turned 18. I thought what better time than any and had it done today. I had this on the back of my arm, just above my elbow. Whenever I have thought about the placement for this tattoo, I always envisioned it on the back of my arm. I would rate this a 2 out of 5 for pain!

I wrote this post and have since got 3 tattoos, which means that I have
 edited this post a lot. I hope you like it!!

xoxo
Lea-Mai