I think most people growing up go through a phase of wondering about getting a tattoo, and I did toy with the idea briefly once - I love fairies and so I had thought of having a pretty picture of a fairy along with the word "Believe" tattooed onto my back....but I decided against it.
The design I briefly considered having tattooed on my back And I'm very glad I did, as my back has widened somewhat since then and that fairy would probably be lost amid a mass of back fat by now.... My sister however was much braver than me, and when she was a teenager in her "Wannabe Goth" phase (one which I thankfully missed out on!) she snuck out one day and got a secret tattoo. It sadly only remained a secret for a few weeks, after she confided in our young cousin who then promptly told my mother all about it much to my sisters horror, but she of course swore blind that she ADORED her new tattoo and she would never regret it. She had chosen to have the Chinese symbols for her name tattooed onto her upper arm. Now, 12 years on, she admits that she does indeed regret it. Whenever her 6 year old daughter asks her what the drawing on her arm is she says that she feels embarrassed. And when she goes into a Chinese restaurant and has to endure a guessing game from the waiters as to what the Chinese symbols are supposed to be spelling out she is even more embarrassed! (Guesses have ranged from Lorraine to Carla....nobody has ever guessed Laura which is what it was supposed to say!) And so this leads me onto a trend that I'm noticing more and more lately which really bothers me.....Copycat Tattoos. 
Cheryl Cole's latest tattoo Celebrities like Rihanna and Cheryl Cole are always showing off their latest ink, and it seems to be very on trend right now to push the bar when it comes to how extreme they will go with their tats....Cheryl's latest being one of the most outlandish I think I've ever seen! 
But while a star like Cheryl Cole may well be able to afford to have it removed at a later date should she wish to, and will probably always have enough money around her to keep herself looking as toned and healthy as she does now even 30 years into the future.....the Average-Joe's of society are not all going to be so fortunate. So why do so many of them think its a good idea to copy the tattoos that these celebrities have? 
I am starting to lose count of the number of people I've seen with Rihanna's Ssshh tattoo on their fingers, and given that her tattoo is so synonymous with her....why would anybody else want to have it? Does it hold any meaning to them?It looks very effective when Rihanna uses it to pose on her album covers, but what use is anybody else going to have for it and won't it look a bit silly when you're 80 years old....unless you plan to use it to silence your grandchildren?! 
Just a few of Rihanna's many tattoos It's just not something I understand, and I may just be being extremely old fashioned and boring here but I really do wish that people would think twice before committing to something as long-lasting as a tattoo. 
By all means, have something meaningful that you KNOW you will love forever and never regret tattooed on you - but please give it some extra thought before jumping on the bandwagon and copying the latest tattoo of some celebrity whose name you'll probably have trouble remembering in 20 years time...that tattoo is going to last a lot longer than their careers are likely to, and will you still want to be bearing that when you're 60 years old?! Do you have a tattoo? If so, what did you choose and why? If not, would you ever have one? What do you think of copying celebrity tattoos? As always, I'd love to hear from you! If you enjoy reading my blog, please consider following me on Bloglovin HERE
