Do You Want a Tattoo?

In today's society a tattoo is a personal statement that we make about ourselves. If we're a sporting person we may get our number tattooed onto our body like one of David Beckham's tattoos. He has the number 7 tattooed because that was his jersey number.

Modern day Olympians sometimes have the Olympic symbol tattooed on them because they made it!

Some people have names of loved ones, others have pictures or quotes that are significant to them on their body.

One of the hardest things about getting a tattoo is deciding what image to get.

At Tattoo Me Now they can help. In fact their motto is "If we can't help you find your dream tattoo no one can."

Deciding on a tattoo is one of the reasons that people don't always get one. As you mature it's also harder because you become more aware of how fashions change and so you want to be sure that what you get put on your body now will still suit you in ten, twenty or even thirty years time.

IIn September 1991 a body was found in the Ötztal Alps. He was named Otzi the Iceman and is believed to have died around 3300 BC. On his body there were evidence of 57 carbon tattoos. These tattoos consisted of dots and lines on his lower spine, behind his left knee and on his right ankle.

In several cultures such as the Maori of New Zealand and the Ainu of Japan the tattoos held significant meanings. The Maori considered it an honour to be allowed to wear the moko on their face. The moko is an intricate tribal facial tattoo.

When getting a tattoo it is important to remember that this image will be a permanent part of your body. This is why it is important to think carefully about what you want to project.

Tattoos are no longer determined by what tribe you belong to, they are determined only by you.

Tattoo Me Now offers 3,523 designs and growing for you to choose from. The designs are easily locatable under 40 different categories ready for you to choose and then print out to take to your favorite artist.

Tattoo Me Now also offer a Members Gallery. This is where you can find inspiration from other people's tattoos.

Tattoos were not always something that people wanted to wear on their bodies. The Jews were forcibly tattooed during the Holocaust. It helped the identification process in the concentration camps.

Tattoo pigment is buried deep enough in the skin that even severe burns will not always destroy them. This means that a foresenic pathologist will use them to help identify burned or mutilated bodies.

Troops serving overseas will sometimes get what are called "meat tags." This is where they have their identification tags tattooed onto their ribs so that they can be identified for their families should the worse happen.

Another service that Tattoo Me Now offers is a Studio Directory which includes over 10,000 studios in 38 countries. This allows you to make an educated decision based on reviews.

Not every one can be tattooed by Louis Molloy who did a number of David and Victoria Beckham's tattoo. Nor can we be tattooed by any of Miami Ink's artists such as Ami James and Chris Nunez or L.A. Ink's Kat Von D.

Members of Tattoo Me Now also have their own Discussion Forum where they can talk to others about their experiences and gather up advice on designs, studios and just about anything else you can think of. It is quite amazing how invaluable this service can be when you're considering 'getting inked' for the first time.

TThere are a number of celebrities that sport tattoos from Drew Barrymore (her ankle is pictured) to the Queen of Tattoos Angelina Jolie. Alyssa Milano, Pink, Robbie Williams and the Beckhams are all helping to turn the Tattoo into a must have fashion accessory.

The amount of celebrities that sport tattoos and the differences between them definately seem to validate the idea of getting a tattoo to many people. Getting a tattoo, however should still be a personal decision, so have you decided yet?

Do You Want a Tattoo?

Angelina Jolie has dozens of tattoos and shows no signs of stopping her "collection."

She has initials for her family, a lower case letter "h" on the inside of her left wrist to represent her brother James Haven. Also the letter M on the palm of her hand for her late mother Marcheline Bertrand.

For her children she chose to use coordinates, the coordinates represent the locations where she adopted Maddox, Zahara & Pax and where she gave birth to Shiloh, Knox & Vivienne (these coordinates also cover up her Billy Bob tattoo).
She also has a number of sayings on her body. Written in Arabic she has "strength of will" on her right forearm. On her left forearm she has a Tennessee Williams quote, "A prayer for the wild at heart, kept in cages." Several inches below her navel she has a quote in Latin that translates to "What nourishes me also destroys me." Just under her neck between her shoulders she has "Know your rights."

A prayer of Buddhist Sanskrit symbols for her son Maddox is on her left shoulder covering up an old Japanese "death" tattoo.

"XIII" is also on her left forearm.

Other images that she has includes a tilted Latin cross on the lower left of her abdomen, a large Asian tiger on her back, with a dragon underneath and two pointy black tribal designs on the lower part of her back.

When Brad Pitt was married to Jennifer Anniston there were no signs of a tattoo on his back, but since he has been with Angelina he now has some ink.

On his lower back he has a piece of Arabic script on the left side, and a quote in French that translates to "life is absurd" on the right side.

He also has an outline of Otzi the Iceman on the underside of his left forearm.

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SSoccer star David and former pop star Victoria use their tattoos to celebrate their family.

David has his three sons names, Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz along with Victoria's name in Hindi as part of a crucifixion scene on his back. He also sports a full portrait of Victoria on his left forearm.

The number 7 in Roman numerals graces the underside of his right arm paying homage to his days at Manchester United (7 was his jersey number).

Victoria has five stars on her lower back, one for each member of their family. She also has her husband's initials DB on the underside of her left wrist.

Victoria's upper back has a quote in Hebrew that translates to "I am my beloved's, my beloved is mine."

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The beautiful Jessica Alba also has a little body art, although no where near as much as fellow actress Angelina Jolie.

Jessica has a flower and a ladybug on the back of her neck. She also sports the Sanskrit character for lotus flower on her wrist. Moving to the small of her back she sports a bow.

Robbie Williams is no stranger to the tattoo artist and also seems quite happy to strip off for the world and show them his artwork!

He has a number of memorial tattoos dedicated to members of his family including the word Mother on the outside of his right arm. The inside of his right arm is a picture of a saint holding a cross with his grandfather's name Jack Farrel tattooed underneath.

His most memorable tattoo, I believe, is the unmissable Maori design on his left arm. He also has a Celtic cross on his right hip.

On his right arm Robbie sports a lion with "Born to be mild" underneath it and "Elvis, grant me serenity" above it.

Other tattoos that Robbie sports includes musical notes in the small of his back and a saying "Everybody has their own unique style" in French across the top of his chest.

Lady GaGa also has some ink. The New York singer who loves to wear her own style of clothes (usually items that look like lingerie or as my dd said the other day - why is she wearing a swimming costume??!!).

In a recent interview Lady GaGa said that she has both white roses and white daisies tattoed on her shoulder and her back. The singer also has an anti-bomb tattoo on her left hand.

In a recent radio interview in Australia at the end of May 2009 Lady GaGa revealed that she is planning to get another tattoo - one of the Virgin Mary on her back.

So what's stopping you from joining the celebraty ranks of the "inked" crowd? If the only thing standing in your way is trying to think of the perfect design then wait no longer to shout "Tattoo Me Now!".

Deciding on what kind of tattoo to get can be extremely difficult.

It is also hard to find high quality tattoo designs online.

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