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Here’s a thread of Rihanna’s tattoos, and as you scroll down it gets more and more ICONIC reminding us of how she helped shape modern tattoo culture.
Rihanna was 17 when she got her zodiac sign; the Pisces symbol tattooed behind her right ear. She did this while in Tokyo
her second tattoo were two music notes (a treble cleft and sixteenth note) on her right foot this she got in Melbourne, 2006, Inspired by her music career.
Here she is talking about the music notes tattoo
In August ‘06 she spontaneously got her third tattoo “a star” inside of her left ear. inspired by her bff Melissa who had come to visit from Barbados. (Mel got one too)
In ‘07, Rihanna got a Sanskrit prayer going down her right hip. It was supposed to translate to “forgiveness,suppression & control”, but the tattoo was misspelled so it translates to “long suffering, truthfulness, self-restraint, inward calm, fear and fearlessness”
circa ‘08 Rihanna got “Love” written in a simple cursive font on her right middle finger. Rarely seen unless she holds up her middle finger in certain ways.
In June 2008, Rihanna got a second finger tattoo. It remains one of her most copied tattoos. The premise is that the tattoo is what one sees when you hold your finger to your lips to shush them.
Somewhere in Miami in 2008 Rihanna inked a skull on her ankle. It’s her only tattoo with colored ink and also her seventh tattoo. means Dangerous Cutie or Bad Bitch.
June 2008, Rihanna got the date 11/4/86 in Roman numerals (XI-IV-LXXXVI) inked on her left shoulder. It’s her BFF Melissa’s birthday and Melissa got the same with Rihanna’s birthday
the stars tattoo is also one of her most copied tattoos. It was started in ‘08 by an artist in L.A, then finished in New York by her fav tattoo artist Bang Bang.
In ‘08 Rihanna got an Arabic phrase “الحريّة في المسيح” which literally translates to “Freedom in God” on her left rib cage
November ‘08 Rihanna got a henna-style tribal dragon claw complete with little hibiscus flowers going up her wrist. It’s the traditional tattoo of the Maori people in NZ. It indicates power, strength and resilience.
March ‘09 Rihanna got a small handgun tattooed below her right armpit, she had wanted a pair of guns above both of her armpits, but Bang Bang convinced her to put one gun on her rib cage instead for endorsement reasons
December ‘09, Rihanna got her personal motto “Never a failure, Always a lesson” tattooed along the right side of her chest. It’s written backwards so she can read that in the mirror
August 2010, Rihanna got a tattoo of the text “rebelle fleur” written in script on the left side of her neck
January 2012, Rihanna showed off her new tattoo of the ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti. Nefertiti was an icon of beauty and amongst other titles “Lady of Grace”
January 2012, Rihanna took to Twitter to reveal the words “Thug Life” tattooed across her knuckles as a tribute to Tupac Shakur. it was done with semi-permanent white ink
March 2012 Rihanna got a tattoo saying “lover” in Tibetan on her left hip, right above her butt
same month in 2012, Rihanna got a small cross tattooed on her left collarbone.
June 2012, Rihanna covered up her music notes tattoo and replaced it with a large Egyptian falcon.
When asked about it, she said “Back in the day, they would carve a falcon into the walls, because they didn’t have another way of saying a king in the sky.”
When asked about it, she said “Back in the day, they would carve a falcon into the walls, because they didn’t have another way of saying a king in the sky.”
In September 2012, Rihanna got her biggest and most iconic tattoo till date; the goddess isis, as a tribute to her grandmother Dolly.
October 2013 Rihanna started her hand tattoo which spanned in to two sessions. First she added these chevrons and lines all over her fingers, hand, and wrist.
In the same month, $he completed her hand tattoo, incorporating both the Maori tribal design near her thumb and the chevron lines. Artists Bang Bang and Cally-Jo worked closely on this tattoo inspired by Indian henna art.
January 2014, Bang Bang gave Rihanna this tattoo of a cross on the inside of her right wrist. The design is intricately made from negative space and surrounded by black ink.
The final stroke of her hand art.
The final stroke of her hand art.
in August 2015 she got the year 1988 tattooed on her right ankle by Bang Bang. Rihanna was born on February 20, 1988
Sept 2016 Rihanna got her last known tattoo; a camouflage print shark on her left ankle which according to rumour was inspired by a stuffed shark Drake got her. Aubrih stans won.
In conclusion Rihanna is and will always be a trendsetter.
