You know what they say... "when in New York, get a tattoo." ...so I did.
At 21, I finally got my first tattoo!! (very exciting stuff, I know.)
A week before my senior year of college started, I went to the Big Apple with my boyfriend. I have been wanting a tattoo for months, but I couldn't find an artist I really resonated with. My friend, cup of jasmien on YouTube, has been tattooing for a couple years and since she's based in NYC, I knew I had to get something from her since I didn't know the next time I'll be back. She is filled with talent and I have always adored her work so I knew she was perfect to do the job.
So, what did I want to get permanently on my body?
Since it was my first tattoo, I wanted it to have some sort of sentimental meaning (I don't think I will carry this with me for future tattoos though -- if I think it looks nice, I think that's enough reason!)
It's a very Asian / Vietnamese mom thing to have an obsession with orchid flowers -- my mom and grandma are no exception. Jasmine is famous for her stamp-looking tattoos so I thought it would be perfect to have orchids be the focal point.
Now... what number should the stamp have?
I immediately knew the perfect number is 2. This is because my sister and I are 2 years and 2 days apart (my birthday is 8.9.2000 and her's is 8.11.2002.) I thought 2 was good too since we are my parents only children.
I opted to have red ink since I think it speaks to my Asian roots and simply because I think red ink looks super cool. Jasmine was the one who pitched a red and black ombre effect and I fell in love.
So... did it hurt?
Honestly, the pain wasn't tooooo bad -- don't get me wrong though, it didn't feel great, either. I think my kitten, Suki, really trained me for the pain because it kind of felt like continuous cat scratches. For me, I didn't hurt that bad when she first started, but once she started to go into my inner arm area, it started to hurt a bit more. The most painful part was the shading and the detail work. In all, the tattoo took almost 3 hours, but all of the pain was worth it.
Are you ready for the reveal?
Drumroll please...
I love the way she shaded everything, the detail work, and especially the tiny yellow highlights.
AFTERCARE
Immediately after tattooing, she applied Second Skin onto it (it's basically a clear band-aid to protect it from dust and other things.
After 4 days, it was time to take it off. Now, this is where the real pain comes in. The adhesive is so incredibly sticky and it was on top of sensitive skin... yeah... not a great combination. If I'm going to be honest, peeling this off was more painful than the tattoo. I highly recommend taking it off in the shower under warm water to loosen it up.
All there is to do is to wash the tattoo 1-2 times daily with unscented, gentle soap (I used Dial Gold) and apply Aquaphor 3-4 times a day. Also, it is very important to apply SPF on it everytime you go out into the sun to prevent fading!
And that's it! I absolutely love my new permanent artwork and I can't wait to get more.
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