We’ve all done something stupid in our lives, but few have done anything as stupid as 18-year-old Kimberley Vlaminck.
The Belgian girl went to a Romanian tattoo parlor and claims she asked for “three little stars only near my left eye.” She woke up with the entire left side of her face covered with 56 stars. When she returned home, her father and boyfriend understandably freaked out.
They are now suing the Romanian tattoo artist, who, according to Kimberley, only spoke a little English and French.
The tattoo artist, Rouslan Toumaniantz, said, “She knew exactly what she wanted.” He even went so far as to post what happened on BodyMod.org. The posting calls much of what Kimberley said into question.
This story is full of holes for anyone who knows anything about tattooing. Tattooing is a pretty painful process, especially when on your face. Falling asleep while getting tattooed is very, very unlikely. If she did lose consciousness, it is likely that it was alcohol-related. This makes her story even more improbable. Tattoo artists don’t generally work on anyone who is drunk.
It’s a he said/she said argument that will make the average person’s head ache.
This kind of stupidity goes beyond tattooing your boyfriend/girlfriend’s name on yourself. She looked like the tattooed version of Two-Face.
I don’t mean to insult the tattoo itself; it’s quite well done. But down the road, Kimberly could have a huge problem getting a job or doing anything professional, unless she is heavily into the tattoo artistry scene. Of course, she could be planning to get laser treatment to remove the tattoo, which is more painful and expensive than getting the tattoo in the first place.
Getting a tattoo should be a very non-impulsive, carefully made decision. Oftentimes we don’t hear about the reasoned thought process someone went through when choosing their tattoo. More frequently we hear about the poorly made, poorly designed, terribly regretted tattoos. Any decent, ethical tattoo artist will explain fully what the process involves.
“If someone seems a little blurry on the details, I’ll explain the basics of healing and aftercare and the chances of a problem coming up,” said tattoo artist Ryan Ouellette on bmezine.com, a site dedicated to tattoos, piercings and the accompanying lifestyle. “If they seem to get it, then I’ll either get them on the spot or have them book an appointment.
“If a person just gives me that blank stare when I explain something or is obviously trying to rush into something, I’ll usually tell them to research it more and come back at a later date.”
Not so long ago, a friend of mine decided to get a piercing. Beth doesn’t appear to be the type of person into piercing. She appears quiet, demure and almost mousy at first glance. Looks could not be more deceiving. She’s got a tongue piercing, goes to concerts, listens to loud, angry music and just might have a closet full of men.
“Let’s go get my cleavage pierced,” she said one warm, winter night while we were running around downtown.
Not ten minutes later we ended up in the back of a tattoo parlor and watched a big, sweaty guy pierce her. She didn’t scream in pain, which I took to be a good sign. She actually jumped out of the chair, grinning wildly.
Weeks later, when the piercing had healed, we went back to the tattoo parlor to “get some balls” for the ends of her piercing. They weren’t in stock. We went back about a week later. No balls. Another week later and still no luck.
“Let’s try another tattoo parlor, then. Surely they’ll have balls,” someone suggested, probably me.
So we walked down to another tattoo parlor. We chatted with a nice tattoo artist, and he took one look at her piercing and winced.
“Oh, you got pierced with too big a gauge.”
Beth and I exchanged a glance.
“What?”
“Yeah, and we’re going to have to special order that bar for you if you want to get it fixed.
The bar you got right now isn’t high quality, either. It’s a hand-bent one; those aren’t intended for surface piercings.”
Admittedly, Beth didn’t do something as crazy and impulsive as getting her face tattooed, but she did get pierced without doing much research on the tattoo parlor. Had we done so, this expensive situation could have been avoided.
As for Kimberley, the star-tattooed girl, she admitted that she lied. Kudos for her.
“I asked for 56 stars and initially adored them,” she said. “But when my father saw them, he was furious. So I said I fell asleep and that the tattooist mad made a mistake,” according to Cele-bitchy blog.
Ink and metal are intended to be permanent. If you aren’t 100 percent sure of your design, your tattoo artist, piercer or your state of mind, come back another day. Few things are worse than having a permanent, visible mark of stupidity.
Rhiannon Root is a sophomore journalism major who is planning on her own tattoo sometime next year. Reach her at rhiannonroot@dailynebraskan.com.
If you have to pick your tattoo off the wall of flash (pre-drawn tattoo designs)...its not time yet.
If you've been thinking about it 6 months and can't stop wanting a specific design...you're probably ready.I love tattoos, but it still took me 10 years to decide I was ready to extend my art all way to my wrist. Tats are more accepted now, but they can still give the wrong impression, especially to older generations that still see them as a social stigma.