Tattoos are blossoming on bodies. Summer is the ideal season to notice them. Both aesthetic and personal, they enjoy widespread success. Insights from a tattooed woman and a tattoo artist…
Summer on the Coast, for a man (editor’s note: this is not sexism, it’s only because I am a man… and I still do not know what women think!) is a real feast for the eyes. The temperature rises and women’s clothes come off. But within every man there lies the soul of an art lover. Behind his opaque glasses hiding the eyes of a predator, if a man scrutinizes a female’s body from top to bottom, it is only to detect the artistic touch of his prey.
A little angel on a sun-kissed shoulder, a rose placed on the groin, and the man will know he needs to be romantic to approach the lady… However, everything is explained. Elodie, 22 years old, a lovely brunette from Mulhouse, deciphers her tattoos: “I got the angel three years ago. My boyfriend at the time called me My Angel, so this tattoo was for him. The rose symbolizes love. To pick it, a man must be delicate to avoid the thorns.”
But be careful, nothing is won: one tattoo may hide another, just like with trains. Elodie pulls up her jeans. “Here is my latest tattoo, from last spring. Becoming wary of male hypocrisy, and with age, learning to face it, I now know how to respond by spitting my venom.” Thus, Elodie got a viper tattooed above her ankle. Elodie reveals her character in three tattoos.
“Tattoos are something very personal. Some come with a specific idea or even with a tattoo already drawn on paper. Others ask for advice, and we create a tattoo together,” explains Nathalie, who has been tattooing in Old Nice for seven years, on Rue Pontin.
For a few years now, tattooing has become mainstream. Just look on the beach to be convinced. Piercings are also following this trend. “Right now, tattoos and piercings are doing well,” confirms Nathalie. Tattoo artists are multiplying, which necessitates legislating their status but also ensuring compliance with hygiene rules. “We have already been inspected, and that’s a good thing. When hygiene rules are not followed, it becomes known, and unscrupulous tattoo artists, facing a lack of clients, fold shop. That’s not the solution, and our union is negotiating with the government to clarify our status. A law should be enacted soon,” comments Nathalie.
So, if you want to personalize your body, don’t hesitate… However, be very aware that this personalization will be with you for your entire life. Think carefully before you decide. Take your time. Getting a tattoo at any age is possible. Nathalie recently tattooed a 75-year-old woman.
Vincent Trinquat
