Rihanna is one of the most beautiful and intriguing artists around today, she keeps us captivated with her songs, music, lifestyle and even body art. Let’s take a look at the Rhianna’s tattoo transformation from when she just started out as a young songstress to today as an International superstar.

“I like hanging out in tattoo shops,” Rihanna has said. “I am so intrigued by tattoos. It’s an entire culture, and I study it. Sometimes I go with friends, or just by myself. I get bum-rushed, but I don’t care. I don’t take security.”

So far Rihanna has 15 (maybe 16 depending on a tweet she sent out in Jan 21012 of her getting a back tatt) small tattoos located all over her body from her head down to her ankles. She has even created a tattoo on her own – including a little umbrella on her tattooist arm!

1. & 2.  Rihanna started collecting tattoos in 2006 when her career started taking off and she tattooed 2 music notes on her  right ankle. The symbol behind her ear is a Pisces Sign and it was done by a famous Brazilian artist who books three years in advance. Luckily for Rihanna he was in Tokyo at the same time so he could create it for her immediately.

3. & 4. Rihanna has a Sanskrit tattoo on her hip that reads Forgiveness, Truth, Repression, Calmness. These are most likely encouraging words that  provide support and spiritual strength for Rihanna. She also has a star tattooed on the top inside of her left ear.

5. & 6.Rihanna has An Arabic phrase on her ribcage area reading ‘Al Hurria fi Al Maseeh‘ translating into Freedom in God. The tattoo on her left ankle is a cute skull with a bow on its head and it was done during a stay Miami.

7. & 8. The tattoo on Rihanna’s left middle finger reads “love” which she got from an artist in LA. The  “Shhh…” phrase is on her right index finger and has been copied by other celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan and Lily Allen.

9. & 10. Rihanna has the date April 11 1986 tattooed across her left shoulder in Roman numerals which is the date of her assistant and best friends birthday. She also has a trail of stars going down her back which were started in LA but later added to by artist Bang Bang in New York at a later date.

11. & 12.Rihanna’s gun tattoo was inked when she was in the midst of the Chris Brown debacle and can be “very powering and very protective” as Bang Bang the artist who designed it quoted. The tribal tattoo design on Rihanna’s right hand was done in New Zealand while she was on tour. “It’s their traditional way of tattooing,” she said of the Maori-inspired geometric design. “I always wanted one.” “It represents strength and love.” But even for a tattoo enthusiast like Rihanna, this particular method had one big drawback: “It hurt like hell!”

13. & 14. Rihanna has a sort of personal creed tattooed backwards across her chest so she can read it in the mirror. It reads,  “Never a failure always a lesson”.  “I asked her why she wanted that and she said, ‘It’s kind of my motto in life for everything.’ Instead of considering things to be mistakes, considering them lessons.” “She said that she wanted to do it in gray, rather than black, because she wanted it to be more subtle,” explains Bang Bang. “She didn’t want it to draw too much attention.”

Rihanna’s has the words rebelle fleur tattooed on her neck that lead to much controversy over the French to English translation.  Rihanna has since launched a new perfume under the same name. The scent, Reb’l Fleur is described as being very connected to Rihanna’s roots in the Caribbean. In fact, the name of the scent itself is reported to be based on a nickname that the performer’s grandmother called her when she was a young girl. In an interview about the perfume, Rihanna said that her grandmother in Barbados used to call her a “rebel flower.”

Rihanna’s most current tattoo as of January 2012 is the words Thug Life on her knuckles in what looks like white ink. The words follow the lead of late rapper Tupac ’2Pac’ Shakur, who had the phrase tattooed on his belly. Rihanna tweeted: “♫ All these b*****s screaming that 2pac back ♫ #THUGLIFE”. Rhianna also posted a picture of herself laying on the artists table getting a tatt on her back, but only time will tell what that ink will reveal! Check back for more updates soon!

We are sure that this will not be the last we post on Rihanna’s tattoos because this girl loves to alter her identity! What do you think of all this ink? Classy or Trashy?

Tagged Rihanna, Tattoos