Inked & Addicted

Forevermore Tattoo:

Glasgow

So I'm in bed with the tv on, bedside lamp on setting a nice warm glow against the snow covering everything within an inch of its life outside and I think to myself, "This actually couldn't get any comfier if it tried.". Then I mindlessly roll onto my side and am struck with a burning pain down my left arm - I was that comfortable I forgot all about my tattoo. Shit. As if the yellow and purple bruising wasn't enough, it had to have a burning sensation whenever it was touched, didn't it?

If any of you are regular followers on my Twitter or Instagram accounts, you'll be well aware that I started work on my sleeve just shortly into the New Year, and have since then had a second sitting (Friday 18th) to finish some shading. I already had five tattoos up until this point which I got done by a family friend in Italia, but since then have dreamt about starting work on a full sleeve design. You could say that I thought about others opinions far too much in the past and hence let that influence my decision, but when 2013 came around, I just thought 'f*** it' and booked a consultation at a tattoo studio in Glasgow called Forevermore Tattoo. You might have heard of them if you're from Glasgow or London, as they have studios in each of these cities, but if not then you do now. Each artist who works for Forevermore either as a permanent artist or guest, have skills that are nothing short of insane. I've seen people with tattoos done by them and knew immediately that I had to get them to do my sleeve. 

For the design I wanted - a Mexican Day of The Dead theme - I chose Alison, purely because she liked to tattoo things that are a little more...'weird and wonderful' if you will. I gave her an image that I liked and she completely made it 100% custom for me, so that I would be guaranteed a design that no one else would have. To get to the stage the sleeve is at now I've had two sittings, each lasting three hours. To be honest, after getting a tattoo on my ribs a couple of years ago, I didn't think my arm would be all that bad but boy was I wrong. Especially after the second sitting, I don't think I've ever felt pain quite like it before - whoever says tattoos don't hurt are either lying or have something wrong with them! I still have one more sitting to finish this first part of the sleeve, then I'm going to start on the bottom half. I honestly can't wait to see the bottom half all done: I think that might be my favourite part.

Seeing as I'm getting my sleeve extended to about 2 inches from my wrist (I have 'Maria' tattoo'd there and would like the design to end just where that is), I've got some other ideas about what I would like on the underside of my arm and forearm. Sugar skulls are obviously a key part in any Day of The Dead theme; however rather than having a typical human skull, I'm opting for the skull of a stag/deer with typical sugar skull decoration and more roses to act as a joining feature. If you're at all into symbolism like I am, then stags are known for very positive things such as happiness and luck, so I thought it would make for a good tattoo. As for the underarm, I'm having another portrait done - this will be the last part of the sleeve to get done however as I know I'm going to end up passing out or dying. Whichever comes first. That area is insanely sensitive and where I seem to be bruising the most, so I'm not looking forward to it if I'm being entirely truthful. I've asked Alison to think of any other little features that she might think would look good in the sleeve, so we'll see what she comes up with. I trust her judgement 100%, so I'm not worried!

If hearing me talking about the pain of a tattoo hasn't quite put you off, then you should definitely check out FMT's website and their artist gallery to see some of the work they produce. I have quite a few other tattoo ideas that I'd like to get and I'm pretty sure I'll end up going back there to get some of them done.

Tattoos are something that I have always been interested in and are now becoming more of me as a person. So with that in mind, you can bet that they'll be featuring here at Vita di Moda alot more now that I've got the confidence in myself to go out and get the kinds of tattoos that I really want. 

H&M May Have A Fresh Face

Beyonce For H&M?

Bey & Blue Ivy during a shoot in the Bahamas

Not so long ago, fresh faced Lana Del Rey was singing her heart out for H&M in her latest campaign, but now rumours have emerged that there's a new face in town and it belongs to none other than the queen of R&B and pop: Beyonce Knowles. As you might already know, this all came about when one of Bey's dancers tweeted "First day of trial in the Bahamas! H&M all set … go" - the tweet was taken down almost instantaneously of course, but once it's out there, it can't be taken back. Not really anyway. 

If I'm honest, I never really got on the whole hype ride with Lana Del Rey last year but Beyonce on the other hand is hard to ignore. She's got the body, the career, the lifestyle and the family to match, I just hope for both Beyonce's sake and everyone else's that H&M start to make their clothes to real sizes and put a little room in their patterns for those of us who actually have curves. I mean, what girl likes being a size 8/10 in one store, to then being a size 20 in H&M? - exaggerated of course, but you catch my drift.

What do you think of these rumours? Would you like to see Beyonce as the new face of H&M?

Photo Credit: fabsugar.com

Guess who's back?

A.W.O.L

Well, I think it's safe to say that 15 days-ish is the longest I've gone without blogging. I'm ashamed. I could have the excuse that my 2013 started off less than stellar (you can blame the male species for this) and it just seemed that I was never going to get my groove back with writing, but I won't even bother. You don't need excuses, you just need new content - and that's exactly what I have for you.

I had anticipated that it would be 2014 before I found the streak of inspiration needed to start writing again, but with the help of Benjart Clothing I can breathe a sigh of relief and bring you that highly awaited post a lot sooner than I thought - queue happy dance. Now, before I moved to Newcastle I was dressed in black and felt like a complete goth with every outfit that I put on. Then I moved and all of a sudden I'm going all urban and wearing sneakers and beanies. What the hell. So this new found style in me naturally felt drawn to the fashion brand Benjart - an urban clothing brand that I came across on instagram whilst procrastinating my uni work. Naturally.

The brand of Benjart is borne from shattered dreams… After finding obstructions in his path and being faced with difficult decisions, Mr Benjart had to persevere to break down barriers or find alternative routes to the top. These are life experiences that everyone must endure in order to find success, and Benjart is still climbing, so join him on his journey, and learn his story through the different stages of releases.

Click onto their website and you'll find an array of urban themed beanies, jackets, tshirts, hoodies, snapbacks (something that lads everywhere in Newcastle are wearing at the minute - even to the gym) and accessories to name but a few for men. To be fair, I'd wear practically everything on the website so it's really a unisex brand. A few customisations here and there and you would be good to go, girls! Although I love everything they have on offer, I've managed to pick out six items that are topping my lust list at the minute.





I especially love the bravery quote on #2 - they have it on tshirts etc as well if you aren't quite feeling the jumper. Prices range from about £11.99 (sale items) to about £90+ for things like their jackets etc. They're definitely street style pieces that would look pretty damn good any time of the year. Who needs fashion designers telling us what to wear when we have a mind of our own, eh?

If you want to purchase any of the items shown above, you can click here and that'll take you over to the Benjart website! They also have other social media platforms such as twitter, facebook and tumblr if you fancy a little look at those as well. Enjoy!

Photo Credit: Image from the LookBook available at http://www.benjartclothing.com/look-book