NEED TO KNOW
- An Australian woman has gone viral on social media for showing her 250 tattoos, which cover nearly her entire body, from her chest to her feet (and yes, her butt)
- Over five years, she’s spent around $32,600 on her themed ink, which she reveals are done over multiple seven-hour tattooing sessions
- Speaking about her transformation, she reveals how her appearance has impacted her confidence and everyday interactions
This woman’s love for tattoos is permanent.
Melbourne, Australia-based content creator Blue Valentine has garnered a following online for sharing her tattoo journey, which, today, includes around 250 works of art that’ve cost her $50,000 AUD (which is approximately $33,000 USD).
“I always knew I wanted tattoos,” says the 28-year-old, who describes herself as “an all-or-nothing kind of person.”
Still, when she decided to get her first tattoo five years ago, she approached the process slowly and steadily.
“I was initially scared I wouldn’t be able to handle the pain, as I don’t like regular needles or taking blood. I did a small traditional tattoo flower on my ribs, so if I tapped out, I wouldn’t have to look at it too much.” But that wasn’t the case.
Despite the “horrible” pain that occurred during that very first session, she wasn’t deterred. “As I left the studio, I got over it and booked in my first sleeve about a week later.”
There’s more than what meets the eye with what Valentine calls her “body suit” (because the majority of her lower half — including her chest, stomach and butt — are, in fact, covered in tats).
Each sleeve and collage are designed in different themes: Diner, Military, Sailor, Circus, Garage, Western and Vintage. The one thing they have in common? Illustrations inspired by 1950s pin-up culture, which also influences how Valentine dresses day to day.
“I knew I wanted to do themes straight away. I like the organization of it. I picked my top themes, assessed which ones had the most images I wanted and they got the larger portions of my body,” she explains.
“My favorite tattoo is my throat tattoo. [It reads] ‘Not your Valentine’, Valentine being my last name. I think it’s a bold statement and is a strong representation of my personality. My others would be the ones I have representing my family, such as images of my parents [she revealed in a TikTok tattoo tour that she has an depiction of them as “conjoined twins” as a part of her circus-themed sleeve], brother, grandparents and dogs. ‘All Bark, All Bite’ across my chest is also another favorite of mine,” she says.
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While Valentine’s tattoo count may be mind-boggling, she puts thought into every single one she gets. First, she sketches her concepts on an iPad, then gives her moodboard of sorts to her tattoo artists. She’s worked with three Australian-based artists, Ben Tuckey, Ben Koopman and Allegra Maeva, over the years (but has never done a tattoo on herself).
Then come the time-consuming — and pricey — tattoo shop visits. “I would book six to seven-hour full-day sessions and go either weekly or bi-weekly until we completed whatever sleeve or themed section we were on. I’d then take a month break or so to draw up the next sleeve if I didn’t already have it ready. Usually in a full day you could get two big pieces or three medium pieces [completed]. There would also be full-day sessions just focused on filler pieces to close up any gaps, which were usually just free-handed by the artist.”
She says she’s dished out around $800 AUD or $522 USD per session.
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Valentine’s transformation has cost her much more than money. She tells PEOPLE that her appearance sometimes receives negative responses from people she meets in real life.
“Men definitely stare and ask inappropriate questions. I also work in a bar so there’s not a night that goes by without some form of harassment and comments made towards me and my tattoos,” says Valentine, who works in bar management. “I don’t take anyone’s opinion of it seriously, as my tattoos are everything I planned out and wanted. I’m very proud of what me and my artists have achieved, and I’ve become incredibly confident in my skin because of it.” She also says she has a loving partner who supports her tattoo journey as she does hers.
That means she really (yes, really) doesn’t have any regrets about her ink. “I’m so glad I waited until I was 23 to start getting tattooed or, my god, I would have some shockers! Everything was planned and everything worked out the way I envisioned thanks to my artists,” she says.
The lingering question: Does she have any more room for a few more tattoos? “I only have the bottoms of my feet, face and ears free,” she says, though getting her ears done is next on her to-do list. She does have one body part that’s absolutely off limits: “I want to keep my face naked.”
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