Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Spring Summer 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    • Digital Issues
    • Women Who Win
    1. Celebrity News

    8 designs tattoo artists are sick of being asked to do

    Think that bird design is original do you?

    Lucy Pavia's avatar
    By Lucy Pavia
    Published 6 June 2016 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Tattoo .jpg
    Tattoo .jpg
    (Image credit: rex)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Think that bird design is original do you?

    Tattoos are pretty mainstream these days. An estimated one in three adults now have an inking of some sort and the demand is said to be ever-increasing.

    But it would seem the growing popularity of the tattoo has not brought with it a taste for variety. At least according to a rather hilarious Reddit thread of disgruntled tattoo artists, who took to the site last week to share the designs they would happily never be asked to do again. Here are some of the best.

    1) Live, Laugh, Love? (Make. It. Stop.)

    HouseofLeopold: 'Any combination of the following words: dream, laugh, hope, love, live, dance. it's like "build your own inspirational quote." yes, so inspiring on your foot. live laugh love, hope dream love, dance dream love, laugh love live... etc.'

    You may like
    • Kinda Chic Trend Is "Kinda Chic" Kinda Cringe? Everyone's Favourite Fashion Word Just Went Completely Out of Fashion
    • A selection of holiday photos taken by the author during recent travels, including landscapes, local food, architecture and everyday travel experiences. I’m Not an Influencer. So Why Do I Feel Pressure to Post My Holiday Photos?
    • Treatment Stacking “I've Spent More on Tweakments Than on Two Long-Haul Holidays”—How Treatment Stacking Became the New Normal

    2) Feathery friends

    'Owls are everywhere' wrote one Reddit user, while another called andilla13 added that he was fed up with the hipster trend for 'birds 'n words'

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    3) Spiritual quotes (man)

    Cunninglinguistician: 'Generic 'deep phrases' (or incorrectly translated/ gibberish writing) in Asian scripts because anything from Asia is automatically mystical and wise. Saw a photo of an arm tattoo saying '火鸡三明治' once that I really hope was fake. Also getting random Hindu/ Buddhist symbols without having any idea what they're called or what they mean because they want people to know they're 'spiritual'.'

    A-list inkings: the very best celebrity tattoos

    What to read next
    • AI Edited My Face Without Asking: Side by side comparison of my face before and after inputting into AI I Asked AI to Add a Dog to My Photo. What It Did to My Face Left Me Unsettled
    • Botox resistance, Botox tolerance The Botox Plateau—Why Some People Think Their Injections Have Stopped Working
    • B _ W - Woman reading book with wine in natural sunlight - TVS 9 of Britain's 10 Bestselling Novels Begin With a Dead Woman. I Asked Authors, Literary Experts and a Criminal Behavioural Analyst Why

    4) Incorrect Chinese ('you are a turtle')

    Bananaslugholly: 'I agree with the Asian scripts. We have the same thing in Asia, where people tattoo a nonsense combination of English words on themselves. I've personally seen a girl with 'life is lemon' on her lower back. I've also overheard an American guy bragging about the Chinese character on his arm, he thinks it means brave, it means turtle.'

    5) Infinity symbols

    Darthinksmith_87: 'Infinity symbols that have names that are hidden within a feather, then the feather turns into birds, then the birds turn into dandelion seeds. All of that the size of a quarter in white ink on the bottom of your foot and you best make sure it's done like a watercolor tattoo.'

    6) Something they found on Pinterest (which is mostly infinity symbols)

    Simcodemayo: 'Oh, boy! Where do I begin? Have you ever seen Pinterest? Well, it's the worst thing ever invented according to my fellow tattoo artists and me... It makes people think their infinity symbol is original but it f**king isn't... We tattoo at least 10 each week... With feathers, with names, with birds, with dates...'

    7) Anything on the ribcage

    Ladycoleopterist: 'I'm sick of rib tattoos because it's super stretchy and a good 20% of people I tattoo there will shake and twitch through the whole thing. Girls of Pinterest, make calf tattoos the next big thing! I will never tire of infinity symbols, however. Easy, and the most money for my time!'

    8) Anything that follows a trend

    GunsGermsAndSteel: 'It used to be a trend would last a year or two. Barbed wire armbands lasted a couple years, then gave way to tribal, etc- but the more prevalent the Internet became, the faster the trends moved- down to months or even weeks. Who remembers the Semi-Colon Tattoo Craze of 2015? Yeah me either, because I blinked and almost missed it.'

    Lucy Pavia
    Lucy Pavia
    Social Links Navigation
    Read more
    Kinda Chic Trend
    Shopping Is "Kinda Chic" Kinda Cringe? Everyone's Favourite Fashion Word Just Went Completely Out of Fashion
    A selection of holiday photos taken by the author during recent travels, including landscapes, local food, architecture and everyday travel experiences.
    Travel I’m Not an Influencer. So Why Do I Feel Pressure to Post My Holiday Photos?
     
     
    Treatment Stacking
    Beauty “I've Spent More on Tweakments Than on Two Long-Haul Holidays”—How Treatment Stacking Became the New Normal
    AI Edited My Face Without Asking: Side by side comparison of my face before and after inputting into AI
    Life I Asked AI to Add a Dog to My Photo. What It Did to My Face Left Me Unsettled
     
     
    Latest in Celebrity News
    Olivia Rodrigo performing on stage in a babydoll dress that sparked online debate, later prompting the singer to speak out about the sexualisation of girlhood and double standards facing young women.
    Celebrity News “We Really Normalise Pedophilia in Our Culture”: What Olivia Rodrigo's Babydoll Dress Backlash Reveals About Girlhood
    Meghan Markle in 'With Love, Meghan'
    Celebrity News Meghan Markle’s Sweet Glimpse Into Sussex Family Life Is Going Viral
     
     
    Anne Hathaway attends the premiere of The Devil Wears Prada 2
    Celebrity News Anne Hathaway Has Spoken Out About Her 10-Year Health Battle
    The Prince and Princess of Wales visit the Isles of Mull and Iona
    Royal News Royal Experts Predict a Major Milestone From Princess Kate This Autumn
     
     
    Latest in News
    Kaia Gerber
    Shopping Kaia Gerber Just Wore the ’90s Dress Style That’s as Flattering as It Is Low-Effort
    Oxfam
    Fashion “The Water Used to Produce Britain’s Unworn Clothes Is Enough to Supply 1 Million People for a Lifetime”: Oxfam’s Latest State of Style Report Finds
     
     
    Beauty Digest
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Max Mara Bottles an Icon, a £12.99 Skincare Revelation and an Ode to the Classic Massage
    Knee-Length Skirts
    Shopping Very Few Shoes Actually Look Good With Knee-Length Skirts—This One Style Always Works
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.