Rihanna's 18 Sexy Tattoos!

Rihanna’s tattoos

This steamy GQ video got me thinking about Rihanna‘s tattoos. Did you know she has 18 of them? I had no idea! If you’ve never seen them all up close and personal, here’s your chance!

PS. Her regular tattoo parlour is Bang Bang Tattoos on 26 Clinton Street, in the Lower East Side in New York City.

Tattoo #1 : musical note on right her ankle

Rihanna ankle tattoo

Tattoo #2 : Pisces sign behing her right ear

Pisces tattoo

Tattoo #3 : क्षमा सत्यं दमः शमः भयं चा भय च ।। Sanskrit on her hip

Pronounced kṣamā satyaṃ damaḥ śamaḥ bhayaṃ cābhayam eva ca –  these words from the Gita written in Devanagari mean “Forgiveness, Honesty, Suppression and Control.” (Unfortunately whoever did RiRi’s tattoo apparently made a few mistakes!)

Rihanna Sanskrit tattoo

Tattoo #4 : Star inside her left ear

Rihanna’s ear tattoo

Tattoo #5 : الحرية في مسيح – written in Arabic on her rib cage

Pronounced Al-horriya fi maseeh – these words mean “the freedom in Messiah or freedom is God”

Rihanna Arabic tattoo

Tattoo #6 : Stars on her neck and back

Rihanna star tattoos

Rihanna star tattoos

Tattoo #7 : skull & bones wearing a pink bow on her left ankle

Rihanna skull & bones tattoo

Tattoo #8 : “Love” on her left middle finger

Rihanna love tattoo

Tattoo #9 : “Shhh…” on her index finger

Rihanna Shhh… tattoo

Rihanna Shhh… tattoo

Tattoo #10 : XI-IV-LXXXVI in roman numerals on her shoulder

The date 4.11.1986 (April 11, 1986) is her best friend and assistant, Melissa Forde‘s birthday. Melissa got the same tattoo of Rhianna’s Birthday just after her.

Rihanna’s Roman Numeral tattoo

Rihanna and Melissa Forde

Tattoo #11 : Maori-inspired geometric design 

She got this one in New Zealand and explained, “It’s tribal. It represents strength and love. It’s their traditional way of tattooing. I always wanted one… but it hurt like hell!”

Rihanna’s tribal tattoo

Tattoo #12 : Gun on her ribcage

Rihanna often wears a miniature gun pendant necklace, she had the weapon etched across her ribcage.

Rihanna gun tattoo

Tattoo #13 : “Never A Failure, Always A Lesson” (Mirrored) On Shoulder/Clavicle

This empowering message appears to be entirely for her own benefit because it’s been etched on back to front so she’ll be able to take read it in the mirror.

Never A Failure, Always A Lesson” (Mirrored) On Shoulder/Clavicle

Tattoo #14 : Rebelle Fleur her neck

That’s French for “rebellious flower” but there’s some disagreement about whether it’s grammatically correct!

rebelle fleur

rebelle fleur

Tattoo #15: Thug Life (in white) on her knuckles

Thug Life was Tu Pac’s mantra. Rihanna tweeted that she got it in Tibetan this time.

Rihanna Thug Life tattoo

Tattoo #16: red cross on her neck

red cross tattoo

Tattoo #17: Egyptian falcon on her right ankle

The Egyptian falcon is flying in the shape of a handgun. Rihanna explained on Twitter, ‘Falcon: a light that shines in the darkness! Never close their eyes during sleep.

falcon tattoo

Tattoo # 18: Goddess Isis under/between her breasts

Rihanna’s grandmother died last July after a long battle with cancer. She dedicated her new body art to GranGranDolly on Twitter. She is said to symbolize the eternal mother, friend to slaves, sinners and the helpless.

Goddess Isis under/between her breasts

Wow. Kinda makes me want to get another one. Do you have a tattoo? Tell me about it in the comments below and don’t forget to tell me which one of Rihanna’s is your fave!