There is rarely a day goes by that a celebrity presents the world with a new tattoo, and one that either causes debate or ridicule!

So, when we heard that Rihanna, the 21-year-old R’n’B singer, has had an image of gun added to her growing collection of tats, we wondered whether it was just a cheap shot at gaining some media attention.

The tattoo, which depicts a gun and is located under her arm on her rib cage, is Rihanna’s fourth and joins an existing Maori design on her right hand and “Shhh” on her finger.

Her tattoo artist, Bang Bang, said: “I really wanted to put it here…she loved ’em! But, Cover Girl wouldn’t have liked it much…and they pay the bills!”

Let’s just hope Rihanna hasn’t shot herself in the foot with this one….(sorry)

People will go to great lengths to make some cash, and when it involves tattoos, we like to tell you about it! So, when we found out that a tattoo artist offered his bald head as potential advertising space to raise money to clear his debts, it did make us smile.

Thomas Tanriverdi, an established tattoo artist from Coesfeld, Germany, was so concerned about his mounting financial problems that he thought he could raise the 50,000 euros (£53,000) by auctioning his cranium online to the highest bidder.

Unfortunately for Tanriverdi, the bids only reached a miserable 355 euros, and rather than give up on his quest altogether, he decided to restructure his initial proposal. With the new opening price of 500 euros, he now has renewed optimism due to interest from a number of Internet shops and tattoo companies.

We understand that his noodle is still for sale and is willing to take nearest offers. Watch this space, or his head, I guess….
 

When we heard that Barbie was celebrating her 50th birthday this year we imagined a glamorous, limited-edition doll that parents could buy their children to love and cherish forever.

Well, not exactly. To mark this momentous occasion toy maker Mattel will launch the ‘Totally Stylin’ Tattoos Barbie’ in California this month, which comes with 40 miniature tattoo stickers that can be placed all over her body. The box-set also includes a faux tattoo gun and temporary tats that children can apply to themselves.

The landmark anniversary of one of the world’s most well known and collectable dolls has caused controversy among parents who have made their thoughts clear on a host of blogs in America, with one mother stating that “’Totally Pierced Barbie’ would be the next to roll off the assembly line”; while another claimed that we could soon see “’Divorce Barbie’, who would take possession of Ken’s accessories.”

We just hope and recommend that children use the tattoos responsibly – at least for Ken’s sake!

We don’t think that any animal should ever be tattooed, but we wanted to share this bizarre and, quite frankly, unethical story of a cat that received a new body design from its owner.

Mickey, a rare Canadian Hairless breed, more commonly known as a Sphynx cat, spent three hours under local anesthetic while the vivid Tutankhamun tattoo was being inscribed to his chest.

His unnamed female owner who lives in Moscow said: “I’m delighted with the design and I wanted something different for the times we live in.”

Animal rights campaigners, however, condemned the act as “barbaric” and are concerned that further controversial body enhancements would catch on with rich pet owners in the West.

We also believe that pets shouldn’t be used as fashion accessories, so if you want to see a beautiful, colourful Egyptian design – go to a museum!