Aussie model in tears over $120 tattoo mistake in Bali
The influencer said the tattoo blunder will be a story she will 'never forget'.
A young Australian woman was left devastated after getting a $120 tattoo in Bali only for it to go "terribly wrong" thanks to a simple oversight by the tattoo artist.
The tearful 19-year-old influencer, Tia Kabir, said she went to the popular Indonesian island with the intention of getting her much-anticipated 'Generation Z style tattoo', but was left horrified over what she was left with.
"So I came to Bali to get a tattoo right? And I've been dreaming to get this tattoo because I just don’t get tattoos all the time..." the Canberra resident said in a subsequent TikTok video.
It was meant to say 'Angel Energy' — a phrase signifying she has celestial energy she can pass on to others. But what she got instead was 'Energy Angel'.
Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Ms Kabir recalled how the bungle occurred at the tattoo parlour in Kuta on May 7.
"I printed out the stencil, they put it on my arm but because my arms are so small, they needed to make the stencil a bit smaller," she said. "I looked at it after and assumed it would be fine while it was being done.
"Afterwards my partner looks at it and goes 'yo, why does it say energy angel?'... I hysterically cried in front of them and asked how they are going to fix this?"
The tattoo artist initially tried to convince her it looked good, she told Yahoo, even offering to jazz it up a bit with a halo – a suggestion she thought was "ridiculous".
Social media user react to tattoo mistake
Ms Kabir shared a tearful video about the unfortunate blunder on Sunday, which quickly garnered more than 2.2 millions views by the time of writing.
"Omg baby," one person sympathised. "I’d be crying if I got the wrong tattoo too," another said.
"Sounds like an energy drink," a third person mocked.
However many didn't quite understand how she didn't "look over it" while the tattoo was being done.
"I AM SCREAMING! I’m sorry but you didn’t check the stencil???" one person said. "This story will last you forever. Hoping one day you’ll look back and laugh!"
Others also took to offering words of encouragement and advice, saying 'Energy Angel' even "sounds better". "That's kinda cool, it has a story behind it too," another said.
While some speculated the video was fake, she stresses that it really happened.
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Influencer gets tattoo mistake amended
The influencer said the end result was not "something [she] wanted on her body," and after much back-and-forth the parlour agreed to have her come back later that day to make some small changes to her new body art.
"I came up with 'Energy of an Angel' which brings back the meaning. I want to give angel energy vibes to people," she added.
She also took the opportunity to warn other to "quadruple-check anything you get done" at a Bali tattoo shop.
"The moment you take your eyes off something it could go terribly wrong. It'll be a story l'll never forget... at least it wasn't 'energy angle'."
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