With so many hair and makeup pros at their disposal, celebrities have enjoyed a long tradition of being at the forefront of just about every beauty norm — except for body art. Because actors and models are required to slip into the roles of so many different characters, celebs have often stayed away from identifying ink. One workaround — which also happens to serve those of us in more traditional fields — is to enjoy the art of ink expression in a minimal way. And today’s celebs are most certainly game.
One choice spot for incognito ink? The sides of fingers, where typography and small icons can be perfectly nestled for personal enjoyment, yet remain out of obvious view. Another way to fly under the radar: Use subtle ink colors, like Kendall Jenner's and Ellie Goulding's white tats. Whether you want to join the tattooed brigade in a modest way or simply love the look of delicate ink, celebs are serving up some major inspiration. Ahead, our favorite superstar body art that has us thinking small.
Sienna Miller
Sienna Miller’s trio of stars on her shoulder isn’t anything new, but the simple outlined design stands out as a classic example of minimal done right.
Photo: Ron Galella/WireImage.
Lea Michele
Some may have forgotten about Michele and Cory Monteith — Glee ’s golden couple IRL and on the show. But Michele keeps the late actor memorialized forever with a simple number 5, his character's quarterback jersey number.
Photo: via @msleamichele.
Selena Gomez
Selena’s ex, Justin Bieber, may have a current hit with "Love Yourself," but Selena’s tattoo of “Love Yourself First,” inked in beautiful Arabic script by celeb tattoo artist Bang Bang in 2014, is forever.
Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images.
Selena’s first tattoo? A singular music note on her wrist, inked in 2012.
Photo: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images.
Kylie Jenner
Long before our cultural heroes were swarmed for selfies, autographs were king. Jenner got her grandmother’s name (as written by her grandfather) inked in her signature tattoo color.
Photo: via @kyliejenner.
Miley Cyrus
Miley’s body is generously dotted with so many mini-tattoos, she’s gaining on Marc Jacobs’ wonderfully wacky count. Her newest addition, inked just days ago, is a rendering of the planet Saturn (which she apparently thought was Jupiter).
Photo: via @mileycyrus.
Cara Delevingne
Simple stars and a diamond decorate Delevingne's ear, making earrings basically unnecessary. These fanned numbers are pretty rad, though.
Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images.
Drew Barrymore
A longtime lover of body art, Barrymore most recently memorialized what she called a “little lifetime note” on her arm — the crazy-cute names of her two daughters.
Photo: via @drewbarrymore.
Ellie Goulding
Between the white arrow on her finger and geometric line art on her ribcage, Ellie Goulding is clocking her own mini collection of enviable ink. Our current favorite is of a Tibetan mantra that reportedly translates to "jewel in the lotus."
Photo: via @elliegoulding.
Grimes
In a 2012 interview with Bullett, pop star Grimes revealed that The Legend of Zelda is her all-time favorite video game and the inspiration for her delightfully nerdy triforce tattoo.
Photo: via @actuallygrimes.
Kendall Jenner & Hailey Baldwin
What goes down when Hails and Kenny (that’s Hailey Baldwin and Kendall Jenner to the rest of us) visit JonBoy, one of NYC’s most popular tattoo artists? Matching broken hearts on the insides of their middle fingers. Well, they’re almost matching: While Hailey went with a Kylie-approved shade, Kendall chose an incognito white, reportedly so as not to stick out on modeling shoots.
Photo: via @haileyisboring.
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