Always and Forever Tattoos

Declare your love, a commitment, or a memory in no uncertain terms by inking it on your skin. Life may not be all bluebirds, hearts, and flowers, but your tattoo can symbolize your enduring dream of happily ever after. Proudly positioned on your upper arm, your ink is a daily reminder of what matters most in your life.

For the Big Day, do something unexpected. Anybody can come up with matching rings - you go for matching henna hands. Henna is an Indian tradition, an adornment for brides who spend hours getting the stain delicately applied to their hands, palms, and wrists. Expand the celebration to include your Significant Other and share a design that is complete when your hands are joined together. Take lots of pictures. Your henna tats will fade in a few weeks, unlike your forever love story.

When there's nothing casual about your affection, write some beautiful kanji down your spine to symbolize your true and faithful nature. The simple calligraphy for "forever" might be enough, on a wrist or behind an ear. But you can also underscore it with the more elaborate kanji for "eternal" and "everlasting" to double down on your promise of an always love.

Remember to always check any kanji with several reliable sources before you commit to permanent ink, so your message will be accurate and not muddled.

Even if you're a minimalist, there's nothing spartan or subdued about affairs of the heart. Layer that always and forever meaning unmistakably on the top of your wrist for all to see with a double symbol, simply drawn. The outline of a heart intertwined with an infinity sign is beautiful branding - not a pen (or needle) stroke extra to describe your intent.

The proportions are like a perfect bracelet when you choose a size that stretches from wrist bone to wrist bone. Plain black ink or a single color complements this design best.

Flex your biceps, or just bare a toned upper arm covered in exuberant flora, butterflies, and Luv-4-Ever. A classic lipstick-red heart, pierced by Cupid's arrow and beribboned with a flowing banner nestles on a background of wings and flowers. Spelled out across the banner is your guiding credo: Love. You. Forever.

For this type of design, choose a grabby font and make it all caps. An artist who specializes in Sailor Jerry-style ink will do your heartfelt sentiments proud.

The pain of love is nothing to its elegant splendors. So go ahead and ink that sensitive space over your collarbone with a graceful infinity symbol that loops through a "love" and a "forever" in refined script.

You'll need an artist with a light touch to deliver just the right amount of ink at the right depth to avoid any blurriness from excess ink under the thin skin on your chest right below the neck. This delicate tat is discreet enough to hide under a business suit but reveal selectively with an off-the-shoulder dress or blouse.

A tiny tat is practically a tweet on your hip bone, proclaiming your allegiance to everlasting romance in sassy shorthand. Settle for a simple black life ring inscribed all the way around with LOVE 4 EVER and overlaid with a winged red heart. A bit of shading gives the colorful heart extra dimension against thin black lines and bare skin. It's a cute, cartoon-like tat with an extra frisson of sexy that comes from its bikini-friendly placement, low on your pelvis.

Nothing can ever come between you; soul mates forever is a promise that transcends even death. Honor and remember your truest love - family, friend, or lover - with a permanent record of your feelings. A traditional-style font, a ribbon banner, and unambiguous clean colors blunt some of the sadness of a tat that memorializes a loss.

Locate the tattoo on the exposed side of your calf. Two plain black caskets with gold crosses, a couple of floating hearts hovering just off-center, the word "together" to balance the composition and a large red-and-black "forever" dominating the banner say it all. Gone but never forgotten. Love. Forever.

Anchor your love with a brushed black infinity sign just above your ankle that shatters into a flight of soaring birds. Opt for a completely unique tattoo that stands out from all others with its resemblance to a pen-and-ink drawing. The heavy black infinity shape draws attention to the tat when you are barefoot or sockless. The explosion of birds and a scattering of marks that might be feathers counters the weight of the forever sign with an unmistakable symbol of freedom - your commitment of deep affection is freely given.

Under the breast is the new hot tat real estate, and what better to inscribe there than a message to your one, true love since it's an area close to the heart? Go for a hand-drawn always and forever in medium-weight black that manages stylish and sexy at the same time.

You'll want to pay close attention to placement - the message should follow your natural curves and be just low enough to show under the edge of a bikini top or bra. Don't overdo it. One love tat under one breast is enough; tattoo both and you'll start to resemble a billboard - not your best look.

When you're the Queen of Everything, your realm is complete with a King of Hearts. Forever is in the cards for your epic love with matching King and Queen of Hearts tattoos on the stretch of skin between the knuckles of your thumbs. Clasp hands to put them together - or just hold hands because you're a romantic pair and that's what you do.

A simple red serif "K" (for him) and "Q" (for her), each over a small red heart, are all it takes to give you and your royal romance a winning hand. Thumbs are sensitive areas, so prepare yourself for the possibility of slightly more discomfort when acquiring a finger tat.

There are many different ways to express your love with an always and forever style tattoo. Whether it's for a friend, a family member, or a Significant Other, you can show your love in a way that is as personal and unique as it is meaningful.