Julia Michaels Tells Us About Her 35+-Piece Tattoo Collection

In 2012, Michaels got a pink piano tattooed on her left inner forearm to represent her music career.

During the summer of 2018, Michaels added this bird in flight on her left arm, just above her elbow. She’s never talked about its exact meaning.

On Michaels’ upper, inner left arm is a traditional-style tattoo in red ink of a broken heart. It has the words, “Art Aint Easy” around it.

A large portion of Michaels’ left forearm is taken up with a flower design. Next to it are the words “protagonist + antagonist” in script.

Michaels’ left arm also has a pin-up girl in a green dress. The ink is often concealed on the inside of her bicep.

Her left shoulder has a woman’s face with the words, “Dear heart, I’m counting on you, don’t f*ck this up.”

There’s a unique design on Michaels’ left arm that appears to be a bust with a simple, rag doll-like face.

In 2012, she got a vintage microphone tattooed on her outer forearm with a rose below it.

In 2014, Michaels got a vintage typewriter tattooed on her upper right arm.

Michaels’ funniest tattoo story has to do with the ink she calls the “colorful artichoke” on her arm. “I got this lotus flower after a breakup, but I didn’t do my research and I just went and did it,” Michaels tells POPSUGAR. “When I left, it came out looking like a very colorful artichoke, and then I went to my other tattoo artist and I had him put a big X on it and around it, it says ‘bad idea’ because he was and it was.” She got it in 2015.

Michaels’ tattoo collection has a lot of flower designs in it, including a pink rose that wraps around her right shoulder.

On the inside of Michaels’ left upper arm is a portrait of a woman with black hair and a pearl headband. However, this woman doesn’t have a face.

On Michaels’ right arm, a design that looks like two triangles and three circles can be seen right above her rose hand tattoo. It’s the symbol for perception. She told POPSUGAR, “It looks fully formed, but it isn’t, and I’ve always found it really interesting how the brain can perceive something as whole, even though it’s not.”

Above her perception symbol is a light bulb with a solar system in it. She told 92.3 AMP Radio in an interview it represents thoughts and the subconscious mind. She got both of the tattoos in March 2017.

As a self-proclaimed Harry Potter fan, Michaels got a golden snitch tattooed on her right arm with her dad in December 2017.

Scattered throughout Michaels’ arms are four gemstone tattoos, with the most visible one being the heart-shaped pink stone on her right shoulder. They are for her fans, whom she calls her “little gems.” She got them in July 2018.

In July 2018, Michaels got a small snake tattooed on the inside of her right arm. She showed off the ink on her Instagram Story and said “a baby pink snake for this slytherin,” to celebrate her love for Harry Potter.

On the inside of Michaels’ right wrist is a small scorpion tattoo. She got it in February 2018 to represent her zodiac sign. She also has a larger feather pen ink next to it. Above those designs is a script tattoo that reads “Just Breathe.”

On the side of her neck, Michaels has the words “I am” with a blank space. The ink likely symbolizes all of the possibilities of what and who she can be.

Below Michaels’ neck are the words “speak up” tattooed and a long line that runs down her chest. “My favorite one is the one on my throat that says ‘speak up,’ because I don’t very often and I need reminders sometimes to be bold and be brave,” she tells POPSUGAR. She got it in 2017.

In the middle of Michaels’ back are the words “Kiss here.” She got the tattoo in August 2017 – right around the time she released her debut song, “Issues.”

Michaels doesn’t have many tattoos on her legs, but sometime in the last few years, she added the words “hopeless” and “romantic” to the top of each thigh. However, the “romantic” ink has lines through the letters “ro” and “t,” so it actually spells “manic.”

Above her right knee, Michaels has a tattoo that says “calm” with a down arrow next to it, presumably meaning “calm down.”

On Michaels’ left hand, she has a few pieces of ink: a rose tattoo on the back of her hand, a music note on her middle finger, and the word “matter” in tiny font by her wrist.

On the back of Michaels’ right hand, she has a large rose with geometric lines in the pedals, which she got in 2015. She also has a small bee on her middle finger and a red-ink heart on her ring finger.

The inside of Michaels’ palm also says “I love you,” tattooed in her handwriting. She got it in December 2016 as a reminder to love herself. “I have a lot of little reminders on my body because I don’t tell myself that I love myself,” she told Music Choice in an interview. “And sometimes I forget, too.”