When I was 15 years old, my Aunt and I took a trip to New York. We stayed in Manhattan with my Aunts daughter. I had been bugging my Aunt, whom I lived with, about getting my nose pierced. "Nothing too big," I told her. "Just a small little stud, you'll barely even see it!" But no amount of talking was going to get her to change her mind. It didn't seem to matter that I had been DREAMING of this piercing for years. I used to stick those little rhindstones on the side of my nose and pretend it was pierced. This was no whim piercing, this was a long time desire!
At A Glance Author Lori Contact Lori@bme.anon When Two years ago Artist Don't Know Studio Don't Know Location New York We got to New York and were immediately swept away with all of it. My cousin took us to so many wonderful places, and the excitement was definatly bubbling. There are few more exhilarating things than being in the middle of this huge bustling crowd, all these different people from all these different places. And so many amazing things to see! So many colors and buildings and people. It truely makes your head spin! At the end of the day, I was talking to my aunt, and I told her that it would be a perfect souviner to take home if I got my nose pierced here in New York. Not really expecting that she would say yes, given our previous disscussions on the topic, but still holding just a tiny bit of hope. To my amazement and utter joy, she looked at me and said, "Sure, why not, and you know what, I'll even pay for it." How my heart soared! This piercing that I had been coveting for years, had been lusting after for so long! She was finally giving in! To make everything better, I was getting pierced in my dream city! New York city! What a wonderful keepsake and story to tell!! My cousin looked at her in horror. She was convinced that we had lost our minds. But you could tell that my aunt finally understood my desire for this.
So we asked my cousin to take us somewhere good and clean. She said she knew of a place right around the corner from her apartment. She said a friend had gotten a tattoo there not too long ago. We walked to a shop that was brightly lit up with neon lights and had all kinds of pictures and jewelry in the windows. We walked in and a very large man looked at me and asked me what he could help me with. I told him I wanted to get my nose pierced. Without asking my age, or if I had a parent with me, he simply pulled out a tray of nose rings and said, "$25 dollars". I should have been more concerned about his not caring about my age or name, or any kind of paper work, but tossed this aside in my excitement.
I picked out my stud and payed the man the money. He took me into the back of his shop to a piercing room. I felt fine the walk back. Not nervous, but very excited. I was ready for this! I sat in the chair and he pulled on a pair of gloves and cleaned my nose with an alcohol pad. He put a little blue dot on my nose and handed me a mirror. I thought the placement looked good. He told me to sit up real tall and look straight ahead.
I saw him open the package for the needle. I felt my breath catch. I started breathing deeply and he said, "On the count of three, here we go." I was terrified, but it was too late to back out. I closed my eyes and waited for him to count, but he never did. As soon my eye's were closed, he pushed it through. I don't remember it hurting that badly at all, more of a burning sensation and a "I can't believe I actaully just put a hole in my face" feeling. He slipped the nose stud in, which I didn't even feel, put an earing back on it and put some save ontop.
He told me to clean it with a q-tip and anti-bacterial soap twice daily and not to pick off any crusties. He said it should heal up just fine. Although his intrustions were otherwise, I went with the trusty LITHA method... Leave It The Hell Alone. I've never had a single problem with it. I love my little jem! I just recently switched from a nostril screw to a hoop, and am still adjusting to the look. But I love this piercing, and the fact that I got it in New York makes it that much more awesome! I love telling the story, I love it when people ask questions about it, and I love how it's a great conversation starter!