30 Best Lilac Tattoo Ideas
Natasa Vukmirovic
Table of Contents
About Lilac Tattoos
Lilac flowers are often associated with serenity and fresh energy, so it’s natural that lilac tattoos also exemplify these meanings. And, as tattoo art, these floral designs symbolize both newness and enthusiasm.
And a lilac tattoo can look great wherever it’s placed because of its versatile color palette—from purple to mauve and sometimes white.
In this guide, we’ll look at many different styles of lilac tattoos. Whether you’re looking for your first tattoo or just something new, we’ll give you fresh lilac tattoo ideas for your next appointment at the tattoo parlor.
What Do Lilac Tattoos Mean And Symbolize?
Lilacs symbolize a renewal of spirit since they bloom in spring. Lilac flowers also bloom before other seasonal flowers like roses, for example.
Lilacs can also be a symbol of an endless flow of energy, emotions such as love, and creativity. Plus, the color purple can stand for luxury, nobility, and ambition. So, a lilac tattoo could mean all of these things.
Another lilac tattoo meaning comes from Greek mythology. According to an ancient Greek legend, Syringa, a lake nymph, met the ‘god of forests and fields’ Pan, but she got so scared when she saw him that she ran away.
Pan wanted to chase after Syringa to talk to her, but he could not catch her. And a lush lilac bush blossomed where the young and beautiful Syringa stood.
He then made a pipe from a branch and began to walk sadly through the forest, playing inconsolable tunes about his lost love.
So love and romance, or rather love and loss, are quite often associated with lilac tattoos as well. But the meaning of your lilac tattoo will ultimately depend on how you’d like to define it.
Floral tattoos, like lilac tattoos, have been common in many cultures around the world. And they are present in different cultural practices and rituals—from weddings to funerals.
Where To Get A Lilac Tattoo
Choosing the size of your lilac tattoo first will help you decide where on your body you’d like to place it. Our suggestions for where this tattoo looks best are:
- Back shoulder
- Behind the ear
- Around the ankle
Back shoulder
The back shoulder is a great spot for a larger lilac tattoo. Your tattoo artist can design a piece that’s as detailed as you’d like it to be because of how much canvas that area provides.
The back shoulder area might be a bit sensitive to the needle. So, an elaborate and heavily shaded design in full color might take more sessions to complete, depending on your pain tolerance. A minimal lilac tattoo design on your back shoulder will hurt a bit less.
Behind the ear
Behind the ear is a great area for subtle tattoos like a lilac tattoo. It’s particularly neat for a smaller accent lilac tattoo. If you prefer a bigger piece, your tattoo artist and you can always come up with a design that starts from behind your ear and extends down your neck.
There’s an abundance of sensory nerves in and around your ears, so the sound of the tattoo machine buzzing near that area can create an unpleasant feeling, but a lilac tattoo design behind your ear can be done relatively quickly.
Around the ankle
Ankle tattoos are a neat choice if you’re interested in a more subtle placement or thinking about getting your first tattoo. A lilac tattoo around your ankle works well in that case.
It can be intricate and you can play around with designs that trace the shape of your ankle.
The skin in that area is pretty fine and sensitive, but the pain will likely be quite tolerable, especially if you opt for a more minimalist lilac tattoo design.
How Much Do Lilac Tattoos Cost?
Many factors affect the pricing of your lilac tattoo and design is a big one. Considering that this tattoo can be executed in a number of different styles, the cost will directly depend on the complexity of your tattoo design.
The cost of your tattoo will also depend on the size and the color(s) you choose to go with or omit entirely, in which case you’ll be looking at a different price range for a black and gray lilac tattoo.
A small lilac tattoo can cost anywhere between $70 to $300. The level of detail will be the determining factor. The price range for a medium tattoo will likely be between $300 and $700. And if you decide to go for a full-color tattoo, the cost will be on the higher side.
Larger tattoos usually cost more, not only because of the size but because of the number of hours and sessions that tattoo artists spend on illustrating a larger piece.
A more experienced tattoo artist will likely charge anywhere between $110 to $180 per hour, and the final cost will mainly depend on how long the tattoo took to complete.
30 Best Lilac Tattoo Designs
Whether you’re getting your lilac tattoo done in color, black and gray, or as a single flower, in the section below we’ll give you lots of info, advice, and tips. So that when you’re looking at lilac tattoo designs you can choose what works best for you.
#1: Black & Gray
A black and gray lilac tattoo design revolves around diluting black ink to produce different shades in your tattoo. For more solid gray tones, your tattoo artist will mix black and white ink and use various shading techniques, like dotwork, to create your black and gray tattoo.
A lilac tattoo design that’s tighter and more detailed tends to look better in black and gray. The level of shading in black and gray tattooing is vital and it’s something you can decide on together with your tattoo artist.
#2: Colorful
A colorful lilac tattoo is usually done as a drawing of a lilac shrub. Since lilac flowers range in shades of purple and blue, there are plenty of options when it comes to the color of your tattoo design.
If you want a bright and colorful lilac tattoo, several tattoo styles are known to naturally incorporate colorwork. For example, the Old School Traditional style, New School, Watercolor, and Illustrative style all gravitate towards color.
#3: Single Flower
A single flower lilac tattoo, like a branch lilac tattoo, can feature one or two clumps of lilac flowers along with leaves and a green branch.
You should consider a single flower lilac tattoo especially if you’re looking to tattoo it in areas that are a bit more sensitive.
A single flower tattoo design is also a great way to approach a minimalist design. It could be done in both black and gray as well as color.
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History Of Lilac Tattoos
Lilac tattoos are one of the most recognizable tattoos around the world and unsurprisingly so, given their many meanings and timeless designs.
Most common lilac tattoos are either small or subtle and are meant to be accent tattoos. But the large, colorful lilac tattoo designs are quite prevalent as well these days.
Floral tattoos have a long history and are some of the most popular tattoo designs in tattoo art—especially among first-time tattooers. That’s why the small and simple lilac tattoo designs are one of the more frequently requested tattoo designs.
Some of the first tattoo designs in tattoo art have been inspired by fauna and flora. Floral tattoos, like a lilac tattoo, have changed over the years as the tattooing tradition evolved.
They’ve had many transformations as time went on—evolving from simple designs to more complex images that include bold lines and bright colors.
Expressions of human creativity have been depicted through flowers going all the way back when they were first carved into stone thousands of years ago. Fast forward to today, and flower tattoos, like lilac tattoos, are still being illustrated in various forms.
Which Celebrities Have A Lilac Tattoo?
While there aren’t any celebrities spotted with a lilac tattoo, a great number of famous people have other floral tattoos.
Some common flower tattoos celebrities have are:
- Roses
- Daisies
- Lilies
Celebrities spotted with floral tattoo designs include:
- Iggy Azalea
- Leighton Meester
- Sarah Hyland
- Halsey
- Alyssa Milano
Iggy Azalea
Australian rapper, Iggy Azalea, has a large flower tattoo—a black and grey rose—on the back of her forearm. Her rose tattoo design accompanies a quote that’s attached to it.
Leighton Meester
Leighton Meester, or Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl, has a flower tattoo on her wrist. Her tattoo design features a flower with purple petals and a yellow center, and the whole tattoo is outlined with black lines.
Sarah Hyland
Actress Sarah Hyland has a daisy tattoo that lightly underlines the ending of a quote. Her daisy tattoo is inked on her left rib cage.
Halsey
Halsey, a singer, and an artist has two flower tattoos. One is a horseshoe with two flowers attached and she has it tattooed on her right arm. The other flower tattoo is on her left shoulder and it’s a tattoo of two roses that are attached to each other in fine black lines.
Alyssa Milano
Actress Alyssa Milano has a flower tattoo that features a stem and leaves. Her tattoo elegantly wraps around her ankle in a chain of flowers.
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