Wonder Woman Body Painting

She’s cute. She’s memorable. She should be permanently inked on your body. It is her birthday after all, and we couldn’t think of a more fitting tribute.

Hello Kitty is turning 35 on October 21, and in honor of the occasion, Last Chance Tattoo is celebrating with $35 Hello Kitty tattoos. “Everyone does different things for different holidays,” says Last Chance Tattoo artist Rachael Snyder, aka Rachael Scumbag. “People do Shark Week tattoos and $13 tattoos on Friday the 13th,” she says.

A Las Vegas native, Snyder has been tattooing for two-and-a-half years. She did her apprenticeship at Last Chance and has been there since. Her area of expertise lies in more traditional style tattoo work as well as color.

So what’s the deal with the Hello Kitty phenomenon anyway? Besides being friggin’ adorable to some and obnoxious to others, the cartoon cat’s impact on pop culture is undeniable. From her beginnings in Japan on a plastic change purse, merchandise with Hello Kitty and her friends has grown to a billion-dollar industry. There are Hello Kitty lunchboxes, dolls, school supplies, clothes, bedding, toasters and Hello Kitty contact lenses.