A Beginner's Guide to Ear Styling, From THE Piercer to the Stars

Her celebrity clientele includes Britney Spears, Beyonce and Miley Cyrus, so it's clear Maria Tash knows more than a thing or two about the art of piercings. So when I was offered the opportunity to meet the woman herself while she was traveling in the Middle East (doing pop-ups in Dubai and Kuwait) I jumped at the chance. I haven't had a piercing done in 15+ years so I was slightly hesitant about getting anything that isn't the soft lobe, but if I was going to venture out and do it at some point, I knew I was in safe hands with Maria and the team from Aubade jewelry.

With her Venus salons on New York's Broadway and London's Regent Street, it's not surprising that she's got so many cool examples of how to style your ear piercings on her Instagram page. See the gallery for a guide to the different areas of the ear you can pierce and see a video of me getting my conch done. Warning: It's not for the squeamish!