Happy New Year's Eve! Wave goodbye to 2016 and pray 2017 isn't its bigger, badder brother.

I wonder am I being a bit of a hypocrite by featuring hand and finger tattoos for the 10th day of Kitschmas countdown, or count-up.

I rarely mention it on here these days, but I'm actually quite covered in tattoos. I've a complete upper sleeve on my left arm, with large pieces on the lower arm also. I've two swallows in the traditional chest-piece location.

Then, there's my finger tattoo. Or there was. One night in 2005 my then boyfriend & I went to a party in South Belfast, stayed up all night & in the morning, walked into central Belfast to the tattoo studio we both went to at the time, and asked the artist to give us a black star each, on our wedding band finger.

A good tattoo artist, like the one I ended up going to for my sleeve etc. would have flat out refused us. My tattoo artist now told me he would never have tattooed my hand when at the time I was really only someone who had two tiny existing tattoos. I wasn't someone with full sleeves, running out of room to place designs, so moving to my hands by default.

In the business hand, finger and neck & face tattoos can be nicknamed 'jobstoppers' because of their anti-social notoriety.

There's also the fact that I'm quite sure after being up all night partying, we should have been refused for still being under the influence of alcohol.

If that wasn't enough of a clue to refuse us that day, then maybe the fact we were still in bloody fancy dress might have helped. It hadn't even been a fancy dress party but we had turned up as Hunter S Thompson and a princess.

Nevertheless we left that morning with a jobstopper each. Convieniently considering we had them on our ring fingers, we ended up getting married. By that point however I hated mine completely. It made my hand look grubby, and it wasn't even well drawn, one side was thicker than the other. Wearing a wedding ring over it still looked bad, as the edges poked out.

My husband knew I hated how mine looked, but he still liked his, and said he would like to get his other fingers done too. So I felt if I did research tattoo removal it would hurt his feelings even more so than me saying I hated mine had done any time I brought it up.

Then in Nov 2014 we split- and by Christmas I had been for my first Tattoo Removal Laser session at Indulgence by Susan's home spa in Lisburn.

Goodbye tacky finger tattoo!

I had about four sessions with Susan and as you can see there is no scarring whatsoever. I could do with one final session to just blast that little bit of ink that remains where the thicker line was, so Susan, I will see you in the new year!

So maybe I'm being hypocritical featuring the very tattoo spot I disliked, but that's because it can suit other people. The artwork on show here is a lot better than my wonky star.

But I would advise anyone thinking of getting a tattoo in a place that cannot be covered easily, try drawing it on for a few weeks and see how you feel and how it looks with your different clothing & in different situations, because laser removal hurts ten times worse than getting the tattoo put on!

One of my insecurities has always been my teeth. My bottom teeth are crooked, and I've never had what you might call a sparkling, white smile. As you know from previous blogs, I am having a tattoo removed at a private salon in Lisburn, Indulgence by Susan. Susan offers a wide range of treatments and invited me to try the laser teeth whitening while I was with her for my second laser tattoo removal appointment.

As with the tattoo removal, Susan talks you through every step of the process before you commit to the treatment. She pulled no punches, and explained the whitening process can cause some sensitivity during, and for 24 hours after. I really appreciate the honesty which Susan brings to her business. She would rather you were fully informed of the realities of the treatments, than for her to just go ahead and you not to be happy.

As it was, I had very little sensation from the treatment at all, but Susan checked in on me every ten minutes to make sure I was okay.

The treatment involves piping a substance along the gum line to protect your mouth, then the lightening mixture is applied. The mouth guard keeps your lips back out of the way and isn't painful, just a little uncomfortable. Susan's home salon has a little relaxation room where you can sit back and watch tv while your treatment develops. The laser light doesn't produce any heat, but you do wear goggles for eye protection.

After the procedure, I was absolutely delighted with the results. You can see from my before and after there is a lightening of a good few shades.

Susan also provides a lightening gel to take home for a very reasonable price (you wouldn't find it cheaper even on eBay) plus she helps you mould the trays for your teeth before you leave the salon, which is a godsend if you are terrible at fiddly things like me!

I'd definitely recommend the treatment, and if you live locally in Northern Ireland you can't go wrong if you go to Susan for the laser teeth whitening. Her website is http://www.indulgencebysusan.com/ and there are special offers on the site if you come as a pair for the treatment.

Are there any other beauty or spa treatments you are curious about that you'd like me to try out and let you know about before you take the plunge yourself? Let me know on Twitter @rudedoodle