Tiger Lily is the run-of-the-mill shop you might find in Camden Market, except it's in central Oxford. They sell a variety of goth/alternative clothes, shoes, jewellery, accessories, hair dye, and other trinkets and miscellanies. The stuff here is often slightly overpriced. By that I mean, you could find most of their stock online at a discount: I've seen shoes here for £40 that I bought for less than £20 on the internet. This applies to pretty much anything you can find in the store, but I can't fault them for it. The advantage to shopping at Tiger Lily of course is the instant gratification of not having to wait a week to get that tub of Manic Panic in the mail, or actually being able to try the damn shoes on before you buy them (curse your strange sizes, Iron Fist...). The guys behind the counter seem pretty friendly and chill... Also, you can get pierced or tattooed here. I've seen a few dubious comments online about the quality of the tattoo artist(s) and their policies, so I would proceed with caution. That said, Tiger Lily is definitely a fun shop and worth checking out. read more

Tiger Lily has everything you need and the only place close enough to town that sells the necessities for the recreational smoker. It's also very discrete which some customers may prefer. Note: I'm only referring to their recreational smoking equipment room, the tattoo and goth accessory shop I have no experience as a customer. read more

I've pierced my ear before, but never like this. when she took my helix off, it was really painful (and I've done it before myself without any pain) the industrial piercing got infected right away and left me a keloid for about 6 months. the shop was really cool and the staff super friendly, but I would not recommend piercings there. Pay 13 pounds extra, take the Oxford tube and find a place in London. read more

I realise there aren't that many piercing salons in Oxford but I wouldn't get pierced there. I have 10 piercings and can tell who should be allowed to poke holes into other (live) humans - this wasn't it. In fact, when I visited 2 months ago I experienced minor butchery, when all I was walking in for was to get new jewellery put in. I'd had to take all my piercings out for a head scan back in March and was having trouble putting my 4 helix hoops back in as they are so small, so decided to pop into TL to have a professional do it. I expected this to be a quick and entirely painless process (the most recent of these piercings is 5 years old!), but it quickly appeared that it was giving the piercer a much harder time than I thought. This wasn't really his fault: I heal fast and scar well and 2 months somehow were enough for the holes to get smaller. But instead of telling me this and suggesting I try a slightly smaller gauge first to get used to the piercing again (or even to get it pierced again!), he said nothing and apparently decided he was going to get those hoops through my ear that very minute whether or not there was any need for pain and 3 piercings gushing blood! Now, I am not squeamish and have a high pain threshold - but I still can't understand why he would want to force the hoop in messily like his life depended on it instead of telling me the hole had shrunk and explaining options! When I saw the state of my ear I told him this put me at risk of infection since the hoops were not titanium. His reply: "But you told me to put them back in!" I was pretty shocked. No decent piercer would simply do what you ask if they thought it was a bad idea or if there was a better way to do it. He also said something along the lines of "How is it my fault if you get an infection?" Disclaimer: the risks of developing an infection (which I never have, but no thanks to Tiger Lily) come mostly from neglect on your or the piercer's part. Obviously, it's not always the piercer's fault, but if a piercing is done sloppily or irresponsibly it can result in an infection even if you give the piercing all the TLC in the world. By the way, it's not like they have sterile rooms - you don't feel like you are stepping in a very clean area, it's just the back of the shop. I left and ran straight to the pharmacy for saline solution, neutral soap and gauze pads, and essentially "babied" the 2 butchered holes like new piercings for the second time around. They have healed without problem by now, too bad they didn't need to be hurt in the first place! They may be better tattooists, but until a new place opens in Oxford London remains the (far) better choice for piercings. read more

The tattoo artists here are new. Any problems are long gone, as I had a lovely tattoo done yesterday. A large rose, absolutely perfect. Other middle-aged ladies could do worse than pop in to see Fuzzy B (or is it Furry B?) He looks slightly less frightening than most tattoo artists. I did say "slightly..." Highly recommended. Very busy yesterday. read more

I was tattooed by Fuzzy this afternoon (Wednesday). A large rose tattoo on my arm. It's beautiful. I went there on Monday for a look-see, and wasn't pressured at all; far from it. He was charming and helpful, and I was so pleased that I just couldn't leave that off- critique unanswered. Perhaps things have changed due to new artists? read more

I had a horrible experience in this establishment today. I wanted a simple lobe piercing, for which I payed for and waited in the waiting area for. On entering the room i requested a gold coloured hoop for my ear, which I was told was impossible. I was briefly showed very large silver options with large ugly balls, along with discoloured yellow options. I realised non of these suited so asked for a refund instead, at this point no equipment had been opened, we had only had a conversation. The employee at this point became very unfriendly. I was told I would not be be getting a refund as I had wasted his time. Luckily I knew my rights and demanded a refund. He became very threatening at this point and said the only thing I could do is bring it to the small claims court. The argument continued until he eventually bribed with with £10 (rather than the £20 I payed) i refused this bribe and continued. At this point he became very personal, he closed the door and kept me in the room in a very threatening way. He insulted me personally, belittled me and made comments that made me feel threatened and pressured into getting the piercing, at which point I left. Luckily the staff at the till was very kind and offered me a refund. read more