A bit of both I'd say. They can be nifty if done right. Unfortunately it seems many are used as a way to call attention, which fits in the mistake of youth category. A strategically placed piercing can be very sexy, but only one or two. More then that is overdone and crosses into freaky.
As far as tats go, I'm of a different mind. It's rare that I've seen one that I've thought, wow, that really adds to the overall picture. Not to say I haven't seen cool tats, but they're nice pictures too look at if they were drawn on paper. So, I'll have to give the thumbs down to the tats.

Ick.

I used to think "ick" about tattoos and piercings until I dated a woman who had tattoos and got a couple of piercings while she and I were dating. In some circumstances, they can be very sexy. In others, they're still "ick".

Tatoos were cool until they became a "chick thang".

Personally - I find them to be vulgar and obnoxious. Er, tatoos..not women... :D

I tend to agree with Tuning Spork on the tat & piercing issue, but he's all wrong about girls. They're icky and they have cooties.

Although some look mighty fine in a cat suit...