Forever 21!

Continuing on the Theme of the Month, I've decided to do something extra special for my birthday…

Colours Used: Avon Nailwear Pro in Luxe Lavender and Gunmetal | Wet n' Wild Fantasy Makers in Darkest Hour | Sally Hansen Salon Nail Lacquer in Silver Stiletto | Sinful Colours Nail Polish in Queen of Beauty | Essie Nail Wraps in Stickers and Stones | Sally Hansen Nail Art Pens in Black, White, Silver and Yellow | Sally Hansen Big Matte Top Coat 

Again I do apologize for posting these nails so late. My birthday was actually last month (June 9th) and while it would have been nice to have them uploaded on my actual birthday, I just simply forgot to (remember that I tend to procrastinate a lot and tend to be forgetful of things!).  But oh well, the past is the past, and there is nothing that can be done about it!

So yeah, these nails are my personal masterpiece. They represent everything that I love in terms of fashion sense and interests, but because I couldn't possibly fit them all into ten nails (five different designs per hand), I just went with my absolute favourites and went from there! And because Purple and Black are one of my favourite colours, they were used as the base colours for the nails. The end result turned out to be really good, and I'm actually pleased with how they turned out!

So for the Index finger, I represented the more edgier side of my personality and went with a Charcoal Leopard Print. I painted on two layers of Avon’s Gunmetal and then with the doting tool, added on some silver spots to the nails. I then dabbed on some glitter polish to some of the silver spots to give it more of a glamorous look and to add some sparkle.

The middle finger represents the more girly and glamorous side of my personality. This was achieved by painting on some lavender and then adding a small pearl (which is also one of the birthstones for June!) to the center of the nail. From there, I painted on some thin lines using the striping brush with the silver and glitter polishes so that it resembles a sparkler!

The Pinky was pretty simple to do. All I did was use a nail wrap from Essie’s Nail Wrap Collection in Stickers and Stones. While the instructions say not to add a top coat after applying, I added it anyways since it wouldn't stop peeling off the nail. Adding a top coat adds a cool wrinkly effect to the nail wrap, reminiscent to worn leather which might be a good or bad thing depending on how your tastes are. Personally, at first I thought it would have ruined the whole look of the nail but in the end it made it look more interesting so therefore I like it!

For the ring finger, I did the same Gemini Glyph design that I've been doing with the other Gemini Themed Nails in the past, but this time it came with a little twist. Instead of simply drawing on the Gemini glyph with a pen, I did an outline instead using a striping brush and a silver nail polish.  I then dabbed on some of the silver glitter polish to the glyph to create a gritty and glam effect to the nail while making it stand out beautifully at the same time.

Now because it was my 21^st birthday, I decided to reflect that that on my thumb. But instead of simply writing on 21 with a few simple lines, I did it by using individual daisies and making them into the shape of the number. Pretty cool right? Using the Yellow and White Nail Art Pens, I started off by using yellow dots for the base to work off for the daisies. I then dotted on four tiny white dots to each yellow dot to resemble petals on a daisy.

Daisies represent the newly found Soft Grunge personality that I have fallen in love with recently thanks to the inspiring posts that I've been reblogging on Tumblr. Who knew that I would find the Grungier side of life so awe-inspiring? I know You can barely make out the 21 with the daisies but I did my best on these ones, And let’s just say that I plan on making more of this style in the near future!

The nails were then finished off with a matte top coat. I actually prefer matte top coats over the regular shiny top coats simply because of the smooth texture that the matte top coats provides and it feels amazing on your fingers whenever you run your fingers over the matte nail. The downside to the matte nail polish however, is that it tends to chip easily and so in order for them to last just as long as the regular top coats, you have to reapply it every other day in order for it to last (of course if you know of any tricks to making matte nail polish last long please let me know!).

For next year, I promise to have my birthday nails posted up in time on my actual birthday! (and maybe by then I might actually be cured of my procrastination disease! J)

So what did you think of my birthday nails? Does it inspire you to try out your own birthday nails for your birthday? And what do you think of birthday nails in general? Let me know what you think in the comments below!