NOTD: Neon Skittles

   Okay so maybe I am on a neon roll. You can't stop me nowwwww! :P

   For the past couple of days, every time I sit down to do my nails, my eyes seem to always be drawn to anything, and everything bright. So why fight it? This here is Miss Ashleigh And It Was All Yellow and Like A Sunrise and Ulta3 Fruit Tingle. 

   I've been meaning to do a cut out mani for ages, but this just doesn't hit the mark. So look forward to an all out BAM in-yo-face cut out mani in the near future - hopefully :P

NOTD: Belated Happy Valentine's Day ♥

   Hey guys! Today's post will be a quick one, just showing a little pink lovin' post Valentine's Day :D Hoping everyone spent the day with loved ones, and if not, spent the day loving yourselves, because that's important too! 

   For this year's V-day, I went down the pink path and used Ulta 3 Fruit Tingle - an amazing bright pink, that has jumped to the top of my pink favourites list - and Emily De Molly Super Vixen for the reverse gradient on top. The perfect combo for a day of love (;

NOTD: Pretty Pink Florals

   Hey y'all! Happy Friday (yes, it's a thing!) to everyone who's living where it's already Friday! And advance happy Friday to those who aren't! :P Darn that's a lot of exclamation marks in the first few sentences haha

   Anyhows, there's not much to report today, so I've only got my recent NOTD pictures to share. First up is a pretty pink floral mani that is so pink I felt so girly prancing around the gym haha. I used Australis #totesamaze layered with Sinful Colors Pinky Glitter on the pointer and pinky nails. For the two floral accent nails, I used Australis #totesamaze and W7 Fuchsia for the roses, and Rimmel Sky High and Orly Glitzy for the leaves. I really wanted the roses to be tiny delicate flowers and the leaves to not be so ginormous haha but I guess I'll keep that in mind for next time.

   And of course, a couple days later, I switched my pink nails for something a little vampier and simple. This is 3 coats of Ulta3 Spring Break (looks like a dupe for China Glaze Creative Fantasy!) and on the accent is Face of Australia Midnight Fireworks - which is a gold glitter texture polish that is absolutely gorgeous, I'd go as far as wearing it as an entire mani one time ♥_♥

   And that's it for now, though I've got plenty more posts to come throughout the month! So stay tuned for that, there are a number of pretties to be seen :P

AN Monday: Snowflakes

   Hey hey hey... it's Monday today! And I'm on time with my AN Monday mani this week :D So obviously, judging from the title of this post, and the fact that there are huge snowflakes on my nails, the theme was snow! (Or snowmen lol) 

   I reallllly wanted a pale pink polish that wasn't too sheer (Sally Hansen Shall We Dance is my usual soft pink go-to but this time I wanted something a little more opaque) but the closest I could get was Ulta3 Pale Dahlia. Although it's got a pearl shimmer finish to it - and I'm not fond of shimmers/ pearly polishes at all - I was going to be covering it up with a holo glitter gradient and snowflakes anyway, so it wasn't too big a deal. For the glitter gradient, I used Chi Chi Celebrity Melt Down (which I feel like I've been using a lot lately) and Essence Black is Back for the snowflakes.

   Before painting on the snowflakes, I fell in love with just the holo gradient over the pink! I was this close *motions with fingers exactly how close* to leaving it like that and just pretending it was an abstract representation of snow falling :P But I cheated last week with the scribble Christmas tree, so thought I may as well practice my free hand drawing skills this week.

   And by golly gosh are snowflakes finicky little turds! I had to practice multiple times on a piece of paper before being confident enough to try it on my nails. And whenever two spikes touched, I'd quickly go between them with acetone and redraw them straight again. 

   They're actually pretty basic compared to all the other snowflake manis I've seen floating around, but this is the best mine are going to get this year :P I have no intentions of revisiting this little monster until at least next Christmas haha

   To see all the other snowy manis by the other AN Monday girls, just click on through to the Aussie Nails Monday page of the blog (:

AN Monday: Christmas Tree

   *Oops* Another AN Monday mani a couple days late :P So this week's theme was Christmas trees, and I was cheeky and took the easy way out (;

   I used Sinful Colors San Francisco, Ulta3 Luck of the Irish and China Glaze Twinkle Lights for the gradient, and a simple gold on black Christmas tree scribble for an accent (Orly Glitzy over Sinful Colors Black on Black). Though it's terribly simple, I still love how it turned out! They sparkle so bright in the sun, they're quite the attention seekers :P

   To check out all the other girls participating in AN Monday, check out the AN Monday page on my blog :D

NOTD: Neon Leopard Print + Tutorial

AND BAM! 

Back to neons *grin* 

   My mini breakdown over pastels and neons in my last blogpost (and a little "Who are you, and where is Christine?!" comment from Kirsty over at Nail Cake) I'm back to sporting neons. This gradient is more eye catching then I'd imagined.. I even thought it may have been a little too bright, but really, who am I kidding?! :P 

   I used Ulta3 Tangelo, W7 Fuchsia and Kleancolor Neon Amethyst for the gradient - you can just barely see the purple tips in the photo. Though I LOVED these as they were (gradients are always a good go-to when lacking inspiration) I was craving more "pop". And hence, these:

   REOWR! I used a dotting tool to add the spots and the golden rectangle accent stud is from the bornprettystore online. A slick of top coat to seal everything in and my fingers were ready to blind and amaze! :P

   I also put together a quick picture tutorial:

What you'll need:

Base Coat / Top Coat

White / Black Polish

3 Neon Polishes

Dotting Tool

Make Up Sponge

Stud (Optional)

   1. Start off with your favourite base coat, then one to two coats of white (depending on opacity). Mine is one coat of Sinful Colors Snow Me White. Wait a few minutes until the white is at least touch dry.
   2. Sponge on your neon gradient. I used Ulta3 Tangelo, W7 Fuchsia and Kleancolor Neon Amethyst in that order. Optional - seal off with a fast drying top coat, in my opinion this makes the gradient blend better.

   3. With your dotting tool (or anything similar, a bobby pin, a toothpick), create 'spots' using alternating colours as the background - i.e. orange spots on the purple tips, pink spots on the orange half etc.

   4. Again with your dotting tool, add the black leopard accents on the spots, also adding the smaller leopard spots in the spaces in between.

   5. Seal everything off with a top coat, and et voila! ♥

   6. Optional - keep an accent nail spot free and add a golden rectangular stud. 

   Also remember you don't have to stick to the colours I used - I dare y'all to use some neon yellow, or neon blues or greens!) and if any of you do do a mani like this I'd love to see it, so tag me on Instagram (@xtinemayyy) or leave me a comment here and I'll go check it out.

   OR..

   You can share it on my facebook page! Yes I now have one - and I'll make a separate blog post to announce it later of course. Just search Nails At 2am on facebook or go to https://www.facebook.com/NailsAtTwoAm 

   And just as a little side rant... I hate the fact I had to use "TwoAm" instead of "2am"!!?!?!?! 

   Anywayssss :P I hope you'll continue to support me over on facebook as well :D

NOTD: Pastel vs Neon

   Mornin' all! You should all know by now that I have quite a soft spot for neons, but occasionally, my love for for them is diverted to pastels. I just can't help myself, the colours look so pretty in their bottles! One such colour is a new found love: Essie Mint Candy Apple. I paired it with Ulta3 Lilac Bloom and Sinful Colors Black on Black to create this pastel floral design.

   Though I did like it, I felt a little underwhelmed... the colours looked a little washed out ): Also, it is almost Summer here in Australia, so I think I was just subconsciously craving for something brighter! So I pulled out Emily De Molly Flurocious, Australis Peek-a-boo and #Totesamaze and a few golden nail studs to create a much brighter floral mani, with glitter too!

   I like this much better :P but then again, I am a sucker for bright colours. Which do you prefer? Are you a pastel person, or a neon lover like me?

NOTD: *shrugs*

   Hello there lovelies ^^ Hope everyone's had a great start to November! My goal for November is to continue this flow of blog posts that I've successfully upheld throughout October - hopefully another 2 month hiatus is never going to happen again or at least far from the horizon! 

   And of course to think of other ways to engage with you guys, I know NOTD posts get a tad repetitive, so I'll try push out more than just that this month :D I was also thinking of starting up a facebook page, would any of you be willing to follow my posts on there as well?? 

   So, back to the reason we're here... NOTD: I have no idea what to call these. Yes, that's what I've called them, unless y'all have something a little more creative? :P

   I used Sinful Colors Endless Blue (I think I've used this in the last 3 or 4 manis!! It really is my go-to-blue), and Ulta3 Citrus for the coloured panels, and Sinful Colors Black on Black for the outline and triangle accents. My lines are kind of wonky, but the studs take the attention away from my shaky handwork :P 

This design actually makes my nails look more rounded than almond/ stiletto shaped. Makes them look heaps shorter too =S They're also a little underwhelming, so I didn't really wear them for very long (took them off an hour later :P) but that just means... more nail art to look forward to tomorrow!

NOTD: Ikat Hearts

   HI GUYS! A PINCH AND A PUNCH FOR THE FIRST DAY OF THE MONTH! *pinches* *punches* :D Now that that's out of the way... NAILS!

   Oh how I've missed doing an ikat pattern - I just love how it can look messy, but look good looking messy! The ikat heart is one my most fave designs, I could never grow tired of it.

   I bought Essie Mint Candy Apple a couple weeks back, and had yet to find a mani to use it in, until now. Thought the baby blue would be the perfect background for some cutesy ikat hearts :P For the actual hearts themselves, I used W7 Fuschia (my new favourite neon pink!), Ulta3 Spring Break (my new favourite purple!) and my ever faithful Sinful Colors Endless Blue. 

   The golden heart stud and the black round studs are from here on the BornPrettyStore website. You get 3 wheels of various shaped/ coloured studs, and therefore are open to a bunch of new combinations when doing nail art. I'm slowly hoarding all the studs! :P I have a 10% discount code if you do end up purchasing anything on their website - just type in XFSQ10 at checkout!

I Creme, You Creme, We all Creme for Ice Creme!

   And a SUNNY hello to you all from Sydney, Australia! *waves* It's technically Spring over here right now, but recently it's been nothing but 30degree heat, and plenty of sun! AND Daylight savings has also started, which basically means that last Sunday we fast forwarded our clocks an hour forward, meaning we have longer days - the sun's still up as late as 7pm! Y'all know what that means... more opportunities to do my nails and take pictures :P

   So for today's blog post, we explore the land of creme nail polish. Recently, I'm loving the look of cremes more than glitter, so I thought I'd show you a few of the cremes that I don't wear often as a full manicure. 

   First up is Face of Australia Would You Like Some Orange Sherbet from the Pretty Pastels collection. This is a gorgeous soft shade of pale orange, and looks great in the bottle. Unfortunately, the reason I've never worn it on its own (this is actually the first time I'm swatching this polish) is because it clashes with my skintone and doesn't look too flattering, I pretty much bought it on impulse *oops* It will probably remain a shade that I'll leave for nail art, or maybe pass it on to someone who will love it more than I.

Two coats Face of Australia Would You Like Some Orange Sherbet over one coat of white

   Next up is a STAPLE in any nail art addict's collection... at least every addict that loves neons! Although it clashes with my skintone, I DONT CARE! :P It's China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy - my all time favourite neon polish (I have 2 back ups)! We all know how hard it is to capture neon polishes in photos, but this is the closest I could get it to be colour accurate.

Two coats China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy over one coat of white

   Third up is Ulta3 Mojito and Ulta3 Orchid topped with Australis Rio Riot on the accent nail. This green was one of the first polishes that I fell in love with. It's a shade of green that I can just pull off, and is great for nail art too, but I'm not really digging it anymore... at least not a colour I'd wear on its own as a full manicure. 
   
   And just as a special mention, I'm loving these Australis glitter toppers that I've seen come out: Rio Riot, Carnivale Chaos, Glitter Strikes Back and Shimmy Shake just to name a few!

Three thin coats of Ulta3 Mojito over white; One coat of Ulta3 Orchid topped 

with two coats of Australis Rio Riot for the accent

   Next is a colour which matches my skintone well, is a dupe for Essie Bikini So Teeny and has a smooth buttery formula it's a squeeze to apply: Essence Forget Me Not from the Blossoms Etc... Collection. It is so damn pretty, and feminine, and soft, and all things nice :P The accent finger is Revlon Silver Screen topped with Australia Shimmy Shake. This combo is one of my faves!!

Two coats of Essence Forget Me Not over one coat of white; One coat of Revlon Silver Screen 

topped with two coats of Australis Shimmy Shake for the accent

   Next is a combo my brother picked out for me. All I said was pick a plain colour and pick a glitter, and this is what he came up with: Ulta3 Tangelo and Femme Fatale Cosmetics Eventide. His reasoning was : "it's Spring and sunny, so I'll choose something eye searing-ly bright!" Somehow, he managed to pick my all time faves! Tangelo, like Mojito, was another one of the first polishes to join my nail polish horde over a year ago now, and the first orange I fell in love with. It appears a lot more red in the photo, but in real life leans more towards a bright neon orange-red. And Eventide, my bottle is half empty ): it's the first indie polish that I'm considering reordering because I love it (and use it) so much!

Two coats of Ulta3 Tangelo over one coat of white; One coat of Orly Glitzy topped with two 

coats of Femme Fatale Cosmetics Eventide for the accent

   Last but not least is a colour combo that you absolutely can't go wrong with AND doesn't clash with my skintone: blue and purple! I used Australis Sky's the Limit for the base, and did the chevron tip + half moon using Sinful Colors Endless Blue. I was lazy (as per usual, that, and I have a love - hate relationship with striping tape) so I just free handed the tips and half moon using a trimmed down paint brush. For the accent I used Emily De Molly Warrior Princess; it's choca-block full of glitter so 2 coats was enough for complete coverage!

Two coats of Australis Sky's The Limit with Sinful Colors Endless Blue for the tips and half moon; 

Two coats of Emily De Molly Warrior Princess for the accent.

   Do any of you have colours you love but unfortunately don't match your skin tone, an if so do you wear them anyway? 

   And the mother of all polish questions (not really but :P) Do you own China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy?! And if not, do you have a polish you think everyone should own? 

   P.S. I hope you all get the title, not sure if it's just a thing in Australia growing up as a kid haha

Flirty Floral Print

   SO PURRRRRTY *star struck eyes*

   Of course, these beauties are inspired by Candice from MrCandiipants. That square frame is absolutely genius! Check out her tumblr for the tutorial! :D

   So for my version, I used a deep purple base colour (A Max Factor polish that doesn't have a label.. since I may have ripped it off unknowingly :P). For the flowers I used Face of Australia Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy, BC Co Shade 13, Ulta3 Honolulu, Tangelo, Tahitian Lime and Frog Prince. The studs I used were 2mm silver square studs from the BornPrettyStore. 

   In other news, I'm currently using Duri Rejuvacote to help with the splitting and peeling of my nails in hopes that my nails will finally grow out like they used to. *fingers crossed*

Flirty Floral Print Anyone? :P

   My nails feel so pretty! I was in the mood for some cute lookin' nails and this was the outcome. I was worried that adding the itty bitty blue flowers would make the mani feel too 'crowded', but they actually pair pretty nicely with the larger red roses, so MEH I'm digging it like crazy :P

   I was going to do a cute neon geometric design using China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, but used it for the roses instead. I added highlights using Bloom Tuscany, added leaves with Ulta3 Tahitian Lime, and outlined the entire rose using Sinful Colors Black on Black. For the blue flowers I used a tiny dotting tool and BC Co Shade 21, and Ulta3  Honolulu for the centre. Topped everything off with a quick dry top coat, et voila! I don't ever want to take these off :P (I say that about almost every mani haha #firstworldproblems of a nail art addict)

    This reminds me, I have a half finished nail art wheel of floral prints laying around. I may actually get around to finishing it this week. *fingers crossed* I'd love to show it to you all when it's done :D

    But until then, more picture spam! (I love it when my camera cooperates and captures the mani perfectly *cheer*)

Is It Too Bright? *covers eyes*

   YEP. Totally digging this. 

   *Austin Powers voice* Groovy Baby~

   Haha, sorry, I just had to. 

   It's Monday again, so to prepare for the week ahead, why not sport some bright colourful nails? (who else suffers from Monday-itis?!) 

   It's a kaleidoscope of colours: Australis Sky's The Limit, Ulta3 Honolulu and Tangelo, Essence Bloom-A-Loom and a Coral Colours that has lost its tag (the one pictured above). With a base coat of white, a thin brush and a whole load of patience, I managed to pull it off :P

   I was thinking of adding black stripes between the colours just to add a bit of extra detail... but I tried and ruined the mani. Luckily I only used black acrylic paint, so I wiped it straight off with a cotton ball and some water :P 

Pastel Leopard Print over Essence 'Sweet as Candy'

   First and foremost, I LOVE THIS ESSENCE POLISH (Sweet as Candy)! It is very sheer, and takes about 4-5 coats to even be remotely opaque, but it is so darn pretty and delicate, I can't help but love it!

   This photo's just from my mobile (regretted not taking a proper photo of it after *sigh), it looks pretty similar to the OPI Don't Burst My Bubble swatches I've been seeing lately. It felt like such a shame to cover this beauty with nail art.

   I used Essence Bloom-a-loom, Ulta3 Corsican Rose and Soft Hydrangea, and Sinful Colors Black on Black for the leopard print. For the two accent fingers, I just used 2-3 thin coats of Australis Shimmy Shake.

   Annnnnd, just because I feel the need to sulk:

   Not even 24 hours after top coating this mani, disaster struck. My index finger nail broke at work ): ...I thought this was bad, but a week passes and I'm back at work again, then BAM another break ARGHHHH

   Look at my poor poor index finger ): now I have such uneven nail lengths ): I am seriously a stickler for even nail lengths, but my right hand takes ages (and I mean AGES) to grow so I thought I'd wait it out until they're somewhat longer before I even them all out again *exasperatedsigh