Born Pretty Store Review: Triangle Nail Art Studs

   Hey y'all! Hope you've been well :D Today, I have another Born Pretty Store review to share ^^ This time it's triangular nail art studs, that are super easy to use, and can spruce up your mani in minutes. The studs are 3mm and come in gold or silver. Each pack contains approximately 200 pieces, so there's plenty to play around with. I chose to go with the silver triangular studs in this super girly - but edgy - Valentine's day inspired mani.

Packet of Triangular Nail Art Studs

   I was aiming for a heart shape at first, using the studs, but ended up with two floral shapes instead, which works out just as fine :P The studs don't need anything special to stick to the nail, I just use regular top coat to stick them on, and another coat of top coat on top to seal them in. Though, if you reallllly wanted to make sure they didn't come off too easily, you could always use nail glue to cement them in place (: 

   For the mani's base, I used Chi Chi Don't You Know Who I Am?, and topped it off with a reverse glitter gradient using Shades Of Phoenix Zeus. 

Swatches: Aussie Indie Miss Ashleigh Part III

   Hey guys! It's been a busy week for me, but I've finally finished off the remaining swatches for the Miss Ashleigh Summer Collection! The last 2 have got to be my favourites from the bunch! So without further ado, let's kick it off with And It Was All Yellow.

   This is a retina burning, highlighter yellow, neon creme that is so darn bright it glows. Even under the flash of my camera it glows freakishly bright! I'd love to see it under a blacklight to see it actually glow, but alas I don't own one so I'll settle for this eye searing brightness in daylight instead haha It's perfect with 3 coats on its own, but as with all neons, I've decided to swatch this over 1 coat of white, to help it pop a little more.

   And last, but most definitely not the least, is Let's Clown Around which is a colourful rainbow glitter topper filled with a mix of neon blue, green, pink and yellow hexes and dots. It's all suspended in a clear base, and so can be layered over anything!

   Here, I've layered it over a white to yellow gradient using OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and Miss Ashleigh And It Was All Yellow. This is 1 coat, with additional "dabbing" to even out the glitter on each nail.

   Then I went a little colour crazy, and thought I'd use 4 of Miss Ashleigh's shades to create this explosion of brightness:

   Thought that with all these bright colours in the Summer Collection, may as well create a fun Summer inspired gradient mani! :D This is Show Us Your Watermelons, Like A Sunrise and And It Was All Yellow topped with Let's Clown Around. 

   And that brings us to the end of the Miss Ashleigh swatches. I hope you've all enjoyed them as much as I have! To keep up with all the Miss Ashleigh updates, you can follow Ash on her Instagram @missashleigh or on her facebook page, and if I've tempted any of you to purchase any of these shades for yourself, just click on through to her store online http://missashleigh.com.au/ (: (:

Swatches: Aussie Indie Miss Ashleigh Part II

   Hey y'all! Happy Hump Day Wednesday and welcome to Part II of the Miss Ashleigh swatches! :D Today's stars are Like A Sunrise and Show Us Your Watermelons. Both striking neon shades, perfect for Summer :D

   First up is Like A Sunrise which is a vibrant neon pastel orange creme. This is 3 thin coats over a coat of white (after 2 coats, it was still a little patchy for me, but a thin 3rd coat did the trick!). On the accent nail is a pink to yellow sunset gradient using Kleancolor Neon Amethyst, W7 Fuschia, and Ulta3 Honolulu.

   On top of the gradient, I also tried adding 1 coat of Miss Ashleigh Let's Clown Around and it matched perfectly! (Proper swatch of this rainbow glitter topper to come in part III!)

   There are no words to describe exactly how shockingly bright this colour is! It may not be a fancy glitter or a shifting multichrome, but Like A Sunrise holds its own - even indoors, and in the shade, it screams LOOK AT ME.

   Also, funnily enough, my mani matched my training shoes! It was totally coincidental too haha

   Okay, so next up is Show Us Your Watermelons. It's a gorgeous red coral creme reminiscent of the juicy fruits it's named after! This is 3 thin coats over a coat of white (as with Like A Sunrise it was still a bit patchy after 2 coats, but a 3rd evened it out. It would probably be okay with 2 coats on its own, but I like layering bright colours like these over white to help them pop even more :D).

 

   Then I thought I'd actually show you my watermelons...

   Hahaha mind out of the gutter people! These melons look much better from afar! Close up they look a little dodgy haha but I'm happy with them. I had no watermelons in the fridge, and I'm far too lazy to go to Woolworths to buy a watermelon so this is the best it's going to get :P

   I also made a Berry Smoothie Swirl and decided to pose with it :D

   That's part II complete! Stay tuned for the final installation in the next couple of days :D To get yourselves any of these polishes, just head on over to Miss Ashleigh's online store  http://missashleigh.com.au/

Swatches: Aussie Indie Miss Ashleigh Part I

   Hey guys and a happy Monday to you all! Let's start this week off with a smile and hope the weekend comes around again fast :P To help you along the way, I have swatches from Aussie indie brand Miss Ashleigh to share with you ^^ 

   Ash released 6 new polishes on Boxing Day of last year, and they're all very bright, and fun shades - perfect for the Aussie Summer ahead. Though, instead of bombarding you with 100 pictures in one post, I'll split the swatches into parts.

   So first up is (no surprise I picked up the purple first!) The Grape Gatsby. I don't know if it's just me, but I found the name amusing; admittedly, I giggled when I first read it :P It's a gorgeous purple jelly with an explosion of glittery goodness inside. This is 3 coats on its own to show you the depth of the polish and exactly how jam packed with glitter it is!

   I also tried it over a dark purple base (1 generous coat of The Grape Gatsby over Ulta3 Spring Break) and the resulting mani was breathtaking - the glitter just pops! It instantly reminded me of crushed candy - specifically Pop Rocks! Anyone else know what popping candy is?! This is it, crushed up! 

   Also tried some art deco lines over the top, and kind of failed, but thought I'd share it anyway. Maybe gold was the wrong colour to use. And striping tape would have probably helped in making crisper lines..

   Anyway! The next polish in line, is Deja - Blue! Love its name, love its colour, love its holo! There is nothing you can fault this polish on, even its application was smooth like butter *sigh of satisfaction* It's a vibrant cobalt blue creme with a hint of holo that dazzles when the sun (or a camera flash) hits it.This is 3 thin coats on its own, no undies needed. 

   And just a regular outdoor shot of Deja - Blue, though the sun refused to come from behind the clouds so I couldn't get an action shot of the holo ):

   Well that's part 1 done! Do you guys like the colours so far? For me, even though I'm tempted to pick the purple over the blue (loyalty issues :P), I actually loveeee the blue way more than the purple this time around! Stay tuned for the next parts!

   To get yourselves any of these polishes, just head on over to Miss Ashleigh's online store  http://missashleigh.com.au/

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

Born Pretty Store Review: Cute Cat Water Decals

   Hey y'all! So today I have another Born Pretty Store item review to share with you guys - these super cute, super adorable, kitty water decals! And they're so easy to use too! 

   The sheet comes with 20 kitty decals of varying sizes and designs and easy to follow instructions on the back. All I had to do was cut around the kitty I wanted to use, take the protective film off, dunk the piece in a bowl of water for 10-15 seconds and the decal slides right off the backing paper! Just slip it onto your nail, dry up the excess water and wait for it to dry out. A coat of top coat seals it all in, and your nails are done! So simple and easy, great for nail art on the go, when you're short on time, or if you're feeling a little uninspired. And have I mentioned, they're incredibly cute??

   If any of that was a little too confusing, I'm happy to create a quick pictorial to show the process! Just leave a note down in the comments section below ^^

   Also, just in case anyone was interested, the backdrop for these adorable munchkins is a gradient using OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and Australis #totesamaze. 

   To purchase these super cute decals just head on over to the Born Pretty Store where they also sell other various nail art paraphernalia. Remember to also enter XFSQ10 during your check out to get a further 10% off your entire purchase.

   These were the first water decals I've ever used, and to be honest, I really like them! I'll definitely be adding a few sheets to my next order to keep on hand for days when I'm not in the mood to paint anything fancy on my nails, but still want to make a statement! 

   How do y'all like them - yay or nay?

*The item/s mentioned in this post were sent to me for my 100% honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them. For more information, please read the Contact and Policy page of the blog*

Review: Celestial Cosmetics Swatches + Review

   Hey guys! For today's post, I've got another Aussie Indie to showcase to you all: Celestial Cosmetics! With the reopening of the store on Monday January 6, Nicki will be introducing 7 new holo polishes that will be added to the Celestial Cosmetics core range. Today, I have 3 of those to share with you :D

   First up is Sand Dunes. Named after the sands and the deserts surrounding Nicki's home - it's a dark rose gold - bronze toned linear holographic polish. It's quite a unique shade: I've seen plenty of dusty pinks, and plenty of gold holos, but this is the first bronze holo I've come across in my polishing journey. 

   Next up is T's In A Tizz. Named after a good friend of Nicki's (Theresa) - it's a super gorgeous emerald green holographic polish. I only own one other green holo - Nubar Reclaim - and it pales in comparison to how stunning T's In A Tizz is!

   Lastly, there's Ocean Mist. Named after Nicki's love for all things related to the ocean - it's a very striking beautiful blue - almost teal - holographic polish. 

   In each of the swatch pictures, I've used 3 thin coats for opacity (without top coat). With only 2 coats, there was still VNL, but after the 3rd coat, it smoothed itself out and was completely opaque. Something to mention also, is that not only are they vibrant under the sun and the camera' flash, they're also quite stunning in the bottle (and on the nail) under regular lighting! I was really impressed with how strong the holo was in each polish!

   So if I've tempted any of you into taking a second look at these beauties (and the other 4 polishes to be added to the core range) make sure to check out the Celestial Cosmetics store on Monday January 6 at Noon AEST! Nicki is also on Instagram @CelestialCosmetics if you want to follow her for more pictures and updates.

*The item/s mentioned in this post were sent to me for my 100% honest review. This in no way affects my opinion of them. For more information, please read the Contact and Policy page of the blog*

Best of 2013 from Nails at 2am

   Hey y'all! How's everyone's 2014 starting off? For today's post I thought I'd take a quick stroll down memory lane and reminisce on my favourite manis of 2013.

   I have hundreds of pictures in my NAILS folder - hundreds of nail pictures I've shared and posted this year, so I mean it when I say it was really tough narrowing it down to only 9 manis! Some honourable mentions go to the pokemon mani I did in July (GOSH I LOVED THOSE!), the turquoise stone mani using the water spotting method and hairspray (I think I wore these for a week!), and the bright green aztec design from a few weeks back (I love my claws, and I love my neons!).

   You can also see the gradual growth of my nails from short nubbins to the claws that I sport now.

   2013 was definitely a big year, and I hope 2014 is just as good if not greater! I also just want to thank you all - all my readers! - for all the encouragement and support you've shown me, and hope for your continued presence and love for the future! As a thank you, I'll be hosting a give away in a couple of weeks time!

   And as a final note, are there any suggestions or changes you wish to see from Nails at 2am, or requests you'd like to see me do in 2014?

"Inspired By" NOTD: Hot Pink Aztec Cut Out Nails

   Hey hey hey y'all! So, I was on Instagram q couple of days ago when I was tagged by @hollysagemini in her nail art pic that was inspired by a mani I did a few weeks back. It was such a cool twist to my mani, that I just had to recreate her recreation! :P

My mani from a few weeks back

Holly's recreation of it

And my recreation of her recreation!

   I decided to stick with the pink theme of Holly's nails and used Chi Chi OMG for the base and Sinful Colors Black on Black for the black accents. Seriously though, cut outs are the bomb diggity :P

   And so if anyone else has been/is ever inspired by a mani of mine, let me know and share! I love seeing them :D Either tag me on Instagram @xtinemayyy - or better yet, hashtag #xtinemayyy I'm more likely to see it that way since sometimes, my feed moves too fast and I don't see all my notifications ): Or share them on the FB page www.facebook.com/NailsAtTwoAm