Guest Post by Paulina's Passions: Dream Big Nail Art

Hi everyone! Please enjoy this amazing guest post by my friend Paulina from Paulina's Passions!

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Hello the beautiful readers of Kellie's blog! My name is Paulina and I am from the Paulina's Passions blog.  I cannot even describe how excited I am to be here for this guest post. I have been following Kellie's blog for ages and I have always found tons of inspiration here. I especially love her blog posts with indie polish swatches and all the beautiful holo pictures! Kellie is my Swatch Queen and I always come to her blog for new releases and collections.

I made a super simple, summery nail art for this guest post. I have recently tried my first polishes from KBShimmer and I have totally fallen in love with them. I paired two beautiful polishes from the Summer 2016 collection to make this nail art. KBShimmer One Night Sand and Playing With The Boys look absolutely gorgeous together and I knew I would be using them for nail art!

Using a regular striping tape I made mint and glittery stripes on my ring finger. I am really loving these simple stripes and how the colors look over a white base. I popped a cute water decal with a message on my middle finger. This is just a little reminder to us all that we should always try to fulfill our dreams and not to be afraid to reach for them and just DREAM BIG! The decals come from Shop Keeki. (http://www.shopkeeki.com/)

What do you guys think of these simple bright nails? I am quite pleased with the end effect of this nail art and I got so many compliments while wearing them. Sometimes I like making simple things on my nails, just some simple stripes or cute decals always look adorable. If you enjoy nail art, I'd be super happy if check out my blog at Paulina's Passions.

Thank you so much Kellie for having me on your lovely blog. I am really happy that I could contribute to your beautiful website and share my passion for nails with your readers.

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Paulina's links: BLOG | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | YOUTUBE

Thank you so much Paulina, I appreciate you putting together such a beautiful manicure for my readers, it is so gorgeous! Just like all your amazing work always is. Be sure to check out her on social media, and she also makes awesome YouTube videos!

❤ Kellie

Guest Post by Nail Polish Society: Sophisticated Watermarble

Happy Labor Day to all my US readers! And happy Monday to everyone else :) Please enjoy the following guest post by my awesome friend Emiline from Nail Polish Society!

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Hello there you lovely people! I'm Emiline from Nail Polish Society and I'm so honored to have been asked to guest post here. I been following Kellie's blog since my obsession first started three years ago. As you all know her swatches are to die for, and have influenced many a purchase of mine. Not only do I aspire to her amount of perfection, she is also just a really cool dudette. So thank you so much for having me!

For my nail art I created a simple look with a watermarble accent nail. I love me a good watermarble and it's slightly addicting. I often buy polishes based on their individual colors, then when I get them home I realize how well they go together. That was the case with these three Ginger + Liz polishes, ones that I wouldn't have normally thought of pairing together. I have found this brand to watermarble really well in the past and so I had to try it with these shades. As you can see, they worked like a charm! For my accent nail I applied the lilac shade on my nail as a base color. Then I added alternating drops of gray, lilac, and gold in my glass of water, and created a floral design on an inner ring of gray. I think the simplicity is slightly sophisticated but also really striking. Lastly I added a couple gold studs too for a little sompin' sompin'.

What I used:
Ginger + Liz Grounded- gray
Ginger + Liz Calm Down Girl- lilac
Ginger + Liz Got My Groove Back- gold
gold stud decorations from Born Pretty Store
Seche Vite top coat

I hope you enjoy what I've created! Thank you again Kellie for having me! Take a little break now and go treat yo' self.

Nail Polish Society

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Emiline's links: BLOG | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER

I'm ALWAYS head over heels to get to see a watermarble post on my blog, because there's no chance in heck I could ever execute one! Thank you so much Em, I love what you created so much! Go check her out everyone, she's a star!!

❤ Kellie

Guest Post by Brit Nails: Neon Gradient Nail Art

Good morning to you! I have another fun guest post from one of my blogger friends to share with you today! Allie hails from the UK and runs Brit Nails and she's amazing!

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Hi! I'm Allie from Brit Nails and I'm honoured to be guesting on Kellie's blog today. Kellie was one of the first blogs I ever started reading, before I even started my own, and I never imagined one day I'd be guest posting on here, so it's pretty exciting for me! I've got a super bright Summer look for you today, guaranteed to make your nails stand out. I recently received the new 2016 Vice collection from Cirque Colors and I just had to try out some of the colours for this design.

I started with a plain base using OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, and set it with quick dry top coat. I then stuck down some heart shaped vinyls from NailMail.co.uk, and sponged on a vertical gradient over the top using Sin City (coral) and Electric Daisy (yellow) from the Cirque Colors Vice collection. It was pretty fiddly to remove the vinyls after, but it's manageable if you're very careful with tweezers! I finished with some glossy top coat and that's really all there is to it. I'm loving the Cirque shades, especially Electric Daisy, which is probably the brightest yellow I've ever come across!

Let me know what you think of my design - would you wear this or is it just too bright? Personally, my nails can never be too bright! ;) thanks so much Kellie for having me today!

- Allie x

The Cirque Colors products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

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Allie's links: BLOG | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

I absolutely love the nail art that Allie did, super adorable and perfect for the hot summer season! Thanks so much for the beautiful post and photos!

❤ Kellie

Guest Post by Cured by Chris: Summer Blobblicure

Good morning! I would like to present another guest post from one of my awesome blogger friends, this time from Christine over in Australia!

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Hi guys! I am super honoured to be here on Kellie's blog while she has a little break. I have followed Kellie for a long time now and spent many hours drooling over her beautiful swatches that make me want to buy all the things! I hope you enjoy the look I've created for you today. I run my own nail blog, Cured by Chris (formerly Serenity Nails), out of Australia where I casually share some of the gorgeous polish creations you're used to seeing here.

Today I have a colourful, summery nail art look for you that was surprisingly easy to achieve!

Firstly I painted my nails with a white base. I used Dance Legend Binary Polina which is a two coat white. There is a reason I chose a two coater!
While the second coat was still wet I sort of 'blobbed' on the following shades to create this semi-marble/blobbicure look.
Polishes used are;
Picture Polish Tingle
Picture Polish Fairy Floss
Polish My Life Soho Slippers
Ulta3 Frangipani

While I really loved how that looked, I felt it needed something more and some black stamping was just the ticket! I used Uber Chic Beauty plate 7-01 and Joss Black Stamping Polish to finish my look!

I really love how this manicure looks both before and after the stamping. What do you think?

Thanks for having a look at my post here and a huge thank you to Kellie for having me here!

Chris xx

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Chris's links: BLOG | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

I love this lady, she's so amazingly sweet and kind and one of the coolest women I've come to know in the blogging world. And her nails! Can you handle it! So gorgeous! Thanks so much Chris, I'm so happy to have you on my blog!

❤ Kellie

Guest Post by Very Emily: Sienna Byron Bay Nail Art

Good morning! I'm happy to share another awesome guest post from one of my amazing blogger friends, this time it's Belgium based nail artist Emily from Very Emily. She's become one of my closest friends and I'm so happy to have her work on my blog again!

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Hello everyone! My name is Emily aka Very Emily. I've been running my space on the internet almost as long as Kellie has, I think we started around the same time which has definitely created a bond between us. I've always looked up to her immensely so I am really honoured to be able to call her a friend, and to be here on her blog today (again!). She also kindly made a guest post for me when I was on holiday a few weeks ago, she totally killed it so if you didn't get a chance to check out her post you absolutely must! Anyway, without further ado let's take a look at what I came up with!

For my guest post I decided to use this set of 4 shades from a brand that's come onto my radar recently - Sienna Byron Bay. Based in Australia, this luxurious brand is all about the eco-friendly life, plus they have by far the prettiest bottles I have ever seen! I couldn't resist using them again, they are too pretty to hide away in my drawers so I've had them on display and was feeling very inspired.

I'm not quite sure what to call this design, but it reminds me of beautiful Mexican-style rugs for some reason. What do you think?! I started by roughly applying the four Sienna Byron Bay shades in Harmony, Ambrosia, Wategos and Utopia. It doesn't matter if it's not neat as we'll be covering up the line where the shades meet, so I intentionally applied them more organically. Then I used an ORLY Instant Artist striper in Crisp White to softly draw on strokes of white between each shade. Finished with a layer of glossy top coat.

This look is super simple and very quick to create but so much fun for Summer I think. I really hope you enjoy these! Thank you so much for having me Kellie, I hope you enjoy a much deserved break.

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Emily's links: BLOG | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE

I love the look that Emily created, it's simple but looks complex at the same time! The pastel shades she used are perfect for the warm weather. Please take a moment to check out her blog and instagram, if you haven't already, she is definitely someone to watch in the nail art world. Her talent and kind heart constantly impress and amaze me!

❤ Kellie

Guest Post by ManiGeek: OPI Suedes 2009

Hi there! How are you today my fine friends? A while ago, I asked a few of my blogging buddies if they could throw me a guest post for a vacation I was planning on taking during the end of July and wouldn't be able to blog during. Well, sadly that didn't end up happening, but that's ok. I still had their fabulous guest posts and still want to show them off because they're amazing! Today you'll be entertained and amused by Karen from BeautyGeeks. Please enjoy!

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Affiliate Link

MANIGEEK PLAYS OPI SUEDES FOR KELLIE G

Fellow polish junkies! A couple weeks ago my favourite nail painter Kellie G (you know I call her Kell-eh, right? – it’s a Canadian thing) hollered and asked if I’d do a guest post for her. I was all like “Hellz yeah! I’ll do you a couple BLOPIs!”

As I was wandering through The Archives, I ran into a couple OPI Suedes and thought “Hmmmm… “

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark Suede is a stunning matte metallic eggplant. Totally smooth to the touch, this One Coat Wonder actually makes me giddy. It’s one of those things I’ll never, ever give up. Like, ever.

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark Suede bears absolutely no resemblance to the Lincoln Park After Dark 2005 and never did. In fact, none of the Suedes look anything like their original namesakes. Weird.

OPI Ink Suede almost leans purple but doesn’t quite get there. Instead, it’s a metallic-matte silver blurple. Perfect in one coat with no base coat and no top coat. These are the bottles I reach for when I need a fast mani because I gotta haul ass out the door. One coat and dry in 5 minutes flat. #TrueStory

You can still find bottles from the OPI Suede collection floating around on both eBay and Amazon.com but prices vary wildly. I’m still working on mine and maybe one day, I’ll have ‘em all.

Thanks for the read, Kellie G fans! I know both you and I are looking forward to her return so she can once again fill our feeds with pretty nails. In the meantime, thanks for letting me play in your sandbox Kell-eh!

xoManiGeek.

This post contains an affiliate link.

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Karen aka ManiGeek: BLOG | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK

I'm in awe of Karen's beautiful photos and her perfect nails and muticles (mutant cuticles). She lives in Canada, my favorite country other than the US, and her outrageous sense of humor and the fact that she puts up reviews of new collections so fast makes reading her blog an utter delight. Her writing is seriously second to none and she's just a special chick. I adore her and I am sure you will too! Please check out Karen at the links above!

❤ Kellie

Guest Post for Very Emily

Hello my friends! It's my birthday today and I'm celebrating by doing NOTHING! :) I'm 30 years old today and it's blowing my mind!

One of my internet besties, Emily of Very Emily is on vacation and I was lucky enough to be asked to do a post for her. If you don't already know, her blog is incredible and you should be following her! For my guest post, I've done a swatch of Emily's Picture Polish collab shade, Eerie (seen in a teaser shot below). And there might be something extra in there too, but I won't spoil it haha. Click HERE to go to the post!

Love ya and see ya again soon!

❤ Kellie

Guest Posts for Procrastinating Polishr, Peachy Polish, and Brit Nails

Yo, yo, yo! I have been a busy bee and have three guest posts up on some of my friends' blogs right now! These ladies are amazing and I'm so happy to be featured on their fabulous sites!

Procrastinating Polishr - Essie Swatches

Peachy Polish - Takko Lacquer Swatches

Brit Nails - Powder Perfect Swatches

These black & white pics are teaser shots, of course. In order to see them in all their full color glory, please head on over to the links and show some love! If you're so inclined ;) Talk to you again soon!

❤ Kellie

Guest Post by Nail Polish Pursuit: Christmas Nail Art + Video Tutorial

Please enjoy this guest post by my friend Paola from Nail Polish Pursuit!

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Hi Pretty Polishers and Kellie Gonzo fans! I'm Paola (Pa-OH-La) aka Nail Polish Pursuit. I am SO honored that Kellie asked me come back and do another fun and cute guest post for her amazing blog! Kellie has been a wonderful mentor and inspiration to me throughout my nail polish blogging journey. Isn't she the best? I know we can all agree Kellie ROCKS! So for my guest post today, I've got 4 Christmas nail designs to show you. These are pretty simple and quick in case you need any last minute Christmas nail art ideas.

To create these designs you will need the following:

That's a lot of polish right? If you don't have all of these colors you can use what you have, or you can create only 1 of these 4 designs and paint the rest of your nails red or green for the holiday season. You also don't have to use these exact colors I used, but in case you're interested, here is the list:

Gold polish - Ziv by ZOYA
Red polish - Sooki by ZOYA
Green glitter polish - Logan by ZOYA
Nude polish - Rue by ZOYA
Pink polish - Lo by ZOYA
Blue polish - Sia by ZOYA
Silver polish - I'd Melt For You by China Glaze
Orange polish - Lady & the Vamp by China Glaze
Black polish - Never Have Too Mani Friends! by OPI (Hello Kitty Collection)
White polish - French Tip by Color Club

You're also going to need a dotting tool or toothpick, a fast drying top coat (I used HK Girl by Glisten & Glow), straight nail vinyls or tape, and a thin nail art brush.

Now let's take a look at how to create each one:

CANDY CANE
Yummy, simple, and festive!

1. Start with a white base. I love using French Tip by Color Club because it's a one coater and super opaque!
2. Apply a fast drying top coat and let it completely dry for about 15 minutes.
3. Apply your nail vinyls at an angle to give the appearance of the candy cane swirls. If you don't have nail vinyls you can cut tape into different sizes.
4. Apply 1 coat of your red nail polish and remove the vinyls or tape immediately while the red polish is still wet.
5. Once that is dry, apply your fast drying top coat to seal the design. TIP: Apply the top coat sideways so you don't smear the design.

SANTA CLAUS
So jolly and bright!

1. Start with your red polish and apply only a small amount to the top 1/3 of your nail closest to your cuticle.
2. Then apply your nude polish to the middle portion of your nail. Don't worry about making the division of colors perfect because you will be covering it up.
3. Next take your white polish and create a "french tip" line at the bottom of your nail to create Santa's beard.
4. Once that is all dry, take your dotting tool dipped in white polish and create a line of dots side by side in between the red and nude polish to create Santa's hat.
5. Now take your dotting tool dipped in black polish and make two small dots in the nude polish section of your nail to create Santa's eyes.
6. Then use your thin nail art brush dipped in black polish and create a half moon shape under the eyes to create Santa's smile.
7. Last you're going to take your dotting tool dipped in your pink polish and make two dots at each end of Santa's smile to create his jolly and bright cheeks!
8. Once everything is dry, apply your fast drying top coat to seal the design.

CHRISTMAS TREE
This isn't a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree!

1. Start with a white base. Apply fast drying top coat and let it fully dry for about 15 minutes.
2. Next take two pieces of vinyl or tape and make an X across your nail to create the outlining of the tree.
3. Then add your green nail polish in between the "X" outline. While the polish is still dry, remove the vinyls or tape.
4. Let that completely dry and you can leave it as is or you can add ornaments to you tree like I did.
5. Using your dotting tool dipped in gold and silver polish, make dots inside your tree to create the ornaments.
6. I added a star on top of my tree using a tiny nail art star that came in a wheel I bought at my local beauty supply store. You can also find these on amazon.
7. Once everything is dry, apply your fast drying top coat to seal the design.

SNOWMAN
With a carrot nose!

1. Start with a blue base. Apply fast drying top coat and let it fully dry for about 5 minutes.
2. Then take your white polish and create a circular mound shape at the bottom of your nail.
3. Next take your dotting tool dipped in white polish and make dots at the top portion of your nail to create snowflakes.
4. Now take your dotting tool again but this time dipped in black polish and make two dots at the top of the white mound to make the snowman's eyes.
5. Last take your thin nail art brush dipped in orange polish and make a sideways triangle to create the snowman's carrot nose.
6. Once everything is dry, apply your fast drying top coat to seal the design.

You're all done! Hope you enjoyed these cute and fun Christmas nails! Remember you don't have to make these look perfect, even the best nail artists make mistakes. Your designs will be unique and beautiful.

I also have a step by step video tutorial for these nails on my YouTube channel here:

I wish everyone a very Happy Holidays and a huge thank you to Kellie for giving me this opportunity to be a part of her awesome blog!

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Thanks so much for guest posting again Paola! I love nail art oh so much and I fail so hard at it, so thanks for bringing some creativity to my blog! Let me know what you think! What are you wearing on your nails for the holidays? Be sure to stop by the Nail Polish Pursuit blog and subscribe if you want, or follow her on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube!

❤ Kellie

Guest Post by Nail Polish Pursuit: Halloween Nail Art + Video Tutorial

Please enjoy this guest post by my friend, blogger, youtuber and fellow Halloween enthusiast, Paola!

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Hi pretty polishers and Kellie Gonzo fans! I'm Paola (Pa-OH-La) aka Nail Polish Pursuit. I am SO honored to be guest writing for my lovely friend Kellie today! She's been a wonderful mentor and inspiration to me throughout my nail polish blogging journey. Kellie and I both love all things Halloween so I felt it oh-so appropriate to create these fun and simple Halloween Nails.

You will need the following:

• white polish {I used French Tip by Color Club}
• yellow polish {I used Pippa by ZOYA}
• orange polish {I used Lady and the Vamp by China Glaze}
• purple polish {I used Looking Bootiful by China Glaze}
• green polish {I used Drink Up Witches by China Glaze}
• black polish {I used Black Pumpkin by Sally's Girl - How adorable is that little witch hat bottle top!?}
• fast drying top coat {I used HK Girl by Glisten & Glow}
• thin nail art brush {mine are from a local beauty supply store}
• medium and small dotting tool {mine are from Amazon}
• striped nail vinyls (mine are from Nailvinyls.com}

These are pretty simple for nail art beginners, but remember practice will make perfect! Here is how to create each one:

CREEPY GOOGLY EYES

1. Start with 1-2 coats of your black polish. The polish I used is opaque in one coat so it was perfect.
2. Apply a coat of fast drying top coat and let it completely dry for about 10 minutes.
3. Using your medium dotting tool dipped in white nail polish, apply three set of eyes on your nail in different directions. You can do more or less set of eyes depending on how big or small your nail is.
4. When those dots are completely dry after about 5 mins, take your small dotting tool dipped in black nail polish to make the center dot of the eye.
5. Once that is dry, apply a fast drying top coat.

CANDY CORN - this one is my favorite and SO easy!

1. Start with 1-2 coats of white nail polish. The polish I used is opaque in one coat so it was perfect.
2. Apply a coat of fast drying top coat and let it completely dry for about 10 minutes.
3. Once your nail is completely dry, use your stripe nail vinyls to create the middle color of the candy corn.
4. Apply one coat of orange polish to the middle of the nail.
5. While your polish is still wet, remove the nail vinyl stripes.
6. Apply one coat of yellow polish to the bottom of the nail. I did this one freehand and just swooped the brush across the bottom of my nail sort of like a french mani.
7. Once the polish is dry, apply a fast drying glossy top coat.

PUMPKIN

1. Start with 1-2 coats of orange polish.
2. Once that is completely dry, take your thin nail art brush dipped in black polish and create 2 triangles at the top of your nail to create the pumpkin's eyes.
3. Then create an upside down triangle underneath the two triangles in the middle to create the nose.
4. Then create a sideways half moon to create the pumpkin's smile.
5. Once that is dry, apply a fast drying glossy top coat.

WITCH STOCKINGS

1. Start with 1-2 coats of green polish.
2. Apply a coat of fast drying top coat and let it completely dry for about 10 minutes.
3. Once that is completely dry, apply your nail vinyl stripes in different positions to create the stripes of the witch's stockings.
4. Apply purple and black polish interchanging the colors with each line.
5. While the polish is still wet, remove the nail vinyls.
6. Once the polish is dry, apply a fast drying glossy top coat. TIP: Apply the top coat sideways so you don't smear any polish downward that may still be wet.

And that's it! You have created adorable Halloween Nails :) I painted the rest of my nails black but you can do more designs or paint them any other fun color you would like.

I also have a step by step video that shows this process on my YouTube channel here:


Hope you all enjoyed this tutorial and I hope you re-create your own Halloween Nails! A huge thank you to Kellie for letting me be a part of this amazing blog!

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Thanks so much Paola! I love that these fabulous Halloween nails are so easy and fun to create! Please show some love in the comments for her because you know I can't bring you nail art like this! See ya again soon!

❤ Kellie

My Guest Post on BeautyGeeks: Essie LuxEffects 2015 Collection

Hello there, eh! I say "eh" today because I have an extra special guest post on my Canadian friend's blog BeautyGeeks! Essie Canada sent me the new 2015 LuxEffects polishes to show off and I couldn't be more excited to be featured on the BeautyGeeks site, they have some amazing content! Please head on over there and see the magic!

Press Sample

Of course I couldn't just show them here, this black and white photo is just a teaser :) Here is the link: http://imabeautygeek.com/2015/10/15/essie-luxeffects-2015-swatches-and-review/ - please show the post some love! Their nail blogger Karen has impeccable skills but despises bar glitter and she knows I love it, so this guest post really is a win-win situation for the both of us. See you again soon cookies!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were provided for an honest review.

Guest Post by Sassy Shelly: Geometric Holo Gradient

Please enjoy the following post from my friend Shelly!

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Hello beautiful people! I am so excited to be guest posting for the amazing Kellie Gonzo! I've been a huge fan of Kellie's blog for a really long time so I was totally fangirling when she emailed me asking if I'd like to do a post on KellieGonzo.com. It's such an honor to be here today.

For my guest post I chose this geometric gradient stamping mani that I created using 5 shades from the KBShimmer Spring 2015 Collection.


I started with a base of KBShimmer Eyes White Open a perfect one coat white creme. Then using Pueen52 I stamped a gradient with some of the new KBS super holos,Blue-d Lines (blue), Thistle be the Day (lilac), Ins and Sprouts (green) and Blush Money (pink with shimmer). To get the gradient effect I just painted lines of each color onto the plate and scraped a few times to blend them a bit.

I really love these pastel holos! But my dry raggedy cuticles..not so much. :) Hope you liked my design! And thank you so much Kellie for inviting me to your fabulous blog!

If you'd like to visit me you can find me at www.SassyShelly.com, on Facebook at Shelly's Sassy Nails, and at @SassyShelly129 on Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter.

Have a great day polish lovers!

♥ ♥ ♥

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Many thanks to Shelly! This is such a cool nail art effect, I totally dig it and want you to come put it on my nails k?

❤ Kellie

Guest Post by Love Varnish: Floral Mustard

Please enjoy the following post from my friend Deborah!
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Hi loves! Woah, how cool, I'm guestposting for one of my favorite nail girls ^^. My name is Deborah and I blog over at Love Varnish. I've been following Kellie for a long time now, and I have always loved her perfect nails and gorgeous pictures. So yeah, I was excited when she asked me to guestpost!

Today I am sharing a stampicure with all of you. I know Kellie likes "the uglies" as well, so how could I not use this murky, mustard like shade from El Corazon as my base? I used 2 coats of it and while it dried, I painted on my Color4Nails Crystalline Nail Veil to protect my skin while stamping. It's really neat how you can brush on this barrier, let it dry, do your thing and then peel off most of the mess :-).

I stamped with my favorite stamping image (if you follow my blog you might find this look boring lol) from the MoYou London Pro XL 06 plate, the first round using Konad White and the second round using Cirque Colors Memento Mori. All I needed after that was a layer of topcoat and I was done!

Thanks for asking me to guestpost Kellie, this look might not be my most original but I hope you can appreciate the chosen basecolor ;-).

Deborah's Blog | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

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Deborah has become one of my absolute besties via internet and I cannot praise her talent enough, she's magic.

❤ Kellie