As requested, this week's TTC guest is Kelli Marissa! Kelli is a beauty Youtuber and Instgramer.She has been featured in Cosmopolitan (twice), PopSugar and Teen Vogue. She also reviews all of Cirque Color's launches and is the official swatcher for all of our videos!
"Hi, my name is Kelli and I am a nail polish loving YouTuber. I LIVE for color and try to express my creativity in every way I can - with nail polish, makeup, and even hair color (I’ve already been through the entire rainbow!) When I’m not painting my nails (which, let’s be real, is what I’m doing most of the time), I’m usually curled up under a bunch of blankets with a good book and a cup of coffee :) "
Do you remember when/how you got into nail polish?
Funny enough, I used to wear black nail polish 24/7! It was the only color I owned and it was the only color I was interested in owning. But I remember one day in college, my friend and I were getting ready to go to a party and I really wanted to wear something glittery on my nails. Since I didn’t own anything besides black, we had to take a trip to the drugstore to pick up a new polish for me. And somehow that ended up turning into a tradition for us - going to the drugstore and picking up a new polish anytime we were going somewhere special - and next thing I knew, I had 10 or so polishes and I realized I really love wearing color on my nails. That was around ten years ago, and now I have close to 2,000 polishes in my collection!
When did you start blogging and how did you get into it?
I actually got my start by blogging on Tumblr, also in college, before Instagram was popular (I eventually moved over to my own website, and now I’ve migrated to YouTube!) I was steadily growing my collection and getting better at painting my nails, and discovering nail art (!!!), so I spent a lot of my free time doing crazy manicures. But I was painting my nails so frequently that people didn’t really get a chance to see my nail art or fun colors before I switched them, and I realized I wanted to have a place to keep track of the manicures I had done so far. So I joined Tumblr and started sharing on there! It’s funny looking back because at the time I didn’t have a smartphone or a camera, so I had to borrow my roommate’s digital camera to take my photos.
What’s one way you treat yourself?
I take self-care VERY seriously, so for me, treating myself usually involves buying something I can use for pampering! Whether it’s a face mask, or a bath bomb, or a new hair dye or eye shadow palette, I love rewarding myself with products I can use to feel refreshed and brand new.
What’s the question your fans ask most?
I get asked a lot of questions, about my inspiration or my favorite products or nail care. But I’d say the number one question of all time is, how many nail polishes do I own? And honestly, I've lost count! I know it’s close to 2,000 polishes, but I try to refresh my collection every few months by going through and donating a few hundred polishes that I don’t really use or love. Usually they’ll go to women’s shelters, LGBT youth centers, churches - any organization that is willing to receive a lifetime supply of pretty nail polishes!
What are your other hobbies outside of nail polish?
Nail polish is a HUGE part of my life, but I do have a lot of other interests when I’m not working on a new manicure. I probably spend most of my free time reading - I love going to the library on the weekends and spending my day surrounded by books! But I also love playing video games, playing with makeup, and cooking.
Top 3 Cirque Colors products?
1. The entire Candy Coat collection! I couldn’t pick just one, I’m obsessed with all of them equally and I will always treasure them.
2. Cirque Colors Au - a limited release 23k gold flake topper from 2015. I only wear mine once a year, because I’m terrified to run out of this beautiful polish!
3. Cirque Colors Hand Cream! This is a recent obsession of mine, but as soon as I got the new lotion I fell in love. I actually keep it by my computer where I edit my videos so I can moisturize throughout the day! Plus, it smells SO good.
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