Meet Nail Artist Lexi Martone — Star Of The New TLC Reality Series 'Unpolished'
All hail the nail queen!
instagram Who doesn’t love nail art? With an endless amount of DIY tutorials, themes, and manicure ideas, novices and experts are feeling incredibly inspired. But what fun would nail art be without a television show, explaining the ins and outs of the process? Well, a reality television show.
Over the years, TLC has provided us with our very own guilty pleasures: Sister Wives, 19 Kids and Counting, and 90 Day Fiancé. But it’s also given us a look into the personal lives of people from all walks of life. Shows like Long Island Medium, I Am Jazz, Cake Boss, and Say Yes to the Dress give us a little more of a personal insight.
And now, TLC just announced a new reality series that will combine our love of television and our obsession with all things nails.
Who is Lexi Martone? Martone will star on the upcoming 6-part series, Unpolished, which follows a full-service salon in Long Island that specializes in 3D, over-the-top nail art. The series is set to premiere on November 17th.
According to the description of the series, “The Martones are a loud, fun-loving Italian family from Long Island. Sisters Lexi, a talented nail artist, and Bria, a hair colorist/makeup artist, run Salon Martone while juggling family dynamics, over the top clients, and their own relationships.” Sounds like a future TLC binge is in order!
Along with Lexi and Bria, the series will also feature Lexi’s mom, Jennifer, father Mike, grandmother Foxy, and the significant others of the sisters, Joe Fraumeni and Matt Mancuso.
As TLC revealed, “Throughout the season, viewers will get to know Lexi and discover the skill that helped her rise to fingernail fame. At the end of the day, there’s nothing Lexi won’t do in her quest to take the term ‘nail art’ to a whole new level! Meanwhile, Lexi must also deal with family matters including tension with [sister] Bria’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, plus secrets that threaten to tear the family apart.”
So, what else do we know about this family, particularly Lexi Martone?
At just 26 years old, she’s pretty accomplished. Along with her sister Bria, who is 23, the two started their own salon, Salon Martone, back in 2016 after deciding to take their home business to a bigger venue. Their website talks all about Lexi’s “three-dimensional nail art,” and her celebrity clientele, including Sophia Bush, Blake Lively, Katie Holmes, and Jennifer Lopez.
Aside from her nail skills, she’s also apparently a pretty good baker. In March 2018, she appeared on Food Network’s show, Bakers vs. Fakers. The show featured professionals facing off against people who bake for fun, and Martone created cupcakes that touched on her true passion of 3D nail designs and edible sculptures.
In an interview with Nails Magazine, Martone opened up about crossing over to baking. “I’ve always been into baking and cooking and all that stuff. When I said I dabbled in all forms of art I wasn’t kidding,” she said. “The show is called Bakers vs. Fakers. There are four contestants on each episode and two are professional bakers and two are ‘fakers.’ Spoiler alert: I’m a faker. Everyone’s identity is kept secret on the show and revealed at the end. Afterwards, they offered me a series on Cake Boss Buddy Valastro’s YouTube Channel, ‘Cakehouse.’ You can check me out on there as the ‘Cupcake Witch.’”
She also discussed her future goals in addition to baking and nails:
“Because I don’t have enough things on my plate, I decided to paint sneakers. I love crazy original shoes and have started following a bunch of custom sneaker/shoe-painting Instagrams, which inspired me to start doing some of my own. So keep an eye out for some sneaker creations coming your way! I mean we wanted the salon to be a ‘one stop shop,’ so I guess I’m just seeing how far I can actually take that...
I love working on small canvases so they both allow me to create art on a small scale. That’s why I stick with cupcakes and cookies and don’t create 6-foot towering cake monstrosities. Both of them require a lot of patience and being detail oriented and a little or a lot of OCD.”
We’re looking forward to getting to know this family, as well witness Martone’s amazing nail art creations.
Samantha Maffucci is an editor for YourTango who focuses on writing trending news and entertainment pieces. In her free time, you can find her obsessing about cats, wine, and all things Vanderpump Rules.