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The final manicures from
the E! mani-off. Photo
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from Instagram @eonlin
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
Gloria Williams, Footnanny, Chicago
This year's Grammy awards showed us an array of nail art. The E! network
took notice and decided to host the first ever mani-off prior to the Grammy
Awards. The mani-off included celebrity nail techs the Footnanny (Gloria
Williams), Christina Aviles, and Melissa Bozant. The Footnanny shared her
Williams take on the experience with me. "Everyone is doing it!" she said about nail art.
"Never before has almost every nail product company had a fun and blingy line of polish or
decals. Also, women are becoming more edgy and daring with their nail color selections."
Prior to the mani-off, the three nail techs had 30 minutes to prep. "I shaped, buffed, and did
light cuticle work. I also put a white base on the nails."
The nails belonged to a random audience member picked by E! When the competition
began each nail tech was given a song to inspire nail art that they had only 15 minutes to
create. The Footnanny was assigned "Climax" by Usher. "I thought about the word and
for some reason the word 'pearls' came to my mind, and black diamonds (Azature)."
All three nail techs were winners, completing their elaborate designs
in record time. But the real winner was nail art. As the Footnanny pointed
out, it has brought nail techs into the limelight. These professionals and
their clients are cementing nail art's place in pop culture.
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