LI salon to be focus of new TLC reality series, 'Unpolished'
The cast of TLC's "Unpolished": Jennifer Martone, from left, Eleanor "Foxy Grandma" Varuzzi, Joe Fraumeni, Lexi Martone, Bria Martone, Mike "Big Mike" Martone and Matt Mancuso. Credit: TLC
Salon Martone, a full-service salon in East Northport that specializes in extravagant 3D nail art, will be the focus of "Unpolished," a new six-part reality series on TLC, the network announced Monday.
A TLC news release said "nail art will never feel the same after you’ve met Lexi Martone," then cued to the question on many minds: "But why a TV series?" Along with being a nail artist, Lexi is also a member of a "loud, loving Italian family."
And ... cue to that family: Lexi's mom, Jennifer Martone, who helps manage the business; stylist Eleanor “Foxy Grandma” Varuzzi; Lexi's sister Bria Martone, a hair colorist and makeup artist; and their father, Mike “Big Mike” Martone. Joe Fraumeni and Matt Mancuso, apparently the Martone sisters' significant others, will also star in this extended-family-reality-comedy-life-on-Long-Island show.
TLC has plenty of experience with this type of series (cue to "Long Island Medium," which launches its 14th season Friday). But with this newcomer, TLC looks to double down on the family dynamics and colorful personalities.
Per TLC, "Throughout the season, viewers will get to know Lexi and discover the skill that helped her rise to fingernail fame," adding: "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."
Then, there's also "grandmother ‘Foxy,’ a seasoned hairstylist who can’t be tamed;" and dad Big Mike, "who stops by occasionally to join the hustle of salon life."
Dix Hills sisters Lexi, 26, and Bria, 23, launched the Jericho Turnpike salon in 2016, at the time featuring Lexi's specialty known as "three-dimensional nail art," and boasting a celebrity-heavy clientele. Per Salon Martone's website: "After leaving the fashion industry, Lexi stumbled upon the world of nail art [and] has taken the nail world by storm. ... [S]he has designed nails for celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Katie Holmes, Blake Lively, Sophia Bush, and Victoria's Secret Angels." Meanwhile, Bria "is qualified to create and apply special FX [visual effects] makeup and prosthetics along with specializing in avant-garde hair creations."
"Unpolished" launches Nov. 17 at 10 p.m.
