'Unpolished': Who is Lexi Martone? Here's how much the Martone family star of TLC's reality show is worth
Nail art has emerged to be one of the hottest trends in the recent past. From Instagram influencers to celebrities walking down the red carpet, everyone is happily sporting beautiful nail art on their talons. While we all watch and appreciate the exquisite talent of the nail artists and technicians on the nails, have you ever wondered what life might be like for these artists and technicians?
Well, if that thought ever crossed your mind, then TLC's popular reality series 'Unpolished' might have a few answers for you. 'Unpolished' is set in Salon Martone, which is run by the Martone sisters — Lexi and Bria, while their mother Jennifer Martone dons the role of a manager and their grandma, who is fondly known as "Foxy Grandma", helps the girls at the salon as a stylist.
It goes without saying that the Martone family members have endless drama among themselves, as they continue to run and grow their business empire. Bria, the youngest Martone sister focuses on makeup and hairstyling, while Lexi, the protagonist, focuses on everything concerned with nails.
Prior to making her mark on the show, Lexi had already managed to acquire several fans thanks to showcasing her intricate nail art work on her social media pages. When you look at the stunning creations of Lexi, whose specialty lies in 3D artwork on nails, one would never have guessed that this extremely talented nail artist's first choice of career was never nail art!
The talented artist once dreamt of a career as a fashion designer. But eventually discovered that her canvas of choice wasn't fabrics but nails. So, she began focussing on honing her nail art skills, which led to the 28-year-old artist landing A-list celebrity clients like Katie Holmes, Blake Lively, Jennifer Lopez and others.
Lexi's creativity isn't limited to just fashion and nails, turns out that the TLC star is also an exceptional baker. Prior to landing her very own TLC show, she appeared on Food Network's 'Bakers vs Fakers' show, a show where professional bakers are pitted against novice amateurs. Lexi managed to impress the judges with her creative 3D art on cupcakes.
In an interview, Lexi shared, "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. 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."
She added, "Afterward, 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'.”
The 28-year-old's talent impressed Buddy Valastro OF 'Cake Boss' fame so much, that he offered her a show, but Lexi turned it down. She didn't have to regret or second guess her decision to turn down the offer, as she was soon offered 'Unpolished'. However, the talented nail artist isn't ready to settle down with just nails and cupcakes as her medium of art. Lexi revealed her interest in venturing into the lucrative world of painting sneakers.
She said, "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," she added.
Over the years, Lexi has managed to rack up quite some money through her salon and 'Unpolished'. According to Information Cradle, the net worth of the Martone family is estimated to be between $1 million to $5 million. With the soaring success of the show, we are sure the Martone family wealth will only witness a meteoric rise.
'Unpolished' Season 2 is all set to premiere on Tuesday, January 12, at 10/9c on TLC.