How I Turned My Side Hustle Into A Steady Gig As Rihanna's Nail Artist

Nail artistry wasn't a lifelong passion for Maria Salandra, who has been Rihanna's go-to manicurist for the last five years. Her story can't be written as one of those "I knew from a young age" narratives, and she wasn't collecting nail polishes as a teenager or doing nail art on her middle school friends. Salandra actually wanted a career in music and only started to do nails as a side hustle. "When I started to pursue my recording career, I didn't want to wait tables until I made it like everybody else," she tells Refinery29, so she learned the basics in her uncle's hair salon that had nail service and eventually went to beauty school. Then in 1990, she opened up her own salon in New Jersey.

The aspiring singer was living a parallel life. She would go from managing the salon during the day to singing gigs at night, which included working the club circuit and going into the studio to record background vocals. But eventually, one of her two career paths started to take off faster than the other.

With help from a few friends in the film industry, she landed her first Hollywood film: Mixed Nuts, starring Steven Martin, Adam Sandler, and Rita Wilson. And then, her big break came along. The Italian nail artist found herself on set for the iconic series The Sopranos, where she was in charge of the nails for all the principles. These Hollywood jobs with clientele like Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, and the Kardashian-Jenner clan led to a circle of industry friends, and it was one friend in particular who changed her life forever.

"My friend had been doing nails for Rihanna, and there was one day where she couldn't make it to do her manicure," she shares. "I really didn't take it as a forever thing. I just thought it was going to be a one-time opportunity." That was the night of the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, and Salandra had no idea what was in store for her as she made her way to do Rihanna's nails at 1 a.m. "She posted her nails on Instagram, and I went from having four followers to 8,000 in minutes. I was overwhelmed by what it meant to me and my career. I never expected to see her past that night."

From there, Salandra would go on to do four jobs in just one month with Rihanna, and that was only the beginning. Over the last five years, the nail artist has ridden on the Rihanna rollercoaster. A ride that includes performances on some of the biggest stages in the world, fashion collaborations with PUMA and Savage x Fenty, and the launch of her groundbreaking makeup brand Fenty Beauty.

Salandra never knows what type of project will come her way. It could be making nail designs for 50 models in one of Rihanna's fashion shows or flying to London for a last-minute event. But to stay one step ahead, she always has a prepared kit of all of RiRi's favourite colours from over the years, which she says is mostly nudes or reds. But that's not to say Rihanna won't venture out. "Just when you think she's going to pick nude, she picks something completely out of the box," she says.

One of her most iconic nail creations for Rihanna is actually one of her most recent: the super embellished manicure from the 2018 Met Gala that featured Swarovski crystals. The extravagant nails took two hours and two days to create. The first day, she applied the stiletto full set. Then, on the day of the red carpet, Salandra added the Catholic-themed embellishments to fit with the Heavenly Bodies prompt.

In addition to gaining frequent flyer miles as she zips from country to country, the nail artist says that she continues to learn from Rihanna as she sits front row watching the success of her client unfold. "She is the hardest working person in show business. I've never seen a work ethic like that in anyone. There is no limit for her," she says. "For that, she's made me a better technician. She has honed my craft and made me look at things differently. When she's looking at the big picture, it always includes nails. It's a very big part of who she is."

That outlook has inspired Salandra to follow in Rihanna's footsteps and make a positive impact on the beauty industry. The same way that the Fenty Beauty founder shook up the industry by releasing 40 diverse shades for her foundation, Salandra hopes to release nude nail polishes for darker skin tones at some point in the future. "Nude polishes for that market do not exist," she says. "What looks good on lighter skin tones may not look good on darker ones, and everybody is always looking for the perfect nude. She's taught me to have a new outlook on colour when it comes to darker skin tones." Just making it even more evident that Rihanna is a powerful influence on inclusivity from beauty to the runways, and even nails.

Summer's hottest numbers

Try as they might, designer brands and high street retailers can't always predict the trends that are going to go stratospheric and those that are going to fall flat.

Fendi might decide that it's all about minuscule handbags, but over in the real world we actually want to be able to carry around more than just our phone and bank card, so we'll be sticking with our titanic totes and supersized shoppers, thanks very much.

On the other hand, sometimes one dress (or, as was the case last month, a spotty M&S jumpsuit) suddenly goes viral and sells out in a matter of hours.

Now that we're well into summer, we can look back at the clothes and accessories that have been the biggest hits of the season -and that still have plenty of mileage in them.

From shorts to shoes and bags, these pieces are super-stylish in their own right, but it just so happens they also make a perfect capsule vacation wardrobe.

Here are five holiday hero buys to mix and match all summer long.

The dress

We're holding the Duchess of Sussex responsible for this one. Meghan has been spotted in no fewer than four different trench coat-style dresses this year, from ivory pinstripe and blush pink to inky blue. The great thing about a trench dress is that it needs very little by way of accessories, especially in summer. Just add sandals and a tonal bag and you're good to go.

The sandals

When it comes to shoes, Hermes' Oran sandal has been nothing short of a footwear phenomenon this season. There are more than 80,000 pictures under the hashtag #hermesoran on Instagram and the H-shaped flat mules have spawned a ton of copycats on the high street - which is good news if you don't want to pay upwards of £485 for the originals.

The shorts

If you're anything like us, you are not prepared to embrace the skintight cycling shorts trend. Not a chance. City shorts, however, we are totally on board with.

Worn by day with a slouchy V-neck tee and sandals, or by night with a blouse and blazer, they've got a grown-up but laid-back vibe.

The blouse

The sassiest of statement pieces, the ruffle blouse has been around for a while now and we can see why this trend has been so huge. For cool summer nights, choose a blouse in a block colour (pale hues work well) and pair it with breezy wide-leg trousers or the aforementioned city shorts.

The bag

Last summer's trend has come full circle, as it were, with round handbags going supersized.

Embellished straw bags are ideal for the beach, while minimalists will love the unfussy leather variety.

Flowers star at Washington County museum's annual Art in Bloom show

Spring got off to a snowy start earlier this week, but the flowers found inside the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts over the weekend are sure to help melt away the winter blues.

A total of 26 floral arrangements — each an interpretation of a specific piece of art — serve as the featured attraction of Art in Bloom, a three-day event that concludes Sunday.

"The fact that we had 14 inches of snow and people are starting to look outdoors, this is a great way to bring spring," museum Development Director Wallace Lee said Saturday.

The 16th annual show kicked off Friday with a reception attended by nearly 200 people. For the weekend, Lee estimates about 700 people would come through the doors for what's become a nice fundraiser for the museum.

This year's event is expected to raise about $19,000, he said.

The floral arrangements are crafted under the direction of the Hagerstown Garden Club, which brings together designers from other local garden clubs, individual florists, Master Gardeners and local businesses to make the show happen.

All the designers attend an orientation where they get assigned a random piece of art on which to base a floral interpretation.

"Every year is different," Lee said. "It's not always the same pieces we use year in and year out, so it keeps bringing people back, everybody from year to year, to see the creativeness of our garden-club members."

Florist Denny Warrenfeltz, owner of Roostervane Gardens in Funkstown, said it's always interesting to see how each arrangement reflects an artwork.

"It's interesting how it can be interpreted literally or figuratively; interpreting color, design, form," he said. "... And flower-arranging, floral design, is an art form in its own right, so it's kind of adding a couple of different art forms together."

Lauren Baker of Boonsboro, a first-time attendee of the show, said she enjoyed the various arrangements.

"It's kind of a fresh take on it," she said of how the flowers reflect the artwork. "I think it's beautiful."

A regular figure at the show since he offers help to many of the designers through his business, Warrenfeltz said the show brings "some added life" to the museum in the springtime.

"There's some really interesting things to see, and the museum's a beautiful place," he said. "So along with the beauty, you get some fragrance to along with it."

The show continues from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Has Millennial Cult-Favorite Beauty Brand Glossier Jumped The Shark

Known as the OG of beauty disruptors, direct-to-consumer Glossier has been printing money in millennial pink since their 2014 inception. What started as a natural next step to her incredibly popular cool girl beauty blog Into the Gloss, Glossier founder Emily Weiss started the cosmetics brand with a shockingly simple message: “Skin first, makeup second.”

Since the brand launched its first four products – a cleanser, moisturizer, lip balm, and mist – Glossier has been very clear in its approach to ignore traditional beauty industry ideals. Forgoing heavily contoured made-up models and celebrities for fresh-faced millennials sporting “no-makeup makeup” has earned this $34 million company a devout following.

It seemed like anything Glossier touched turned to gold, until recently. In the past few weeks, we’ve seen some very un-Glossier missteps for the beauty darling. Last week, the brand ran a thread on their Instagram Stories touting the benefits of Glossier Solution, their new chemical exfoliating toner. There was nothing unusual in the Instastory, until the point when Glossier started slamming competing products like longtime cult-favorite Biologique Recherche P50 solution, an exfoliating toner that has been declared a hero product by everyone from the Olsen Twins and famed estheticians to publications like Vogue to ahem Into the Gloss. In the Instagram story, Glossier also called out popular exfoliators from Paula’s Choice and Pixi.

To go after your competitors in such a direct way seems a bit desperate, almost as desperate as paying for a makeup artist to use your products on a celebrity. Wait, Glossier may be guilty of that too. When social media exploded with news that Beyonce was wearing a face full of Glossier makeup to the Grammys, my first question was, “I wonder how much Glossier paid the makeup artist?” and of course my second question was if Beyonce saw a cut too.

For a company that boasts that 80% of their growth and sales come from peer-to-peer recommendations or their own channels, it seems off-brand to pay a spokesperson. In Weiss’s own words in a Q&A with Fast Company, “That goes to show that women are not necessarily listening to beauty brands. They are ultimately trusting their friends. So we see our community as co-conspirators, co-builders, co-storytellers. We believe in the power of the individual. And if you have many [individuals] who are electing your brand, who are excited about it and talking about it, then that is the equivalent of 10 Kardashians. So while it gives us great joy that Kim Instagrammed our Body Hero wash, we get much more excited, frankly, in seeing the power of the individual multiply and magnify. We see that as our partnerships.”

So… if Weiss is more excited by her consumer partnerships and her coveted millennial disciples can spot a celebrity endorsement a mile away, then why go against the brand ethos and partner with Beyonce’s makeup artist?

These Drugstore Foundations Rival the Most Expensive Out There

When it comes to shopping for foundations, you may not automatically think of drugstores as the go-to place, but plenty of makeup artists pick up affordable makeup in these superstores. Now, we're calling them drugstores because, is it just us, or does the American word "drugstore" sound so much more enticing than chemist? You may think we don't have such places on British soil, but essentially Boots and Superdrug are the UK versions of stores like CVS and Wal-Mart. These are the places to go for affordable supplements and beauty products.

To help you pick the right formula, we asked nine makeup artists to share their all-time favourite drugstore foundations (although if you're looking for a definitive guide, these are the best foundations in the world). There were some clear drugstore standouts (we're looking at you, Maybelline Fit Me!), along with a few must-know application tricks.

Favourite Affordable Foundation: Rimmel Fresher Skin (£8)

"This is The One for acing your base, thanks to its super-light and creamy formula, plus top shade selection. It lets skin breathe while giving a natural, expensive-looking finish when blended on with fingers, and then buffed over with a fluffy brush."

Favourite Affordable Foundation: Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Foundation (£7)

"I discovered how great this one was when I worked on a couple of shows with Maybelline this season at New York Fashion Week. The shade selection is so great. It just looks like great skin. It's lightly matte, so it wears really well during the day. I like to use a damp Beautyblender and lightly build the coverage starting through the centre of the face and working outwards. I also love using a couple of shades darker across the cheeks for a natural tanned effect, also applied with a Beautyblender."

Favourite Affordable Foundation: Revlon ColorStay Foundation (£13)

"A personal favourite of mine is the Revlon ColorStay Foundation. This magical foundation has incredible long-wear and buildable coverage. Its oil-control components help with shine and it sets matte to the skin. I am constantly searching for and trying new things. As an artist, you never know what will surprise you and be incredible. I actually tried this after seeing so many commercials and finally decided to go out a buy a few shades. Hooked ever since!

"Drugstores provide such a large range of beauty items for reasonable prices. Who doesn't love a good deal—especially for something you love to use? Because our skin tone changes throughout the seasons, it's nice to use something affordable so you can change shades as often as you need. I love to apply foundation with a fluffy brush, preferably a kabuki-style, flat and fluffy, almost like a shaving brush. This allows the product to blend and buff into the skin rather than sitting on the surface. I like to finish it with a soft stipple using a blending sponge."

Favourite Affordable Foundation: Maybelline Dream Fresh BB 8-in-1 Beauty Balm (£6)

"My favourite is the Maybelline BB cream. I joined Maybelline's New York Fashion Week team a few seasons ago and was introduced to this product then. Once I started using this product backstage on all the models, I fell in love with it. Now I use it on a lot of my shoots and clients, and everyone is surprised how much they end up loving it.

"It's such a no-fuss product. Once it goes on, you don't have to worry about it for the entire day. I've used it on several Self magazine shoots where the models are running and jumping in 90-degree weather, and this product did not move an inch. The number one way I like to apply it is with my fingers. It goes on really smooth and blends easily under the eye area. I also like to apply with a damp Beautyblender if I want a little bit more coverage. The Beautyblender helps the product build on top of itself easily."