A local esthetician is the best nail enhancement artist in the country after taking the 2013 Canadian Hairstylist of the Year award (Contessa) for nail design.
Robyn Schwartz, proprietor of Polished & Pampered Hair & Esthetics, placed Top 5 in the same category last year and wasn’t going to be satisfied with that this year.
“Last year was my first year, so I think I had a little bit more insight as to what they were expecting to see and every year there are different judges, so you don’t know what you’re up against,” explained Schwartz. “It gave me a better perspective as to what I should be doing.”
For every category there were specific looks that the judges were looking for and Schwartz said she based her entries on that.
“I did a set of French nails (pink and white look), a set of polished nails and the third submission, they always want something wild and crazy so I did a big, long set of stiletto nails with flowers and glitter and they turned out really well,” she said, adding that the stiletto nail’s were about 7.62 centimetres long.
She said that she had to make photo submissions for the awards, which allowed her to hone everything.
“It’s hard because you don’t know what (the judges) want. You’re hoping you’re doing the best work you possibly can and whatever you’re submitting, they’re going to like,” Schwartz explained.
Schwartz was in Toronto for the award ceremony on the weekend of Nov. 11, which she said was the Academy Awards of the beauty industry, and said that she wants to defend her crown next year.
“It’s surreal, it still hasn’t quite hit me yet,” she said. “I always feel I need to do better for myself. This is so amazing but I know I can still do better, so I’m always just pushing myself.”