Nails at the Hair Wars

Fantasy nail art found its way onto the catwalk at the Hartland Mansion in Las Vegas. The annual Hair Wars Supreme Salon Tour, produced by Windy City Media, began its cross-country tour in January searching for top-notch salons showcasing their style and creativity in fantasy hairstyles. The tour stopped in Las Vegas during Cosmoprof North America, where we followed Headliners Salon in their quest to win the regional title of Supreme Salon.

Headliners owner and stylist Tzigane Osborne and her team of salon professionals chose a unique approach to displaying her fantasy hairstyles by partnering with 17-year veteran nail tech Joy Yavenue and Skin City Body Painting artists headed by Nicole Smolenyak to create a complete ensemble of looks portraying Osborne’s theme, The Wild Life of Vegas. “People think of Las Vegas as a constant party, but they’ve forgotten about the beauty that surrounds Vegas. We wanted to focus on the animals, plants, and natural wildlife of Vegas,” Osborne says. To top off her creations, Osborne brought her own sunfire bearded dragon (pictured here), tree python, and beta fish to accompany their respective models down the runway.

The luxury of fantasy nail art is the ability to work on the nails well before having to affix them to a model. Yavenue spent three weeks creating 12 fantasy nail art designs matching the models’ themed hair and outfit. “Tzigane and I work great together and we are truly passionate and live for the industry of hair and nails,” Yanvenue says. “I believe nails and makeup can only help in the overall effect, I know it definitely didn't hurt us.”



Headliners Salon placed second in the regional competition behind Body Spa Salon. Third went to Platinum Hair Studio. The top three salons in each region go on to the Hair Wars finale, set to take place in Las Vegas in December. For more information on the Hair Wars Supreme Salon Tour, visit www.supremesalon.com.

Check out our Hair Wars photo gallery for a look at each of Yavenue’s nail art designs along with other photos from the event.

— Kim