Review: Premiere Episode of Nail'd It (Nail Art Reality Competition Show on Oxygen)

Nail'd It is a new reality competition show focusing on nail art. The show debuted on Tuesday of this week on the Oxygen Channel and it airs every Tuesday at 9/8C. If you missed the first episode, Oxygen re-airs their content throughout the week, so just check your cable guide and I'm sure you'll find a rebroadcast.

After watching the premiere episode of Nail'd It, I found myself wanting to share my thoughts with you and, more importantly, get YOUR feedback if you also watched. Keep reading for my take on the first episode..

image source: oxygen.com

Manicurist Jami's work featured in the premiere episode of Nail'd It

I was really excited when I first heard that there was going to be a reality show based around nail art. After watching the first episode, it became clear to me that although there are some more subtle nail art techniques highlighted in the show (see checkerboard nail above), a lot of the work featured on this show is probably going to be of the more extreme nature, with lots of sculpting and artistry. While this isn't my cup of tea in terms of what I would personally wear on a day-to-day basis, I think it's beautiful to look at and I found myself carefully examining each nail for techniques that I could maybe try on my own nails (on a much smaller scale, of course).

image source: oxygen.com

Manicurist Classic's work featured in the premiere episode of Nail'd It

The show follows the standard reality competition format laid out in shows like Top Chef, Ink Master, Project Runway, Face Off, etc. etc. etc. I kind of get a kick out of which catchphrase these types of shows will use when time runs out on a competition (for example, on Ink Master, Dave Navarro always exclaims, "Machines down! No more ink!"). For Nail'd It, host Adrienne Bailon exclaims, "Brushes downs! Nails up!" and for some reason I thought that was kind of cute.

Each episode features three different manicurists vying for a slot in the grand prize competition to win $100,000. So in each episode we get to see three new manicurists, and the manicurist who wins that episode receives $10,000 and earns his/her slot in the grand prize competition later in the season. That structure is a little different than some other shows of this nature since we only see three contestants per episode. I think this makes it a little harder to get to know each contestant and develop fan favorites, but I guess we'll see how that pans out in future episodes.

As with most reality shows of this nature, there are two rounds of competition per episode: the first is the "Quick Dry Challenge" (cute name!) and the second is the more intensive challenge that will determine who earns a spot in the grand prize round.

Here is the Quick Dry Challenge from the premiere episode, if you'd like to see it:

Quick Dry Challenge from episode 1 of Nail'd It

As for the judges, it looks like there will be a revolving door when it comes to the panel, but the premiere episode featured two industry veterans: celebrity manicurist Tom Bachik and CND co-founder Jan Arnold. In last night's episode, I enjoyed their insights and I thought their critiques were well-balanced.

All in all, I'm thrilled that there's a new reality competition show that focuses on nail art. I know I'm not alone in believing that nail art is a true form of art and that the artists in this field should receive more recognition. So my hat is off to Oxygen for taking a chance on this one. For a premiere episode, it was pretty engaging and the show moved along at a good pace, but I would like for the show to feel a bit more polished (no pun intended) moving forward. I'll definitely keep watching!

Did you see the premiere episode of Nail'd It? What did  YOU think of it? Please share below!