With 2024 marking the 25th anniversary of the beloved HBO drama The Sopranos, many women have celebrated by bringing back the “mob wife” aesthetic.
Women have taken out their vintage fur coats, animal prints and tennis chains to pair with teased hair and matte eye shadow, largely inspired by Carmela Soprano (played by Edie Falco), who is married to mob boss Tony (played by the late James Gandolfini).
But perhaps the most important part of the mafia women’s aesthetic is a good set of French nails – and FEMAIL has spoken to this Maria Salandrathe manicurist behind The Sopranos, to literally get the best tips.
The New Jersey native is the one responsible for perfecting Carmela’s pink French tips and Adriana La Cerva’s round red claws, as the nail technology on set from day one, when the show first aired in 1999.
Manicurist Maria Salandra is the genius behind all the manicures on The Sopranos – including Carmela Soprano’s iconic French tips
Salandra is the one responsible for perfecting Carmela’s pink French tips and has worked on all six seasons of the show
Stars like Rihanna and Kim Kardashian are already joining the mafia wife trend, with glamorous gold jewelry, fur and lots of animal prints
“The thing is, it’s a very small world in Jersey,” she told DailyMail.com. ‘We all know each other.’
She explained that right before The Sopranos, she was doing nails at her salon in New Jersey.
“When The Sopranos started, the show’s head of makeup called me to do the cast’s nails — we actually knew each other from high school,” Salandra explained.
“From that point on, the rest was history.”
The show lasted six seasons and Salandra stayed on through them all, grooming every character until 2007.
Some characters, such as Dr. Jennifer Melfi (played by Lorraine Bracco), had their nails painted by her, while others, like Carmela and Adriana (played by Drea de Matteo), had press-ons done.
The nail artist stayed up until 1 a.m. to create the press-ons for the characters, which she recently unveiled in a Instagram post.
Salandra was the one responsible for painting character Adriana La Cerva’s long red claws
“It’s a very small world in Jersey,” Salandra told DailyMail.com. ‘We all know each other’
While many of the characters wore press-ons hand-painted by Salandra, others had their nails painted, like Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco)
Salandra went to high school with the show’s head of makeup, who initially called her up for the gig
Sometimes Salandra would stay up until one in the morning in her nail salon and hand-paint each of the press-on nail sets.
Salandra would make 10 to 15 sets of press-ons for each design, including for the strippers of the fictional Bada Bing! club on the show.
She revealed that when doing Carmela’s nails, she chose pink and white because it was popular with her housewife clients at the time.
And when Falco finished filming, Salandra took off the press-ons, because the actress did not want to have long nails all the time.
For Adriana, the manicure would change things and stray from a typical French one.
Salandra used the deep wine-colored Malaga Wine from OPI, but also enjoyed creating striking nail art.
‘For [Adriana]“I have done a lot of airbrush nail art, rhinestones and hand-painted designs like the Louis Vuitton logo, and once I even cut up real dollar bills to make custom nail stickers,” Salandra said.
For example, one of Adriana’s famous nail looks was a sparkling teal nail polish with zebra-patterned tips and colorful rhinestones.
For Adriana’s nails, Salandra often mixed red and enjoyed creating bold nail art, like the zebra tip above
“I’ve done a lot of airbrush nail art, rhinestones and hand-painted designs like the Louis Vuitton logo, and once I even cut up real dollar bills to make custom nail stickers,” Salandra said
Salandra would create 10 to 15 sets of press-ons per design for the show, where she was the manicurist for all six seasons
Salandra was the on-set manicurist for every character, including the strippers who worked at the fictional strip club Bada Bing!
“But both styles require a long, curved nail,” she noted. “That part is crucial.”
And for those looking to recreate their own “mafia woman” manicure, Salandra said you can never go wrong with the French tip.
“For me, the ‘mafia woman’ manicure is the classic pink and white acrylic,” she revealed.
“You should ask for a long, curved nail with a square tip,” she continued. “Without that nail shape, the mafia woman’s manicure wouldn’t be the same.”
Although Salandra’s work on the show is now 25 years old, the looks have clearly stood the test of time as the mob wife aesthetic is back in full force — and she’s certainly here for it.
“I absolutely love seeing the girls embracing the ‘mafia woman’ style,” Salandra said.
“They really do a great job of capturing the look, from the big fur coats and bold makeup to the French ‘Carmela’ tips.”
The celebrity nail artist even noted that since the trend returned, she’s had an “influx of new clients” to her Cliffside Park salon, some from out of state asking her for Sopranos-style nails.
“For me, the ‘mafia woman’ manicure is the classic pink and white acrylic,” Salandra revealed to DailyMail.com
When she got that “mafia woman” inspired manicure, Salandra said it was incredibly important to have a long, curved nail
Salandra said she has seen an influx of out-of-state customers to her New Jersey salon, many of whom came for the “Carmela” nails.
Salandra now has a number of celebrity clients, such as Rihanna, whose nails she did for the 2017 Met Gala
Salandra now has a list of regulars like Rihanna, Kylie Jenner and Anne Hathaway who love her creations.
“The ‘mafia woman’ aesthetic is about being bold, glamorous and fierce,” Salandra said.
‘Keep in mind that the ‘aesthetic’ is very different from being a real mafia wife, but that’s the best part.
“I knew those women growing up! Always big hair, lots of make-up, dripping jewelry – especially gold – fur coats and of course a hot manicure.’