Putting their skills to the test

A(R)T YOUR FINGERTIPS: Kerry Pez, who owns InternatioNails in Cranston, served as judge for the nail care portion of the competition. As part of the event, students had to do nail art.

READY TO BE SCORED: Barbara Fife of Warwick is pictured with her completed entry in the updo portion of the event.

EVERY HAIR IN PLACE: Makayla Maiato of Coventry makes some final adjustments to the haircut she performed during the SkillsUSA cosmetology competition held Friday at the Warwick Area Career and Technical Center. Working along beside her is Brenna Leigh Fournier, also of Coventry.

WHAT SHE IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE: In the esthetics event, students were required to do a day and a night makeup and then a fantasy makeup based on mythology. Here, Emma Coffey displays on her cell phone how she plans to transform her classmate, Sarah Healey, who joined her and other competitors for lunch.

NAILING IT: Grace Gibson, a competitor from Davies Career and Technical High School, works on the nails of fellow student Kaylee Lopez. As part of the competition, students are required to finish nails in acrylic and in gel and then using their artistic talents paint designs on the nails.

PULLING IT TOGETHER: Paula McCarthy, who has worked at the JCPenney store at the Warwick Mall since 1993, has chaired the cosmetology competition for the past 18 to 19 years. She is responsible for recruiting industry representatives – many of them owners of their own salons – to serve as judges as well as overseeing the competition.

SHE COULD BITE: Abigale LaPointe transformed the face of Skyla Federici into a “shark-ta-pus,” a mythical creature that is park shark and part octopus. This image was taken during a practice session prior to the competition.

Posted Wednesday, March 11, 2020 1:24 pm

Kerry Pez, who owns InternatioNails in Cranston, served as judge for the nail care portion of the SkillsUSA statewide cosmetology held Friday at the Warwick Area Career and Technical Center. Students from career and technical centers across the state put their creative skills to work as they fixed the nails of fellow students, prepared elaborate hairstyles and, in the aesthetics portion of the event, artfully applied makeup to the faces of their peers. (Photos by John Howell)