Bravo Baddie Monyetta Shaw Speaks On Her ‘Keep It Classy’

A Bravo baddie is continuing to “keep it classy”, this time with a line of premium press-ons that look like you spent hours sitting in a salon.

Monyetta Shaw is venturing into the beauty business with her “Keep It Classy” nail line which she says is perfect for busy moms on the go.

After the entrepreneur/”friend of the show” on The Real Housewives of Atlanta tried out the nails for herself before her official launch, and after being flooded with compliments, she decided to bring them to fruition.

Below, Shaw tells BOSSIP about her press-on nails, her YouTube channel that features her husband Heath, and the reasons why she’s actually fit for a full-time peach. “I know my value and I’m going to continue with cameras or without cameras.” 

Talk to me about the name of your line “Keep It Classy” and how it came to fruition. 

My whole brand is “keep it classy.” Since Atlanta Exes and with the world watching me go through that breakup in front of the world and moving on, I would get so many messages from the fans and the supporters and his fans about how they love the way that I move. And they would say, “You’re just always so classy. Keep it classy.” And it just stuck with me. After I wrote my book Bigger Than Me, I wrote, Keep It Classy, Co-Parenting Strategies for Unstoppable Moms and Devoted Dads.

And so, I’ve been into press on nails forever. My friends would always be like, “Girl, you’re the press on queen, honey, because they don’t even look like press on the way you put it together!

And so I was like looking for press on nails and I really couldn’t find exactly what I wanted at times. So I’m like, “You know what? Hey, let me start doing my research.” And I did. I’m like, “I can just create my own, just make that come together.” And I was thinking of a name and I decided that I couldn’t do any other name but Keep It Classy nails. So that’s how that came about.

Let’s talk about the different looks that we can do with this. I’ve always wanted to get into press on nails, but I like my nails super long, like Cardi B. Do you have styles similar to that?

Yes, we have them, it’s called coffin nails! You are going to love them and when I say the colors…I was so particular about the first collection, we had 10 in the first collection and shortly after we had the chrome metallic coming up. You should see me right now. My face just lit up. I’m so excited and passionate about it.

We have the coffin nails and we have vibrant colors, we have the matte collection, like a matte pink and it’s amazing. We have all types [of nails], we even have a nude color for the [lovers of more] basic.

We have the fuchsia, we have a matte red that’s really new that I’ve never seen out and we also have a few shorter nails for their ladies who don’t like the nails. We have something for everyone. Even on the short nails, it’s still a pop. And we’re going into fall so I wanted to make sure that we have the darker colors. One of my favorite colors is a deep, deep purple that can put you in the mind of black. So that’s one of my go-to’s. And even with the short nails, we have junk nails with rhinestones on them. But the box, I feel like it’s going to be a movement, we have a little pink box. No shade to the other companies that are here before me, but the little boxes, you just throw it away after. I wanted a keepsake and that’s exactly what we created. It’s literally a little drawer, a hot pink drawer, you pull it out and it’s fluorescent and it has a jewel on it to open it up. I love it. I think it’s going to cause conversations. It’s just going to brighten up your day, I like to call it an extension of your personality. You could just put the nail on and it just pops. You pop it on your nail, get a new attitude.

So that’s why I was like, I need to create something that looks like I sat down. It’s been maybe a year in the making and while I was testing out exactly the type and the manufacturer I wanted to work with, I would wear them. Even in shooting the show, on Real Housewives of Atlanta, I actually wore the nails trying to figure it out. And I just wanted it to be something that was authentic to me. And even though it was convenient, I didn’t want it to look like it was convenient. People really complimented me every single time I had on one of my nails. They could not believe it was press on, honestly. They could not.

So what has been the reception with the ladies of #RHOA? I know you said Kandi’s been super supportive. Is she going to be wearing these nails in one of these spoof videos when she’s dressed as Charlamagne Tha God? 

That’s hilarious. I would hope so. But definitely, she was super supportive even before she saw it. It’s funny because we talked, she was like, “Talk about moving in silence, girl, we didn’t even know y’all were doing this.” She didn’t even see it and she already supported me but that’s how we are as friends, we support. And I’m a girl’s girl and I love to support other women and just empower each other. And that’s what we do in real life.

And so when I saw her yesterday, I came with the little pink box, and she was blown away. She was like, “Oh wow, these are really good.” So she took her picks and got her stuff and she was really excited about it. And I just love the excitement and the support that she shows. I’m hoping she’ll have one on in the spoofs and when she’s doing press.

Speaking of you being a girl’s girl and always keeping it classy, what was it like for you filming The Real Housewives of Atlanta? Because we know sometimes things can get tumultuous, people can get a little catty. How do you deal with that and still show up as the classy Monyetta Shaw that you are?

Thank you, boo. Great question. I guess a lot of people are like, “You’re doing what?! Huh?” But they know me and let’s be clear. I’m nice until I’m not, don’t push me too much, but I like to say it takes a few times for me to go there. Being nice and being kind, people seem to take advantage of you and they will try you, but you have to let them know. And look, that happened, with Marlo slamming the door on me. When I tell you, Dani, I saw black. I really saw black! Ad I was coming for her and everybody was like, “Rightfully so.” And I’m like, “Okay, we’re on the same page.”

And I said some words and I’m glad they edited how they did because trust me, the other side of me came out, honey. But one thing I’m not going to do, I’m not going to fight or anything unless I have to protect myself. It’s always important to me to remain my authentic self in any situation and understand that. Even as I said, I blacked out because it was a real moment. I had to be real with myself and real with her. So I was still talking and she was still talking while she was walking outside the door. And I’m like, “Girl, look, I’m right here. Whatever you got to say, just stay right here.” So I kept going too.

But it’s funny because people would be like, “Oh, you did that. But that was a classy thing, girl. That was a classy comeback.” I am who I am, but I still remain myself and it gets crazy. And what’s really, really crazy about it, still being friends with a few of the ladies, because we know a lot of people in Atlanta. So just being there and then seeing the confessionals and seeing people say things on the confessional that’s a different energy.

And when I’ve been friends with people for over a lot of years and seeing them like that was the problem that I had and I was just like, “Okay, so this is not cool.” And of course, I would address the situation and then you would move on. But in real life, you’re going to have situations and it’s not going to always be friendly, but it’s how you handle it. So I just try to remain myself regardless, but still speak my mind. And if I don’t like the situation, I just say it and keep it moving.

How do you keep it classy when it comes to these Housewives fans? Watchers of Bravoverse are diehards and will make complete threads after watching one scene on a show. How do you deal with that and how do you keep it classy when all of that is going on? 

Oh, always. And I have to understand that and d being in the limelight for many years now, thank God I was kind of prepared for it. But I wasn’t fully prepared because Bravo, like you said, it’s a different beast. These fans are hardcore, honey! So first season, I didn’t say too much. I like to sit back and observe and now when I say something to show my opinion and get into the ins and outs of it, now I’m talking too much. So I’m like, “Y’all make up your mind!” They don’t know what they want. So I’m glad that I’m being my authentic self because with that, you can’t lose. You can never lose.

Not everybody’s going to be your person, but honestly, I’ve been getting a lot of support as well. And it’s hard too coming on as a friend [of the show]  because they don’t get to dive into the ins and out of my very full life and interesting life. I feel like honestly they missed so much. And so with the fans coming in like, “Oh well what’s she doing?” You have no idea. I have a lot going on and you guys would be very much so entertained.

But I’m there to support and that’s what I would try to let people know. But then if I would let one die-hard fan know, I had to let the other. So I just learned to just continue on with my life, be myself, and then if they start to follow me, they’ll really, really see And they’re like, “Oh, okay, this is what she’s about. Oh, she’s being real. Oh, she has been doing this for umpteen years. Oh, she’s not new to this.” I’ve gained a lot of more supporters and they’re like, “Oh wow, you should have a peach over this person.” You know how they do. It’s just like I have my people too, and that’s a beautiful thing. But the others that are for the others, that’s fine. It’s just like, “You stay over there because if you like that, you might not like me because I do things this way.”

I like what you said about your life and how you do have so much going on. You have your husband, you have all your business endeavors, and at one point you and Marlo [Hampton] had a back and forth and you said, “You’re right. I should be a Housewife…”

Exactly.

So that is something that you feel? That you should be a Housewife? You do have a lot of things that we could learn and we could see, and we haven’t really gotten to see that much.

Exactly. You said it perfectly. It’s all there. And for whatever reason, they wanted to give other people that forum. And hey, it worked out. Now they see that it might not, it’s time to move on. Let’s do it. I have connections, I have the family, the blended family. It could bring a different dynamic. Even the interracial relationship, you haven’t seen that on The Housewives of Atlanta. It would be good to get that. And a lot of my friends that are connected, even the kids’ father [Ne-Yo] where he would be a huge part of the show, but literally we do things together. We just went to his concert last Saturday all together, and that’s really what you see. He pulled Maddie on the stage for the first night. It’s so many awesome moments that the world I think would love to see. And it’s not always perfect. It’s to see how we get through and how we reach resolve.

It would be amazing for the world to see. But I’m not the type person that’s like, “Pick me, pick me.” I just know I know my value and I’m going to continue with cameras or without cameras. I’m going to continue to do me, live my life and just be this fabulous, classy person that I am.

Let’s talk about what else you’re working on. I saw that you and your husband are doing a YouTube channel. Is that correct? Are we going to see more of you guys on there?

Yes, yes! My YouTube channel, “Just Monyetta”, I’ve been getting more consistent with it. It’s really been really awesome. And introducing the world to [my husband] Heath Carter and everybody’s loving him. Literally, everybody that meets my man, his energy is amazing. We see each other in each other if that makes sense, and it just works.

So they’re loving it and you’re definitely going to see more of us together having these conversations and just having fun, honestly. And I want to show that one of his companies is demolition, he actually consulted the demolition of the Georgia Dome years ago and drove me out at five in the morning to see it. I was mad about it but I was so glad once I was there. It was cold, so I was like, “What?” And I was like, “Oh my God, I’m sorry, babe. This is the most fascinating thing in life.” Just watching all that and all that hard work and then it coming down and then seeing the new Mercedes-Benz right there in the horizon. I want to show part of that too, because he’s my cheerleader and everything that I do and is so supportive of me being on this show, I’m his number one fan too, and his biggest cheerleader as well. So I think that the world would love to see that. We’re going to show more of that on “Just Monyetta.” So it’s a beautiful thing and I’m super excited.

Let us know where to pick up these wonderful press-on nails so we can support you.

 You can order them right now on KeepitClassynails.com. We [also] actually just actually got our first retail, which is Nigel’s in LA. So we’re in a store. So we’ll be there mid-November, which is right in time for the Christmas holiday season.

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