I rarely post any reviews but had a regrettable experience I hope gets across to visitors here. I visited this new nail salon on January 16th and requested a cat eye gel manicure. Toward the end of the service, I noticed the technician applied the top gel without using the magnet that creates the cat eye effect. When I asked about it, I was told they didn't have the magnet yet and that they had informed me earlier.
There was a bit of a language barrier, so I understand the challenge there and take some accountability -- had I fully understood that the magnet wasn't available, I would have chosen a different color or style.
After the manicure was finished, I did notice the layers felt thin, but didn't think too much of it at the time. A few days later while I was out of town, the gel started chipping. After one week, one of my nails broke. About a week after that, another nail broke right in the middle.
When I returned to town, I debated writing a review because I know this is a brand new salon and I genuinely wanted to give them the opportunity to redeem themselves. Unfortunately, when I came back in to explain what happened, the experience went further downhill.
The front desk person (possibly the manager or owner) told me that my nails broke because I got "basic gel" instead of powder nails and that it had been nearly three weeks. As someone who has been getting both gel and powder manicures for over 15 years, I was pretty shocked by that explanation -- as if it's normal or expected for nails to break like that. I absolutely understand wear and tear but it's concerning when this happens so quickly. Any standard nail salon will note that gel nails will last 3-4 weeks but if your nails start breaking, concern lies with the gel application or quality itself.
I tried to explain that if the salon is communicating that gel nails are expected to break after a few weeks, then stronger product options or recommendations should be offered. After all, the technicians are the experts not the customers.
It was clear they weren't willing to take accountability for the quality of the manicure or service.
I do want to mention that my gel pedicure was completely fine with no issues, but I had two different technicians for my pedicure and manicure.
I was really excited to have a new salon closer to my location. The interior is beautiful and the 20% off promotion is definitely enticing but based on the quality of the manicure and lack of faith in future services, I wouldn't recommend this place. read more