BEWARE! I tried Artistic Nails for a pedicure the day before leaving on a trip. The manicurist nicked my cuticle and did not apologize. However, it was the painful, red, throbbing that I experienced the next day that concerned me. It was so obviously infected I had to take my shoe off on the plane! Thankfully, I travel with antibiotic ointment, so I cleared up the infection within a day of my vacation. But I vowed never to return. That was a few years ago.
Then 2 weeks ago, my teenage daughter was having a rough day, so to cheer her up, I decided to take her to get a mani/pedi from somewhere. With no reservations anywhere, I decided to give Artistic Nails another try. I figured the last experience was probably a fluke. Boy was I wrong!
My daughter's manicurist was rough in filing her nails, to the point of making her finger bleed way above the cuticle (where the file should NEVER even touch a finger). No apology. She was about to use the buffer next when my daughter pointed out the bright red blob of blood sitting on her finger. The manicurist then got an unmarked bottle filled with blue liquid and squeezed it onto my daughter's finger. I asked what the solution was and she just kept repeating "Make bleeding stop. Make bleeding stop." My daughter's mention of the painful burning sensation went ignored. Within 10 minutes my daughter's finger was swollen, red, and tender all the way to her 1st knuckle. Very evident of a allergic reaction. So I asked her manicurist what was in the solution she put on her finger. She again only repeated "Make bleeding stop." So I kindly pointed out that she was having an allergic reaction to the solution, but apparently it was lost in translation. Another manicurist came by and still would not tell me what was in the unlabeled bottle they used on my daughter. She had the nerve to tell me "It not infection." I KNOW it wasn't infected at that point, since the injury just happened, but it WAS an allergic reaction! She then told me "You don't worry. I dental hygienist so I know not infected." Ummmm.... so you clean teeth and that makes you an MD??? Needless to say, that did nothing to calm my nerves. They hastily checked us out (to get rid of us, since the other clients were all observing out interaction). Because of rushing us, they shoved my daughter's sandals into her feet, smearing all of her polish. I was charged full price for the mani/pedi, even though her toes were all smudged and now even ruined her sandals, and with a swollen finger! I have NEVER felt more ripped off. No apology, no discount for what could have been a liability issue- nothing.
So if you're considering going to this spot, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! I take full responsibility for going back a 2nd time, and for what DID INDEED turn out to be an infection on my daughter's finger, requiring oral antibiotics and a prescription ointment to clear up more than a week later. I only wish I could rate it ZERO STARS. read more