I want to start by saying this review is really a review of several visits throughout the past year and a half. Most of my visits to Bella Nails would warrant around 3 stars, but the most recent (and the one that inspired this review) is one I would give 1 star, so it's bringing this review down.
Disclaimer: I only come to Bella Nails when I am in town visiting my family, which is a few times a year, and, truly, the only reason I have kept returning is because of its convenient location (~5 min walk from my parents' house). Right off the bat, I have to talk about the vibe I get from Bella Nails. It's a beautiful salon, but I never feel truly welcomed. In fact, I almost always feel like I am inconveniencing them, even though I am (in my opinion) about as easygoing as possible. Customer service could definitely be a LOT better, but that doesn't usually make or break a nail salon for me, so it's not the end of the world in my opinion.
I typically get dip nails. I have had them done probably 4 times at Bella Nails, and the results are usually average/decent. I will say I've had better for cheaper, but I don't think I've ever had any complaints about my dip nails from Bella. I've had one GREAT nail tech, whose name I can't remember, but she has braces. She's super personable and does a great job shaping nails. The other nail techs I've had are just okay.
Here comes the negative part. A couple of days ago, I was getting acrylics taken off and having a regular manicure done. My nails are VERY weak from months and months of dip/acrylics and I told my nail tech this when she started. She confirmed it, so it was something that she was definitely aware of. She soaked my nails for about 30 seconds before taking my hands out and starting to use a cuticle cutter to rip off the acrylics. It was painful but manageable, and I am not someone who tends to speak up (my fault) especially when I am not the expert. However, particularly on my weak nails, I knew immediately that this was not the right method to remove acrylics. I was thinking about how it was a really unpleasant experience RIGHT as the nail tech ripped a chunk of my pinky nail off from the nail bed. She was clearly flustered and nervous about it and apologized quietly, put my pinky finger back in the acetone to soak off the rest, then kept going. OUCH and also I'm pretty sure that's super unsanitary. At that point, I was about ready to ask for someone else to finish it, but, again, I am not someone who likes to speak up so I let her keep going, since she was almost done anyways. She continued the painful removal method with the cuticle cutter and ripped off small chunks of a few different nails. When she was FINALLY done taking off the acrylics, she did my manicure. She painted the SKIN where she had ripped off my nail like it had never happened. Obviously, that lasted all of 2 hours, so I'm left with a really messed up looking pinky. When I was all finished, she set me up to dry my nails and then just... never came back. So I got up when I felt like they were dry and, as far as I know, paid full price ($25). I didn't expect a great manicure on my paper-thin nails, but, 2 days in, they're almost all chipped. Very disappointing experience.
Sadly, since it is so conveniently located when I visit home, I will not be returning to Bella Nails in the future. I've had a lot of average experiences here but the most recent negative experience definitely made my mind up. read more