Edit// After writing this, a separate owner reached out to me and apologised for the entire situation, I was told this should have never happened in the first place and given a full refund. I hope in my next visit I don't run into any issues as I do like the final nails I walked out with. I know this is a new salon so I wish the best that they get things running much much smoother, as this was not. If I attend again with no issues, I would feel comfortable rating this higher for sure.
I went to this place today, as a walk in, and the experience started extremely well. However, I originally asked for gelx or dip with tips and was convinced to do 'gel builder' because it would be better for my nails, I showed a photo multiple times of long almond nails that I said I wanted, and it was not explicitly stated that 'gel builder' would not be including length add on. Generally an overlay is stated as an overlay, and anything including the word 'builder' would build on to length, like a polygel. They were also referred to as a set when I asked about pricing, and a set of nails refers to tips.
Immediately, the nail tech and receptionist began choosing colors for the nail design, that I ensured and asked explicitly if they could do. The colors that were chosen were not nearly as vibrant as the photo, but I was ensured they would look more similar to the photo when the design was on my nails.
About an hour into the service(which was extremely painful, and I have never experienced pain even close to that level from a nail service), I was asked by the nail tech if my nails were good, they has no length added and they were square. I was confused and the receptionist was brought over again. She apologised and said she didn't realise I didn't know 'gel builder' didn't add length, however I was told there was nothing I could do because the overlay was already done.
The owner was brought into the conversation and I asked again if I could still add tips, I was told that it would ruin my nails but it was possible if I paid for BOTH SERVICES. I have been to many nail salons and I have NEVER been asked to pay for two separate services, especially if one service was not even completed, as the color was never added on.
I was told if I wanted to start from scratch I would need to pay for the gel builder, soak off(of the gel builder), gelx, and my design-- totalling to around $150, when I was originally told my total would be much less than $100.
I felt like I had no choice, as I had already wasted an hour of my time, and do not have a car to easily move to a new nail salon, so I begrudgingly agreed. However, I don't feel I should have been put into this situation in the first place, especially as the gel builder service was described very vague and incorrectly.
The gelx set was done well but when the color started getting added, it still did not look anything like the photo. It was a much more muted, neutral tone. I was getting "aura nails", and when the inside color was being added, it was not visible as the contrast between the colors did not pop. I ended up switching the color, that was chosen for me originally, again, and the entire time I felt laughed at by many of the staff members for how specific I was being. But I was paying $150 at this point, so there was no chance I would leave with nails I did not like.
Overall, I do not dislike the nails I ended up with, but the customer service is not good, and the price was insane for what I got. I should not be expected to pay over double what I was quoted because the new service promoted to me was not explained correctly. My nails also do not look anything like the photo, color wise, so I would not recommend going to this place if you have a specific set in mind.
I was given a 20% discount because they felt bad I had to pay more, but my total still ended up, before tip and tax, well over $100. And I was also told the discount was allowed because I was a student, so I am still unsure if I should have been offered this discount from the start.
The staff definitely wanted me to like the final product, and allowed me to give input, but I can't get over the fact that I paid for two seperate sets because the first one was not described to me correctly. I maybe could have asked further about this, but I couldn't tell if I was overthinking how outlandish it was until I told other friends about it, that also had mirror experiences being pushed into trying gel builder at this specific nail lounge. read more