I guess I'm going to need to stop using Groupon to find my be-all, end-all forever-and-ever nail…read moresalon in Conway. The lifelong love-affair I was hoping to have with this one is not to be.
As I mentioned, I bought a Groupon for this business, for the shellac mani-pedi, and while I don't remember what I paid, I thought it was a very good deal. And let me say right up front that Andrea did an amazing job; my nails look GREAT. I chose a dark color, and she applied it expertly.
But overall, the experience was pretty unpleasant. First, it was kind of awkward when I arrived for my 12:30 p.m. appointment. I walked in, and she was the only person there and was sitting at the manicure table, waiting for me, but she didn't introduce herself or ask to assist me She just said, "hi." I looked around, demonstrating I wasn't sure if I was her next appointment, etc., and said, "Hello... I have a 12:30 appointment." She said, "Sit down." So, I did. It was very warm in the salon, and when she took off her jacket, she had on a seriously stained t-shirt, for which she apologized. Then, even though it is painted on the door as you enter that clients should silence their cell phones for the enjoyment of others, her phone rang (and by "rang" I mean loudly broadcast a jarring rock song) AND SHE ANSWERED IT on speaker phone. Her daughter was calling to take her lunch order and apparently had it on speaker, too, because the woman's husband dropped the F bomb over the phone. I seriously would have left if I hadn't already bought the Groupon. She was embarrassed by this and chided him (she also thoughtfully checked to make sure I didn't want them to bring me anything). But I was not very comfortable. (She looked at her phone every time it rang, throughout the appointment.)
She was very meticulous about the hygiene of the pedicure station, which I appreciated, and she again did a beautiful job on my nails. She also explained the situation and apologized because the towel she was using had several holes in it. While she was giving me a pedicure, her adult daughter arrived and told us how she noticed that her own hands "smelled like feet" from rolling carpet. This was not the most appropriate comment to make to someone giving/getting a pedicure. !
The problem with this "nail spa" was the contrast between the service it offered and the way it was offered. When you go for a mani-pedi, you are treating yourself and indulging in a little luxury. What you don't want are all of life's rough edges everywhere you turn! I probably should have seen what I was getting into when I saw the pack of Marlboroughs and the ashtray on the front porch of the salon.
Really, she did a GREAT job on my nails, and she wished me luck on my marathon and gave me good tips on how to pamper my runner's feet (Vick's Vapor Rub), but I won't return, even to have her remove the shellac polish. I want pleasant, lovely, soothing, relaxing when I go to the salon. I didn't get it.
9/29/11: I just wanted to update this review by correcting the statement that the polish was applied expertly. My left thumb nail was chipped by the end of the first day (the polish is supposed to last up to two weeks), and my left pinky polish pealed off completely in less than a week. Other nails were chipping a week after the manicure, so I went to a salon in Little Rock to get it removed. They said, "This base coat is so strange. What is going on?" I won't be back to this salon.