I tried, I really did.
People that know me know that I am particular about my nails. Especially in the times of COVID where people pay more attention to other things on your body-your eyes, glasses, hairstyle and yes your nails! I went looking for a new black owned and operated salon after my prior nail tech retired. I was excited to find this new shop in my area and down the street where I patronized previously.
This shop opened up in the fall of 2020. I have a good friend that had been going to them and enjoyed them, so that made my decision to try them out even easier.
Initially I got a little frustrated with making an appointment because the booking site they had previously was no longer up. Fortunately by time I went to make an appointment, they had revamped their booking system. Initially it was a little overwhelming but I figured it out. You select your services that you desire, and then it will let you know what technicians are available. This is the catch...you have to know what you are booking. I will say, for someone that may not be used to getting their nails done, the services list can be very overwhelming, so you might want to call. Also, know that there are different levels to the technicians that work in the studio: Master and Senior (keep this in mind for later in the review), which comes with a price differential as well. Nothing wrong with that, as many beauty salons employ this practice.
When you enter the salon, everyone greets you, which is nice. The layout of the salon is very nice and welcoming. They will ask what they can help you with, so please remember the name of the technician you booked with (I didn't smh-don't be me). It may be different now (first visit was in January), but there was no consistent mask wearing among the techs, which bothered me, as that's a basic COVID protection requirement.
On my first visit, I had particular colors in mind because I had a special occasion the next day. When I sat down with the technician, I picked a color that I knew would take a few coats (if you've ever worn OPIs "bubble bath" you know that it is a very faint pink. I showed the technician the design I wanted (which I thought was fairly simple) and she said okay. She proceeded to work on my fill in (for background information, I have acrylic overlays over my natural nails). She asked if I liked my acrylic thick like I had it (which in my mind it wasn't but okay, I'm not the pro) and I told her it would be okay to thin it out. Keep in mind for this visit I had a fill in and pedicure scheduled. So I calculated that my fill in should take about 1.5 hours due to the repairing, shaping, etc. My fill in took almost 3.5 hours! Because of that I didn't get my pedicure as I had somewhere else to be after my appointment. Also, the tech asked me if it was okay to change the color because the color I'd chosen initially would take too many coats. She also had to ask another tech how to do the design I'd chosen. I guess when I come to a nail salon, specifically of this kind, I expect folks to know how to do at least a basic design. This is where those technician levels come into play. Lesson learned. The next day two of my nails broke (one of my own fault, the other I just don't know) and another week later the acrylic broke on another, taking my whole natural nail and the skin underneath with it.
After all these things, I'd said initially I wouldn't come back. But my friend suggested I try one of the master techs instead, so I did. My second visit was much better-however, the salon was more crowded this particular time, so each station was occupied, which also meant lack of social distancing. The tech completed my fill in in 1.5 hours-the average I expect for a stilletto overlay fill in. I was happy with this set until the next day, my thumb nail polish chipped. Fortunately for me, I was able to go back on a Sunday to get it repaired. Apparently this is an issue for a few folks because there were others there to get the same issue repaired, plus I heard one of the master techs on the phone with another technician explaining how one must be careful to ensure that the thumb nail is completely cured under the uv/led light. The young lady that completed my repair was very nice and took measures to ensure the nail was completely covered by the uv/led light to make sure it wouldn't chip again. Guess what happened the next day? It chipped. So i'm not sure if it's the product or what, but after that I was done. Plus, this made me look at my set more closely. The glitter had gaps in it where it should have been filled in, one piece of glitter could have been mistaken for a mishap, and another part of the polish that was part of the design had faded off. At this point, I gave up. My schedule is very busy and I don't have time to keep going back for repairs. I expect my set to be right the first time-not the 2nd, 3rd or 4th.
The ladies at the salon are nice but I won't be back. Sorry. read more