So where do I start with Star Nails in Bemidji?! Lets start positively; I had my nails done and…read morethey looked nice when I left the store. Thats about all the positiveness I have for this place.
I accidentally booked at Star Nails as I'm not from the area. I walk into the store and the vibe is not good, faded ugly paint on the walls (new paint and vibrant colors would go a long way here), no decor except for some really old 1990ish vibe faded pictures of women and their nails. I wasn't impressed with my first step into the door. I asked for DIP nails and they don't have dip??? Like whaa?? What kind of nail salon doesn't have dip powder? I also was SUPER thirsty and needed a water (I'd even pay for it) and she said she has nothing like that. Most average salons have small bottles of water or a can of soda if you ask them (again, I was gonna pay for it!) So, no vibe, no dip, no water. Okay, whatever. I said gel nail polish will be fine. This salon had only 1 tv and it was located on a wall at the back of the store so when you sit at the nail counters, you can't really see the tv - horrible placement. They need more tvs, turn on caption, and place in a spot where people can physically see the tv. You can't play on your phone while getting your nails done so you just stare at the job at hand, right?
Lets start with the guy, because he's kind of a piece of work. He comes out and he literally "criticized" EVERYTHING I DID! I could do nothing right in this guys mind.
First, this guy shook my fingers and hands and told me to relax throughout the entire manicure. He told me not to look at what he was doing because he said that makes me more tense! Umm, no, this guy made me super tense for some reason because he started criticizing me from the very beginning.
Secondly, he put my nails in an acetone bath and I was fidgety, and he told me to "stop, don't fidget, keep nails in the solution" - and I did, I was just bouncing and fidgety with nothing interesting to look at in the store. He seemed very annoyed by me generally and I was extra nice because I didn't want this guy to be an ass to me. He kept bending my fingers and pushing down fingers aggressively because he says I wouldn't relax. "Dude, if you tell me to relax and get aggressive with me, it makes me more nervous so I def won't relax."
Third, I didn't get the color I wanted! I picked out a beige that glittered. And I didn't understand why I couldn't pick that specific color. He said something about an under color? The under color was beige. He ended up only putting on the beige color but no glitter?! I was dumbfounded! No explanation, he couldn't talk English very well so I couldn't understand him. I was so disappointed.
Fourth, when my nails were curing in the dryer UV light, I always looked to see how deep it went and how far I could put my hands into this. He told me not to look! I didn't want my nails scratching the back of this curing machine and smashing the color all over and making a mess. Don't tell me what to do, dude! There's a method behind my madness; just deal with it.
Fifth, this was supposed to be a manicure with gel polish. I didn't even get my manicure. He didn't clip my cuticles or push them back, or get underneath the nails or anything that had to with a manicure. He basically changed the color of my gel polish and I didn't get a massage or anything remotely close to a manicure.
Overall, this guy was rude and truly doesn't care about the people walking into the salon. He looked like he HATED being there and he didn't want to work.
I will NEVER go back to this establishment to get my nails done...ever. Between the awful aesthetic of the salon and the rudeness of the couple managing this store, it was just a bad experience. Please book your appointments with caution!