Having just moved to the area I've been looking for a new local nail salon.
I've been having my nails done for almost 10 years so I wouldn't call myself a fussy newbie - but I know what I want and what to expect from a nail salon or two...
I asked for acrylic infill with polish and paint toes - granted. One manicurist was going to paint my toes while the other was about to begin the process of my infill.
The one lady came over with a plastic foot stool and demanded I turn my legs towards her so she could begin my toes ( I don't know if it's the language barrier that made her seem so rude or that she genuinely was that impolite). She started to paint my toes immediately - my issue here is she didn't use those foamy toe separators which to my knowledge every single nail salon uses those for your feet - I even use them at home! Needless to say my polish job was messy with there being transfer to the sides of my skin where my nails had contact - had she used a separator the polish would be even and neat; I don't know what's worse the fact that she second coated it so thickly to cover the first coat mess or that she got hold of a kitchen towel ripped a piece of it, twirled it up and inserted it in between the two toes that touched the sides. It gets worse - I see these two other customers walking around with tissue/kitchen towel swirled in between their toes?! I just cannot believe this is suppose to be a nail salon in Chiswick. I kept quiet and did not say anything.
During the time I was watching my toes being painted this man was removing the nail polish from my finger nails. I showed him the shape I wanted and length; whilst the infill of acrylic went on fine, his shaping and filing was not great, I had to prompt him twice about them being filed at a slant, not straight and even. They looked odd and when I asked him to make them look the same - I'm pretty sure he got annoyed and continued to make a comment to his colleagues about me.
Finally we got round to painting my nails - now I've picked my favourite colour of white which is quite a clean and bright choice. And clearly if your base is a mess then the white polish is going to exaggerate the mess underneath. When the polish went on it made apparent that firstly my old polish colour had not been cleaned off properly and worse had acrylic put over it. Secondly I know that first coats are never even but even with a second coat it was not applied evenly on top - so you can literally see the first coat underneath and then this second coat that was slapped on top and not spread evenly to cover the whole bed of the nail. Frankly a messy and rubbish job. Two fingers were so uneven, patchy and so bad - three times I made him remove the polish and re-apply it again to which the fourth he got it right - proving my point that he could apply it properly because in the end it did - the whole time he insisted there was just something wrong with the nail polish, but I kid you not I've given this to other nail salons to be used - the exact nail colour 4 times before and never had a problem - it's by the famous nail brand OPI and it was my own colour I took along, less than 4 months old. What upset me the most though is the tutting, sighing and blatant exchange of conversation about me amongst his colleagues when this happened - I know I don't speak his language but I'm not that stupid - especially when they are looking over at you with annoyed faces.
I did make a point of showing another customer my disappointing paint job and seeking her opinion to which she agreed and I then asked for a manager who strolled over 10 minutes later after her very important conversation I presume with her colleague or shop owner who was not of her descent. Customers clearly do not take priority for this place. I told her my issue and she said 'I will clean it for you', she attempted it but it still looked shoddy. I asked her if it was acceptable but I got no response. I let my nails dry and when I got up to pay and leave I could not believe how three people raised themselves to ensure I was about to pay and not leave.
Which brings me to the end of my review - they clearly knew I was unhappy about my time at the salon yet did nothing to make me feel like they could help me. They clearly thought I would walk out without paying hence the uncomfortable glances I got - I never saw this happen when another customer was leaving. They clearly have no regard for their customers - I felt un-welcomed, rushed and badly treated for suggesting something wasn't right. I cannot believe the use of tissue paper between your toes - but clearly they cannot be regarded as professional. 'Rich Nails' is not a rich experience in any way, a huge disappointment and epic fail of a nail salon, if there is anything rich about them is that they rip you off for bad nails. Majority of the women who walked out had shellac which seemed ok. I've been to many places in parts of London where you may experience low read more