I don't know if I just happened to come here on an off day, but this salon did not live up to the high reviews to me. There was only 1 person working the store, but since there were almost no customer... Read More
I don't know if I just happened to come here on an off day, but this salon did not live up to the high reviews to me. There was only 1 person working the store, but since there were almost no customers, I didn't think it would be a problem. However, when I mentioned that I wanted to get a gel pedicure, the manicurist freaked out and made me specify whether I wanted a whole pedicure or just a gel color, because she said she doesn't have the time to do a pedicure. I actually did mean just gel color, but I still found her attitude a bit strange. I also felt like I was rushed the whole time, even though there were literally no other customers until the very end. I asked for the gel on my fingers to be removed as well as a new gel color on my toes, so she first wrapped my fingers in foil with acetone, then began working on my toes. In my experience, the acetone foil is usually removed after a few minutes. After all, acetone is pretty bad for the skin! However, she seemed to forget about them as she was doing my pedicure. I didn't want to bring it up with her because each salon's methods differ a bit, but I definitely didn't like that my hands were unnecessarily soaking in acetone for ~40 minutes. For pedicures, they have you sit on those tall massage chairs, but somehow when I sat there, I could barely reach the UV light machine. As a result, she made me perch on the edge of my seat in the most uncomfortable way. My back felt strained after the session! If you regularly offer gel pedicures, shouldn't you design your set-up better?As for my actual gel color, she clipped my toenails so short that they have been in pain for days. The color itself is ok. They have a very small color selection (the manicurist also basically told me I wasn't allowed to pick any of the colors from one particular shelf, which she said came out so light she had to use 3 coats. Again, unnecessary rushing?) but it seems like they are mainly for eyebrows, so maybe they don't need to have a large color selection. Finally, by the time she removed the color on my fingers, another client showed up. This made the manicurist rush even more, and I was sent out the door with bits of color still on my nails! I ended up painting my nails at home myself just to cover this up. At the end of the day, the manicurist was nice, my gel nails came out fine, and the prices are very reasonable for New Haven. Given its close proximity to downtown, I will probably come back, just hopefully on a day when more than 1 person is working. Read Less