Nails in Style in SM San Lazaro has opened last October 8, 2014 and word about it is now spreading fast. This nail salon offers services such as hand care and foot care and specializes in gel color art. Prior to coming, I visited their Facebook page and found many style inspirations done on customers. Thrilled, I decided to get my first manicure using gel polish with Nails in Style’s Glamorous design last Sunday with my mom. ♥
Gel nail polish is believed to be delightfully long-lasting, making the nails completely chip-free for up to three weeks. On how different the effect will be as compared to regular nail polish? I’ll see about that later.
Aside from manicure, I also got the Regular Polish Care package for the feet. Mommy, on the other hand, was convinced to have her nails done as well. In this post, let me share with you what I think about this nail center.
Review of Nails in Style Salon (SM San Lazaro, Manila)
Ambiance: ★★★★☆
Interior design is very minimal but tasteful with a good splash of colors on the background. The salon appeared very clean and neat. Upon entrance, you’ll see a collection of imported and quality nail polishes organized behind the counter. There’s a lot of spa chairs and nail stations across the room.
What’s missing here are rooms supposedly for waxing services. Since the space is relatively small to cater that, I wonder how the management intends to expand the area to build those rooms. That said, in the mean time, I think waxing services written on their flyer should be ignored.
Service: ★★★★★
For nail care services, Nails in Style sets a differentiation between Signature Gel Nail Art and Nail Care Packages. To avoid confusion, here’s a rundown for your reference:
Signature Nail Art:
- Fashionista (PhP 600) – manicure/pedicure, gel nail polish with color of customer’s choice, and nail art with LIMITED rhinestones, gems, pearls, stickers, etc.
- Glamorous (PhP 900) – manicure/pedicure, gel nail polish with color of customer’s choice, and nail art with MORE rhinestones, gems, pearls, stickers, etc.
Nail Care Packages:
- Classic Polish Care – manicure (PhP 230)/pedicure (PhP 250), regular nail polish with color of customer’s choice, and optional nail art with LIMITED rhinestones, gems, pearls, stickers, etc.
- Regular Polish Care – manicure (PhP 320)/pedicure (PhP 450), spa, regular nail polish with color of customer’s choice, and optional nail art with LIMITED rhinestones, gems, pearls, stickers, etc.
- Special Polish Care – manicure (PhP 400)/pedicure (PhP 600), spa masque, regular nail polish with color of customer’s choice, and optional nail art with LIMITED rhinestones, gems, pearls, stickers, etc.
- Superior Polish Care – manicure (PhP 600)/pedicure (PhP 800), spa, paraffin, regular nail polish with color of customer’s choice, and optional nail art with LIMITED rhinestones, gems, pearls, stickers, etc.
Note: The nail polishes available here are the best brands: Zoya, OPI, Misa and Orly, at no additional cost.
With all these offerings, I wasn’t sure which one to get. Uh, can I call a friend? 😛 Thanks to my mom and the staff’s recommendation, I ended up choosing Glamorous (hand) and Regular Polish Care (feet), as mentioned in the intro.
I browsed through an album of designs available for Glamorous and again had a hard time. Wahaha! Upfront, there were too many good ones vying for attention.
Applying the elimination method, I finally was able to select a decent and not too bold nail art with rhinestones but still girly and creative. This was in consideration of the fact that I face many vendors and clients for work every day and I didn’t want my nails to look incredibly inappropriate in a corporate setting.
After the selection, the nail technician started to achieve the Glamorous nail art. In two words, service was friendly and professional.
I appreciated the staff taking her time to clean my nails and apply nail prep, gel bonder, base coat, and “EzFlow TruGel 100% Gel Polish Pretty Pink” nail polish (three coats) gently and carefully. She made me feel comfortable throughout the entire time. I felt genuine hospitality from my manicurist. She answered my questions regarding gel nail polish but also wasn’t overbearing with small talk while she worked.
To speed up the drying process, my hands were put into a UV nail lamp after each application. The built-in timer on the UV lamp was really cool. The device automatically turns off after 90 seconds of curing.
The next step was to stick the studs/rhinestones on each nail following my chosen design. Jopay picked up the studs and placed them on the nail with the use of a dotting tool dipped in nail glue. She was very thorough, precise, and detail-oriented. Some studs didn’t land perfectly on the right position the first time they were applied, so she had to work in lightning speed to adjust them before the glue dries up. Once done, my nails were secured with a top coat to keep the studs/rhinestones from falling off.
TA-DAH! 😆
Simultaneously, the foot spa and pedicure were being done. First, my feet were soaked in warm water for about 5-10 minutes. It was time for me to just sit back and relax. 🙂 Then, she exfoliated my skin with a foot file scrubbing down the entire feet. The foot scrub blasted away dead skin easily. She also did a short, nice massage before applying lotion to moisturize my legs, ankles and feet.
For my toe nails, I chose Zoya Professional Lacquer in the shade of matte pink (see item on the left) and I absolutely loved how the color turned out. It’s not basic pink but a deep, striking magenta/fuchsia pink that’s sassy with a subtle frost. 100% girly, it quite resembled a luxurious velvet fabric.
Aside from the wonderful color, the reason why I chose Zoya was that this brand of nail polish has natural formulation and is free from toluene, formaldehyde, DBP (phthalates) and camphor. It has a non-yellowing formula that’s good for those who have sensitive skin. Zoya is a company committed to bringing pretty and fun vegan nail polish to the world. I thought it’s a perfect blend of pretty and ethical beauty.
On the other side of the nail salon, I saw how Mom enjoyed her experience as well. 😛
Here’s how her nails turned out:
Price for Value: ★★★★☆
It has been five days ever since the gel nail polish was applied on my nails, and my nails are still glorious and chip-free. Over 10 people had asked me where I had them done, and of course Nails in Style in SM San Lazaro has to take credit for the job well done.
I also had been getting compliments on them from a lot of other people. Thank you very much! 😀 For all that, price for value considering the quality of work and counting my good experience at this nail salon is rated as 4/5 stars.
The only thing I would advise is to call ahead of time and make an appointment. Operating hours start from 10AM and end at 9PM. The Glamorous design was done in two hours, and you can have that as point of estimation. Plan your visit accordingly, if you want to have the same experience as I did.
Nails in Style has more services than I’ve mentioned in this post. Don’t be shy to contact them via phone/email to inquire. 😉
[schema type=”review” url=”https://www.facebook.com/nailsinstyle2014″ name=”Nails in Style Salon” description=”3/F SM San Lazaro (near cinemas), Felix Huertas Street, Corner A. H. Lacson Extension, Sta. Cruz, Manila” rev_name=”For inquiries, call 7346800 or email nails_instyle@yahoo.com.ph” author=”Rochkirstin Santos” pubdate=”2014-11-07″ user_review=”13″ min_review=”0″ max_review=”15″ ]
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