It was my first face-to-face client meeting since having my beautiful baby girl just 6-weeks earlier and I was feeling a little nervous about leaving my little cherub for the first time. I had spent the day prior preparing for the meeting (or as other working mothers would call it – pumping:) so her Daddy could seamlessly feed in my absence. I had a successful meeting and after calling home to ensure my husband was still coping I decided to take the ‘baby free’ opportunity to do a quick salon review. I had learnt my lesson not to take my sweet darling on another salon review, at least not until she is at an age where she can enjoy having a pedi with her Momma. I entered the very basic VV Nail Spa in Midtown NYC and told them I needed a quick manicure as I had a 6-week old infant at home. It must be my Aussie accent because they thought I said I wanted a French manicure, hmmm not a good start however I persevered given I was on a time constraint and was desperate to have my fingers polished as they hadn’t been touched since I went into labor. The polishes were a little outdated so I went with one I had used before – Essie’s dark blue ‘After School Blazer’. I sat down in the worn uncomfortable chair kind of excited to have an adult conversation (we all know I love to talk) only to be disappointed that my manicurist did not feel the same. So there I sat in silence, looking around the basic salon feeling guilty that I was having my nails done while my husband was at home looking after our baby (I am told a Momma’s guilt stays with you for life – yikes!). The manicurist was quick and only took a mere 10 minutes to clean up my cuticles and polish my fingers. Despite the uncomfortable surroundings and lack of ambience she did a reasonable job and even helped put my coat on so I could rush out before my nails were completely dry. This is the type of no fuss salon you go to if you were on your way to a meeting and in a rush, completely judging the appearance of the salon I would not have a pedicure here.
Until next time,
Ruth
VV NAIL SPA NYC – 35 East 32 St, NYC
Ambience: Basic, not a relaxing experience – great for a quick manicure (wouldn’t get a pedicure here)
Cleanliness of salon: I would not consider this salon to be overly clean (I have high standards). The walls needed to be repainted as they had patch marks all over them – I would call this a basic/rundown salon
Polish: Essie’s ‘After School Blazer (Retails $8-$10)
Polish job & chip factor: 5 days
Brands they stock: Essie & OPI
Color range: Some polishes needed to be replaced, small color range
Customer engagement: Friendly and helpful
Price range: Manicure $10, Parrafin Manicure $25, Spa Manicure $28, Pedicure $22 Parrafin Pedicure $40, Vitamin E Pedicure $45, Green Tea Spa Pedicure $55 and Honey Milk Pedicure $60
