With summer and prom coming up it is a prime time for many Weedsport students to be getting their nails done. This week, members of The Johnny Green went to a few of the closest nail salons in the area and reviewed them.

Olivia Quinn’s Nail Experience:

The first nail salon was Nail Master in the Auburn Plaza. Overall the inside of the salon was nice. It was very easy to book an appointment through a phone call. I asked for a full set. Inside the salon was a nice couch that you could wait until your nail person was ready. I only sat for about 2 minutes. I was 5 minutes early to my appointment so the timing was pretty good and they even got me in a few minutes early. There was a wall of polishes that you could pick from, but I did not end up seeing anywhere where I could pick a gel nail polish color. There were multiple chairs for getting your nails done on both sides of the room. Each desk has a comfy chair that you sit in while getting your nails done. A little further back there were multiple pedicure chairs that looked very nice and comfy. Sadly, I was getting acrylics so I was not able to test out the pedicure chairs. Once I was called back for my appointment they started shaving my nails down and placing fake nails then the acrylic. This was a pretty smooth process besides the fact that the nail drill did hit my skin a couple of times which hurt and turned my skin red. I asked for a rounded shape but felt they could have been a little more even. When the person doing my nails asked me what color I wanted I said I wanted a light pink. I did not get to choose my color – which I felt was unusual. Instead, he picked the color for me and applied it anyway. The color was, thankfully, very cute but when I got a closer look there were many bubbles in certain nails. 

Cost: $41 plus $5 tip = $46

Time: 29 minutes 

Customer service: 8/10

Overall nails: 6/10

Lillian Rubeck’s Nail Experience:

Lillian went to the next nail salon called Tina’s (T&L) in Auburn. She said as soon as you walk in it is very homey. There were cute posters, plants, and Buddha statues. She noted that it smelt very fresh like flowers and not like acrylic and nail polish like most nail places do. Lillian waited about 10 minutes until her nail tech was ready. She liked the fact that you could schedule an appointment but walk-ins are also accepted. She said the owner of the place did her nails and she was very sweet and super funny. Lilian also asked for a full set and ended with a beautiful set of acrylics with flower and vine designs. Lilian said she could tell Tina’s knew what they were doing and her nail lady even said she’s been doing nails for over 40 years. 

Cost : $75 + $25 tip = $100

Time: 50 minutes 

Customer service: 10/10

Overall nails: 10/10

Ava Blaisdell’s Nail Experience:

Next up, Ava went to Gel Nails in Auburn. When walking in they have bright lights and a fountain. “It’s nothing crazy but you can tell they are clean.” Ava arrived at her appointment a little early so she did have to wait 5 minutes. When scheduling an appointment Ava goes through one of the nail techs’ Instagrams and there is a link to a page where you can book an appointment. This is a much faster and more efficient way than calling and not knowing what to expect. Ava also scheduled a full set. Ava loves the lady who does her nails and has been going to her for a while now and loves the outcome of her nails every time. She said that when you go make sure you learn and get the right person because some people are better than others at doing nails.

Cost : $65 + $15 tip = $80

Time: 35-40 minutes 

Customer service : 10/10

Overall nails: 10/10

Since doing this experiment we have learned that it depends on the person who does your nails and each place is different and unique in its ways. Nail Masters were the cheapest, then Gel Nails and the most expensive was Tina’s. The cost also lined up perfectly with the amount of time it took to get the nails done. The customer service at all these places was very good and none of the waiting times were too long.