Review: How A Salon Manicure Should NOT Be | Emerald Sparkled

Monday, July 19, 2010

Review: How A Salon Manicure Should NOT Be

As I told before, because of my birthday, I had a coupon for a free manicure at a nail spa. The place is called "California Nail Bar", and has all the spa and aromatherapy stuff, a jungle-like atmosphere, sound of water and birds singing in the background, and all the services they provide on a fancy menu in English, which 50% of the Turkish people don't even speak. (Turkish Lira (TRY) and USD conversion can be found here.)
I was a bit reluctant in the beginning, because I'm very careful with how I do my nails, shape them and care for my cuticles; and I wasn't really sure about how anyone other than me would treat them. I'm sure most of you guys are like me when it comes to your nails, it's only natural. But then I thought: "It's a nail spa, and a fancy place. They carry expensive brands. The nail technicians must know what they're doing, since they're charging $20 for a basic manicure."
Well, it didn't exactly work that way. The girl was 5 years younger than me, and she told me that she was a nail tech for 7 years. After soaking my nails in hot water, she started to file my nails. I told her I'd like to keep the length, but she filed them down a bit anyway, and with a metal file, which I always avoid. I hate metal files, they split up my nails and leave too much residue. But I didn't say a word, assuming she knew what she does. Then she filed my nails on the sides and corners, which I also never do. I let my nails keep their own shape on the sides, and only correct with a file when necessary or when I want to shape the corners a bit. She filed the sides diagonally. The sides of my nails were so sharp, that they cut into my skin. And the sides were irregular, which I saw later on. Some ends were round, and some ends were square. Also, none of my 10 nails matched length-wise. (If I saw this before, I'd warn her, but I only saw this when I got out of the salon.) Then she asked me whether I liked my cuticles pushed or trimmed, and I told her I'd like to have them pushed. She trimmed a bit anyway, and mind you, I didn't have any bit of cuticle sticking out when I first went there. It was absolutely unnecessary. Then I asked her if it was OK to pick my own brand of polish. She told me Essie would be OK, but OPI would be charged extra. I told her I wanted Essie Mint Candy Apple, and she applied 2 coats on my nails. She didn't apply well, she left bald patches and brushstrokes, and flooded the polish into my cuticles. And my newly cut cuticles sort of absorbed some of the polish. She applied a topcoat, which is a local brand clear polish and does absolutely nothing to dry quickly or give high shine. Soon I had fingerprints and dents all over my nails. I didn't say anything to her, because I was curious where this was heading, and I didn't want to be the one to teach her the job. Instead I waited for her to finish up, and before I left, I was charged $6 because I picked Essie. I told the girl at the cash that I was told I could pick an Essie polish, but she said that only a simple manicure was free, and Essie was extra. I didn't argue, I paid and left.
When I got home, I took some pictures, then immediately removed the polish and tried to rescue my nails. After 10 minutes, I had to accept that it was not possible, because of the shapes of the corners, and I cut all my nails down. Luckily they grow very fast in the summer, but right now, I'm running around with my short, but decent nails.
Here are some pictures I took when I got home. They don't really show every disturbing detail, but trust me, I wouldn't cut my nails down for something unimportant.


This is my left hand. The application and the filing here were not as bad as my right hand.


My right hand. Look at the cuticles and the shape of my middle nail.



It doesn't really show on the picture but the shape was irregular and I had to cut it down to correct.

TL;DR: Looks like going to a "Professional Nail Spa" means that someone may file your nails down irregularly, apply polish badly and charge you $26 for the damage she's done. If this girl is a Nail Tech, then I must be the Ace Nail Tech in my own eyes, because I can do my own nails much better than she did. If they think it's overrated that I expect the best application and the best cuticle care from them, and that this is the best nail care service they can provide, then they should shut down business immediately. If it was only polish, I'd remove it and laugh over it, but now I'm really bemused. I don't think I'll ever hand over my nails to someone other than myself.

Önceden söylediğim gibi, doğumgünüm için bedava bir manikür yaptırma hakkım vardı. Mekanın adı "California Nail Bar", yeri Nişantaşı'nda ve tırnak bakımı dışında masaj, spa gibi servisleri de mevcut.
Öncelikle biraz tereddüt ettim, çünkü tırnaklarımla çok ilgilenirim ve şekillerine, tırnak etlerime, oje sürüşüme çok dikkat ederim; bu yüzden benden başka birinin tırnaklarıma nasıl davranacağından emin olamıyordum. Eminim ki bir çoğunuz da tırnaklarınız konusunda benimle aynı derecede özenlisiniz. Ama sonra düşündüm ki: "Zengin muhitinde lüks bir mekan. Pahalı markalar satıyorlar. Basit bir manikür bile 30 Lira ise bu adamlar ne yaptığını biliyordur."
İşler pek de o şekilde gelişmedi. Tırnaklarımı yapan kız benden beş yaş küçüktü, ve yedi yıldır bu işle uğraştığını söyledi bana. Tırnaklarımı sıcak suda beklettikten sonra törpülemeye başladı. Boyunu kısaltmamasını söyledim, ama yine de sonradan baktığımda oldukça kısaltmış, üstelik de metal törpü kullanıyordu. Metal törpüden hep kaçınırım, tırnak uçlarına çok zarar verir ve çok fazla kalıntı bırakır. Ama ne yaptığını biliyordur diye düşündüm ve sesimi çıkarmadım. Sonra tırnaklarımın yanlarını ve köşelerini de hızlı hızlı törpüledi, ki ben bunu neredeyse hiç yapmam. Tırnaklarımı kendi şekliyle bırakırım, sadece çok gerekirse yanlarına ya da köşelerine müdahale ederim. Yanlarını saçma sapan bir şekilde çapraz törpüledi. O kadar keskin oldu ki tırnaklarımın yanları, etlerimi kesti. Bu arada köşelerin bazılarına yuvarlak şekil vermiş, bazılarını küt bırakmıştı. Üstüne üstlük on tırnağım da farklı boydaydı! (Bunu önceden farketseydim kızı uyarırdım, ama oradan çıktıktan sonra farkettim.) Sonra bana tırnak etlerimin kesilmesini mi, itilmesini mi istediğimi sordu, ben de ona kesmemesini söyledim. Yine de kafasına göre hızlı hızlı kesti bazı yerlerini, üstelik oraya gittiğimde bir tane bile çıkıntı yapan tırnak etim yoktu. Kesmesine hiç gerek yoktu yani. Sonra istediğim ojeyi sürüp süremeyeceğimi sordum. Bana Essie kullanabileceğimi, ama OPI'nin kampanya dışında kaldığını söyledi. Ben de ona Mint Candy Apple isimli ojeyi istediğimi söyledim. 2 kat sürdü ama öyle kötü sürdü ki, oje çizgi çizgi kaldı, ve tırnak etlerimin içine kadar sürdü. Sonra Flor Mar cila sürdü, ve çoğu cila gibi Flor Mar cila da çabuk kurutma namına hiçbir katkı sağlamıyor. Böylece birkaç dakika içinde tırnaklarımda parmak izleri, çukurlar oluşmaya başladı. Kıza işini öğretmeyeyim diye çenemi kapalı tuttum. İşim bitti, tam çıkarken bana 9 Lira borcum olduğunu, çünkü kullanılan ojenin kampanya dışında kaldığını, sadece normal manikürün hediye olduğunu söylediler. Ben de kavga çıkarmadım orada, ödedim ve çıktım.
Eve gelip resim çektim, sonra ojeleri silip tırnaklarımı kurtarmaya çalıştım. On dakika sonra pes ettim ve tırnaklarımı kısacık kestim. Allahtan çabuk uzuyorlar ama Resimlerden fazla anlaşılmıyor ama inanin önemsiz birkaç hata olsa, tırnaklarımdan vazgeçip kesmezdim.
Çok uzun olmuş diyenler için: Anlaşılan profesyonel bir tırnak spa merkezine gitmek, tırnakları mahvettirip üzerine 9 Lira ödemek anlamına geliyor. Hatta başka bir zaman gitsem 39 Lira olacakmış. Eğer bu tırnakları yapan kız uzmansa, ben baş tırnak uzmanı olmalıyım, çünkü önüme kim gelse ben tırnaklarını o kızdan daha güzel yaparım. Eğer doğru düzgün bir manikür beklemek abartmaksa, berbat oje sürmek öyle bir mekanda olabilecek bir şeyse, 30 küsür lira karşılığında tırnakların mükemmel gözükmesini beklemek yanlışsa, kapatsınlar bence o mekanı. Eğer sadece ojeyi berbat sürseydi, ojeyi siler, güler geçerdim. Ama o kadar uzattığım ve güzel baktığım tırnaklarımı bu hale getirmesi çok canımı sıktı. Bundan sonra da tırnaklarımı kendimden başka birine emanet edebileceğimi sanmıyorum. Yani rahat battı, kendim kaşındım, başım göğe ermiş oldu sonuç olarak =)

51 comments:

  1. Ouch, some of your cuticles look painful! Tbh you should mail em these pics and complain, that's a lot of money for such result.
    Hopefully your nails grow back soon :)

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    1. If more people that write articles really concerned themselves with writing great content like you, more readers would be interested in their writings. Thank you for caring about your content. sns nails

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  2. Yikes! I totally agree you should let them know what a crummy job that nail tech did. It's appalling how bad she was at just painting too. I also can't believe they charged you extra for Essie polish =x

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  3. I'd ask for my money back to be honest.

    Not terribly happy with mine either -- I got gel overlays on my nails and she buffed the nail so thin in the end even the gel wouldn't stick on anymore. Took me 6 months to get nail to grow back up to normal. I might have the best nail polish application, but no way I am paying for my nails to be damaged ever again !

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  4. gahhhhhh this is a total birthday bummer!
    and the exact reason why i'll never go to a salon, but continue to do my own, amateurish or not :D
    like the color tho (and the blog, skipped here throug getcha nails did :D

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  5. ... that's lame. So sorry you had a bad experience, and for your birthday! Sometimes I think it would be nice to be "pampered" then I see someone post an experience like this & realize I pamper my own nails better than apparently 95% of salons out there could. I know there must be good salons out there (right?) but it seems like it's Russian Roulette to find them =(

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  6. Wow sorry you had such a bad experience. I've never had a "professional" mani and after reading your experience I don't think I ever will. Now if only I could figure out a way to cut and color my own hair:)

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  7. Yikes, I so sorry about the whole experience:(

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  8. Wow... that is really unacceptable. I have the same cautions about getting a "professional" mani done, I have never had one done before and I don't know if I could trust anyone else because only I know what I like (shape of nails, files, etc).

    I love getting pedicures, but that is because I suck with my toes, they are too far away!

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  9. Oh my God, first waterm then filing? Donät they know that filing on soaked nails is bad? I honestly think that many nail technicians donät know anything about manicures, other than acrylic or gel. Natural nails seems to be a bad thing in their world.

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  10. Oh man, sorry you had such an awful experience. I'm definitely no expert at painting nails, but I'd rather not pay for something that I could very well do myself, if not better. And from what I've seen on your blog, you really are better off doing your nails yourself. Nail techs could seriously learn from you.

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  11. You know, I've had two manicures in my life, and both of them were as bad as you describe. I was getting acrylic nails for both of them. They ended up sanding so haphazardly that I wound up with cuts on my cuticles on several fingers, my real nails were cut off so haphazardly without even being neatly filed or anything. Then, they applied nail tips that didn't fit on several of my fingers, and just sort of smushed them onto my thumbs until the glue held. I spent the two weeks I wore the nails with uncomfortable thumbs.

    I thought at least the polish would be nice, though, right? No. Flooded cuticles, patchy spots, polish on my skin in places that they left. It was horrible, and I decided to heck with it, I'd do my own from now on. I may not be great, but I'm better than that.

    I'm so sorry you had this experience. And on your birthday, of all times. People suck sometimes.

    But happy birthday, and I hope it was better, except for the crappy manicure!

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  12. This is exactly why I started a blog to promote "DIY" nail art; a salon fucked up my nails too! I can't believe people pay so much for something that most people would be able to do better on their own. They just don't give you enough time to do it right and they don't care. I'm sorry you paid for disappointment but I guess at least now you know you're not missing anything? Color looks great on you though. :-)

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  13. Bide süper yer derler orası için! Keşke ekstradan para ödemeyeseydin sildirseydin ve de karşı çıksaydın. Neyse sağlık olsun ne de olsa sen yine kendine süper tırnaklar yaratırsın:)

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  14. I'm sorry you had such bad experience.

    I was only once at the salon and the way she painted my nails... Horrible! I trust only myself when it comes to nail care.

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  15. Jezzz. It makes me wonder why people would regularly pay to go to a place like that. Your nails are still beautiful but I would do a better job on myself and that would cost me zero. Hope you enjoyed your birthday despite this minor problem :)

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  16. I think you need to ask your many back!!!

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  17. This is just one more example of why you need to speak up DURING the process. If you said no touchy the length and they go for the file or clippers, you pull you hand away and remind them. If they go after your cuticle with the nippers, again, pull your hand away and tell them no.
    This goes for any professional. Sometimes they get caught up in "the process" and forget "the person" in front of them. You just have to remind them. And teach them.
    Don't ever sit there and let them do their thing, YOU are paying for it, teach them to do YOUR thing.
    I only allow deep moisturizing, cuticle pushing and polishing.

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  18. Wow... She could have at least used a brush and acetone to clean up her lame paint job. Brightside is that you did not pay the full price!
    It is unfortunate for people who come into salons because they do not know how to do their own nails, unlike us, and they come in wanting gorgeous nails and leave with something like this...
    I am glad I picked up on maintaining my own nails and I bet my mom and grandma think the same thing. ; )

    OH! And our nails match! Haha, I am weating Mint Candy Apple as well. :P
    And...happy belated birthday! ( x

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  19. Ah be Deniz, keske bir sey deseydin.

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  20. bende cok merak ediyordum orayi hatta sen yazinca ilk gidicem diye cok sevindim =) Muhtesem bir dogum gunu hediyesi diye ama okuduklarim tamamen bende sok yaratti! Ne kadar kotu bir kurum senden sonunda ekstra para istemeleri de isin limonu olmus. Review icin cok tesekurler Deniz'cim

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  21. Such a shame you weren't listened to by the nail tech :(

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  22. Awww Deniz!!! I'm sorry to hear about that! I hope it doesn't ruin your birthday! (Happy Birthday by the way!) That's really bad service, I would have demanded (yes, DEMAND) to see the manager and complained, and say that I won't be back for their services before leaving the salon!

    They shouldn't have charged you anything for it because it was a bad service. And the salon should have more incentive to try to bring you back, or give you another free voucher for another manicure or at least to fix their bleeding mistake!!!

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  23. I have to agree that overall my experiences at nail salons have been negative, not positive. I have had maybe one really nice manicure, but generally they don't listen and they do sloppy work. Maybe if you pay more you'd get better service, but I shouldn't have to pay $50+ just to get someone to do like 20 min of work! I like pedicures only because they exfoliate the hell out of your feet for you, but I could leave the rest because they always leave my toenails all long which is definitely not my style!!! haha

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  24. Aww that really sucks :( Sorry your manicure didn't turn out right. I would have definitely said something.

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  25. Poor cuticles! That "nail tech" did an absolutely shameful job on your nails. I hope the rest of your birthday was fun and lovely. :)

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  26. I had a similar experience with a free manicure from a girl who worked at a high end salon. There were black specks in the pink creme polish I chose. She noticed it and said something but did not fix it. Then she kept bumping my hand and leaving dents in the polish. I had fingerprints on my polish pretty soon and some of the dents made the polish crinkle up. Nothing is free!!

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  27. First of all, thank you everyone for the sympathy and suggestions... I know I should have said something, but:
    1) I didn't truly realize how much damage was done before I left the place, I just saw that the polish was sloppily done,
    2) I just wanted it to be over with, I didn't know I was paying, and I didn't know my nails were much worse than the condition they started with.
    When I left there, I was so pissed off that I didn't ever want to return. But I should have warned her. I just thought she was doing a quality job. This was my first experience and I never expected something like this.
    It's been hours now and my cuticles hurt as if they were cut by knives. And because she cleaned under my nails, they hurt too, and they are very sore. And it was clean under my nails, too. It hurts so bad that I can't apply polish at the moment. I'm not very bitter, I know that my nails will feel better in a few days, but I don't think they would do a better job if I warned them. I should have borrowed their Essie and apply it myself, which is also an extra. I should never have left home in the beginning =)

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  28. I had a professional mani once and experience the same: metal files, cuticles trimming, poor polish application. My hands are better pampered at home by myself. You did an interesting experiment, anyway! Hope your nails recover soon :-)

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  29. Thank you, smalty... I wish they recover, too! I run around my hands dipped in Lemony Flutter =DDD They hurt like hell!

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  30. Awww, I'm so sorry Trincess...I hope your fingers feel better soon. I am sorry, I may have come across rather harshly. I would chalk this up to experience and know better for the future.
    Sorry they hurt you. I want to beat them up!

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  31. İnanamıyorum ben de gayet profesyonel bir yer olduklarını düşünmüştüm! Benim manikür anım daha acı, beyinsiz kız istemediğim halde kütikülleri kesip kanatmıştı. Hem de 10 parmağımı da!! Günlerce canımın yanmasını geçtim, ya o pis aletleri iyi sterilize etmedilerse, HIV mi Hepatit mi oldum diye içim içimi yedi!

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  32. No Liz, it was not harsh at all! I still wonder why I didn't freak out. Maybe the thought of sharing this experience with my fellow bloggers calmed me down a bit.
    Valla Marjo ben oradan komik bir sekilde gulerek ciktim =) Evden cikip sabahin korunde oraya giden kendi halime guldum =) Icimden bir ses beni uyardi, bir oje surdurmek icin gerek yok dedi, ama dinlemedim, merak ettim... Ve oje icin 9 lira para aldilar, zaten Amerika'da 8 dolar =D Saka gibiydi...
    Su an tirnak etlerim, ozellikle tirnagin etle birlestigi yer oyle aciyor ki... Kiz oraya torpu soktu temizlemek icin. Sanki biz bakmiyoruz oraya... Bir de demez mi tirnak etlerin itmeye gore iyi diye... O zaman niye kesiyorsun? Bir daha mi, tovbe. Evlenirken bile kendim yapicam =)

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  33. Evlenirken biz yapariz sana, merak etme :P

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  34. This is the same reason I never go to a salon. I can't believe they would charge $26 for such a thing! and $6 for essie? Uh, really? I mean for a few more dollars you can buy the bottle yourself!

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  35. I hate when somebody do such of work! I feel bad about it...

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  36. Exactly m&v and sonidlo... I absolutely hated the experience. I will never ever visit a salon again.

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  37. I would have pointed out the crappy result at the salon owner, and asked for my money back. It's not fair that the girl who did this to you should get away it and go on on ruining other girl's nail. She obviously can't do what she's paid for, and maybe it will be nice for her employer to know about that.

    But maybe it's just me who's too vindicative. ;)

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  38. You're right, that's what I should have done... Sometimes I can't fight for my rights. I thought they wouldn't understand the problem, even if I complained. I thought they would think I'm too anal.

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  39. In France they even charge for nail polish. You pay 30 euro for nothing. They don't know how to do it honestly. I prefer doing it myself and when I go to Turkey, I only go to the places that are Turkish not a brand coming from somewhere.

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  40. oh wow, this is exactly how I do my nails, but at least I don't try to say I'm a "nail pro"

    I don't go to salons here because I'm VERY scared of getting fungus or bacteria and getting bad infections. My mom used to do them at a very fancy place (probably as good as this one you went to) and she got a fungus that needed years to treat. I prefer to do them by myself, even if my application usually sucks and the cuticles could use a lot of work.

    Sorry for the disappointment.

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  41. Omg what a horrible manicure! Sorry to hear about your experience! Who knows she might be lying about her '7 years'.

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  42. loved the color, hated the manicure.. omg.. in theory its not that hard to do well-groomed nails.. but this lady doesnt know what the hell shes doin... ur manicures r MUCH more better :)

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  43. Merhaba bende eskiden oraya giderdim ama 4 kez gittikten sonra bıraktım çünkü mahvettiler özellikle uzattığım tırnakları kısaltma dememe rağmen bu sene moda bu diyerek kısalttılar ayrıca oval yaptırdığım tırnakları yine bu sene moda bu diyerek küt yaptılar personel çok bilinçsiz isteklere önem vermiyorlar ve kendi yapmak istediklerini dayatıyorlar çok can sıkıcı bir durum :(

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  44. Ben tırnaklarıma özen göstermeye yeni başladım. 1 sene önce doğru düzgün oje bile sürmezdim ama ben bile bu kızdan daha iyi manikür yapıyorsam bu işte hakkaten ciddi bir sorun var dediğin gibi :D

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  45. Did you write about your experience in their guest-book?
    I find that helps sometimes.

    I must say that I'm not surprised by this, unfortunately.

    When I was a kid I thought that the salon was a place of skilled professionals doing amazing things for all the money we are giving them, but not so.
    A lot of times they are just people trying to make a buck on the side, with an attitude and work ethic to match.

    (The 'nail technicians' at my salon complained that Konad was rubbish and that they just wasted money - they had bought the whole pro kit - because the polish wouldn't stick.
    You know what the problem was?
    They simply hadn't removed the protective sheet from the plates :| .)

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  46. OMG! Really?! You want specific things to be done to your nails u should have told her. You complain and whine but you were too coward to tell her you didn't like it. Do your own ugly nails and stop whining!

    FYI: Nails grow back!

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    1. Thank you captain obvious =) It's been almost two years, they certainly grew back =)

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    2. P.S: At least I'm not that much of a coward to go to someone's blog and insult them under the name "Anonymous". ^-^ Have a nice day!

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  47. Poti alege una din salile noastre de eveniment, deasemenea iti punem la dispozitie meniurile de nunta sau de botez pe care le avem in meniu nunta botez. Meniu Botez

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