Shining Nails

Like another reviewer wrote, if I could give this place a zero, I would.
Dingy. Unclean. Shabby work. Skip it.
A friend recommended this place to me. When I walked in, my instinct was to walk out and I should’ve. Ugh. I could’ve done a better job myself. My nails were filed unevenly, the polish was lumpy and all over my toes. And it chipped right away. Any money I would have saved by coming to this dive went right to getting it done properly somewhere else.

I’m not loyal to a nail place at this point, and I’m often looking for a quick and cheap pedicure. (Quick and cheap being different from fast and dirty. I do not want that type of pedicure.) Of course when I say often I mean three times a year.
The quality of this place wasn’t bed, however half of my toe nails are now chipped, and I was only there just a week ago. In my books a pedicure should last more than 7 days. There are other places at the same price that I like better.
$ 20 for a pedicure is a good price, and they looked nice for the first week. Just wish it had a little more staying power.

If I could give this place zero stars I would.
So I decided to try this place out as I was waiting for a friend in the area. The biggest mistake of my life! The price is cheap but so is the work! WARNING: DO NOT got to the gentleman sitting closest to the door, in fact do not even step foot in here!
General appearance: There was NO lighting, it was unkempt and dingy LOOKING, I figured I was being a diva as this place has been here for a while and it was practically full, so they must be doing something right. But as i sat down I felt like it was a scene in the hangover part II. It was hot, dirty and nobody spoke to me, they just spoke among themselves, in a language I wasn’t familiar with.
The Manicure: I choose the O.P.I. crackle and a base colour and sat down. He puts my hand in the bowl and begins removing my nail polish he pulls out these tools that looked like they’d been pulled from a petri dish rather than a sterilizer and proceeds to push back my cuticles. Hepatitis B anyone? I told him to stop and to just file my nails and buff them.
Upon finishing, my nails were soft, brittle and paper thin, at this point I just want to leave but not without some nail polish to harden the enamel.
Here’s the shocker!
Manicurists should be taught how to put on OPI crackle! Its not regular nail polish, you only need a very THIN layer over the nail so it cracks properly, otherwise it looks like you put your hands in your bag too quick and messed up your nail polish. I waited as it does take some time for it to crackle but it wasn’t breaking up. I showed him my dissatisfaction by explaining that although all crackles wont look the same, it wasn’t supposed to look like this!
He said to me… If I want to get it removed and have another coat/​colour put on then i would have to pay an additional $ 5! Who in their right mind is going to pay for someone else’s mistake and to top it all off there was nail polish ALL OVER my cuticles! I could’ve gone to a 4 year old’s tea party and gotten a better nail polish job!
I was so incensed that i just gave him his money and left.
I caution you DO NOT GO THERE! There are several stores on that street alone that would do a better job than this!

Shining Nails was in between my house and my errands for the day, so I picked it based on location.
For a Saturday afternoon on a sunny day, it didn’t seem busy. There were 3 or 4 other clients coming and going throughout my mani, a mix of repeat clients and walk-​ins. The staff were very polite. Nothing about the décor jumped out at me, but the work stations were tidy. The polish selection was ok, nothing impressive. My manicure was well done, although she trimmed my nails quite short without asking me. I guess she assumed I wanted them evened out in length, and it was probably the best choice although I wouldn’t have asked for it. Instead of using a hot towel, I had to get up and go wash my hands at a sink before the polish was applied. She also asked if I wanted to pay before the polish… great idea, because then I don’t risk chipping while messing around with my purse. Although, it’s a sure way for them to get paid and tipped before the job is actually complete. The polish job was good, and didn’t chip noticeably until the 5^th day (I usually apply another topcoat at home on the 2^nd or 3^rd day to make it last longer).
I would go back mainfly for the price (only $ 10!!) and convenience of the location. I wouldn’t get a pedicure there though… I didn’t see the footbaths get washed out after one customer left. I could see they were thorough about buffing the gentleman’s feet, because the dead skin flakes were piling up on the floor and were NOT swept up for a while after he left. Gross.
In conclusion, it wasn’t the nicest place but the staff were nice and the manicure was done properly. Totally worth $ 10!

I Love coming to this place. They’re very attentive to my nails and they last pretty long (I get gel sometime acrylic sometimes biogel depends on my wallet). If you ask they can do some amazing designs, even put rings through fake nails, as I saw the other day.
The only thing is I agree with Steph I dont think any of their equipment is cleaned on a regular basis. To combat this problem, I bring my own :)

I wanted to check out one of the many nail salons located between Yonge/​Bloor and Yonge/​Wellesley.
Most of these salons are cheap but minimal in terms of service and décor… And you just sort of pray that they are clean.
I stood outside the Shining Nails salon looking skeptical.
Inside, there were customers, so I decided to try it out.
The selection of nail polish was decent. I selected a China Glaze brand polish which is my second choice next to OPI.
I hung up my own coat and took a seat in a massage chair.
They didn’t offer me a magazine while I soaked my feet, but that’s okay, I was too busy scoping the place out.
The Good
* The girl doing my nails was attentive and did a good job
* She gave me a nice leg massage and hot towel
* Metal tools were clean and I saw her take them out of the heat-​cleaner oven. thing
* They have nail dryers for hands and feet, some of the salons around here don’t have them
The Not-​So-​Good
* The products they use aren’t scented, meh…
* I’m not sure if they clean their nail file/​buffer stick
I was absolutely horrified when she started filing my nails since I wasn’t sure if the files were cleaned or not.
It may be strange, but I was extra horrified because of the dudes there getting pedicures.
Weirdly enough, there were two males getting nails done.
And I’m sorry, but they had the UGLIEST feet ever.
Like, they grew up without shoes living on a construction site and grew special feet to walk on rocks.
It made me sick to accidentally look over and see the piles of shavings on the floor, the yellowed toe nails…
I was scared by the thought that feet like that could have been at the station before me.
So yeah, not the worst pedicure I’ve had, but I don’t think I would go back.

OK — first let me say I don’t see the point of paying $ 45.00 or more for a manicure, no manicurist in Toronto is worth that at the moment (not like the old days… last year … LOL)
For $ 15.00 I get a «kick-​ass» manicure, that invokes my friends to ask…“who does your nails… how much ‘? I would like to answer. «if you have to ask — you don’t deserve to know» but I am a giving person (sometimes) and I believe in sharing.
I recommend you checking out Shining nails and asking for Tony — nothing better than being pampered by a man… right ladies?