Royal Essence Skincare and Nail Spa

June 7^th: My best friend’s birthday is tomorrow and she’s having events for the next few days. I needed to find a place nearby my work so I googled nearby nail salons. This place is awesome. Anne, who is co owner, is the one who worked on my nails and I have to say she did a beautiful job helping me pick the color and then putting on my gel.
Compared to the «spas» in Arlington that I’ve been to recently this place isn’t the nicest looking but I don’t come to the establishment for its looks. I come for the quality of their work. The woman who was sitting next to me loved her nails and I have to say her nails were really nice!
I’ll definitely be back.
UPDATE: June 16^th. My birthday is Saturday (the 18^th) and I need a new color. I love my gel manicure and regular pedicure. I have slight OCD so the fact that they have their gel and regular polish is number coordinated and next to each other so you can get the same colors for your mani pedi is awesome!

Ahn Vu did my lashes a month ago and THEY’RE STILL IN!!! This is the 2^nd time I’ve had lash extensions. The first time was at McLean Dermatology which cost $ 400 and fell out in 7 days. At Royal Essence it cost $ 200 and lasted the whole month. I will say they looked a little too Kardashianastic for my taste, so next time I’m going to ask her to do about half of what she normally puts in. Also, the glue (which is surgery grade, FDA approved) is a little harsh and would sting slightly as she applied it. Totally bearable, just wanted to warn some people that your eyes might be puffy for a bit directly afterwards — which wasn’t my experience the first time I had it done.
Overall Ahn Vu did an amazing job and I would totally recommend Royal Essence for eyelash extensions considering the quality and the price.

In a sea of average (to scary) cattle call «nail» places, Royal Essence stands out as a spa service pearl! I almost hate to review it for fear of not being able to get appointments, but it is just too sweet of a place to keep a secret. It’s clean, smells great, has WiFi, soothing music, and the obligatory widescreens. The clincher is the proprietor, Anh, who is an absolute stickler for providing the best service to Royal Essence clients. In fact, after making the switch from a bigger place down the street over a year ago, I have never broken or chipped a nail … and trust me, I put those suckers to the test! Pedicures? You won’t find the loooong line of beaten up mix-​matched pedicure chairs you see at run of the mill nail places. Instead, you’re treated to a comfortable newer chair that actually delivers a great massage while you get one of the best pedicures of your life! The waxing services are careful, comfortable with a beautiful result. (I even trust my daughter’s brows to their expert hands!) And finally … the lashes. OMG. Addicting. I had been a slave to an eyelash curler for almost 25 years, but since seeing Anh, my Shu Uemura curler has disappeared to the bottom of my makeup bag, along with my Dior Show mascara. In truth, I have rarely bothered with eye make up at all for the last year. They are natural, with just right amount of flare. My husband and friends love them, and I am so thankful for the extra 20 mins I have every morning getting ready for work. Try this boutique spa we’re lucky enough to have in the neighborhood, and experience the difference (… just schedule early or on the weekends, so I can still get my appointment! ;))

As a regular client (I’ve been there pretty much twice a month since 2014) I thought since I trust Anh to do my waxing I should also trust her to do a facial. So the first thing I said to her during the facial was that I need a lot of extractions, at this point she did not tell me «sorry I do not do those types of facials». On the list of services, under facial it even says she does extractions-didn’t think I needed to ask but it was important to me. Anyways she did a deep cleansing facial without the extractions causing all of my under-​the-​skin acne to appear. I walked away with skin worse than I’ve had since probably 2007. I told her that I was upset with the service but she would not refund me or do anything to make this right. I have to have another facial elsewhere and probably spend another $ 80 – 100. I have to say it was a poor business move on her end because I will no longer go back for the nail services because I find she is not an honest person or business owner. However, if you are heading to the salon for a manicure/​pedicure, go see Vicki.

We came here because it has great reviews but when we walked in I was concerned. It doesn’t seem like the most sanitary place. However, they have excellent service and adequate pricing. I would like a cleaner environment. I want to say I’ll return for their service and ask if they could sanitize the pedicure machine again.

I’m here right now and one of the employees is chanting in some other language in the corner. I wouldn’t say that’s appropriate, normal or relaxing.

So after my last visit that wasn’t the best I’ve went to a few other nail salons in Va and in Maryland and still couldn’t find a place that impresses me. So once again I went back to royal essence and just made sure to make a appointment with a different nail tech and I can say this place really takes care of you, there’s no rush or anything I received a gel mani and spa pedi and the two services took about 2 in a half hours. They take there time and make sure everything is perfect. I really get my money’s worth and i definitely recommend other people to the salon to try there spa pedi and they fell in love and also if your used to getting gel manis you will love this place.

Excellent first visit. Anh did a practically perfect manicure, better than any I’ve had at various salons in the last few years. Most appreciated was her absolute lack of any attempts to up-​sell! Nothing bothers me more at a salon than requesting one service and being relentlessly pitched ad-​ons and extras (gel instead of regular, both many and pedi, eyebrows waxing, etc. etc.) That was my experience at a Lee Harrison salon a few weeks ago (and most others!), enough to drive me away for good. Also appreciated that the salon was quiet and calming. I will be a regular of Anh’s from now on. I’m very satisfied.

Anh does amazing lash extensions! Very natural. I’ve gotten so many compliments and they’ve cut my morning make up time in half bc don’t need any other makeup! She’s also very reasonably priced!

I had never had my eyelashes done but decided to for my wedding. The girl that did them spent a lot of time to make them look fantastic, and they did. While they looked amazing during the wedding and they lasted a solid two months, my eyelashes have now broken off and look horrible. I don’t necessarily think it was because of the application but from what I’m reading faulty application is the main reason for false lashes breaking off your natural lashes. Do your homework!

THE BEST! I miss this place so much! This was my go to Salon for two years before I moved to Norfolk. During those two years I saw either Ha, Kelly (both of which are no longer there) and Ahn, and they were all absolutely wonderful! I can’t speak for any of the other nail techs as I rarely strayed from those three ladies.
One of the reasons this place is so awesome is that they use high quality products like OPI Axxium and OPI gel nail polish (which lasts for 3 – 4 weeks) which is far superior that that cheap shellac polish (which if you’re lucky will last 1 week, maybe). Yes, any of these gel type polishes including shellac are not necessarily «good» for your natural nails but if you are like me and pick/​bite your nails when they are not polished and pretty, than it is far better to have them painted and with a polish that lasts and is difficult to mess with than to have the standard polish that will be picked off before the end of the week.
They are awesome at designs! There was only one time where a design didn’t work and that was with the use of nail tape which peeled off that same night. I found that it was just the result of the brand of tape not the application of the tape. I would say if you are looking for a design pull up a picture of the design on your phone and show them, that way they can get a visual.
They are always so considerate and understanding and if you your nails start to chip or it gets smudged just give them a call and they will usually fix it with no charge (although I would always tip). They always have cold beverages and snacks while you are getting your nails done and the pedicure massage chairs add to the blissful experience. Sometimes you just need a little «me» time and when you do, definitely treat yourself to a mani/​pedi at Royal Essence!

I would’ve liked them as the paraffin dip for my pedicure was different and nice. However, my no chip manicure chipped the next day and no one in the shop can do the designs posted online. Definitely won’t be back.
No chip polish peeling off now. Never seen that before!

I swear no one can do good nails In the Dmv area. My nails are so ugly right now I want to take them off, and I just got them done a few minutes ago. Then the lady had the nerve not to give me my change back and told me that was her tip… whoa there I think I’ll decide that for myself. She didn’t deserve it, then rushed me out and said bye bye. So rude I won’t be back $ 50 well wasted!

This is by far my favorite nail place in Arlington. I always get a standard pedicure and gel manicure, and it’s an unbeatable value for the Arlington area. I’m unfortunately terrible at remembering names but there’s a particular nail tech that I LOVE and usually am assigned to (I don’t make appointments, but I’ve never had any trouble as a walk-​in). Her pedicure job leaves my feet super smooth and doesn’t chip for weeks and gel mani always grows out long before it budges. However, I gave four stars because occasionally I’ll get a different technician who just doesn’t do the same quality work. Still better than many other places, just not the absolute best. The place may not have curb appeal, but you just can’t beat the color selection and quality of their mani/​pedi. I will be a customer for a long time.
Hint: they are not quick so this isn’t the place for you if you’re pressed for time. Personally I love the excuse to zen out for a long mani/​pedi, but it’s best to know ahead of time to block up to two hours for a quality experience :)

Protip: don’t say you can do something and then not be able to do it.
I chose this place because of the nail art pictures. I asked the woman if she could do a glitter fade. I showed her the picture. She said yes.
My nails look like a child did them. Have a look at the picture.
Not coming back. I blame my parents for raising me a certain way so I felt like I had to tip: it was not deserved.
Edit: to the owner– I absolutely did not leave happy. In fact I cut the appointment short, refusing the paraffin treatment and grimaced as I was giving the tip on my way out. If your tech thought that I was happy then she needs to get her eyes checked. The only thing «Halloween» about this manicure is how horrifying my nails look.

I got a gel manicure here and the appointment was a great experience. I got a gel French manicure and it was $ 37 — including a lower arm massage and paraffin wax! The nails look really good, but she did file them to be pretty short — it’s really hard for me to grow my nails out so it kind of sucked that they are now so short after weeks of growing out. BUT they are really even and a good shape so hopefully they will grow out nicely now. The nail technician really took a lot of time and was not rushing at all. Overall, I feel like I really got a lot for my money and if this manicure lasts as long as it is supposed to, then I will definitely go back!

In search of a convenient nail place this afternoon, I chose to take a trust fall into the arms of all you Unilocalers and go with Royal Essence on Lee Highway. As you can see, it has dozens and dozens of reviews, most of them sparkling. I assumed it would be a radiant palace of light and feelings.
It was… it was just a nail place. A strip-​mall nail place, average in every respect, save perhaps its managers’ skill at using Unilocal to promote their business. (No, beautiful Unilocal staff, I’m not suggesting anything untoward — just that they’ve clearly taken advantage of Unilocal advertising/​check-​in deals to lure customers and encourage positive reviews.)
My mani-​pedi was just fine. My technician was pleasant enough, although not bilingual, so smalltalk was off the table. She was very thorough about poke-​poke-​poking at my dry cuticles, making one of them bleed – but with my desiccated skin, that’s not particularly hard.
My nails look nice now. The shop was hygienic, although not exactly space-​age. The pedi chairs had massage function. The prices were reasonable. Nothing was awful! But… nothing was that special either. AcquaNails in Bethesda and Clarendon still easily wins my award for region’s best.

I’m always excited to try a new nail salon, but I’m not the biggest fan of Royal Essence.
It’s small, but modern and clean, with four pedicure stations and maybe 4 or 5 nail stations. They offer a full menu of nails and waxing services. Friendly technicians, though the manager was the only we were able to clearly communicate with. And, they have a website, which is much appreciated.
Based on the photos, I was expecting more in the way of nail design. The one technician who could do the nail design couldn’t even handle a diagonal glitter gradient. I was not happy. Dead skin removal and foot buffing was great, as was the nail filing, cuticle removal, and polish application. Water was hot through the entire pedicure and the massage chair was great.
Due to the 20 minute wait, despite having appointments, and the poor nail design skills, I probably won’t rush back, though check-​in offers might make it worthwhile.

Very happy with the second set of gel. The manager is very nice and reached out to me since I didnt like the first gel set. I like a place that cares about their costumers and that is why im giving them 5 stars.
I also like the gel this time it looks really good. The manager her name is Anh did them and I love them.
Overall very satisfied with customer service and quality of work this time around.

Wanting to experiment with nail art, I called this salon after reading previous reviews and seeing pictures of some nice looking nail designs. I got an appointment almost right away. I made it a point to let them know that I was looking to get nail art done and was assured (might I add repeatedly) that the owner, who would be the one doing the nail art for me, had a lot of experience in the same.
Upon arrival I was greeted by the owner who asked me what kind of nail art I was interested in. I showed her couple of pics including the one I really wanted. I was told she couldn’t do that coz it required gold foil which she did not have. Understandable. However she picked one of the pics which I had showing a french manicure with a silver tape dividing the two areas giving it some oomph. It was the most simple of the lot of pictures I had, but I agreed to settle for it.
The girl who did my pedicure (wish I could remember her name) was amazing! She was a Latina who helped me with the color choices to match my manicure and did a fabulous job with the pedicure even though she forgot to put the top coat… but at that time I was at my zen place thanks to the wonderful foot massage she gave. So I didn’t really care. She took her time and did not rush through the pedicure which was perfect!
The owner at this point grabbed me to her manicure table and took out her nail art box… looking all professional. She did the french gel manicure quickly with finesse… I was impressed. When it came to but the silver tape… Oh my god! what a mess! She had no clue what to do with that tape. She had finger marks all over it by touching it repeatedly and then it would not stick… DUH! I had to tell her that she should use the forceps to minimize touching the glue part. She still couldn’t get the job done as the tape kept coming out. At this point she let me know that she had tried to use the silver tape on another client in the past without any success… WHAT??? Why was she called a professional nail artist? She could not do any of the complicated designs and had never used the silver tape successfully in the before!
At the end of several attempts she managed to place the silver tape with the edges already coming out and informed me that, it was the best she could do .(basically deal with it!). I was told once all the tape came out (obviously it was a given) to wipe the nails with alcohol and they would look JUST FINE! umm… I did not want JUST FINE… the tape was the reason I was getting my nails done there the first place! This just didn’t seem to register!
Though the owner remained polite through the whole service and the technician who did my pedicure was wonderful, I had selected this place ONLY for the nail art and was disappointed that I had to pay the extra cash when the tape was out even before I walked out of the place. I wasn’t offered any discount or any other perks for the shoddy job. The owner’s patronizing behavior annoyed me further. What aggravated me more was that within a week my nail chipped… so a part of the french tip in my index finger was out… That’s the first time it has ever happened to me with the gel, and I have had gel nails done for years now! That itself says something!
On the positive side the place has a private parking lot in the back which is a bonus.
Overall: for a regular mani-​pedi this place is fine. however don’t have high hopes if you are looking for nail art!