Unique Nails & Spa

I’ve been going here for some time now but no more. The service and experience is getting progressively worse. The staff isn’t trained, the AC barely works and the whole place has a depressing air. I just walked out of the place because the woman had no idea how to cut nails.

It was my first time here as I am still checking places out in Astoria /​LIC area and I must say this place is just okay. They don’t really have a wide selection of colors — at least no new colors that are out now — the girl that did my mani and pedi took her time on me which i liked but for the amount of time she spent my nails aren’t done perfectly. She filed them well but didn’t push my cuticles back enough and it looks like I have a short nail plate. There is also no massage included with the pedi. In conclusion, I rather go somewhere else for the price but I’ll come back here again if other places are booked.

I love Unique Nails and Spa. I go here for the occasional regular Pedicure, which is $ 18. It’s a great value as it comes with many of the benefits of what other salons would call a «Spa Pedicure», such as an exfoliating leg scrub and a rich body cream. The tools are always clean, and they always use a new foot file when they scrub you calluses. They even end every pedicure with a short (but much appreciated) neck and shoulder rub for free. I usually opt to include a 10-​minute ($ 10) foot massage, which puts the whole service at $ 28. Friendly staff, clean, modern salon! Definitely call to see if they’re open as their «Hours» listing on Google is sometimes incorrect. Open Sundays which is very convenient!

The instruments I noticed were not sanitized as they were used from person to person. That is a big no-​no to me! The older lady cut my cuticles on my toes so painfully and harsh that I bled in two different places. If that wasn’t bad enough I got a back massage that was torture. I had to stop her half way through. I get the vibe they don’t want to be there and they don’t want us there either– never again

First time here for a gel mani. Young women helped graciously. Then began by asking her friend what to do as if this was her first time doing gel. Typically any sort of mani starts with a soak, which they did not do. She began with filing my nails and using products that had not been sanitized! Thought about walking out right then and there. Place is dirty and not welcoming. Prices are compatible with better places in the area. Suggest going elsewhere.

Very pleased with the outcome of my gel mani-​pedi! Lasted a decent amount of time !! On the other hand, not pleased with the back massage… It killed my back and I was in pain the next day that’s the only reason why I rated 4 stars! I received lots of compliments on my Mani-​pedi

This salon has been my go-​to for the last year or so. They are always very friendly and I particularly love Shelly. She does a great job at everything, but in particular the foot massage. I come once every two weeks to get a mani/​pedi and I always get the extra massage so that Shelly can work her magic on my feet.
But after today’s experience, I am so mad that I will not be back. I started getting gel manicures a month or so ago when I went on vacation and wanted to be sure my polish would last past it’s usual 5 days. The first time, Shelly did my manicure and it lasted beautifully for 2 weeks, and beyond. The second time I had them done, a younger girl did them because Shelly was unavailable and I wasn’t able to wait 45 minutes until Shelly was done. She did an OK job, but after about 5 days, the polish started lifting up in big sections. So I went back to the salon and Shelly fixed them for me. She re-​did the whole manicure because it had been growing in for 5 days and would have looked silly if she only re-​did 3 or 4 fingers.
Fast forward to my latest escapade. I opted to get a nail design done this time for a wedding I was attending. It needed to last a week since I was going to be traveling. Sadly Shelly wasn’t working the night I was available so I let one of the two older women who work there do it instead. I should have known when she filed all my nails too short and crooked that it wasn’t going to go well from there. I was upset that she had filed them down so much and that they were crooked, so I asked if I could use her file and refiled ALL of them until they were the shape I had asked for. I then showed the nail tech a very clear picture of exactly the design I wanted. She proceeded to do a very shoddy job of the design on one nail and it didn’t look at all like the picture. I stopped her after one nail and did the design myself to show her how I wanted it. She ended up doing a nice job after that, but I was surprised that I had to physically show her how to do it after giving her a very clear picture.
I was there on a Monday and left for the wedding on a Wednesday. By Friday, the polish started lifting up at the edges of several nails and one of my nails even broke because the polish was so thin on the ends of my nails. I was very upset, but there was nothing I could do since I was out of town. I went back as soon as I came back to town the following Monday, one week after I had the manicure done. By this time 4 other nails had peeled back and several of them were damaged because of the polish. I asked the man that work there if Shelly could redo them but she wasn’t working. He offered up that one of the other ladies could do it (the same one that had done it previously, and poorly at that), so I asked if it was possible to just have them remove the polish for now and then I could come back another time to have it redone. He continued to lecture me on how I must have used my nails too much and chipped the polish because it usually lasts longer. He asked for my receipt because he didn’t believe me that it had only been a week since I had them done. He implied that it was my fault and said that they would not redo the whole thing for free because clearly I was the one that damaged the polish.
I was so frustrated and so angry at this point that I told him that if that was the way they were going to treat their customers, especially loyal ones that come in every two weeks, than I was not going to come back again. He said fine, so I stormed out. I am sad to lose out on having Shelly do my nails, she is always fabulous, but if they are going to be so dismissive and rude to their customers, I will not give them a penny more of my business.

My go-​to salon. Great chairs, friendly technicians and clean. They do a great job on cuticles and they’re slow but I like that because they’re thorough and it’s relaxing.

Terrific gem of a salon. I’ve been coming here over a year now and it’s my top nail salon. Nice they have the punch card so after 10 visit, there’s a free manicure. The people are very friendly and professional. The salon is super clean and nicely decorated and the mani-pedi’s have been terrific. I’ve tried all the other salons on 30^th Avenue and the mani-​pedis here are equal if not better than the others. I happen to like the more relaxed atmosphere here vs the not talking, strict feeling toward the workers of salons elsewhere. Had the lip wax which was expertly done by Emma, way better than the wax salon I’ve been going to. My friend had the chair massage too and she was a very satisfied customer too. Highly recommended salon!!!

It’s an ok place but I’ve been to better nail technicians. I asked her to put another coat on a very thin nail polish and she said no, because she’d already done three. Waiting to see if it chips. Also the attitude of the woman doing my nails was unnecessary. She was very rude. Also on further inspection my nail are been cut squint. Seriously, they’re awful, If you have another nail salon you can go to, go there.

I haven’t been back here in 3 months for the following reasons:
1) I developed an awful nail fungus that I’m still on medication for.
2) The last time I was there, almost all my cuticles bleed from being brutally butchered.
3) it looked like they hadn’t cleaned the foot tanks in months.
I can’t go back there no matter how good the massages were!

Couple months ago I was hanging out with a bunch of friends in Astoria, I saw this salon next to the 16 handles, so I decided to try it out. I have bad and dry cuticles and the lady who did my nails advised me to take care of them by don’t cut them too much and putting lotion on frequently. I always get gel manicure, so my nails are very thin. I really love the lady who did my gel manicure. Everytime She cleans my nail surface softly with a buffer instead of a nail file. She said that a nail buffer can also remove the remaining gel color and smooth out the nails. The CND gel base coat is better for nails too.
Whenever I hang out in Astoria, I always visit that nail salon because of that lady’s professionalism, my nails are stronger and healthier than before.

So basically, this place is okay. They aren’t super busy, so you almost always are seated immediately, and they have a pretty good range of colors to choose from. I have found both basic polish and color gel to be very neatly applied.
There are not a lot of frills. I also feel like this place could use a good, thorough cleaning and a fresh coat of paint. The ladies who work here are very nice and work pretty quickly. I feel like with sprucing up they could be more competitive with Kiki’s and Athena’s/J’Aime/Eve’s. Cheesy as it may be, I look forward to the quirky seasonal decorations at Athena’s/Eve’s, and also the more upscale décor at Blossom.
On the plus side, it’s quite inexpensive here, and their shoulder massages are great.

Soo… I had some time to kill and decided to check out this nail spot! Cute modern vibe all white everything! Now for the mani, not bad pretty basic lady spent some extra time on my cuticles which was nice. but not very satisfied with her painting technique. Sorta sloppy, until I made a comment! I’m picky and want pretty nails I mean a girl needs to look perfect ;)

I came from Brooklyn to Astoria to find my normal nail salon closed with paper covering the windows. This observation led me to believe they would not be opening any time soon and it was time to find a replacement. I’d passed this place a few times, maybe even got a mani/​pedi a while back, seems clean and figured I would give it a shot.
(2 stars for being opening after 7 on a Sunday)
My go to look is UV black nails with one nail a contrasting color, sometimes with leopard or studs to class it up ;)
Dona, the lady helping me kept trying to offer me a french manicure.
Things are not looking good…
The language barrier makes it tough and she was pretty intent on doing her own thing so at this point I say F*CK it. I can try something else. The little language she could speak all went straight for the jugular with a hard sell, and next thing I know, I am signed up for UV permanent. Which is good, because after investigating the first phase of my nails, she had went ahead with the french tips regardless. In the filing phase, she cut up my cuticles and I ended up with one nail pointy (my nails are shaped round) and leaning off the the right like the leaning tower of pisa. I asked her to fix it, and got the timeless classic…“yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah”.
I am a sucker for a good sales pitch, but my disappointment comes from the poor quality of the upsell. I ended up walking out with out the white stripe that defines a french, because the lady couldn’t get it in straight with the permanent gel and wanted to go back at the end and paint it on. I paid for the permanent, so that’s what I expected. That is not what I got.
I am currently in the market for a new nail lady… Suggestions?

Best Place in Astoria to make mani/​piedi. The spa is really clean and the staff very friendly.

For a place that has just opened… I am disappointed!
I called the salon Friday night around 7ish to see if they were busy and if I can make an appointment to come in for a mani/​pedi that same evening. The lady said they weren’t busy so I gave my name.
Once I got there, the door was open and a woman greeted me, whom I believe was the one who answered the phone. She was the only one not in a uniform however I am not sure who she was. She was direct but unfriendly.
She sat me in the pedicure chair, which I think had water already in it waiting, right next to another lady when there were 5 open other chairs. I guess they like that system, bc the next lady sat right next to me. We were all in a row with the back chairs empty.
After about 10 mins, I asked if someone was gonna start on me, the same lady said yes you had an appointment. Then that same lady started doing my pedicure. I think they were understaffed and people kept coming in. There were others girls waiting a while sitting in the pedicure chair. As if they just wanted people in the chair and didn’t care about how long they waited. Why lie about the time?
As i sat there I notice that the walls had scuff marks from the chairs and holes hat were badly covered up with plaster. Then I started looking around a saw the place to be dirty. The floor, behind and under the chairs/​desk. It was raining so they had 2 rugs the front door to which looked sloppy. Everything was so cheaply done. I didn’t even want them cutting my cuticles at thus point becuase I felt like the whole place was unsanitary.
Overall, the lady did a nice job with my nails. The file and paint job were done correctly. But, I am not sure I will return until the management steps it up and makes the place look at last organized and clean.

I received a gift certificate for this salon for a mani/​pedi and decided to go and treat myself. When I walked in with my roommate, the man at the salon told us it would be a 10 – 15 min wait for a mani/​pedi— totally fine. No big deal, we can wait.
10 minutes pass, still nothing, 20 minutes pass, still nothing.
45 minutes pass and the ladies who have finished their clients seem to have vanished into thin air, never to be seen again.
At this point all I wanted was a pedicure because I couldn’t wait any longer to have both done. It was almost 8:30 pm and we had walked in at 7:30.
The lady who did my pedicure was very sweet and friendly and did a good job so the only reason this place has any merit is because of her. The managerial staff could not care less that we were waiting nor did they offer for us to come back at a later time if they knew that we wouldnt be seen for that long.
Finally– the icing on the cake— they didnt accept my certificate bc apparently it had to be used as a set (mani/​pedi) not separated. I ended up paying $ 16 for a pedi and alot of shot nerves. I don’t even want to use my certificate at this point.

Standard Astoria salon. Perfectly fine manicure and pedicure, but nothing special or out of the ordinary. If you’re looking for the typical inexpensive nail salon services, check it out.
Pluses:
Big, clean, new.
Good prices.
Relatively quick.
Minuses:
Pedicure water wasn’t hot enough (& I wasn’t asked if the temperature
was ok).
Crappy /​almost non existent massage w/​the pedicure, manicure, & at the drying station.
Cut & filed my finger nails, then, for some unknown reason, cut some of my nails again. However, wasn’t going to file those nails again, until I asked, which would have left them uneven & somewhat jagged.
The air at the drying station was cold.
However, for the price, it really is perfectly fine. Give it a go & see what you think. (I tried over 10 salons in Astoria before I found 1 or 2 that I really like — Lily’s being my fav. Since it was New Years Day Lily’s was closed. But, as per normal, I will continue to go to Lily’s).

I visited Unique Nails for the first time a few weeks ago and had a very pleasant experience. The staff was very friendly and I was seated right away for my manicure. Although they do not have a gigantic color selection, there was a wide variety of OPI and Essie polishes to choose from. My manicure was done well: my cuticles were cut cleanly, the hand massage felt wonderful, and my polish was even and stayed on for several days before chipping. The décor in Unique nails is bright and modern and the establishment feels very clean.
On my second visit I took advantage of their $ 20 manicure/​pedicure special and was equally happy with my experience. It is the best priced mani/​pedi I have found on 30^th Avenue in Astoria!