I am officially done with my first year of college -sheds fake tears of joy-. Thank the heavens that it's over. Compared to last semester, I did quite well. 3.2 GPA.
I'm back home now, and my granny gave me some extra spending cash just because (you gotta love cash giving grannies), so that plus my academic success, I decided to go and get muh nails diiiiid~
Can you tell that I'm excited? I am, because my fingers are fancy AF and it didn't cost me my entire life savings. I got them done at a little rinky dink salon so blandly named "Amanda's Nails and Spa". Yes, the owner's name is Amanda. I discovered this nail salon after scrolling down my facebook news feed. I their page on my dash and they plastered pictures of not just manicured nails, but UNIQUE nails with 3D nail art!
Out of all the salons in Houston, only a fraction actually offer 3D nail art. I was instantly intrigued.
I instantly looked for an address and it turns out that it was only a mile away from me! You have no idea haw fast I jumped---but then I remembered, I was currently no where near home. I was in Denton. -_-; So I waited. As soon as I got home from UNT, I headed over there with my sister to validate the hype about this salon.
Why did I call it rinky dink? Well. Because it is. I've been to wayyy better looking salons. This salon is located in the dirty part of town. Trash everywhere, construction going on that looks like it's never going to be finished. It is located in a random shopping strip that has stores like a "game room", mexican dollar store, and a low-budget cell phone company. Because of this parking is limited. I had to park around the corner and walk to the salon. That's how dedicated I was. That's how much this place is hyped up. But hey, there were some girls in the salon that drive 30-45 minutes every two weeks just to get their nails did here. So I guess my little 100 foot walk can't compare.
When I opened the door to the salon, I was surprised at how full it was! I honestly would've expected it seeing as how it was a Saturday afternoon but still! They didn't not one chair open. All 6 nail technicians were filing, sculpting and painting away, and all 9 "spa" chairs were occupied. I was asked to sign the waiting list and I frowned at six women being ahead of me. They say that you can call and make an appointment but I really doubt that they'd reserve a chair for you with all of the traffic they have.
As I waited, I took in my surroundings. The salon seemed a bit dark, and had a cramped feeling. Although it was not roomy, I did not get a sense of caos. Every one seemed organized and new what the next task was. I flipped through a book of different designs. I already had my mind up that I wanted most of my nails to be turquoise with black accents, just like my room ^_^;
I noticed that no one was getting the usual "french tip" mani. Everyone was getting colored acrylic. So if you're looking for a basic mani, please, just go elsewhere. Amanda's nails and spa is the place you go to when you want breathtaking nail designs.
30, maybe 35 minutes passed and my name was called. "That's meee~" I chimed as I hopped up and did a little semi-prance to the next empty chair. A small asian man named Tony sat across from me and took my hand. "What do you want?" he asked. I explained to him my newbie situation and he assured me he'd do his best as he prepped my nails. He handed me a pallet of colors. "What't the difference between gel and powder?" I asked. I could barely make out what he was saying behind his mask, but he said that the powder lasted longer and was similar to acrylic. I looked around and saw every one else getting powder, so eh, why not.
I asked him if they had a turquoise powder, he said no and pointed to a sea foam green saying that it would turn aqua when it was applied. I cringed but reluctantly nodded my head and let him do his magic.
He treated each of my fingers as if they were little canvases and he was a skilled painter. Although there were many customers waiting, he did not rush my nails. He layered on the powder with great skill and patience, making sure to fix any and all imperfections such as lumps, unevenness and shape. He filed down my nails like six time just to get that perfect square shape.
Turns out trusting him actually worked. The powder turned into a pretty blue color that was close to turquoise.I asked him to make my ring finger black and put little rhinestones on them. I thought he'd put six rhine stones on my fingers in various places, but to my surprise, he make three rows with 5 each, filling the entire finger. He also took extra precaution and made sure they were secure with extra super glue around the edges. I loved all of his attention to the small details.
I decided to keep them simple because, I was undescisive and I was unsure of their pricing.
My nails ended up being $35 dollars. Not too shabby for a awesome job! I can't wait to go back and get then done again. Perhaps I'll get something a bit more elaborate. I'm thinking I want a matte black with some funky texture. IDK. Who knows.
Point is, Amanda's Nail and Spa is not hyped it. The hype is real, and legit! What a great little find, and so close to home as well.
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