Designer Nails

Kim is the nicest salon owner I’ve ever met. She’s really great at nails! She gives a great foot scrub and lotion rub. I got a pedicure and it was fabulous. She’s really friendly and nice to talk with. I can’t say enough good things about her and the sweet girls there.

I only gave this place 1 star because I actually didn’t get the service I went in for. There were 2 people working when I arrived, at approximately 6:15pm. There were 1 woman getting a pedi when I came in, and a 2^nd picking out polish. I asked if I could get a pedi and the 1^st employee told me it would be about 30 – 45 minutes. I said I would wait and took a seat. Shortly after, another customer came in. I was sitting for about 10 – 15 minutes when the first employee asked me to go back to the chair and start soaking my feet. As I did this, she took the woman who came in after me to the other side to work on her nails. I never saw her again. The 2^nd employee was finishing a pedi (had just started painting) then started the next one. Forty-​five minutes later, she was still working on the 2^nd customer. By this time my water was cold, I was tired of the crappy massage chair that barely worked, no one had checked on me, and the customer getting the pedi at that time still didn’t even have polish… The technician was just then clipping her nails. So I was looking at an additional 15 minutes from that point.
The customer sitting next to me was chilling for a while while her paint dried. At about this time, She got up to leave. She took off the little toe separator things. The nail technician put it back in the drawer to be reused.
Needless to say, I left. The technician simply said, «sorry.» I am not sorry I left. Reusing ANY equipment that cannot be properly cleaned and sterilized is gross and I’m sure against all safety regulations.

Kim is amazing. For how picky I am, her and Tina put up with me and do a great job making me happy EVERY TIME i leave. Q always does my toes, he’s a great guy who makes me laugh every time i go in and they all go out of their way to say hello and ask how they can help. i have missed my appt on saturdays from oversleeping a couple of time and they are always willing to work with me and make me very happy. if you tell them exactly what you want they will make sure they do it. great customer service, very warm and welcoming. sometimes if I’m in a rush i have to tell kim not to worry about making them perfect (i go every 2 weeks so it’s ok if they don’t look absolutely amazing this time) but she always makes sure they look PERFECT. tina does a great job if you want your whole nail painted, kim specializes in pink and white. i have a hear time chosing what color i want to do and they have patience with me and don’t push or decide for me. everything it AWESOME when i go to them and i love them!

Everyone should give this place a try. not only do they have impeccable customer service skills their massages are literally to die for. It’s like Kim and her staff live to please you. My only wish is that I lived closer to visit more often.

After almost of two years of frequenting this place, I feel like I owe this review. Part of me is being really selfish and don’t want to share Kim with others. But I also do know it’s only right to give her this review. Groupon was how I discovered this place. You wouldn’t be able to ‘stumble’ into this nails salon as it is really hidden behind a big column in a small strip mall-​like place.
Kim is probably the most skilled manicurist I’ve ever experienced and she speaks great English! Very courteous and she responds via text message with no issues. Her price is unbelievably reasonable. I get French shellac every other week and she always tries her best to fit me into her schedule even if I contact her on the day of.
She and I share the same passion about Korean dramas and movies and the time goes by so fast and my nails look awesome!
They have free wireless so sometimes I watch my shows on the phone or ipad while she works on my nails. It’s been a while since I got my pedicure done there, as I usually do my own pedicure. But the stations are always full whenever I visit there. Almost all customers there are regulars and Kim remembers everyone’s name by heart.
I am moving to Dallas shortly and this place will be one of those places I will miss the most in Austin.

I love this place! There are 5 nail places within a half mile radius of my house and I continue to make the 20 minute drive to Designer Nails. They take their time with pedicures and do a very thorough job. They do Shellac pedicures too, which most places wouldn’t do when Shellac first became popular. Their Shellac manicures always stay flawless for 2 – 3 weeks. I have had them peel off in 3 days when I have had this service at other establishments. The place is always clean and if you make an appointment you will not wait.

This isn’t necessarily a review on an experience but customer service. My boyfriend tried to surprise me with a gift certificate to get my nails done, and he miss understood when I said D’zire Nails not Designer Nails. I tried calling to cancel the gift transaction, and didn’t get a call back until 2 days later saying they don’t. However no where on the certificate or receipt does it state that. So for all the 5 star/​Groupon reviewers on here, I have a gift certificate worth $ 80 that I NEVER plan on using, I’ll take $ 60 and its yours!

I got a deluxe manicure and it was wonderful and so relaxing. There was about a 10 or 15 minute wait when I got there, but I didn’t think to make an appointment so I didn’t mind. I think next time I’ll make an appointment and get a pedicure as well. Everyone was very nice, I was greeted, told about the services and offered to upgrade, etc. I noticed that some of the polishes I was interested in were running a bit low, but I guess that happens after a while. I have a suggestion to the owner/​manager to maybe dim the lights a tad because the place seemed pretty sterile and bright. It might make for a more relaxing setting, but this won’t keep me from going back.

This salon always does a great job with shellac. The technicians are VERY meticulous about trimming your cuticles, shaping & filing. They never rush through a client to get to the next. Their pricing is in line with everyone else in the area but they often run Groupon Now offers for $ 15 shellac manicures — can’t beat it! The salon is tucked away from the normal Sunset Valley shopping areas but it’s a hidden gem! Don’t let their appearance fool you, this salon does wonderful work and is one that I visit frequently.

Anh Thi~ You are so awesome! Thanks for the best shellac manicure, EVER! I will be back! Thank you thank you!

I had a really good experience using a Groupon for a shellac mani recently. I was able to schedule my appointment via email — EMAIL! Big points go to them for responding to me after hours (10 at night.) I was not treated any differently for having the Groupon and also added the shellac pedicure.
There were quite a few ladies leaving disgruntled, due to the wait. Seriously? Don’t wait for the last day to use your coupon AND read the fine print — it asks for you to make an appointment ahead of time.
The clientele on that certain day was older, well-​to do ladies. The salon has more of a classier feel than most and the ladies working were nicely dressed and quiet. I was really pleased with Ahn and she two weeks later I am still sporting no chips.

I’m surprised to see the negative reviews, as my experience was quite good. I had a Groupon for a shellac manicure, called and told them so, and they said come right over. (this was a Monday about 10:30, so they weren’t busy at all)
I showed the Groupon when I arrived and I did not detect that I was being treated differently from anyone else. The tech (I wish I had her name) took her time and was very meticulous with the french tips, which can be tricky w/​shellac. She was not rushed at all and she gave a very nice arm and hand massage when finished w/​my nails.
This place is a LOT cleaner than most nail salons I’ve visited, so I appreciated that. The Groupon is for 2 manicures and I’ll definitely be going back for the 2^nd and plan to continue to go there for pedis as well.
I only gave 4 stars because the white tips were thicker than what I prefer. I asked her a few times to make them thinner, and she would wipe a little more off, but then I got tired of asking. But, the manicure is still very nice and I have not had problems w/​peeling.
(And while I do feel bad for the girl who had a bad experience right before her engagement photos, I have to question the logic in choosing to try a new place for a manicure for such an important event. I mean, would you choose to go to a new stylist for a haircut right before your engagement photos?)

Wish I could leave NEGATIVE STARS!
I made an appointment yesterday for my first of 2 manicures. I arrived 20 minutes early so that I would have time to choose my nail color and not make them run late. As soon as I entered the door I was asked «you have Groupon?» I said yes, I also told them that when I had called to make the appointment. The woman standing next to me turned and asked in her native language who wanted to do my manicure, they all shook their heads no and when she finally told the man there that he had to treat me he got up from his station and went to get the tools needed and was banging things around and very pissy he had to work on me. I walked over to his station once he returned and he asked «what you want» I said just a light shaping of the nails, I prefer them round shape, do not cut them, I want them long since I am having my ENGAGEMENT photos this Friday and they will be taking close ups of my hands and such. He grabbed my left hand and started filing them before I even got my purse of my shoulder or sat down, he was very rough and after about 7 seconds he threw my hand into a COLD bowl of water grabbed my other hand that was still looking at the color swatches and starts to file on the right hand. I pulled my left hand out of the water to try and find a color and saw that my nails WERE GONE!!! The tiny bit of white that was left was crooked and SQUARED! I asked him why he filed my nails off and made the square shape when I asked for light shaping and ROUND! He said «ok no problem i fix» I said «what do you mean no problem you can’t make them come back?» He grabbed my other hand a tried to FILE THEM MORE. I stood up told him not to touch me and left there in tears.
I was treated absolutely AWEFUL! And I fully believe it is because I was using a Groupon.
This MIGHT be an okay place to get a manicure, but DO NOT tell them you have a Groupon when you schedule or when you get there!!! Even though the Groupon says you need to tell them I say if they are going to treat their Groupon customers this bad then why tell them!

For some reason, Unilocal «filtered» my honest review so it wouldn’t count against this place. Bottom line, they make your cuticles bleed, they rush the job, and my shellac mani peeled off within 48 hours.

Favorite nail shop in Austin. I ended up trying this place because of a groupon and continued going because the service was great. I always went in on a Monday so it was quite and relaxing. The ladies have always been super nice. They provide the friendliest atmosphere that I’ve experienced in a nail salon. The massage chairs are nice as well. And they’ve never made my cuticles bleed! And in every other place in Austin that I’ve gone to they have so… be sure to check this place out.

Okay, I decided to try this place out because of the great reviews on Unilocal.I must say I don’t get it. The place smells of chemicals just like all the others and are rough as well. Worst of all, making an appointment does not matter.
I wanted shellac and had to get my prior coating removed. Even though I made an appointment for 5:00, I was not brought to a table until 5:15. Then once the acetone was placed on my fingers I was informed it would be 7 minutes. Well another 15 minutes went by so I decided to take the foil off myself and scrape the coating off with my own nails as I was a little concerned with the time they left acetone sitting on my fingers. Finally I was moved to another table to get my manicure.
Other placed I have been to start their appointments on time and do not leave you sitting in acetone for 15 minutes. The UV lamp was dirty and the tech did not follow the standard guidelines for shellac intervals in the UV.
Oh, and my middle finger was cut by the cuticle cutters. Awesome. I do not recommend this place.

Designer nails is tucked away in a small business park/​strip mall off Hwy 290. It’s pretty easy to miss if you’re not familiar with where you are. Be sure to look for the red & white sign on the 2^nd story of the business complex.
Despite it being so tucked away, this shop is excellent. My mom and I went in today to get our first shellac manicures and we’re very happy we did. I had a buy one get one free offer I had bought on a internet deals website.
Even though all of the nail techs were busy when we arrived, we were greeted by them and promptly paid attention to as soon as they were done with the other customers.
They have the full range of CND Shellac manicure colors and their salon is ULTRA clean, smells fresh, very well decorated and spacious. The pedicure spa chairs looked comfy and relaxing.
The shellac manicure was painless, the tech I had was very gentle and talked a bit with me. She used some very nice smelling lotion towards the end and gave me a nice arm and hand massage after my nails had dried. I noticed it was natural lotion with botanicals in it.
My mom had Kim working on her nails and I think Kim must be the owner and/​or manager because she was answering the phone. I’d asked the other nail tech who did my nails to put little hearts on the thumbs for Valentine’s day but she told me she couldn’t. Apparently, Kim had overheard me say that and at the end of my mom’s manicure, she told me she would do it for me. She meticulously painted small little hearts with red sparkle paint in them for me. And she only charged me $ 5 on top of the manicure to do that which is pretty big considering I’d already gotten one of the manicures for free.
To sum it up, you will not be let down when you try this nail salon. I am so pleased that I will make it my regular shop even though it’s a little off the beaten path. I’m even so pleased that I will be bringing my wedding party back with me in a month before my wedding so we can all get our nails done there.
It helped me have such a delightful, relaxing, pampered afternoon. Ahhhhh… how can one argue with that?!

I went here for the first time today, 12÷21÷11, and had the shellac mani. It was awesome. I even got little christmas designs on my thumbs, snowman on one and bells on the other. Place was clean, lots of customers (you can tell they were regulars bc the employees knew them. I think I was the only new customer). They all were very nice n welcoming. I would highly recommend this place.

Kim is the best at solar nails — she makes them look natural. She never hurts you like some places do. They also have the most amazing pedicures with hot stones. I love that they prefer appointments which I wish most places did. The prices are standard as most nail salons.

Designer Nails is now the only place I’ll go to get my nails done because they’re consistently better and better priced than other places I’ve been. I’ve had several weddings this spring and they’ve done my nails (solar) for each one. It’s now three weeks since my last appointment and aside from the new nail growing in, these nails still look new! I’ve also brought both of my friends who were brides in to get their nails done just before their weddings and the staff has been really good about treating them specially before their big day!
I have ingrown-​toenail issues quite frequently and I always request Dao because she takes extra time and is very careful not to hurt me while she’s removing it. The other girls I’ve had are also very talented, but some have a hard time understanding me when I ask for something different.