Lilly’s Nails

Sweet girls, and excellent pedis. I’ve had a different girl each time, and they’ve all been great. The price is a little higher than I would normally pay, but it IS Folsom. The atmosphere is clean, the smell is not strong (and I have pregnant nose right now), and I’ve never had to wait more than a minute or two to sit down. The massage chairs are comfy and work well. 10 chairs, so you could come with girlfriends no problem. All in all, no complaints!

Its been 2 days since ive been in the shop. My gel polish is still staying on but still hard to say. I got a pedicure and when my toes were finished drying it looked like i painted them from home. Mind you the regular pedicure is $ 25 and it only took her 20 mins. Another thing is they use gloves while doing feet which is fine but dont massage my legs after using the same gloves you took my dead skin off with. This shop is in a good neighborhood where it should be much more upscale. Wish i could say i loved it!

Every time I walk into Lilly’s nails, the place is busy. I love the service I get there and the technicians are so sweet. One in particular is my favorite, Amy. She always does an excellent job on my nails in a timely fashion. I would highly recommend this shop to others. Great service, great atmosphere!

I discovered Amy about four years ago at another salon in Folsom and followed her when she moved recently to Lilly’s Nails on E. Bidwell. She does exceptional work, and I’m always very happy with my mani/​pedi. She has a very up-​tempo and engaging personality too, and fits in well with the other nail artists at Lilly’s. The salon has a great atmosphere and is beautifully appointed and extremely clean. I’d recommend Lilly’s Nails and Amy to anyone.

I’ve been coming to Lilly’s on and off for about 8 years now and have always received excellent service. I can have a six month gap and Lilly will always remember my name and greet me with a smile when I walk in. Their pricing is fair. It’s not the most fancy shop I’ve been in but the quality of service is much better than the others that charge an arm and a leg. They got new chairs 8 months ago and are much more comfortable. I LOVE how long they massage your legs and feet during the pedicure (including basic!) Tiffany is the woman that usually works on me and is sweet and does a great job!

I like this place. I like things that work, with no big hoops when I’m out running errands. The price is right and the work is good.
I went to Lily’s till I moved away from Folsom, and most of the time, the girls have done a good job. The staff does this all day long, and I expect they teach each other and exchange ideas; I have learned from others later that so many manicurist schools only prep students to pass the state board exam (hygiene); no one is taught how to do the job the way a hair dresser would be.
Anyway, doing something all day long means that every experienced girl in there knows what she is doing and every new girl is in better hands than a manicurist starting up on her own.
And here is the funny part: I don’t care if my manicurist does not speak English very well. The ones I’ve had work on my hands and feet spoke enough to know what I wanted, and when I am zoning out between work, groceries, and studies, I really do not want to carry on polite conversation anyway. I can’t work up a self righteous sweat because I don’t understand what she is saying to her neighbor either. On my side, I pop in my music, smile and relax.
Now for the work they do: I have had pedicures, manicures, regular polish and gel nails (the real kind, they don’t try to sell shellac as gel). Since I have moved, I have tried to find a place that does the work as extensively as Lilly’s. There are no frills or wraps in bags, however nice that may be, but down here south, it seems to be an enigmatic treasure hunt to find a place that will clean under my nails when I get a mani/​pedi. It is an incomplete feeling to walk out with the prettiest nails, top and bottom, while knowing that I have dirt underneath that was left alone. Lilly’s also give the hand, arm, and leg massage, and I know the length and quality depends on who your manicurist is. The trick is to find one you like (all start at a decent level) and tip her accordingly, just like you would with any other service.
I read in one review that you are asked to pay up front. Isn’t that a relief? I have never had to ask for my money back because of bad work, so I’m not too worried about that. I am, however, always freakishly worried that my polish isn’t dry, and I know that my purse is almost impossible to get into without using my nails in ways I don’t have to when driving home — I like to have all that done with so I can get up and walk out when I’m done. Oh, and the time I did mess up my newly flower painted big toe while getting a mani, they took me right back and redid it from scratch.
If you prefer an up close and personal relationship with your manicurist, you might prefer a salon with just one manicurist attached. When I went (I moved in Dec ’11), a pedi was $ 25, add $ 3 for a flower. It would last me about a month. Every staff has treated me politely, and I only walked out dissatisfied once (my mani did not last as long as I wanted) out of countless visits.

I went in to Lilly’s Nails because I wanted to get a pedicure for a black tie Christmas party that I was supposed to attend the next day. Upon walking in, the first experience I had was extreme discomfort because I must have stood there for a good three or four minutes before any of the technicians looked at me or talked to me. But all the ladies having their nails done had nothing else to do but stare at this awkward person standing there looking around wondering what to do (there is no designated waiting area, you walk straight in to the middle of all the action). Finally someone came up to me, and I said I wanted a pedicure, so she sat me in the chair and walked off. It was a good twenty minutes sitting there before anyone actually came over to me. Thus began the biggest waste of two hours of my life. I can’t believe how long it took in there! And it is really a bummer (to me) when the technicians don’t want to talk to you. How awkward is it when you are sitting there and someone is working on your hands or feet and they don’t say a word to you or look you in the eye.
The pedicure came out pretty nice, but again, it took about five times their estimation of «five minutes» to dry because they put on about five hundred coats. Then, my friend who came with me insisted that I have my botched manicure (from another salon) fixed at this place, so there we went again. Once more, it took about five times their estimated «five minutes» for the polish to dry and I messed it up on the way out and had to go back in. *sigh*
The owner was rather obnoxious, and she kept coming over and talking to us about the pricing. My friend wanted a deal because we had done two manicures and a pedicure and she likes to barter. That’s all well and good, but I wish the owner would have set her price and walked off, but she kept going on and on and on and on about how much her rent is, and blah blah blah blah. Blah.
And yes, they are a cash only outfit. But, they have an ATM machine on site, isn’t that great? (read sarcasm)
I don’t think I can ever set foot in there again now. Not that I would want to.

This was the first time that I considered walking out of a salon before the service was finished. Obviously the place is popular with the locals — there were more than 10 people receiving pedicures while I was there. But this was the worst manicure and customer service that I’ve seen in the Sacramento area.
When I walked into the nail salon, the owner (?) told me to pick out a nail polish color. While waiting for a technician, I noticed that two girls were helped before me. And I know that at least one of them didn’t have an appointment. I was about to leave, when a technician led me to a station.
The technician soaked my nails in plain water. She started to cut off my cuticles — which I asked her to stop. Then she started filing my nails very quickly in a back-​and-​forth motion with the emory board (rather than in one direction). It really hurt!
She looked at the nail polish that I chose, then declared that the color didn’t match my skin tone. I had picked a bright red. She demanded that I find another color.
Then she massaged lotion onto my hands. I was just about to feel relaxed again when she asked me to go wash my hands. I didn’t know what she was talking about until she pointed to a sink at the back of the salon.
I returned to the station. She proceeded to rub my nails with a liquid marked as «alcohol». She stopped again and asked me to pay for the manicure. Then I discovered that the salon only accepts cash — no checks or credit cards. Luckily I had just enough cash, $ 12. (*Edit: I later discovered that asking the customer to pay at the beginning of the service seems to be a common practice in Folsom.)
Next the technician painted my nails. At least that part went smoothly. She turned on a little fan to dry my nails. She told me to wait there for two minutes.
Less than a minute later, she told me my nails were dry. Apparently she wanted to start the next customer. There was no where else to sit, so I left. On the drive home, my thumbnail bumped against the steering wheel and the polish chipped.