Nail Express

I really wanted to like this place. I get my nails done very frequently and just moved to the area. Nail Express is very close to my home so I walked in and thought I’d give it a try. My first impression was good, it has a nice modern feel, I figured it could be a new peaceful place I could go and enjoy getting my nails done.
When I walked in the nail techs were in the back eating, a young girl sweeping.
Anyway, I got a dirty look from the nail techs as if they did not want to be bothered. (sorry!) No greeting. …just «pick your color» from the girl sweeping.
the nail techs shut the door, and the girl sweeping told me to sit and did my pedicure, not friendly at all, once again «felt bothered» she kept dropping the foot rest into the foot bath and splashing water, trying to have some relaxation she kept grabbing my feet very unprofessionally and It was anything but pleasant.
THEN, on to my «fill in», they finally came out from the back, STILL NO GREETING, just talking amongst each other, rudely, I was sat down at a station that had stuff all over it, waiting for someone to come over.
(There is no excuse for this, if you’re not ready and have a mess, DONT BE OPEN)
the nail tech looked at my nails and told me I couldn’t have a fill in because my nails were too «broken» that I «needed a new set»…well, never heard that but ok.
EVERYWHERE I have gone in the past regardless of the condition of my nails they have always been able to go over my acrylic nails, fix them, and fill them in.
I said that to her and she disagreed, so she removed my nails one by one with the help the other nail tech. They filed and drilled away, glued on new nails, BOTH OF THEM…2 nails techs applied my nails and filed them, I now notice how CROOKED they are because of this :(even the lengths are messed up.
They both haggled me into getting a pricey gel put on instead of my acrylic which I use and is what I wanted, I never get the GEL, it burns and I don’t like keeping my hands in the LED lite. Anyway, they would not take NO for an answer and tried to give me some type of bargain saying because they «took my nails off» and would give me a «high School special», What the hell is that?
I was getting very frustrated by this point.
Too late to walk out now. …So, the best part is going to check out and getting charged $ 75!
$ 20, for that poor excuse of a pedicure that I couldn’t enjoy.
and then $ 55 for something I didn’t want in the first place and something that was done poorly.
Trust me I do NOT mind paying for good quality nails to be done.
I do mind paying for quality services and not getting any!
So, SADLY I will not be returning to Nail Express.
I’m sure there are plenty others on Kearny Avenue that can get the Job Done Right.

Amy is very patient and delicate with doing gel nails. Every time I go I feel like she gives me her undivided attention and is very attentive to detail. The older Korean lady also gives amazing pedicures (her massages especially). They’re always consistent and my nails always last 3 weeks or longer.

I am so impulsive that I’ll settle for any quality of service, really. But I walked into nail express for a mani/​pedi, and actually enjoyed it a lot. I was so pleased. Perhaps it’s because I haven’t had a pedi in like 5 years, who knows. I have to give it the Korean women that work here because they did a great job. They did the hot stone massage on my legs AND they scrubbed off the dead skin on my feet. Overall, it was amazing. Some salons make you pay extra money for callus removal and hot stones. Also. I didn’t have to wait at all. Both my friend and I were sitting together in the pedicure chairs at the same time. I give this place 4 starts only because my nail polish chipped after a few days. But I was super happy with the service overall.

I went back in because I heard it was a new manager and they cleaned up the place… ill give it to them it is a lot better than the first time I went there, however they still have a long way to go. I would not go back there. They still have that hard chemical smell that I can’t stand.

I went there today, I liked the service, good variety of polishes (however not excellent, I’m a big fan of Mood line, they don’t carry it). Reasonable pricing plus if you pay cash 10% on $ 20+ .
I haven’t experienced wait time, just walked in at 2pm and got my mani&pedi done by 3pm.
I liked the stone massage during pedicure and calm atmosphere as well.
I definitely have a tendency to go to nail salons under Asian management. IMHO

Nail Express is now under new management and they do a great job… I have always gone there with no problems… One of the owners now is GINA who use to work there but has now taken it over … The place looks great…

The only 2 positive things about this place: They are open on Sundays, and they are fast.
Take those 2 attributes away and you have a less than stellar nail salon. They do not give your nails the proper attention they deserve. My french manicure looks horrible! How can a salon mess up a french? Never thought i would see the day. The attendant had to re-​do my nail about 3 times before getting it semi decent. So disappointed! They didn’t properly remove all the excess skin on my pedicure and on my mani they removed so much skin that they made me bleed! In my personal opinion, i would rather spend more time at a salon and have a great manicure then speed through it and have it look horrible.
I wouldn’t recommend this salon to my enemies!