Nail Care by Kristy

Best french manicure with gel ever, it looks natural not that french manicure white that stands out! I was so excited when i saw the result, I ve been to so many salons and the result was always the same so i was not expecting that kind of look. I only see that in magazines and i always tough it was an airbrush work! I was amazed and excited! You can tell that kisty is a real professional, uses top of the line equipments, and her care and service is unbeatable. Everything about Kristy is 5 stars+.

I love Kristy and Jenny! They do such an amazing job they are so meticulous and always do a phenomenal job! The bio kelp gel is wonderful, my manicure last for weeks… Yes that’s right I said WEEKS! :) I am nurse and am constantly washing my hands and it still lasts. It’s hard to get an appointment, so book in advance, her studio suite is awesome too very relaxing feel. Love this place I highly recommend it.

Kristy is wonderful and her salon is so unique. At first, I was confused why I was in an office building for a nail appointment, but after I saw the care and personal attention she gives to all of her clients it doesn’t matter. I travel to SD for work about once a week and each time I come into town she is flexible and accommodating to my needs. My nails look awesome and they last as long as any other gel manicure I have gotten. Love her!

I was so surprised when I pulled up to the address and there was no signage or typical store front. Kristi is located inside of an old office space next door to Bully’s restaurant. Her space is small, but immaculate. I’ve never been to a salon like this where it’s more of a private appointment. She has an updated use of space with dark laminate hardwood floors, with grey and red accents. She has about four or five pedicure chairs, but unlike the mechanical chairs you may be use to. She has all updated and clean polish selections, mostly from OPI. Kristi’s assistant Tracy did a great job on my gel manicure, pedicure and eyebrow wax. ($ 105 including gratuity) Kristi was extremely accommodating, professional and friendly. I highly recommend her, but caution you that it’s a different atmosphere… which you may love! My only critique was the lack of space without any real natural light in the small 10×10 space without many windows, but the professionalism and quality was wonderful, just not my preference for aesthetic and salon environment.

Today was my very first time as a client of Kristy. All I have to say is aaaaaamazing! She is so sweet and the atmosphere that she has created is very calming and relaxing. I loved getting a pedicure with a glass of wine. She gave the best foot massage and she said she even makes her own organic foot scrub! What is not to love about this place. If you love pedicures/​manicures please check Kristy out she is very talented at what she does.

When I moved to San Diego 6 months ago, I wanted to find a nail salon that was good and CLEAN. I searched on Unilocal and found Kristy — I am so thankful! Kristy is extremely thorough and does a wonderful job in my feet. She does not have the whirlpool tubs that some places have, but that is where you can get infected with a nasty stuff that takes a lot of time and effort to remove from your nails — if you have ever had it, you know what I mean. She does use a foot bath tub with slices of citrus — very nice touch! I tried another salon in the area, but I will not make that mistake again! Kristy is awesome — you won’t be disappointed if you are looking for a great pedicure! Thanks Kristy!

Very enjoyable experience! Kristy accommodated a same-​day appointment, within only a few hours of my phone call; I was visiting the area from out-​of-​state. It was a wonderful treat! Elegant, comfortable, and relaxing ambiance. Great color selection. Kristy was wonderful to talk to – very friendly, sociable, personable, and professional. Hard worker!

After reading all the reviews about this place, I had very high expectations.
I am very particular about my nails, and will shop around for the absolute best nail tech. I am new in town, so this was my first stop.
Scheduling
I called and Kristy answered. I am terrible about making appointments, so I asked if she could see me now. She had a client but could accommodate me in a few hours, which was ok with me. I followed the map to her place; you would never know there was a nail salon there if you were casually driving by. It’s in a white building, no sign outside (that I could see) or anything. You go in the building, which looks more like a small apartment community, and then you find her shop.
Ambiance
This is a very, very small nail shop. She has 3 pedicure chairs and 2 manicure stations. The pedi chairs are basically red comfy chairs, and they pull up a big bowl to do your pedicure in. Do not expect the chair with the massage and the bubbly tub for your feet. I didn’t mind this at all, never been a fan of the chair massage to begin with. I did miss the bubbles just a little bit though. The place is very clean, the background music was soothing, and the ladies were very, very nice both of them.
Service
So, Kristy has hired a new girl, I believe her name is Tracy and this was her first day working here. Seemingly only them two work here, so this isn’t the place where you can have your mani and your pedi both at the same time because there just aren’t enough hands available. You will spend 2 hours here easily, one for each service. Tracy started with my pedicure. The water was nice and warm, with lemon slices in there. When she got to the part where they trim the skin around the toenail, I felt like she was just a little rough, like she was pulling it off rather than clipping it. She used this coconut oil scrub for my legs, which made them feel so nice and smooth! I could definitely tell the difference afterwards. She scrubbed my feet and did the nail polish, and we were done. She did not help me to put my shoes back on, but asked me to walk across to the manicure table barefoot.
We moved on to the table for the shellac mani. Now, this whole time that she was doing the pedi, I had my fingers wrapped in the foil to remove my old shellac color. That was an hour with acetone on my finger tips. When she removed the foil, she still had a little bit of a hard time scrapping it off. I believe this was because she did not file away the top coat of my old shellac before she applied the acetone with the foil. I’ve never had anyone skip this step before, and the color usually comes right off after 10 – 15 mins of acetone. Anyway, she did the cuticle trimming and nail filing and proceeded to apply the new color. She did the thing where she puts on the shellac and then goes over the edges with an acetone-​dipped brush to make sure there is no drip. She did a light arm and hand massage, and we were done. I put my sandals back on with no help, as I assumed after an hour my pedicure would be dry.
Tracy mentioned to everyone that she does facials, and if I would like to have one. She is offering an introductory special and was persistent that I schedule one. I am glad that she mentioned this because it reminds me I am due for a facial, but I did not like the way that she was pushy about it. She even tried to give me a bunch of business cards for me to give to my friends and fam.
The aftermath
Today is only day 2, and my pedicure is completely smeared off. I think she applied the color too thick to where no matter how long you wait, it will never dry. Even now when I touch it, it still feels kinda soft and I can easily pick at it if I tried. My shellac manicure is holding up ok, but I must say that even though she did go over the edges, there were still some overhangs on several nails. I don’t like this because I tend to pick at it to remove it, and end up peeling some of the shellac off. Also, when you have the extra material hanging out like that it traps moisture and the edges lift up. It takes practice and skill to be able to properly apply shellac, it’s not like regular nail polish.
Pros:
–Nice atmosphere,
–Disposable materials
–Clean location
–Personal care (i.e. not run like a factory)
–Wine offered
–Very wide selection of shellac colors.
Cons:
–No walk-​ins, appointment only
–Answers phone while doing your nails, and it rings a lot!
–No option to upgrade pedicure (no foot massage, no hot stones, no paraffin wax treatment)
–Service was lacking
–Pushy about facial
–Time consuming — 2 hours is too long!
–Pricey! It was $ 75 for just pedi/​shellac mani. I don’t mind spending the money if the service is worth it. I’ve had better service for less.
Conclusion
I don’t think I’ll be returning. Maybe my experience would have been different if I had seen Kristy.

I chose Nail Care by Kristy based on its high ratings — and this is one case in which I’m glad I trusted Unilocal.
It was easy to set up an appointment through text — Kristy responded within half an hour even though I did not text her during her shop’s hours. Kristy was kind and professional. She did not rush through my pedicure and took her time to get my nails perfect.
I loved my spa pedicure and feel it was well worth the price. I plan to return with my husband next month!

Beautiful salon, excellent service! Kristy is so kind and does an amazing job on my nails!

Kristy wa very kind. I am super duper picky when it comes to my pedicures. Kristy makes her own scrub with coconut oil and sugar which is lovely. I like to have my feet scrubbed a little bit more as the next day my big toes felt rough still. Can’t be touching my man with those! Kristy carries OPI and does shellac mani/​pedis. No acrylics sorry for those still stuck in the nineties!

hands down… best place to go for your nails.

I decided to use this nail salon for my bridal party the morning of my wedding. Prior to booking the venue and making the appointments I went to the salon a number of times to ensure the salon provided consistent quality services. After talking with the owner, I was given a discount for the amount of business I planned on bringing that morning. All of the girl’s nails were done well within the allocated time. Each girl was able to choose a design that suited her, and everyone was thrilled with the results. This salon really helped to make my special day all that more special.

I just love Kristy! She personable, kind, and above all DOES THE BEST MANI/​PEDI. My gel nails always stay on for three weeks. I can’t recommend her enough. I’ve been coming to her for two years and won’t let anyone else do my nails. Her quality is superior.

Since my last update my pedicure lasted at least a little over a month! She is well worth it!

I’ve been to Kristy quite a few times now and I always leave happy. Sometimes I would find myself admiring my nails when I sit in meetings. The gel stays on for at least two weeks even if I don’t take the extra care to not ruin it.
I was not able to get an appointment with Kristy last week and ended up going to a different place that has 4.5 star Unilocal review. The technician did a decent job there but I didn’t love it. I came back to Kristy this week and again I have new-​found appreciation for what she does. She’s so meticulous about not just putting on the nail polish, but the prep work on your cuticles and everything else. My nails not only look fantastic, they also feel wonderful (the cuticle area is SO smooth!). It’s such a huge difference from what I experienced at other nail salon.
As long as Kristy is in business, I won’t visit other nail salon again.

Just called to try and set up appointment — apparently Kristy doesn’t do acrylic nails… The search continues. I gave more than 1 star because she was very nice on the phone and I am sure she gives great regular mani/pedi’s but unfortunately not offering acrylic is not helpful to me and enough people get them done that she will lose business over it. All the best to you…

Kristy is the best with manis and pedis. I love the fact that she keeps her stuff clean so you don’t have to worry about getting some weird infection. My manis last so long too — she uses good quality polish, and does good gel manicures too. Kristy is also a real sweetheart, and a joy to see.

I am very picky when it comes to pedicures, but Kristy lives up to every expectation I had after reading the reviews. What I love about her is that she is very meticulous and detail oriented. I had Japanese gel polish on my toenails (harder to remove than the American gel), and she removed them without any trouble. In the 12+ years I’ve been getting pedicures there have only been two ladies whose work I’ve really liked. Now, I can add Kristy to that list. Her prices are more than what I’m used to paying, but because she does great work and your appointment is a private one, I think it’s worth the splurge. On top of that, she’s really personable and easy to talk to.

Another 5 star review for her.
I didn’t know what to expect, but based on the Unilocal reviews I am so glad I checked her out. Everyone is right, she is extremely detail oriented. My nails look the best they have ever looked.
I also appreciated her professionalism and welcoming attitude on my first visit.
This is not a typical nail salon. So, if you are looking for a «girls day out» this is not the place for you. But, if you are looking for top quality nail service then go to her.
I will be using her from now own.
Cash only — appointments only — next to Bully’s East on Texas Street.