By Shadine Ménard
I decided to try my luck at Avanti Nail & Spa with a walk-in on a Monday during lunch hour. I now wish I hadn’t walked in.
Avanti Nail & Spa . 212.496.6874 . 110 W 86 St.
Services: Manicure, pedicure, body hair removal, facials, body massages.
Vibe/Price Range: Spacious, generic / Affordable
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Upon arrival, I was greeted by a nice receptionist. Unfortunately, she was as unfamiliar with Avanti’s services as I was. When I asked that she recommend which special manicure to get, she could not due to the fact that she admittedly did not know what differentiates one type of manicure from another. She called over a nail technician who explained rather unceremoniously “oh we just add a 10 minute massage to the spa massage. That’s it”. Needless to say, it didn’t sound tempting so I opted for a paraffin manicure instead.
There was only one other client in the place and I was quickly led to dip my hands thrice in paraffin then I followed the technician who was holding my purse to her station. Once she started on my nails, I couldn’t even get her name because my technician started speaking in Korean, very loudly, over my head to the other workers. I guess the family atmosphere mentioned on the website is meant to be that of a loud family.
The actual manicure was worse than the non-stop chatter between the workers. My hands were placed into heat pads that had to be pressed repeatedly onto my hands to transfer the heat because they weren’t “proper “manicure mitts so there was a irregular fit . After less than ten minutes, the paraffin was peeled from my hands. Without asking if I preferred my cuticles pushed back or cut, the Avanti staffer cut the cuticles of four nails while ignoring the others totally. After briefly filing my nails, which she did nicely, it was time to cleanse off the cuticle oil and refresh my hands with the warm towel. Her towel heater had been turned off and so was a second one she checked. She finally got warm towels from a third station. By that point I just wanted to get it over with. Not a sentiment that you associate with what’s meant to be a pampering paraffin manicure. It wasn’t over yet. My nail polish was applied in a messy hurry and I was sent on my way. I was not about to leave with my hands in such a state and had to asked the staffer to clean up the extra polish. She did so with her fingers! As I pointed out the polish excess, she said playfully “your eyes are better than mine!” Not a convincing reason as to why she’d messily apply polish nor send out a customer without cleaning it up.
The only things about that nail experience that I associated with beauty were the beautiful pink polish OPI Dutch Tulip and the pretty flower and lemon accented water that I soaked my hands in. The pictures show exactly what I thought upon leaving the nail salon “my new manicure looked like a lumpy, old one”.
So, if you are looking for a peaceful or even fun nail experience that leaves your hands looking like a million bucks, take the train past Avanti onto the next beautiful salon.
