EvelineCharles Academy

My sister and I have attended this school last year and we are going back again this January. I think their part time programs are great! They have plenty of schedules and days to choose from which worked great with our jobs. The first class I took was their makeup program and I learned so much. The instructors were great and the lady who toured me around and took care of my paperwork was super helpful! The program was affordable and that’s why we are taking the gel nail course next month. The prices for the services are awesome too! I’ve gotten my hair colored and touched up here. We have also done the mani/​pedi. Parking can be costly if you are driving in since it is at the City Center mall, but we’ve always taken the LRT since it goes right to the mall. If you are looking for cheap but quality services, this is the place to go! We’ve referred our friends and family here too. Oh, and the students are warm and friendly too.

The fundamental education is structured and the instructors are great people very willing to help students reach their potential. Their administrative department has some work to do however. I wish the company and its people all the best.

I have come here multiple times over the years, for manicures and pedicures. They offer a lot of other services, but I have never tried them.
Tanya is correct in saying that the pictures really don’t paint an accurate picture of what you’ll experience. I think that they are probably the corporate promotional pictures that were taken when the salon was in it’s early days. We definitely need more reviewer pics of this place. Sadly, I don’t have any, but I’ll try to work on that.
I think this review will be easiest in a pro/​con list. Keep in mind that this is only for mani/​pedi services.
Pros:
— $ 50 for a Mani/​Pedi. Great price.
— I have never had any problems with quality.
— All of the students that I have had or interacted with were very friendly and never made me feel uncomfortable with awkward chit chat.
— I don’t know if they still do it, but they used to often have a promotion where if you bought one $ 50 gift card, you got a second one for free.
— Instructors check in quite often to make sure you’re happy. My friend has really bad ingrown toenails and an instructor always stops in to show the student how to take care of them properly.
Cons:
— Making an appointment can be a nightmare. I haven’t been able to get in in almost a year because every time I call, they do not have students ready to perform services yet and they can’t tell you when they will be ready (because they don’t know).
— Be prepared to be there for 3 — 4 hours
— STOP TRYING TO SELL ME STUFF! They get pretty aggressive with their product recommendations.
— Don’t expect the relaxing pedicure experience that you would get in a spa. This isn’t the place for that. They will offer you a beverage, but their pedicure chairs are actually just long benches that stretch the length of the room and you have to climb up to get to your seat.
Overall, if I can ever get an appointment again, I will continue to go. But I suspect that their admission rates have decreased significantly because they never seem to have people on the floor ready for clients.

The prices are great but the time commitment and cost of down town parking (average $ 15-​$ 20/​parkade) and lack of it are a definite downside. I have been here a number of times for cut, colour, mani, pedi, and wax. For the most part I believe I received good value for money. It has a very nice, bright modern décor. You feel as if you are in a high class salon. If you are having your hair coloured — make absolute sure you know what you want and communicate that before going. If you are ok with spending between 3 – 5 hours for one service (hair cut or colour). No problem. It is unlikely that they can ever give a colour and a cut in the same appointment — which is a shame. They say it would take too long. I have tried their skin care line and hair care products. Despite the claims of being miraculous — really I find them to be really expensive ($ 25 conditioner, $ 30 for a root booster etc.) and hyped and no better than anything else out there. I will not buy them again. Despite a few goofs ie, one time they lost my appointment, another my skin was burned above an eye brow wax application, the students and instructors do try hard. I will probably keep coming as I have yet to find a place with affordable prices.

I definitely wouldn’t suggest it; while they are students, I booked an appointment and wasn’t told it would be their first day on the floor. I wanted a fairly simple cut, but the stylist I was assigned was literally shaking while she cut my hair. I could feel it through her hands; she constantly needed to get help, and it took over an hour to cut my hair short to all once length, making me late for work!
It would have been okay, if I had been warned previously that it would be their first day cutting real hair. Instead, it was a surprise and I was in tears the whole time from how nervous she made me. The cut was pretty average, nothing like what I wanted, and I watched as they chopped off six inches of my friend’s hair when she only wanted a trim.
I really, really wouldn’t suggest it.

Prices here are affordable and I was pleased with the job the students did on my manicure and pedicure both times that I was there. They have an excellent variety of color choices! Both the manicure and pedicure also stood the test of time and didn’t noticeably chip for almost two weeks.
The students are pleasant to talk too the instructors and counter staff seem a bit pushy however in terms of trying to sell you product on your way out and you can tell there is a whole scripted spiel they push on the students to drive up sales. The lady who looked after me during my second visit seemed a little bit embarrassed by it all. Overall though it is a good experience and for the low cost they easily exceed the expectations.

The prices are low, but I feel so is the quality. You are dealing with students, not professionals. So if you are going for a manicure or pedicure it might be fine but the facial I had was so-​so. The venue is very open and it’s great for large groups. My boyfriend paid for my best friend, sister, cousin and I to come get manicures and pedicures here for my 21^st birthday and we had a lot of fun. I’m not sure I like the teachers always walking around and talking to the students while they are with clients but I guess thats just the nature of the beast. If you are lusting over a visit to the spa and you are on a budget, this is the place to go.

I have now been to both the EvelineCharles Academy and Aveda and now feel more comfortable reviewing this place especially if you are debating between the two academy’s.
1. Venue: Now the venue for EvelineCharles is very much like a school. There are a multitude of chairs for students while aveda is smaller and feels more like a real salon with a professional ambiance. A clear example of this is that both salons offer you tea or coffee. At aveda they are served in cups… in EvelineCharles they are served in Styrofoam.
2. Quality of Work: Now I cannot judge here because at Aveda I was with a graduate who has been working for 3 years but at EvelineCharles I was with a student of only 11 months so I will only focus on what I thought about the work at EvelineCharles.
I had highlights done and I have never had highlights done before so I had virgin hair. I have to say I got exactly what I asked for! She had to get her teachers approval on what she was doing (which I didn’t experience at Aveda since she was a graduate) but I felt very comfortable with this. Since I knew the teacher was there every step of the way, I knew that it wasn’t likely something would go wrong. She recommend that I would get partial highlights which cost me only $ 35! I was thrilled by this price which is not much more than a box but you get professional quality products so even if you felt like you could colour your hair yourself for a little less, think of the quality!
I have had the highlights for about 2 weeks now and am very satisfied and would definitely go back to get my roots retouched!
Overall, I am very happy. Personally, I would go to Aveda to get my hair cut and to get my hair coloured at EvelineCharles because EvelineCharles is definitely CHEAPER than Aveda.
OH I almost forgot! One important thing was when I went to EvelineCharles I had to sign a waiver which I did not have to sign at Aveda but it could have been because I wasn’t with a student, I am not sure.

I have gotten my hair cut here a few times, during those lean livin’ student years. And they do a fantastic job. In fact I’ve never had a bad cut from any of the students here.
The price is unbeatable. The students are very precise as they are just learning and are eager to please. The instructors check in every now and again too; which is really nice. A cut does take a little longer here then in a «normal» salon, but I’ve found that this is because the students just wanna get it right. which I really appreciate!

I recently went back to Eveline Charles Academy to get my hair colored again… actually it was probably about a month ago now or two. Boy do I procrastinate! Anyways, the hair stylist who looked after me was pretty good; she went to the instructor to double check our game plan to dye my multicolored hair. My hair had patches of different colors in it (brown and dark brown) so they really wanted to make sure they chose the right color that would even out my hair. Well I am happy to say I am no longer patchy. My hair color is pretty even and I think I’ve found my one place to go to when I need my hair dyed. It’s not as expensive as you think! I paid about $ 45 and what included an extra special thing that I can’t remember, but it helps the color stay longer and helps with your hair (less damage?). Anyways, don’t be afraid to try out the Academy if you want a new look for the summer. I can’t wait to go back! Oh, and they do more then just hair jobs; you can get your nails done or your make up done too.