Emilia’s Downtown Studio

Like some other unhappy guests for a wax, I went last minute before a trip and couldn’t make it out to Williamsburg for my usual waxer. I had come here for manicures before and had a great experience (hence 2 stars instead of 1) so I thought why not go for a bikini wax. The wax tech did not use gloves, stayed in the room while I changed (not a huge deal but that’s never happened to me), and worst of all double-​dipped and triple-​dipped with the popsicle sticks! Furthermore, she used the same strips of paper twice and to go over stubborn hairs. Bacteria heaven, folks. This was in February. We are now in April and I still have ingrown hairs; one is so bad I’m seeing a dermatologist next week! This is my first Unilocal review and I downloaded Unilocal for this reason. Emilia’s has great manicures and friendly staff but they really need an overhaul on the waxing end of things. It’s unsanitary and an overall unpleasant experience with, in my case, long term consequences.

Had my sons first haircut here, it was nerve wracking and filled with tears but Emilia was quick and the haircut was cute!

Rosa is so Great! Very patient and kind as can be. I go here for waxing and I can’t bring myself to go anywhere else. It is out of the way for me but I keep coming because of Rosa and the price of services.

Excellent manicurist Rosa is my go-​to. Prices are great too! Only thing missing is a little ambiance, maybe some cappucino and bubbly. Otherwise a great value and usually a lovely experience. One caveat: There is one older male hairdresser at the salon who is super loud and kind of rude, who has made me cringe a bit, but I don’t get my hair done at Emilia’s so at least I can tune him out.

I go here for my pedicures and bikini waxes. Maggie is awesome! She’s sweet, efficient, and an overall pleasure. The bikini wax is always pain free and speedy. And the pedicure lasts. Bonus that it’s an affordable spot!

I needed a last minute wax before going on vacation and my usual salon was booked up so I chose this place based on great reviews for Maggie and it being so close to my apartment. Maggie was working that night and while she was a veryyyy sweet and kind person, I’ll never be returning.
It is true– she did not wear gloves the entire wax. I got a Brazilian and she bounces back and forth between body waxing and doing nails. And with no gloves or hand washing? Gross!!!
Moreover– the wax was the worst I’ve ever had in regards to healing. It’s been 3 weeks and I am STILL red and bumpy

I’ve been coming here for years and just now getting around to a review. Emilia has been giving me great short haircuts and I recently started getting highlights done with look fantastic. Also, nobody at the salon pressures you to buy a whole bunch of products or treatments you don’t want. All of the girls are great with mani/​pedis but Maggie is the best because she is gentle and precise. She recently did my shellac manicure for my wedding.

Today I was looking for a place near carrol gardens that I could get a Brazilian to avoid going into the city. I came across Emilia’s on Unilocal and it seemed to have great reviews. So j thought why not?
The staff was friendly, however, the salon was not. They guide me into a back room and I see a two hot wax pots with paper plates around the rim and an array of different Popsicle sticks that have been used sitting on the rim. That should have tipped me off to turn and walk away but I figured I’d give them the benefit of the doubt. The woman didn’t leave the room so I could get undressed, didn’t put on gloves and used the same stick not once, not twice, but for the WHOLE Brazilian. The pot was full and she didn’t even throw it out when she was finished.
And that’s not the worst part. The whole procedure took about 45 min, which usually takes about 15. She kept going over the same spots over and over and over again. I left patchy and sore.
It’s 6+ hours later and it’s still burning and swollen.
DO. NOT. GO. HERE.
the worst Brazilian I’ve ever had. They should be shut down on health standards alone.
That and the fact that they have untrained staff

I have posted before about getting waxed by Maggie, but I just can’t stop commenting on her. I just left from getting waxed and she is simply amazing! There is minimal pain when she gives you a wax (even the Brazilian wax) AND she is delightful to speak with. Maggie is definitely worth 5 stars

I just moved to the neighborhood and was looking for a place to get a gel color manicure. I read reviews on Unilocal and it seemed like there were only two negative reviews so I decided to take a chance.
I walked in and was greeted by two friendly ladies. The salon was clean and welcoming so I felt really comfortable. The gel color selection was great and for $ 25 is a steal! I had a nice chat with the staff and one of the patrons and overall it was a pleasant experience.
I am not sure where the negative reviews came from but they seemed to be posted by people who had very different experiences than me.
This is not the fanciest salon in NYC but a great neighborhood standby!

If you can imagine a friendly neighborhood salon where you can get a great haircut and manicure at a fair price you have just imagined Emelia’s Place. It somehow feels like a a very chummy club where new members are always welcome. Congratulations to Emelia for getting it SO RIGHT!

I’m a local who somehow is always on the lookout for a great manicure and pedicure that won’t cost a fortune and lasts more than a couple of days without chipping — the trick is painting the edge of the nail to seal in the color. I had time to kill before work, was extremely exhausted, and hadn’t had a pedicure in too many months. I pass by Emilia’s every day but have never popped in despite my intentions to. The sign for a mani and pedi for twenty dollars lured me. I was seated at the pedicure chair and my technician approached me wearing a mask. Now, I understand that some technicians ALWAYS wear masks and gloves so it didn’t seem too off to me, however about halfway into the treatment I realized this woman was EXTREMELY SICK AND CONTAGIOUS with a cold. A cold I am now totally debilitated from. She even took the mask off to sneeze six or seven times. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of wearing a mask? I haven’t been exposed to anyone with symptoms like what I have now besides this woman, so yesterday I called the salon to let them know that I am very pregnant and very sick and perhaps if someone is THAT ILL they shouldn’t be at work dealing so intimately with the public. The woman I spoke with, the manager of the nail portion of the salon, told me that the tech had ALLERGIES and, more than once, she told me to «come by and see» for myself that she is fine now. Look, this isn’t my first rodeo. I know what a sick person looks and sounds like and it would have been better to simply apologize and perhaps offer a way to remedy this faux pas than to pass it off as being allergies and then suggesting I, while seven months pregnant and sick as a dog, come by and see how healthy her employee is now. Of course she is fine now, that was six days ago and seeing as viruses take a few days to attack the cells, this perfectly explains why I am sick now and she is totally fine. Plus, with seasonal allergies, they’re SEASONAL. Did her allergies change between now and six days ago? Do most people who have allergies wear masks to work? Talk about adding insult to injury.
There were other issues with this establishment, namely one client in the salon who was very loud, disruptive, and obnoxious, complaining that it was too cold and hollering to «Carmela», a woman I gather is deceased as she was looking to the ceiling while talking to her, saying she should provide Snuggies to the customers. About forty minutes into her regular outbursts she started complaining she was too hot… I admit this was rather entertaining and I did post about it at the time on Facebook.
Her stylist kept asking her to keep it down to no avail. Not his fault, not their fault. ButI will say that it definitely detracted from any semblance of relaxation myself or any of the other patrons might have been privileged to experience and I am glad I wasn’t in for a massage when she was or I would have been pretty upset. I’m Italian and from the neighborhood, I get it that there are characters. I’m sure had I not gotten the response/​excuse I had from the manager I would be telling everyone I know to come here, even with the lottery of clientele. Instead today I am going to be at work sick because I need the money, probably just like the technician who gave this to me. The only difference is I am not touching people and breathing on them for ninety minutes.

Maggie is the best! Had a wonderfully relaxing mani pedi on a cold day. I just walked in w/​out an appointment. Best $ 20 I’ve spent on my vacation in NYC.
Next time I’m here I will be back for sure

This review is only for Maggie who I go to for my bikini wax (i haven’t tried the salon’s other services yet). Maggie is spectacular — knows exactly what she’s doing and will keep you out of pain. She’s also a pleasure to talk to and i feel like i’m catching up with a friend vs. getting a wax while there (distraction at its best). On top of the right waxing experience, it’s extremely affordable.

I always get a fantastic hair cut and when I splurge for a blow out, I am so so happy. The staff is friendly and kind. It’s a nice experience.

I come here for manicures, pedicures, and eyebrows. They do a great job and it’s the best deal in town. I don’t use it for haircuts, but a lot of older women from the neighborhood do. This is a no-​frills, friendly place.

I was in desperate, desperate need of a pedicure. It was about 30 minutes before closing time. Emilia’s was close and had decent Unilocal reviews. I’m glad that I went because I needed the pedi, but I won’t be back.
I don’t need fancy, but I do need clean. The towels looked dirty. The tools used did not look like they had been cleaned in between uses — the tech had them in the same box as the woman previous to me. (This was even more troubling as they did have the foot-​shaver thing.)
The pedi lasted a few weeks (good) and was cheap, so maybe I got what I paid for… but in this one little indulgence, I want something a little nicer.

Very clean and professional
thank you

Let me start this out by saying another thing I like about this salon is that it’s truly one of the last vestiges of what I’m prone to calling «Real Brooklyn.» You’re more likely to be rubbing elbows with grandmas in for their weekly tease who still call it «The Beauty Parlour» (as my grandmother used to do) than some new, wealthy transplant to the area who has left the kids home with the nanny as she’s getting a pricey Brazillian hair straightening. I’m pretty sure they still do frosting here, too. Was that mousse I saw on the shelves? Aquanet? Let’s just say Tabitha might be taking over any day now, but I hope it’s not before the next big holiday, because *that*‘s the time to book your appointments, people. I was here on the night before Christmas Eve and was thoroughly charmed/​entertained by all the ladies who had to be helped into the chairs to get their holiday ‘do, talking about their great grandchildren. These ladies may be Octogenarians, but that’s no reason to suffer a bad hair day, too.
I’m also updating my review to reveal that the additional star is due to Maggie (The Magnificent). I’ve had her my first time and by chance third time at Emilia’s. On my second visit, I had another tech who was not nearly as good (but still far better than the most recent, expensive but lousy experience I had at my local salon in New Orleans).
I lucked out big time because I couldn’t recall Maggie’s name, but on my most recent visit, the nail gods above were smiling down on me as she greeted me at the door. I almost grabbed her and hugged her but instead, I gave her my feet. She works wonders on them, really, and picked up immediately on my discomfort with the massage, so laid off on the He-​Man strength I find most nail techs to have (what do they do, hand crunches?) And my shellac manicure? She told me that she is a perfectionist and she ain’t lyin’. The last tech had gotten a touch of the polish on my cuticle which will mean that you’re liable to chip off the entire coat of polish after leaving the salon. A pricey mistake.
Oh and I think Maggie is perceptive about her clients’ tastes & style because she suggested a sparkle top coat and now my nails are all twinkling and gorgeous and will last for about 3 weeks.
Henceforth I will only entrust Maggie The Magnificent to mine hands and feet and just do my own upkeep in between visits back to Brooklyn.

Have you ever had a lady, on a cell phone, speaking very loudly to her Ecuadorean family most of the time, pour hot wax very close to your eyes and… then…ripitoffrealfast?!
Well, I did today.
Then I paid her $ 6. PLUS, $ 2 tip because I always feel like tipping one dollar bill is really chintzy. Even if she was on her phone the whole time sounding «loco.»
And, my eyebrows look pretty darn good save for a few strays I needed to tweeze myself when I got home. It’s not the fanciest place (obviously), but it’s not the worst place I’ve seen either. Works in a pinch.