Nail Stop

My wife loves their work. She’s been there four times. Friendly atmosphere, they take there time and know their job. She’s had gel mani/​pedis that last a long time. Great place.

I’ve gone here twice, because of friend’s recommendations, but I’m really not impressed. The first time I went I got a pedicure and my eyebrows waxed. The pedicure was great, but we waited forever, our feet were already soaking so we really couldn’t get up and leave. When the woman went to wax my eyebrows, the wax was way too hot, i had burn marks for a week after. They were uneven and it was extremely painful when she was waxing them. The second time I went I got a gel manicure, and it was good except half way through my manicure the woman got up and started doing someone else’s pedicure… so I had to sit there and wait for someone else to finish my manicure. Looking at everyone’s basket of tools, it was obvious that nothing was clean. She took the tools she had just used on my nails and went and used them for the other pedicure… GROSS.
Go somewhere else.

This place gave me the worst full set of nails I’ve ever had. They were cracked and peeling by the time I got home. The gel part had bubbles in it and was yellowish. The corners of my nails were lifted up and the white part of the nails were put on crooked and not filed properly. The pedicure was crappy as well. Then they overcharged my bf by like $ 30 or so (he didn’t know any better). I wouldn’t go back to this place if you paid me!

Once in a while I feel like I need to be pampered, so I decide I want a mani/​pedi.
I consider the idea, continue to examine my cuticles, then get into the car and start driving. All the nicer spa-​type places are generally way too pricey (nope, I don’t have $ 80 for these services) so I visit one of the many pop up nail shops in one of the various plazas in Amherst. I was at Joann Fabrics so I came here.
They were able to take me right away which was nice. Decent selection of colors but most of them looked pretty old and gloppy. The guy who gave me my pedi was weird, he said I had «hot blood» because my legs were warm and mentioned «cutting the grass» as he was scrubbing my legs. RUDE. Then they decided they were going to double team the nail action and a girl gave me a mani while I was sitting there.
Painting, trimming and shaping nails is not an activity done best when standing. It also meant I was trapped in conversation and could not bury my head in a gossip mag or continuously refresh my twitter feed.
Mani chipped severely after 2 days (I do work with my hands but c’mon, home polishing has done me better) and they got a little snippy on my feet. Probably won’t be back, but the price was reasonable. I’ll give them that.

Went here for a mani/​pedi when I was visiting family in Buffalo. What a major disappointment. Not only do they overbook and take more walk-​ins than they can handle causing them to half-​heartedly rush through the steps but both my manicure and pedicure had to be removed a day later because they were chipping and peeling. Maybe if you’re a regular it’s a different story but I can’t imagine anyone going back for more. They get one star for at least being outwardly clean though if they are as careful about cleaning as they were with my cuticles I wouldn’t trust appearances.

Pedicure 4 stars all the way! So you are probably wondering why only the 3 stars? Great question… Lets continue with the 4 star review… We were in the area of the awesome (note the sarcasm in the typed letters) Niagara Falls Blvd running around and were a bit on the hungry side. So over in the area of the Burlington Coat Factory Plaza is this amazing lil gem. True authentic Vietnamese cuisine. You know, one of those truly ethnic joints where when ya walk in they are thrilled you are there rather than annoyed that they actually have to do their jobs… So anyway, we eat and walk out to this lil nail joint and just can’t pass up the opportunity to get pedi’s. A little on the skeptical side with wether or not the lil fella will enjoy as much as us, we take a chance.
We walk in to an empty shop, which means no wait time, and they accommodate us immediately. We sit down in the massager chairs. The lil fella is sold already. Then they draw up the bath for our feet… lil fella is now in heaven. So we sit getting pampered for a good 30 mins! All the while watching Lord of the Rings on a huge flat screen on the adjacent wall. They wash, scrub, clip, pumice stone, massage, and make our feet beautiful. Great job all the way on the feet. So we finish up and in my haste am trying to hurry the lil fella to get his socks on. Then he looks up at me and says the following: «Mom, I am calm. Don’t rush me.» Who would have thought a simple foot rub would calm a rowdy 7 year old boy. Amazing. We will be back.
So back to the 3 star issue… I got a manicure as well. The only thing I will say: «She done F@%$ed up my nails» So 2 stars for the nail. Hence the average being 3 stars.

The Amazing Date
PART II
If you missed Part I of the amazing date you don’t need Hulu, just find my review for Phở Saigon located right next door to Nail Stop. To sum it up quickly my girlfriend and the halfling (her 7 year old) just had an amazing meal next door at Phở Saigon.
After wandering out of Phở Saigon, with our bellies laden with fine Vietnamese Food, we espied the Asian Nail Salon located next door. As we peered into the glass at the back of the store I saw something which made me giddy with excitement: a slew of messaging pedicure chairs. (Start the Choirs of Angels singing Handel’s Alleluia). Now while my girlfriend and I LOVE pedicures… we were unsure if the little fella was up for it… lets just say he’s now a tried and true pedicurite (pedicuree?).
As we entered the salon our nasal passages were immediately assaulted with the harsh chemical smell of the nail polish remover. Luckily that went away over time. The salon was quite empty so we basically had the whole staff at our disposal, Advantage Joe. The staff (the Family who owns the place) was extremely nice and friendly and did not even balk at giving the little fella a pedicure (they even gave me a discounted price for the little fella because he didn’t really have too much to work with).
So I immediately helped the little fella into his chair and we started the massager… AMAZING! To make things even better the giant flat screen TV on the wall was playing Lord of the Rings Pt 3: Return of the King… could you ask for anything better than orcs getting slaughtered by the dozen while someone is rubbing your feet… you’re right you can not ask for anything better.
As for the pedicure it was not your average Salon 15 minute and your done Pedicure. This Family really has made an art of the Pedicure. They take their time with your feet, cutting, rubbing, lotioning, tickling (I’m ticklish what can I say). It was probably one of the best Pedicures I have ever received, and let me tell you I have received plenty.
However, the real test was the little fella who LOVED IT. Even more exciting it totally calmed him. That is an amazing thing for an extremely active 7 year old. While he had a bit of a problem reaching the water and also became quite ticklish at times he had a ton of fun. That made Mom happy and hence that made me happy.
This evening was totally unplanned and a wonderful way to spend a Saturday night. Nail Stop and Phở Saigon make an excellent one-​two punch and highly recommended as an Amazing WNY Date.