Karen Nails

Best nail place in all of downtown! Ive been coming here for 8 years and will never go anywhere else. In a jam for time, I’ve tried other places that had 5 stars and they were terrible compared to Karen’s. Very clean, all very nice and professional staff! Best nail salon by far! She has a new location as well at 1015 N Clark St in River North that is beautiful!!!

I have been a client at Karen Nails for three years. I normally have great service there, but when I was there this past Saturday (2÷27÷16) the older man doing my nails was so rude and aggressive I was uncomfortable and I will not be going back. He rushed through my pedicure, made a dirty face at me when I asked him to make the cold water warmer, and when I told him that he was hurting me and politely asked him to use less pressure on my foot, he scowled at me and made a disgusted face. When he was doing my manicure I asked him three times to push my cuticles back and not cut them, and he did not listen to my request at all. Usually I have great service at Karen however, I am disappointed with my services from Saturday and will not be going back. It really left me with a bad taste. I was with friends and they noticed the poor customer service and will not be going back either.

Very baseline mani/​pedi standards, nothing special service-​wise, if anything — a little overpriced.

standard nail place, I stopped in after work for a no ship mani and regular pedi as my usual place was a 15 minute walk away and it was raining. reasonable prices and very friendly staff. Mia dd my nails and she listened to what I wanted and delivered!
everyone else there seemed to be a regular
i did not have cash to tip and they were so understanding, of course i returned with a tip the next day!

My favorite nail place! I have tried a lot of nail salons and keep going back to Karen. There no chip manicures last me forever and are always done with such care. Not only do your nails look great and stay great but the prices are wonderful!

This is my new favorite place! A hidden gem across from Jake’s downtown and right around the corner from work. They were able to get me in on a whim on a Tuesday morning.
Not too much of atmosphere, but that is fine by me for the work they do. I was seated 5 mins before my scheduled appointment time and my technician got to work while I watched Windy City Live on their t.v.
Good selection of colors from Essie and OPI. I don’t know what magic they put in there but this manicure outlasted any other recent manicure I have received. I left for New Jersey on Thursday night and spent Friday and Saturday at the beach in the sand and the ocean water. I came home and still had the color on my nails with no chips (and for the record again i did not get a NO CHIP mani– just regular ‘ol OPI polish — Tiramisu for 2!). I still had color on until the following Thursday when my nails started to chip — and only $ 15!
I will be back to Karen’s nails!

This is a nice place to get your nails done. Had a pedi and looked very nice and has reasonable prices. I would come again.

Needed an appointment for a last minute mani pedi morning before a friend’s wedding since I didn’t have time before I left nyc to visit chicago. Called Karen’s nails and they were super accommodating. Pretty decent color selection and pretty spacious. I had Bao who really did a great job and had great attention to detail. Mani pedi was pretty perfect. Highly recommend!

I went for a pedicure and gel fill, and this was my first time at this salon
There are fairly limited colors, unless you are getting a regular gel manicure. The pedicure was really quick but thought they did a decent job. The color is still in tact 1 week after the service
I have to say, I am disappointed with my fill. They didn’t even last a week before the clear top coat started to peel off. I am now noticing it is happening on my other nails. Usually I can have a service last longer than 1 week. However, my nails are nicely shaped and a good length. I think there needed to be more color options. I’m taking off points because my service didn’t last. If I’m paying for it, I’d like it to last.
Overall, I may try this place again. However, I will not be rushing back

My friends and I used to love this place and were regulars every few weeks. The service over the last year, however, has gotten terrible. I gave it another try over this past weekend and vow to never step foot in the place again — my technician cut my nails down to the point where they hurt, proceeded to put polish all over my cuticles and then rolled his eyes at me when I suggested he apply another coat because the polish was streaking. It was so bad that I had him remove all of the polish (which was the weekly polish and a $ 5 upgrade) and just apply a clear coat. Despite this, I paid full price and even left the technician a tip. To top it all off, as I was leaving, the technician chased after me, grabbed my purse and then proceeded to throw my tip back at me. Unacceptable. There are a million other nail salons in the city — don’t go to this one.

Found this place after moving just around the corner from it. I went here almost 3 weeks ago now and my pedicure still looks brand new. The woman who did my pedi took her time and made sure my toes were perfect. I was a walk-​in, around lunch time during the week, and waited maybe 10 – 12 minutes, but I was able to wait while soaking my toes and kicking back in the massage chair, which was nice. I thought it was well worth the $ 25. I’ll definitely be returning for my next pedicure.

Best and most reasonable no-​chip mani and pedi in town.

Karen Nails is the best nail salon I’ve been to in the River North area. Surrounding this particular nail salon are several others and Karen Nails does the best job. Recently I went and Karen gave me a fantastic manicure. I was just going to go with a pink for valentines day but she upgraded me for free with some cool bling! I love it and will be a forever customer!

I’m so frustrated with this shop. I came here twice now since its 3 minutes from my job. Each time was pitiful. The first was for a simple manicure. It was rushed and the tech barely said a word to me when she wasn’t talking to her colleagues. The second time was for an acrylic set which is advertised as 30 but i was charged 40 (I was rushing so u just paid so I could leave). I’ve never had an acrylic set but I knew something wasn’t right. The nails are grossly thick. The polish was wasn’t smooth either. My nail beds weren’t touched either. Honestly this place is a joke and service is poor. DONT GO HERE!

This is my favorite nail salon in IL. I travel 45 mins just to get a mani and a pedi because i feel the most comfortable here. All the times ive gone here they’ve done a great job and are so nice.

I’ve been to Karens’s twice now and I must say that I’ve officially found my neighborhood nail place. If you’re looking for a ritzy place don’t come here. I’ve walked in each time and waited no more than a few minutes. They have a great color selection and do a fantastic job! I didn’t feel hustled to leave when my nails were drying. The clientele is really friendly. Some people socialize and others keep to themselves. Overall great atmosphere. I’ll be back sooner than later!

This used to be my go-​to nail salon, as it’s right around the corner from my work. However the last few times have been so disappointing that it’s time to look for somewhere new.
I think with most of these nail places, the experience varies with who you get performing the service, so I try not to judge too harshly on one visit or another. Karen’s used to be great, no matter who you got, but the standards have really slipped which is why I’m taking my business elsewhere.
The last 2 pedicures were done so sloppily, I might as well have done them myself with my arm in a sling. Nail polish well over the cuticles, and nails left way too long even though I request that they be cut short.
They have also gotten lazy in their technique, and most of the time my feet look just as dry on the heels as they did when I came in. I am also not convinced of the salon’s cleanliness anymore, as I rarely see anyone cleaning the pedicure tubs, I always get gross over-​used emery boards used on me, and I’m pretty sure I caught some weird skin thing from my last visit, as my baby toe won’t stop peeling — ewwwwwwww.
I was also excited that they started carrying Vinylux polishes, but was really ticked on my last visit when the guy doing my nails ran out of the (special) topcoat for the Vinylux. He was at a complete loss when he noticed his bottle was all thickened. Asked a colleague what to do, she takes the bottle away from him, returns a few minutes later and finishes the job — with what I am completely suspicious was regular top coat poured in the Vinylux bottle. If she would have given him a new bottle of top coat, that would have been one thing, but I’m fairly certain she just topped it off with regular topcoat or used regular thinner on it — a HUGE no-​no, because Vinylux is a 2-​part system that depends on a special topcoat. I paid extra for it, so I was very unhappy.

I recently visited Karens nails for the first time with two friends. We were asked to wait about 15 minutes on a Saturday afternoon, which wasn’t too bad. There was a nice selection of colors and the salon was clean, but definitely nothing fancy. Karen herself gave me a great gel mani. The prices were right. Only wished there was music or TVs to watch while waiting.

Karen Nails is exactly what I look for in a nail salon-​clean, comfortable, massage chairs, OPI colors, and efficient technicians. I walked in last Friday afternoon and was able to get a pedicure without any wait at all. The lady who did my nails was quick, courteous, and very detailed. I honestly don’t remember the last time my feet were this smooth. For $ 25 it’s a great deal in any city, especially Chicago. I absolutely love the massage chairs they really make the whole experience for me. I don’t need anything that fancy, but I always look for those chairs and some great magazines to read while my nails are getting done. Karen delivered all around!

This place is AMAZING! The staff is super nice and they do such an amazing job. A regular manicure and pedicure from here will last me at least two weeks, without any chipping at all. Prices seems like a steal because of the excellent service they provide.
Just a few things to keep in mind… They won’t allow you to put tip on a cc, so make sure you bring cash for tipping. They also are very busy most of the time, so try and book an appointment when you can. I would recommend this place to everyone… Although I am closer to a lot more nail salons, I’ll always chose to go to Karens!