Ardor Nail Lounge

I was looking for a neighborhood nail salon in the area and Unilocal pointed me in this direction. After all, with all the positive 4 – 5 star reviews, I wanted to see what all the hype was about.
I don’t get my nails done regularly. The only times I visit the nail shop is when I’m about to go on vacation or if I have to attend a special occasion. When I do have them done, I like going all out. I had my eye on a specific design and saw this really cute picture on Pinterest that I had my heart set on. So before I decided to commit to an appointment, I wanted to make sure the owner and technician could replicate the nail design. In typical Nina fashion, I whipped out my phone, showed the pin off of Pinterest and told them «Can you do this?» The owners paused for a bit, looked at my photo to examine the detailing and a minute later said yes. Perfect. Appointment booked and confirmed. This was all done about a week ago. So far, All gravy.
Today I’m here and I’m happy to say that after my first visit to Ardor, I’m confident enough to give this place 5 stars not only for the kick ass job Andy and Nina did but to also sing praises for the amount of time it took for them to complete this. (Pics shown below). Some People fail to understand that detailed nail art takes time, a steady hand and lots of skill. I had my appointment at 1pm and was out by 3. Now your probably thinking that’s a long time to be sitting in the shop but for the amount of work they did (detailed mani and pedi), 2 hours is reasonable.
Parking on the street wasn’t too bad for a Saturday. A spot in front of the store opened up on the opposite side of the street so I turned around and nabbed the space. Since I had the meter for a max of 2 hours, Andy was considerate of my time and finished within the limit. I Really appreciate that and would make a return trip in the future.

They did a meticulous and a simply perfect job! I’m probably biased since I next to never go in to get a mani-​pedi. Only had a couple in my lifetime. But I was getting married and wanted to have my nails looking their best. This place was nearby my work so I decided to give them a shot. They were very accommodating. They seem to have the latest supplies for any nail salon i.e. special towels, fancy drying systems for both your feet and hands… They even made sure my pedicure didn’t smudge since I only came in flats by putting my feet in baggies. Didn’t smudge at all. It’s been almost a month and my pedicure still looks great! And it was just a standard pedicure. Not a gel one! Another plus is that you can tip on the card!

The deluxe pedicure is definitely worth it. Nina took her time and gave me an awesome massage. Not only that, but she did an excellent job applying the polish. $ 35 for mani/​pedi and $ 7 more for deluxe pedi: extra massage, scrub, soothing lotion.

I’ve been coming to this place since May of last year. Everyone is really nice and pleasant. The shop is clean and they do not rush when doing nails and pedicures. Andy always does my nails and I always make sure to tip. If you want to stop at a place in Evanston, this is a great one.

I am reluctant to write a review for Ardor because I really like this place and don’t want everyone to find my hidden gem .
Location: It’s very small and a little hard to find parking during peak shopping hours on central but it is very clean and I love that the nail polish is organized by color. I can’t tell you how annoying you go to a place and the colors are all over the place.
Service: The staff and owners are SUPER friendly! The prices are very reasonable and they have a punch card with 10% off your 10^th visit (and they always remind you to have them sign off which is great because I always forget). I come her just for acrylic and they do a great job. I used to have to come in every 2 weeks because my nails would break off but since coming here I can go 3 weeks and I have had only minor chips.
If you have been struggling to find a great acrylic nail salon on the north shore, definitely check out Ardor!

I have never gotten acrylic before, so I was pretty nervous about it. I have relatively small nails so I was worried that it wouldn’t fit. But when I went, I had nothing to be worried about. The ladies and man were so helpful with the whole process. They did a very thorough job and made sure it was the length I wanted it to be.
I highly recommend this nail salon for acrylic nails!

I’ve been here 3 times now, and my nails looked great– I loved their no-​chip. BUT, this last time I got a toenail fungus, so I definitely will not be going back. I’ve been getting pedicures for years from various places, and this is the first time I’ve gotten a fungus. So gross.

best acrylic application ever.
and you can tip on your card!

Best kept secret in Evanston– awesome pedicure– lasts and lasts:) Nice people & convenient parking. Highly recommend!

Great service and equipment — I just moved to Evanston and visited Ardor for the first time last week. I will be back!

Great little place with friendly staff! Prices are very reasonable! Called to make an appointment and sat right down when I arrived. Appointments aren’t required but suggested. A lot of color choices too. It was clean and small.

Best mani/​pedi I ever had! Every good review you read about them is true. The service is impeccable. The salon is very clean. The prices are more than reasonable. The color selection is great. I can’t think of a bad thing to say. I 100% recommend this place. I’d write two 5-​start reviews if I could.

I’ve had several no-​chips at ardor. They do an excellent job! The staff is friendly, and they do a really great job. My no chip manicures lasted two weeks and I got lots of compliments. They also do a good brow wax.

So nice! The staff were friendly and did a great job. I had a gel fill done here and they were timely but did a very good and neat job!

I went here on a whim after finding that my usual nail salon down the street was all booked. The owner was very friendly and welcoming. The nail tech did a great job on my pedicure and the price was much cheaper than I expected ($ 25 for a basic pedicure). I also got my eyebrows cleaned up for $ 10.
The only downside to the salon, and the reason it took me many years to visit despite living very nearby, is that it lacks a clean appearance compared to the salon down the street. That said, I was very happy with the service and will probably return.

Hidden gem! Such a nice salon and really affordable. They were very nice and patient while I picked out a color and did a great job on my acrylic nails. The salon was really nicely decorated and I was so surprised at how uncrowded it was on a Saturday afternoon.

First time client & it was amazing! Fresh, modern, clean, quiet– very boutique style shop. Andy & Nina are Very nice & answer any questions helpfully! I get an over lay fill in every 2 weeks so I am very picky. Andy did an EXCELLENT job quick but Not rushed & my nails are lovely. I definitly recommend they are fairly priced with high end quality! Andy has even fixed a broken nail at no charge. Thanks! :))

New owner :(
It’s ok — but it just doesn’t seem as nice. The music was loud and a genre not suited to mani-​pedi «down time». The new owners are nice enough. To be fair, I will try one more time.

Nail technicians here rock! I got it done from Helen and she is awesome. I got designs from online that I liked and she did it exactly the same. This is my first time, and this is going to be my to go place for my nails.

This place rocks. Just went for the first time today and was totally impressed. The women there were very nice and very professional (I’ve never had a nail tech so focused on my cuticles before) and they had the BEST selection of no-​chip gel colors I’ve ever seen. I went with a grapefruit sparkle… I highly recommend it! :-) I’ve definitely found my go-​to nail salon and will be heading back soon!