Pick A Pretty Color

Francis and Lucy were great. Gave us a great mommy daughter (6 y/​o) afternoon mani pedis!

I love this place because everyone is very nice and does a great job. I get my nails done by Francis and she is fantastic! Francis is very sweet and is great with nails. This time around I asked for something different and showed her a picture. I left with my nails looking better than the picture!!!

I’ve been here a few times now and have had mixed experiences. I go for acrylics only. The first two times were great. The main staff member, I’m guessing Frances judging but the previous reviews, is so great at what she does and always speaks to me. She does amazing acrylics, and is very well versed in customer service. The salon itself is clean, small, and intimate. They have great prices, which is surprising for the neighborhood. Unfortunately, my last two visits weren’t so pleasant. The first time, they simply didn’t pay attention to what shape nail I requested. I like stiletto/​claws, and I even showed them photos, but ended up with almond shaped. The second time was worse. Not only were the nails uneven in length, but the shapes weren’t consistent, my thumb nail was so short in comparison that it looked deformed, and the woman (not Frances this time) was so rough, that I found myself flinching multiple times. I didn’t realize until later, but she actually filed so much which the machine that she filed my skin off. I had a brief infection, and it hurt when I would even graze that cuticle. It hurt down to the bone, so she may have done a bit more damage than I realized. Its hard to find acrylics in NYC for a good price, so I probably will return, but I will certainly be trying other places first. Or perhaps I just need to call and request an appointment with a better team member.

The place is very small but somehow on at 5:30 PM the Tuesday before New Years Eve I had no wait and they were able to do my mani and pedi at the same time. The salon is no frills which is fine but the massage function on the pedicure chairs didn’t work. This is a huge pet peeve of mine so that’s the main reason for the loss of a star. Other than that, the pedicure was great and my nails look fabulous. I also got a 15 minute massage while I dried and I wished I had time to do another 15. Will return.

Did a fabulous job on my nails. Only reason I took off one star was because of pricing. Gel manicure is $ 30 but gel pedicure is $ 47? Seems like a steep price difference … Otherwise, experience was flawless

Francis, always and forever.
I’ve lived in the Upper East Side for three years now and I was about to give up on finding an amazing nail tech until I found her about a year ago. She never lets me down and is VERY creative! We always do something fun and I trust her 100%. Once she advised me against choosing a color from a particular brand because she didn’t think it would last. I told her it was fine and of course she was right! It chipped within a few days but I couldn’t get in to see her for about a week. She gave me a gel manicure for 70% off! Even though she warned me!
Sure, the shop is small but so are most nail salons in NYC. Francis is perfect and if I ever leave New York you better believe Ill be back to see Francis every 3 weeks!
xx

I finally found my nail salon in UES. Like many other comments mentioned: Francis is amazing. She made my nails look great and paid careful attention to each nail. I also noticed that she knows many of her clients by their first names and she truly does try and make you feel welcome. Will be coming back.

Consistently good salon that is open late. M-​Th special for 26 for mani/​pedi. I do think it depends on who does the nails sometimes it lasts more than a week before chipping other times about half a week but overall its one of the best salons in the area. Very clean and reasonably priced.

I think it really depends who services you. I went after reading so many rave reviews. Only had solid color gel manicure. For $ 32, it was decent. The hand massage afterwards was okay. I chose the Shellac CND Naked color. I loved the color, but the paint job and overall feel was mediocre. Would return again to have a second opinion before I really make a decision.
Similar to other reviews, place is smaller than other places in NY (but that’s to be expected). They have over 50+ gel shades including brands such as OPI, Essie, and Shellac CND.

The most friendly spot in the city with great service and reasonable prices! Highly recommended!

Came here for a color change which is decently priced at $ 8 — staff were friendly and made an effort to talk to their customers, but the paint job was bad — top coat was not evenly applied (you can see that the sides of the nail were not covered at all) and there were bubbles in my nail after I moved to the drying station. They were nice enough to fix it. The manicure started chipping in 4 days — the other places I’ve been to for regular manicure it usually lasts for at least a week. Not the cleanest salon either — I would not have my cuticles cut here.
I will not go back unless I am desperate for a manicure — they open till 10pm on a weekday and not too many places in the neighborhood have these accommodating hours.

Seriously the best mani/​pedi I’ve ever gotten in Manhattan. Also the price of $ 26 during the weekdays is really worth every dollar. Got my mani + pedi on the same time and they are very careful and precise and will not leave it greasy or bad. I will absolutely come back!

Fantastic Ues salon with longer later hours than most salons– such a need… Sometimes a woman doesn’t want to get a mani pedi in preparation for her night; sometimes she wants to make pampering herself her night — and starting at 8 those nights is the perfect time. This salon is open until 10pm most days.
They gave a great mani, pedi and foot massage. Great job, so relaxing and they were very friendly.

LOVE Francis and her staff! Everyone is very warm and friendly and very good at what they do. I had a group of 5 women looking to get their finger nails and toes done and Francis didn’t bat an eye. Some of us got just pedis. others just nails and other both and we were still all done roughly around the same time, give or take 5 minutes of eachother.
It’s a TINY store but each nook and cranny of the space is used up that it’s not hard to maneuver around in. Liked that they had a large selection of colors and the big bonus that most of them spoke English too! I know sounds harsh but trying to explain you want to someone who barely can string 3 words together in English is not fun…
Will be back for more!

I was in the area and walked in for a pedicure. The place is not clean and there is no sign that they sanitize the tools. They use thin paper towels for your toes which quickly become wet and useless. They use a pot scrubber sponge to do calluses which is harsh. Overall, this was not a good pedicure and I haven’t been back.
There are a lot of good places like this on the upper east side, stick to the better quality salons.

Always a beautiful manicure and/​or pedicure with a delightful time spent with Frances, Flo, Tina, Eric & the rest of the lovely staff. Can you tell I’m a very satisfied regular?
Btw, this team is especially good at transformation — I always leave feeling refreshed, uplifted & pretty!!!

This is the best nail salon ! I moved to the UES and wanted a place that is affordable but does a great job. Pick a pretty color exceeded my expectations. The whole staff is great but Francis does an amazing gel manicure and does nail art (Eric also does a fab job with nail art)
The staff treats everyone like they are a regular and spends time making sure your nails are perfect. My pedicure also lasts weeks! Go here and you won’t be disappointed !

Consistently great service with the friendliest and kindest staff. I always enjoying seeing my friends here and getting the best manicure/​pedicure on the UES – not to mention THE best prices!
With the biggest assortment of colors, and nail art, the staff is always ready to suggest and provide the newest in trendy nail art and design. Party nail, glittery nails, gel or just your favorite polish, this team has got your color and it’s always pretty!
Don’t forget your 15+min massage! Magic hands do the trick for a relaxing massage to loosen tight muscles! Roses are red, my fav nail color is blue! Pick A Pretty Color will ALWAYS take GREAT care of you!

If I could leave 0 stars, I would, but I’ll settle for 1 because this experience was by far the worst in any nail place.
I went to this place based on the Unilocal reviews thinking that I would have (a) A vast selection of colors to choose from and (b) Great service. After about 5 minutes I was already pretty disappointed.
I walked in for a mani/​pedi and wanted a light orange gel on both my hands and feet. They told me they wouldn’t do gel on my feet. I’ve had it before, not sure why this was an issue now. Ok, I’ll do something else. I sit down in the chair and they bring over the gel colors and tell me they’re going to do my hands and feet at the same time. She starts filing my hands and I immediately notice that there’s no color similar to what I want, and really only about 30 colors to choose from. Cancel the mani.
I choose a different color for my toes, thinking I’ll cut my losses. The paint job is good, but since it’s enamel I’m skeptical about it drying in time to put on my shoes. After two rounds in the dryer, they wrap my feet in Saran Wrap and send me off. When I get home, of course my two big toes are messed up. I call them and tell them what happened and they said that they would repaint it. But, what’s the point in doing something over the same exact way so it can get messed up again and then I’ll have wasted even more time? I ask for my money back but that’s not in their policy and in this woman’s ’19 years of being in the business’ she’s never heard of such a thing. I’m assuming that that’s because this sort of thing happens pretty often and they’d probably be out of business faster than their nail polish stays on.
Either way, between the meager gel selection, the rushed hands and feet like you’re being quartered setup, and the ‘no returns even though I gave you my word’ policy, this place can suck it.

Francis is wonderful. She went through my Pinterest account and helped me choose which nail style to get. I wanted something creative. She ended up doing a sick design with no hesitation. She has amazing nail skills. The salon is ALWAYS busy (which is amazing) yet you never have to wait long.
Mon-​Thurs: $ 26 for Mani/​Pedi
Fri-​Sun: $ 33 for Mani/​Pedi (you still can’t beat this deal!)
Can’t wait to go back and get a different design every time.