Vanity Projects

Love this place! I’ve gone twice once for their awesome $ 40 weekly special (with lezzy) and again for a more custom job (Maco). The techs here are awesome and I swear do the cleanest nail work in the city. My first manicure from here lasted a month with zero lifting or breaking and, because it was negative space, it looked fresh until I got them removed. Vanity projects is absolutely worth both the price and the trek to the LES for such enviable nails.

This is my third time at vanity projects. Every time I’m there I’m always a little annoyed at something (either the front desk isn’t so attentive, or my manicurist is cold and barely says hi) but I keep coming back because the quality is exceptional. I had Maco last week and she was brilliant — so sweet and talented.

If you’re serious about beauty and nail art, DO NOT MISS Vanity Projects!
Yes, it’s kind of a trek down to the LES. Yes, it’s a little hard to find among all the Chinatown storefronts! Once you find it though, it’s like being transported into this little haven of incredible nail art and top of the line pampering.
Every single detail is thought out here, from the design to the reception to the quality of the polish. Full disclosure — I’m actually allergic to gel polish (weird, right?), so I can only get the ‘regular’ manicures and pedicures here. Still, Mimi was able to create absolutely gorgeous matte nail art with a few regular polishes (high quality RGB polish) — I got compliments on my manicure CONSTANTLY.
The atmosphere of Vanity Projects is so fun, as you get to see all the incredible nail art going on around you — these women are truly artists. I can’t wait to come back!

The regular pedicure is pretty good. I had booked an appointment and they were very prompt. I love the fact that they had Dior and Deborah Lippmann shades. Even though I got a classic polish, they seem to be crafty with nail art. I removed one star because they don’t open the tools in front of you to show that they have been autoclaved.

Although this place is more expensive than the nail places around queens I will take the trip to china town every month for the gel manicure. The place is super clean and well designed. They display so many designs, you will have a wide variety. In addition, they have great nail color choices. All the techs help you out if you’re indecisive. The nail process is very fast and they use a high quality nail polish and use a paint brush to do your nails. You’re paying for quality and an experience. My gel has lasted 3 weeks so far (it’s been a busy month!)

Can I leave 10 stars this is the absolute best in nail art. I used to see the great Naomi Yasuda for my nail art and have been doing my nails religiously every 2 weeks for 8 years. I was so pleased to have found this place where I don’t have to go to someone’s home I can make an appt be treated like a queen and get the flyest nail art. Not only is rita a mastermind of curating the best artists world wide she had a true passion for a well rounded experience and it’s not easy to find someone that gives so much love to the craft. I love all the girls here its hard to pick a favorite. This is my happy place.

This little hole in the wall does a really great job! I booked a weekly gel special with Gina and was very pleased with my manicure. The place itself is super tiny and really is a hole in the wall. There aren’t any obvious signs that say «Vanity Projects» just a neon sign outside a staircase that says «NAILS NAILS NAILS». But never judge a book by it’s cover! Gina did a great job on my nails, the manicure lasted two weeks and probably would have lasted longer had I not picked at them. I got many compliments on my mani during those two weeks. The only thing that skeeved me out a little was that it looked like alot of their tools were old and used.

I was very disappointed with the last gel manicure. I had my nails done in Thursday and it looks like I had them done two weeks ago. Ria did not do a good job on my nails and I will ensure not to select her as my technician next visit

I got my nails done there last week, and they haven’t even chipped a little bit. It’s a hidden gem, and it’s so incredibly chic you’ll want to Insta immediately. Be careful, because the price can go up in a surprising way! But as long as you get the weekly special, you’re golden! Definitely the coolest nails in all of NYC.

Vanity– noun
1. something that is vain, empty or valueless
2. inflated pride in ones self or appearance
Well…seems like they got the name right!
Semi-​conflicted about writing a bad review about a place that does good work, but has a terrible– borderline racist– hate filled– evil witch, running the show. I introduced my friend to this place a few months back and she has been going religiously every few weeks. She usually gets a simple gel design for around $ 60-​$ 80, which it ridiculous if you ask me, but I have seen some amazing art come out of this place, so ok. This day in particular however, the owner happened to be there. And after that experience, I’ll never step foot in that place again.
Strike one… talking down to your hard working employees and imitating Asian voices when you speak to them as if they cannot understand you is not only rude and insulting but borderline racist. Also, I would suggest keeping your private life private because the whole shop does not want to hear you complain about your «lazy» house keeper who’s afraid of your dog (who is probably just as mean as you). And AGAIN with the Span-glish…just because someone is a different race than you, does not require you to mock their language for emphasis. Comprende? Or, like, you know, do you like, get it or like, no? #Whatevs
Strike two… telling a customer that you don’t care about their business. Holy bananas… isn’t that the first rule of business??? And even if it’s true… you don’t announce it to the whole shop! Who raised you, wolves?
Strike three… overcharging my friend by $ 40 because she stood up for the employee, to which the owner replied that in the future her customers «better hope I’m in a good mood» when they have something to say to her. Wow. I can’t.
I feel bad for introducing my friend to this place! Even though the self-​important tyrant of an owner already announced to the world that she has no concern for her customers and no respect for her employees, I still want her to know she just LOST TWO GOOD CUSTOMERS DUE TO HER NASTY ATTITUDE. No thank you! Vanity projects is waaaay too vain for me. I’ll send my referrals elsewhere and deal personally with your nail artists for my private events

I got acrylic extensions with gel design on Sunday with Mee Yagi and I really did want to write an amazing review because I loved my nails when I left. But it is now Tuesday and my pointer finger extension completely fell off. I have been getting acrylics for over 5 years and I know how to operate them extremely well. In my experience with acrylics this has NEVER happened to me. And with the price I paid, $ 160 (including tip), I am overly disgusted. I will definitely not be returning to Vanity Projects and wasting my money. Skip this place and save your hard earned money.

I booked a reservation via Beautified for 5:30pm on a Sunday and arrived about 30 minutes early. I was hoping to be seated earlier but all the artists had a client. I sat on the couch and patiently waited for my turn. There were a lot of colors to choose from with brands like Chanel, Deborah Lippmann, and RGB. I opted for a light lavender/​blue shade. While I was waiting the lady offered me a drink (tea, espresso, or sparkling water). I asked for a green tea and it was pipping hot! There were plenty of magazines to peruse but I did a lot of people watching.
This place is known for their designs and gel manicures. I didn’t see anyone get a pedicure, even though there were two seats set up for one. I actually ended up sitting on one of them later to dry my nails with the plugged in fan. I forgot the name of the artist that worked on my basic manicure, but she did an amazing job with getting rid of all the cuticles and dead skin. I’m so used to going to nail salons where they soak your hand in water first and then put drops of liquid to soften the cuticle. But this artist just did it and it came out so well. She used a paint brush at the end to remove any excess nail polish on my skin. I never had such a good manicure before and now understand why manicures in NYC are $ 18.

Super sweet staff and all technicians are great artists. I got the weekly special by Mimi, she was really quick and efficient. Great place for nail art that lasts.

I have to say, I had incredibly high hopes for vanity nails. My nail artist was beyond wonderful and I love the design she did (the weekly gel special for $ 40). However after a week the nails all peeled off, even though I was told they last 2 weeks. I hate to waste $ 40 on a manicure that only lasted a week so unfortunately I will not be returning. Such a shame.
2 starts because I love the design and how nice the staff were, even though i was told the gel lasted AT LEAST 2 weeks and it only lasted 1.

Amazing vibe and great group of people. My first time and doubtfully my last. I love my nails!!! It’s a small place but super intimate and the nail art is crazy good!!!

After having been a frequent customer of Vanity Projects for the last 5 months, I’ve finally had enough.
I had never gotten gel nails before late April/​May of this year and when I did I was consistently disappointed at the normal NYC salons I went to. So when I saw the beautiful artwork VP did on a favorite blogger of mines nails, I decided to try it out. After my first visit, I thought the whole concept of VP was great, loved my nail technician, Mee Yagi (Kanae), and walked away with a great gel manicure. I was so excited I’d finally found a salon to meet my needs and expectations when it came to nail art!
I should have known the next time I went in two weeks later and scheduled an appointment to get very intricate World Cup nails with a «guest artist» and she began painting my nails with acrylic paint, like what is sold at craft stores, that it was time to get out. I was so flustered after she struggled with my nails for about an hour that I just left even though they charged me and I didn’t even get a top coat! My nails were jagged and unfinished looking. I reached out to the owner stating my disappointment and she apologetically said I could come in for an appointment with another artist she new to be great at this type of art and they would «take care of me». Now most of the time this implies the service is complimentary, quite the opposite, not only did I have to take more time out of my schedule to go there again a few days later, but I was only given a measly discount. Needless to say I was disappointed, but at the end of the day I liked my manicure by Miku, though it was a bit bumpy, the art was great.
So I decided to chalk it up knowing I probably wouldn’t find a salon like this elsewhere, but unfortunately my bad experiences didn’t end there. They ranged from getting nail extensions (upwards of $ 200 with art and tip) that broke two days after getting them and the salon charging me again to fix them just a week later when it was the technicians fault they’d been attached wrong, to being consistently surprised by what was charged for the simplest of designs, I never paid the same price once though my art never varied drastically from one time to the next!
Finally today I had had enough, I went in for a one color gel manicure, black, and had asked Miku to do a matte top coat with a single gloss stripe through the center, still one color, but understood they would probably charge me an additional $ 15 for that and call it simple art, fine, I was ready for it. Miku painfully buffs away my old design, but does not soak it off and I assumed this was to save time and because my nails are a bit thinner, she said she would put an extra base coat on, I said ok as I always do because the artist says this each time since my nails are brittle. I watched her use the exact same gel containers that Kanae had used two weeks before on my previous mani and though she yanked my hand around the entire time and I had to ask her to do the gloss stripe neatly many times, I finally left with a manicure I could live with. Because the owner was not there, Miku and the receptionist (Maria?) texted a photo of my nails to the owner so she could give them pricing I suppose, and the cost comes back that it will be $ 130!!! Bear in mind this is something stated on the website that should be $ 40, but I was prepared to spend $ 55 because that is what I spent during my previous visit where the same amount of work, and time I might add, went into the design, but likely less. I immediately reacted and then the receptionist became very defensive saying it’s not her, it’s the owner and then it was because I got a gel fill and that’s typically $ 50 and the design is $ 75, then it was because I had been there for an hour and a half and somehow that’s what translated to $ 130. Who the hell knows? Maria was just making things up at this point it seemed. She then called the owner and said she could do $ 120, then said $ 110 after I was still shocked. I did not tip after I paid the $ 110 plus tax because I obviously did not appreciate the fact Miku did not tell me what she was giving me, which was the same gel polish I’ve always had, blue and black containers, and that it would essentially be an extra $ 80.
I was so disgusted at the experience, I am ashamed I ever recommended this place to my friends, family and coworkers. It’s such a shame they don’t value the customer experience and consistency in service and pricing because what they offer is really unlike anywhere else, but judging by the other reviews here, I’m far from the only one this place has had a negative impact on.
Also, the only reason I left two stars instead of one is because Mee Yagi (Kanae) is really great, very meticulous and if she were to move to a different salon, I would definitely follow. I only ever strayed from her service when she wasn’t available when I was.

This place is terrible. I went in for a manicure (gel) and a regular pedicure. Do not come here for a pedicure. They do not clean up your feet and the woman painting my toes had talons for nails. How do you expect someone with 5 inch nails to be able to paint tiny toes? It is just not possible. The color was not put on evenly, there was polish on all corners of my toes and the color bled into my toes on the top of my nails. On top of painting them horribly when I complained they were incredibly rude and kept speaking in Japanese. No wonder I couldn’t get an appointment at Sakura or Valley nails the day of but Vanity Projects had openings.

I would not recommend Vanity Projects to anyone.
My first experience with this company was at an event a few weeks ago. A nail artist was late for such a busy night but I watched how the owner handled the situation & it was less than classy. She was swearing and unprofessional before she sat down and did the late girl’s job. I brushed this off as a reaction to stress but should have known better.
Fast forward a week or so and I see that a nail artist I follow on Instagram is coming to VP. I make an appointment & they take my credit card number & send me an email stating gel nails with art (the person booking the appointment said the tech would ONLY do art on gel nails) would start at $ 70. This made me pretty nervous, but I thought OK, I love this artist – I can splurge a bit and I’ll spend around $ 100 with tip. I even spoke to someone on the phone who told me they would make a note to the artist that I did not want to spend much over $ 70.
NOPE. The amount on my card came to $ 146.30, where they added the tax – something no nail salon I have ever been to has done. The guest artist was indeed wonderful and amazing and so with her tip, it was around $ 170. The whole thing was awkward and I paid without saying anything… though I was scratching my head.
When I arrived, the place was on the second floor & had stains and spills all over the floor from a party the night before. The receptionist was struggling to clean up alone — she was actually really really nice and offered me some sparkling water while I waited the next 20 minutes for my 12PM appointment. When the owner came in, I recognized her from the other event. For the next hour, she and a friend talked loudly in the salon — name dropping and sharing stories about men in their lives. It was so loud that I couldn’t NOT listen… even though it was often inappropriate. Did she not realize she had a new customer gawking at her? It was ridiculous.
Today I called them back. Though it hasn’t even been two weeks, my rapidly growing nails are making my nail art a little worn looking. I called to see if I might be able to have the gap between the actual nail art and my cuticle painted – I’d be willing to pay a small amount for this because it isn’t the studio’s fault. The receptionist had to call me back twice to finally tell me that they couldn’t do this — it wouldn’t work. Honestly, I’d prefer to do it myself than pay another cent to this company… but since I HAD to have gel nails, I can’t do it myself.
So yeah, don’t go here.

Best in NYC. This place houses the best nail artists in town. This isn’t a place for non nail enthusiasts or people that can’t have a great time. I love nothing more than to walk out of a new salon with new friends.
But in terms of artists– hard to choose because they are all so talented so in my opinion, you are basically just lucky to be there!!! Go with a color scheme inundated and then let them work their magic!!!

My nail technician was sweet and clearly talented, however I would NEVER return to Vanity Projects. It was such a stressful, unpleasant and bizarre experience. I would have only given one star, but I don’t want Unilocal to flag this review and hide it
I thought it was just a «nail art» salon, so I was shocked to arrive and find over 30 people packed into a VERY SMALL room. It turns out the salon is also a video «art gallery» and they were hosting an all day free art show.
I arrived for my appointment and the receptionist said my technician was just finishing up with a client. No problem, that’s normal, and I appreciated their offer of champagne and water. What wasn’t normal though, was the 35 minute wait that followed…
Anyway, I was finally seen by my incredibly apologetic nail artist, and she got to work. My appointment would have been enjoyable if I’d been able to hear a word she was saying, or even just been able to close my eyes and listen to some music, however between the INCREDIBLY LOUD art curator, the nonstop gallery/​salon owner herself, the constant flow of art guests, and the BIZARRE, offensive art videos, my manicure was a super stressful experience!
The video «art show» consisted of the same 5 or 6 videos running on repeat, projected on the entire wall directly behind the nail technicians, so nail customers were literally a captive audience with no choice but to watch (other than to just look at my lap for 90 minutes). I’m not kidding when I say it felt like some weird torture experiment and I actually wondered if we were being recorded as part of some horrible hidden camera snow… Just to give you an idea of what we had to watch — one 10 minute video had the most unsettling imagery and used tons of profanity, and another was a 5 minute close up video of a woman’s eyeball with different kinds of dye being dropped into her eye!
All of the nail customers kept sharing horrified looks and the nail techs just seemed embarrassed, but clearly unable to say anything or risk offending the owner and artists. Looking back, I clearly should have left once I realized what was going on, however the nail artist had already started working and it was too late to get an appointment somewhere else. (The whole thing was just so weird, not until I was out in the fresh air did I really process what had gone on for the 2 hours I was there.)
I also thought perhaps this was a one time thing that just hadn’t been well-​planned, but then I heard heard the owner explaining that the «art videos» play EVERY DAY, and that these particular videos would be on a loop for the next 8 weeks, until they were swapped out for a new set of «art» videos.
The cherry on the sundae was that they charged me more than $ 30 more than what was originally quoted, and then had the balls to add tax to my card without telling me. (I’ve never paid tax on a manicure before, whether cash or credit.) I didn’t even bother to complain, I was honestly so EXHAUSTED by the entire experience, I just wanted to get out of there the minute it was over.