Beauty Lounge of Five Points

I wanted to love this place. I live in the neighborhood, and when I’ve been there to get my nails done I leave happy with the quality of my gel polish. However, Serena (the owner of the salon) has canceled on me not once, not even twice, but three times. The first, she called me 45 minutes to reschedule my appointment. Not a problem. I live close by and had the day off. Things come up, no biggie. The second time, I came in to be told that the nail tech (Sophia, who is no longer with the salon) had the day off. I found this strange because I had proof of the appointment. However, Serena offered to have my nails done complimentary, which I appreciated. The third time I came in, I walked in to an empty salon. I waited up front for about 10 minutes before following the voices to the back room, where Serena was doing a woman’s hair and makeup for her wedding (the poor girl was in her wedding dress) and informed me she would not be able to do my nails at my scheduled appointment time. So now I have an expired Groupon and no way to use it. Understandably, Beautylounge’s poor business practices and lack of dependability have turned me off from ever wanting to return, which truly is a shame. It’s an adorable little salon, conveniently located in my neighborhood, and I have a Groupon that is now essentially worthless to me. Le sigh.

I had a great experience with Serena. I got my eyelash extensions refilled with her the same day I called. She is a lovely and friendly person. My eyelashes look and feel exactly like they do when I get them done by my favorite girl In San Diego! Soft, long, curled and no glue look. I have found out the hard way that good lash techs here are hard to find. I’ve gone from place to place paying crazy prices for a glued up mess, plastic lashes that looked like the 60’s and lashes so «natural» they looked like nothing was even there (why bother?). Serena got it right on the first try. I’m so thrilled !

Serena does an excellent job. She has a real passion for hair. Very pleasant to talk to and willing to give me what I want. Where other hairstylist were afraid to help me maintain my length and give me bangs she didn’t hesitate. She ended up doing a fabulous job and would say she’s my new go-​to for a fabulous cut and style.

I used a living social deal to get a gel polish done on my nails. When I arrived I was greeted and immediately assisted. Everyone was friendly and my nails came out beautifully. I highly recommend Beauty Lounge.

Ok to Groupon customers. Outstanding to «regular» customers, in regards to customer service. I wish I would’ve read all of the bad reviews beforehand.

This place was a joke. I got my nails done here and they were only fine. It is no different than any other places I’ve been to. I read the website before and it seemed great but it was NOT. I overheard the owner, Serena, talking so much crap about another client (she didn’t realize I could her her) and then being sugary sweet to her face. It was SO gross. I would never come back here again and I would suggest that you find a better place to spend your money.

I bought a groupon for eyelash extensions to try out for my wedding.
The process to get them was a little strange, but this was my first time every getting eyelash extensions, so I didn’t know any different. The owner had me under a lamp (hot!) and also i held a fan for her (mix of hot and too cold!) — for TWO HOURS. I held a fan for two hours for her.
The conversation wasn’t great but that wasn’t why I was there :)
Of course they made a huge difference to my appearance, but they were too much. I had told her I was mostly natural and she still gave me the thickest silk. I followed instructions on letting the glue set (no water for 48 hours on the lashes). I always felt like there was something in my eye, they felt very chunky and often times I could feel them poking my eyelid — very uncomfortable!
This is terrible, but I ended up ripping them out and they came out in clumps. 4 eyelashes glued together — ahhh!!!
The reason I review is because I tried them one more time with another salon and it was a night and day difference. THANK GOODNESS I went somewhere else for my wedding eyelashes!
I can now, with experience, say these eyelash extensions at Beauty Lounge were terrible. They hurt, they weren’t glued to each individual lash, and the process to have them put on was not worth my time.

After having three haircuts and a handful of manicures here, I feel qualified to write this review. What drew me to the Beauty Lounge is I am a babe on a budget, and they always have some kind of zspotlight, twongo, etc deal for half off. Well, you know the saying «you get what you pay for»? That is not even the case here.
I’ll start with the manicures. The BL was the first place I had ever had a shellac manicure, so I didn’t realize that was I was getting was extremely subpar. I was never offered any type of refreshment, which was part of the advertised service. The polish was WAY too thick (so much so that when I had to get my nails done out of town for my grandfather’s funeral the manicurist looked at my hands in horror and said «who did this manicure»? The seating is incredibly uncomfortable and you don’t get the back massage that is offered at other places. Lastly, they don’t really do a full manicure. This is just a glorified polish change. The person who did my nails no longer works there, so it is possible the technique has improved. Unfortunately, that doesn’t change all of the other issues.
Now, on to the haircut. Let me start of by saying that Clay is really nice, and minus the fact that he smelled like smoke, I liked the way that he cut my hair the first time. Unfortunately, the second time he cut it much shorter than I asked for and the last time he cut it unevenly. We just couldn’t strike a balance, so I moved on.
For me, the straw that broke the camel’s back was the owner’s lack of professionalism. On my last visit, I had booked a haircut, followed by a manicure. While I was getting my haircut, a friend of the owner came in needing something done to her nails. She clearly didn’t have an appointment, but Serena told her it would be fine. Serena then called my cell phone (when I was sitting in the salon) and left a BS message about why my appointment would be running late! To add insult to injury, I had probably visited the establishment at least 7 times at that point. Completely ridiculous and I have not/​will not go back.

Okay, there are some pros and cons, but $ 16 Groupon was a pretty good deal. Yves did do beautiful work, although the chipping started shortly after one week.
I went back again for the $ 22 special they offered if you booked again the day of your original appointment. It has been a little under one week for the second manicure, and my nails haven’t started to chip (yet).
Pros:
1) Yves is very talented. She did a great job sculpting the shape of my nails into perfectly rounded tips.
2) The polish is even and pretty and I like the color.
3) The venue is cute and convenient/​close to my home.
4) The price is good
5) Friendly
Cons:
1) This lasts for a shorter amount of time than a traditional gel manicure.
2) The nail bar seating is a little uncomfortable
3) My cuticles need further trimming
I think the pros outweigh the cons. So I will return again.

Looks like we will have to go to COURT. After trying to do something nice for my wife and now they screen their call and will not respond, will not give refund after agreeing to do so. I have tried everything I can think of to get this situation resolved but they have left me NO OTHER CHOICE.
They are friendly up front but have no follow through.

I went b/​c I had a Groupon, and I always like to try new gel nail places.
The «Meh. I’ve experienced better» tagline of two stars is perfect — the girl who did my nails (Yves I think) was nice and whatnot, but the actual work I paid for is not worth the drive and lack of attention to detail. My nails don’t look great (there’s some paint on my skin) and my cuticles aren’t as trim/​pushed back as I’d like. Not only that, but this whole beauty bar thing (it’s truly a bar — you sit on one side and the technician sits on the other) is uncomfortable.
To top it all off, I called a few times for a few days to reschedule beforehand, and the phone was never answered… Someone called me the day before my appointment to remind me, a call I annoyingly missed, so I called her back, and again — answering machine. She did call me back that same day, and I was able to reschedule. Then I was running late the day of b/​c drivers are scared of a little water, so I called and again — no answer.
And I can’t forget the final problem — they’re open Tues-​Fri only.

I’m finally writing a review after my 3^rd time at this place. I tried to give it a chance. I bought a deal for a gel manicure for $ 16. They claim it’s a $ 40 value. I see they are constantly running these deals on LS, Groupon, etc. Is it because no one in their right mind would pay $ 40 for this?
When a service is listed as a manicure, I expect a little more than just painting my nails. But it was really nothing more than that. The first of these 3 times I was offered a glass of (terrible) wine, but havent been offered anything since then.
She tried her hardest to get me to pay that day’s special price of $ 22 and save my coupon for next time. Um, no thanks, I dont need to be roped into going to this place again.

I’m not sure why my original review from a couple of years ago was «filtered,» but my experience has been the same every time I’ve been back (and I’ve been a regular customer of Serena’s now for 2+ years). I’ve never had anything but a great experience there, so it’s disconcerting to see the poor ratings that are showed here – and so many positive ratings that are getting filtered!
As far as hair goes, Serena is the best, and my hair looks the best it ever has. She knows what she’s doing, and she does it well. She’s nice, professional, and talented. I won’t have my hair cut or styled by anyone else.

I can’t speak to their hair services, but I was extremely disappointed with the manicure I received there. I’m not super picky, but this was just awful, particularly considering you pay $ 40 for a shellac manicure.
First, when clipping my nails, Jenna (the technician) cut the skin on the tips of two of my fingers because she wasn’t looking at me. Then, she didn’t file down one of the nails and left an extremely sharp edge, which I later cut myself with. I got a really pretty mint green color on my nails, but the polish didn’t even line up with my cuticles. The edges of the polish near my cuticle were jagged, cut away from the skin, and on my right ring finger, there was a drip that dried and just stayed there. It was really unfortunate because I had gotten my nails done in preparation for my bridal shower, and I was really embarrassed when I got there because it looked like a 2 year old had painted my nails.
On top of that, the jagged edges of the polish made my manicure look a week old from day one, and the shellac edges started lifting, because they were not properly sealed with the top coat, within a week of my manicure. Finally, the color polish was put on very unevenly and at certain points on my nail, the polish was almost translucent, whereas in other areas, it was very thick.
Like I said, I’m really not picky, but this was just so so bad. I had them taken off elsewhere and the nail technician asked med if I had done them myself. When I told her I’d paid $ 40 to have them look like this, she was appalled.
I would not recommend going here.

I just returned from one of the worst manicure experiences I have ever had. Obviously from the other reviews on this site, I am not alone. I purchased a Z Spotlight Deal for a «Hot Stone or Shellac Manicure with wine». I was told when I made my appointment that the manicurist had never done a hot stone manicure before, but I said that was okay. How much different could adding hot stones be? The salon is cute, and in a cute neighborhood, but that is the only positive.
First, they were out of wine, which was included in the deal, so I asked for water, which I never received.
Then, the «manicure» consisted of removing my polish with pure acetone, then a shaping, and buffing and another sweep of pure acetone. That was it. Even the cheap places soak your nails in warm soapy water and you get to wash your hands with a scrub. I’m not sure where the tools came from or if they were sanitized. The manicurist told me it was her first time painting nails at the salon and it showed (she said everyone gets shellac instead?). I had to tell the manicurist to move her hair so it did not get in my wet nails.
The hot stone part was basically hot stones rubbed on my arms for a few minutes. Really did add or take away from anything. The two nail techs even had to share a bottom/​top coat of nail polish and passed it between the pedicure room and the manicure station. The manicure station is on a un-​sturdy high top table. The position you sit in is awkward and uncomfortable.
Luckily, this was a cheap deal I purchased a while back and all it cost me today was the tip I left. I am not sure how this place is still in business. I will not be back.

Let me start by saying that I had a nice conversation with Clay but that was about it.
I had purchased a living social deal for a NY dry cut (which was not what I got. they are supposed to have flair and fancy cutting and I did not receive what I had researched on the internet) and was excited to get it. The LS deal cost me $ 39, and on the Beauty Lounge website a NY dry cut is $ 80. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
THE SALON: I walked into the salon, and it smelled like smoke. The salon also had bad lighting and cheap salon chairs and nothing seemed nailed down. I almost went ass over teakettle when I went to sit down in the chair. Also, the back area where they wash hair was a mess.
MY EXPERIENCE: I walked in 10 minutes early, and I could see Serena (who was supposed to cut my hair) was running late. She was taking her time chatting with her client and getting foils ready. A few minutes after my scheduled appt. time, Clay asked who I was and the receptionist said I was for Serena. Well, Clay wound up cutting my hair. I asked for a trim of my reverse bob. He cut the right side blunt and shorter than the left side, but the left side actually looked nice and was angled nicely and soft and textured (because he didn’t really touch that side; it was my old haircut). My hair had been butchered but I didn’t have the heart to tell him since he was so nice.
I had to go back to my regular salon to get my hair fixed, and wound up spending over $ 100 for a haircut between the living social deal I bought and going back to my regular salon. I would not return nor recommend this salon.

Ok — After receiving comments back from the Salon, I’m changing my rating to 1 star. She tried to say I did not purchase or use Keratin friendly shampoo and conditioner. I own an arsenol of sodium chloride-​free and solfate free shampoo and conditioner (and actually none of the regular stuff). I’ve had 3 Keratin treatments in the past 2 yrs. I know what to use. I shouldn’t have to purchase her products, btw — they weren’t offered to me for purchase either.
Here is the skinny… I purchased a zspotlight deal $ 99 for a keratin treatment. I’ve had 3 before that cost $ 375, so I know the process and what all is involved and how it should look. If you ever have a chance to get a $ 99 keratin treatment be skeptical. I did all my research. I called and talked to Serena about the products they use to ensure they were formaldehyde free and that this wasn’t the ‘express’ treatment, which only lasts 30 days, instead of 3 – 6 months. She assured me it wasn’t and that they used a top rated Keratin. I researched the Keratin on my own, found validation it was safe to use and bought my certificate.
Closer to the appointment date I started reading reviews online about how others were not having good experiences with their keratin treatments at Beauty Lounge. I was a bit worried, but I had bought the certificate and didn’t want to lose the money.
The treatment process was the same as with a regular keratin treatment, so all seemed normal… up until he told me that I could wash my hair anytime after 3 hours. What? Usually, I have to wait 4 days? He said it was a new type of treatment. I also noticed my hair wasn’t soft and subtle, but extremely dry and tangled. Brittle even. Taking his advice, I decided to wash it the next morning. It looked so dry and I had to wash it before a meeting. It looked the same, dry, tangled, lacking luster. There was no apprecable difference in how it reacts to humidity as well.
If you have never had a keratin treatment before, your hair should NOT look like this. It should look like silk… and very shiny! That is the whole point. And your hair should be stick straight for months and not tangly. I was sooo disappointed. This was some kind of express treatment. I’d been scammed.
Did I go back to them and ask for my money back or for them to re-​do my hair? Heck no, I don’t want those people touching my hair. I’m just going to save up my cash and have my regular lady do it (Posh Salon 104 — Audrey). She knows Keratin. Something a savings just isn’t a savings.

I really wanted to like this salon however the experience during my mani/​pedi was just OK. Ian is a very pleasant and agreeable man and a talented nail technician. My nails looked beautiful when he was done. My problem really was with my comfort level. In the room in the back for the pedicure I was sitting in a cushioned area with my feet in a bowl and I just couldn’t get comfortable. Then when my feet came out for the other parts of the pedicure they were resting on his knees but that was still uncomfortable. He was so agreeable to want me to be comfortable that we wound up finishing the pedicure with my feet on the floor and him crouching down to put the polish on. I am average height but for some reason this seating arrangement just wasn’t comfortable for me. Then we went to the main salon for the manicure. This too was uncomfortable for me. I was sitting on one of those high stools and I had my hands on a bar like area. We tried me very close and a bit further but I really also wasn’t comfortable. Too close and I felt like my pedicure would touch. Too far away and that wasn’t good either. Also after he soaked my hands he left the bowls with the water there and so then we were reaching over the bowls which added to my general discomfort. I want to stress that Ian did a great job on my nails and I would have given more stars if my comfort level was better. I did get to meet Serena just as I was leaving and she warmly introduced herself. She seemed like a very nice woman and I would certainly return to this salon for a hair cut if there was a special from Groupon or Twongo.

I only felt compelled to give them 2 stars because my hair actually turned out well. But considering my overall experience, I should have rated them with 1 star. I showed up early for my scheduled appt for a keratin treatment (Twongo deal). I was told my stylist, Wayne, had gone home sick, and they didn’t know if they should call me. Serena asked if I could reschedule, and I reluctantly agreed, and she booked me for the next day. She offered a $ 16 gel mani, or complimentary regular mani, for being flexible, and I said I would think about which one I’d like. Come to find out, they were running a special for $ 16 gel manis anyway, so it was no consolation. I asked that she call me the next day if Wayne was not in, before I drove all the way out there again.
I arrived for my appt the next day, and sat there for 15 mins before being acknowledged. My appt was now 10 mins behind schedule. Wayne was nowhere to be seen. Serena was in the middle of someone else’s appt, but finally called me back while the other client was processing. She had absolutely no recollection of who I was or how unprofessional she had been the day before with not calling to let me know my appt was cancelled. I discovered later from them gossiping with clients that Wayne had actually quit. The keratin process, which I’d never experienced, was not explained to me at all, and Serena never engaged me in any conversation while I sat processing for an hour. It was enough time for me to notice the multiple dead bugs on the floor. I felt like I was on an episode of Tabatha’s Salon Takeover. When it was time to blowdry me, she passed me off to Ian while she ate her lunch in a styling chair and let her next client sit there and watch (while her appt time came and went). Ian only talked about himself, and even asked about 20 mins in «So what’s your name, anyway?» I have never had such an impersonal experience at a salon. Serena had the audacity to keep trying to sell sell sell, telling me I can bring friends in and get discounts, etc, and she knew not a thing about me.
As Ian was blowdrying/​flat ironing my hair, I asked him about what care I needed to take — is there down time before washing, should I use a certain shampoo — and his answers were less than confident, and Serena was too busy chatting to contribute. Luckily, when I got home, I looked on the manufacturer’s website (Global Keratin) and it provided me with useful information.
Needless to say, I was never offered the manicures, and I wasn’t about to ask for one since I don’t believe it’s my job to provide customer service to myself. Like I said, my hair turned out well, but it was nothing that I couldn’t get done elsewhere. Even with offering me a discount, saying I could come back and pay the same price as the twongo ($ 99), I wouldn’t step foot in this salon again.

I purchased 2 deals for the Shellac manicure. The first visit was good and both Ian & Serena were very nice, however I had an issue with the quality of the work. Ian did a good job on my shellac, until it got to the top coat. He was very stingy with the top coat and the majority of my nails were very dull and maybe 2 were shiny. I called to let them know of the problem and Serena set up a time for me to come back only for no one to be at the shop. Ian then showed up about 5 mins after sitting there which I wasn’t super upset about because I understand things like that happen.
The reason for my low rating is because my second trip, the EXACT same thing happened. I get home and 6 of my nails are dull and look horrible. I didn’t bother calling or going back because 1) It’s totally inconvenient for me to drive to their location and 2) it seems like this is something consistent that happens especially if it’s happened to me on two different occasions with my visits being far apart. I hope the salon does will with their business but unfortunately I won’t be able to support them.
Good Luck!