Luminous Spa Studio

HORRIBLE!!!
I bought a LivingSocial Voucher for a Microdermbrasion treatment, and called a month before it expired. She told me (I don’t remember her name…) that she was booked the entire month (really???) and had one date, but I was going to be out of town, so I wouldn’t be able to make it. She told me she would call me if she had any cancellations within the month (cool!). I decided to take the date she offered me, so I called back 2 days later. No answer. Left a message. A week went by, so I called her again and left a voicemail, and again, no response. I finally called her again about a week later, and she answered (whaaattt?!), and told preceded to tell me she «didn’t have her appointment book with her», and told me to text her with the date I wanted. I texted her after we got off the phone, no response. Called again a week later and lef ANOTHER voicemail, and STILL have not received a call back!
Luckily, LivingSocial is AMAZING and refunded me my money with LivingSocial Bucks! I’m going to enjoy the RESPECT and service from another RESPECTFUL location.
If you work with customers, and can’t simply return a phone call (a plethora of them!) then you SHOULDN’T be working in this field.
Waste of my time and minutes!

Definitely the WORST place by far! No respect for your time. ALways making excuses to cancel appointments. Don’t waste your time or money. They will text you on the morning of your appointment and say they are running behind or the plumber is here, we have no hot water. The worst excuses and the worst service

I too had the same unpleasant experience with Groupon I purchased for 3 Mani and Pedi for my sister and I. I had to call 3x (for 3 days straight) to get our appointment. After couple of weeks, we got to our appointment and only 1 spot was reserved for us instead of 2. I rescheduled my appointment for Monday. Monday came I showed up to my appointment and the lady that supposed to do my mani and pedi actually had the day off. At this point I’m very annoyed already because after waiting and waiting to get my appointment and too much wasted time on my part… they could’ve called or text to let me know or reschudule.
They should know the schedule of everybody that works there. I couldn’t take it anymore I called Groupon and expressed my feelings. I suggested that if they couldn’t keep up with the demands perhaps they shouldn’t do the deals on Groupon.

This place is terrible — not proper equipment, inexperienced staff that don’t speak English, deceptive advertising.
I had a Groupon for 3 Shellac mani/​pedi, and it was so bad I didn’t come back after 1 session and did not want to bother negotiating with them. It also took a week of calling to reach someone for an initial appt.
The girl who did my mani/​pedi took 2 hrs, and it was the worst I’ve ever had (dull, peeled off right away, not smooth). She very clearly had no idea what she was doing, kept dropping her tools and did not speak English.
They just had an office chair to sit on and bucket for pedicure; water was cold. The room was very dark and barely furnished — looked like a back alley brothel. Another 2 people came in, and had to wait 20+ min despite having appts.
Advertisement was for Shellac mani and pedi, when I went it she (the owner?) said it was just for mani only, pedicure was extra.

I found Luminous Spa Studio though Groupon and I have gone back 5 times already for lash extensions. Judy and Lynn are great. I can usually make an apt via text and get in either same day or the next day. I think they do a great job. I’m total addicted to getting extensions now and they are super nice and the shop is in a convenient location. I think they’re getting better and better each time I go.
Great deal for the extensions. I initially bought the $ 99 for the full set with 2 extensions. After 2 hours, I was not happy with the full set initially, so Judy said I could come back in a couple of days without using up one of the extensions. I thought that was pretty good customer service. :)
Since then, I bought another groupon for $ 119 for a full set and 4 extensions. The lashes last me about a week and a half to 2 weeks before they start falling off and go to the steam room in the gym about 3 times a week.
I highly recommend this place to anyone who wants to try out getting lash extensions without having to pay an arm and a leg. No frills but they get the job done and it looks good.

I’ve gone to one other place in Sunnyvale to get my lashes done, and have been satisfied, but I don’t like the drive to Sunnyvale. I was hoping to find a place not totally out of the way. Luminous Spa is NOT the right place for me. There are several things wrong with this place:
1. Ease of making an appt and response time — If I could I would have given them 0 stars. I had a Living Social voucher for Eyelash Extensions, Hydrating Hand Treatment, and Brow Wax. I called and left a message on a voicemail that didn’t identify themselves as Luminous Spa Studio. I didn’t hear back for 1 week, so I had to call again, left another message letting them know my call was not returned, and it was then that Judy called me back that same day. I booked the appt a few weeks out, let her know that I had the Living Social Voucher, and also asked if they have sensitive glue, since I had an allergic reaction once to my other lash lady’s glue, and she confirmed they do. I realized in looking at my voucher, that the address differed from the address on Unilocal,so I called within 10 mins of booking the appt, to ask which address is correct — San Carlos or Redwood City. I didn’t receive a call back and ended up calling the day before my appt, left a messaging again letting her know, I still had not been reached out to about the salon’s location, and it was then that I received a call back.
2. Staff — I’d say the rating was 1 – 2 stars. The girl who did my lashes was very nice, but she didn’t speak English. Before she started on my lashes, I told her about the additional services I get with my Living Social voucher, and she responded with «I can’t do» repeatedly. I asked her how I would be able to obtain these services, and she couldn’t respond. I asked to talk to her manager, so she called her on her cell phone for me… it was then that Judy actually picked up (maybe because it was her staff’s cell phone, not some random customer). Even the nail lady could tell that I was beyond frustrated, and asked if everything was ok… it wasn’t since I PAID for these services in advance, and was being told I wouldn’t be getting them… When I talked to Judy, she said that the lash girl knew that it was a package deal, and I told she didn’t. I told her I didn’t want the Brow Wax, but was hoping to get my strays plucked instead and she said that was fine. She had to TEXT her the info to the lash girl to remind her. I’m sorry, but I think it’s necessary for staff performing spa services to communicate with customers directly… they don’t have to be fluent in English, but should know more than just a few words…
3. Length of the appt — I was there for almost 2 hours, which I was prepared for, but my other lady can do a new set of lashes in under an hour. I know the girl wanted to do a good job, so I can’t fault her for taking her time, but I thought about it later that I could have driven to Sunnyvale, gotten my lashes done, and driven back in that amt of time.
4. Hand Treatment — it was ok. The girl massaged my hands lightly, and put them in plastic bags before putting them in some device that heated my hands for the last 15 or 20 mins of my appt. I wouldn’t pay for this service separately.
5. Brows — She asked about the Brow Wax and I had tell her that I didn’t want the Brow Wax and that I only wanted her to clean up my brows by plucking. Not sure if this was communicated correctly in the text that Judy sent to her. She ended up plucked just a couple of hairs… but i knew i needed a bit more than that. I didn’t bother telling her, since it likely would have been pointless.
6. Skin irritation — The tape that was used under my eyes for the extensions, basically pulled some of my skin off. Parts of my skin were red, so the girl put some ointment on to take some of the redness away. It got worse, but luckily I had ointment at home to ease the irritation.
7. Eyelashes — If i could I would have given them a 0 here too. I lost 70% of my lashes by the following Friday! Getting these lashes here was a total waste! I had a gig with my band the following day, and ended up having to put strip lashes on, since so many of the extensions fell out! I had only 2 or 3 single lashes left per eye at the 2 week mark. The other place I’ve gone to, the lashes usually stay full for almost 2 weeks, so I wouldn’t even need a fill until 4 weeks later.
I checked out the cost for refills, and it was $ 55 I believe and i had to return within 2 weeks… They had some other deal where you’d pay $ 200 or something for 4 or 5 refills, so you could save a little bit, but with all the mishaps with this place, it is totally not worth it for me.

I got the groupon for the mani pedi and at first I was getting a little frustrated having to call different phone numbers to get an appointment because they don’t have a receptionist and rarely answer the store phone. I was redirected to Judy who gave me Caroline’s (the nail tech) phone number. Understandable that such a small business doesn’t really need a receptionist but coming from the clients point of view its that little thing where you cannot really get a hold of anyone that gets very frustrating especially when you start a game of phone tag.
I didn’t get the first or second appointment time I wanted, but on the 3^rd try (I booked for a week later) I got an appointment that I could work with! Finding the place is easy and I wish they would have told me ahead of time that hey have a parking lot in the back because on the main street in front of their store, it is only 1 hour parking and in between my appointment I had to go move my car.
Ok to the actual service: Caroline was welcoming from the beginning. She was still with another client when I came in but she let me soak while she finished the other clients manicure. They have a good standard amount of nail polish to choose from, but for the gel polish I wish they had more. this was only my second manicure ever and the first place I went to had about 5 sample spindles compared to the 2 spindles Luminous Spa Studio has. Caroline was easy to talk to and spent more time on the pampering then other places. She actually spent the time to scrub and massage. After the pedicure, the manicure was nice as well.
Service was 5 stars, however I took away one star because: When making an initial appointment, clients shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to get a hold of someone and my friend and I both bought this groupon so that we could have a girls day, but they only have one foot bath for pedicures and one nail technician.

– The staff definitely need more training.
– Another client was complaining too.
– They don’t understand English well either so it’s hard to communicate.
– Scheduling system needs work. first time I made appt. they cancelled it right on same day. I rebooked it, went all the way there and they said their uv light had broken so they were getting another one soon. Nobody bothered to call me.
– when i went to use my groupon finally, waited 15 mins.
– they did not put ANYTHING in the pedi water nor the mani water.
– i had to tell her to scrub my feet to get the hard dead skin off as she was not going to do it since she was about to polish.
– the gel mani was sloppy and not even shiny as i normally get from other places.
– definitely need to get more nail polish color varieties as well — the selection is limited
Hope the owner /​Judy takes note and make some changes as it seems to be a common theme by everyone who goes there.

A few weeks ago I rediscovered Groupon. Friends of mine were getting great deals on there, so I decided to rejoin. One of the first deals I saw was for eye last extensions. If you’ve never got them done before, I’d highly recommend… however, do your research and go to the best.
I found a Groupon for an eye lash extension, full set and 4 fills for $ 119. I thought, it seems too good to be true, but how bad could this place be? I purchased the groupon and within a few hours I spoke to Judy and she set an appointment to come in.
When I went to the spa, it was really small, but cute inside. There’s a back room that’s nice and has a bed for you to get your lashes done. When I arrived, the staff was friendly, however when the lashes began… that’s when it all went down hill.
I got the dramatic lashes done on my eyes because I had a photo shoot the next day. Judy started applying my lashes. In the middle of my session I heard some shuffling going around, I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I went back to sleep. About 30 minutes later, the lady said she was done. When I tried to open my right eye, not only was there a different lady doing my lashes… but my lashes were stuck together! I couldn’t open my right eye for 3 minutes. The young lady was trying to get my lashes unstuck to my bottom lashes. She was unsuccessful. She pulled a few of my bottom lashes out. Ouch! There’s a small space where I’m missing lashes, but nothing drastic. Next, they accidentally got glue in my hair! I couldn’t believe it. So to recap, Judy left during the middle of the session and replaces with less experienced girl, lashes stuck together and glue in my hair. I was not a happy camper. Again, I kept thinking, it was only $ 20. Before my session started, I asked Judy if they could give me a mani/​pedi, she agreed since her 6:15 appointment cancelled. When I got up and opened both of my eyes, it was about 6:25. I asked the girls if they could do my nails, they said they couldn’t because they were closing in 30 minutes. So the experience was not a good one, but it was a Friday and my lashes looked pretty.
When I got home I noticed a few things. The glue was visible on my lashes and several of my real lashes were stuck to my extensions. After 4 days I decided to take them all off. Lost about 8 lashes in the battle to take them off. By that time my eyes were itching, I couldn’t wait any longer.
The same day I took my lashes off, I called Judy to voice my experience at the salon. She was really nice and said to come in and she’ll fix everything. We scheduled an appointment. The day of appointment, she cancelled. When I tried to rescheduled, she didn’t call back. The next day I tried again, she said to call the salon. I called the salon… no on picks up. Thus the reason I’m writing this review. I’m going to attempt to get my money back from Groupon. I would not recommend this place for lashes. Go to an experienced esthetician. If you have to pay more, pay more.

I’m very disappointed! I found this spa through Groupon where they were offering 10 sessions of infra red sauna. I purchased the Groupon hoping to get the infra red sauna because I have a medical condition. I tried to contact the spa and after the third attempt, Lin answered the phone claiming that she was not honoring the Groupon voucher because the spa only sold 3 deals. She offered me to get a pedicure… haha, a pedi for $ 59? is she out of her mind? It doesn’t matter if they sold 1 Groupon voucher or a million, she should had shown integrity and still provided the service.
Bottom line, don’t offer a service if you think you will only honor the service in contingency of the amount of sold vouchers. It was a hassle having to call groupon to get my money back. It was very unprofessional, to say the least.

Manicure Only:
I purchased a Plum District Voucher for a SHELLAC manicure. I was surprised the nail tech didn’t have SHELLAC gel polish. She used OPI. I tried to stay flexible as I wanted a gray/​slate color which she didn’t have. The manicure was not great; two of my nails are much shorter on side than the other.
She put her tools back into a glass on the table… I felt as a customer that they weren’t sanitized nor where they going to be. The same with the nail files.
She filed my nails after the polish was set which is not correct as it breaks the seal and can cause lift. I asked her why the two of my nails had white tips and she that would go away. Well it hasn’t and it looks AWFUL! I leave on a business trip tomorrow and I will have to pay to have the polish removed and reapplied while on my trip.
Very disappointed in the entire process (including the black folding office chair which clients sit in to get their manicure). I will not return. And I certainly hope they are sanitizing their tools.

Nail Review– New tech — 2 stars because She was very sweet and advised me on letting my nails breathe (stop painting them for a while) because my nails were turning colors.
Pedicure: First of all they didn’t have the french tip colors so i had to settle for a solid color which they didnt have many options of. She put very little effort into the massage on my feet and didnt massage my legs like most techs do. The only time I decided to bring sweats to change into (because I wear skinny jeans and always have trouble rolling them up) and I don’t get my leg massaged! When she filed my toe nails she was scraping the heck out of my skin and actually cut the side of my big toe and made it bleed some blood got onto the nail file she put some paper on my toe and kept filing away. Paint job was good cuticle removal was good she took her time.
Manicure: same terrible filing job didnt cut my fingers though. She left alot of my cuticles, and put cuticle oil after she finished my nails to make it look better. This was a groupon deal for 30 bucks that’s what it was worth. She charged me 15 extra for the French tip all I had was a 20 so I let her keep the change. When I left and saw that I still had blue on the corners of my pinky nail from the previous nail polish I had, I regretted even paying the 15 extra for the French tip. Worse Mani Pedi Ever! I would not repeat.

REVIEW FOR NAILS ONLY
Went in to see the new nail tech (not Judy) for Groupon offer for gel mani/​pedi. Lady was very nice and tried hard which is why the 1 star, but they are still in process of getting everything in store so I felt like everything was halfway done.
I sat in a black office chair for one, but BIG issue was that I was CUT/​Scraped on five fingers with razor sharp nail file AND the gel on my nails has bumps that look like growths! Gel also got underneath some nails and hardened.
Lastly, she filed my nails after the gel was on which was extremely strange because doing that would cause your nail to show at the end which is exactly what happened.
Overall not a fun experience for 2 hours and my fingers are killing me! :(

(I experienced more than a scheduling hiccup as stated by Sophia T. below)…
LAST MINUTE, MORNING OF!
7:36am Text Message from Judy (my appointment was confirmed for 9:30am): «I have the wax machine at my old location and I need to move it to the new location so I can give you a brow wax too. It’s included in the package. Can you come in at 3:15pm?»
My original appointment was rescheduled more than 5 times in a time span of 2 months. Not only does she cancel at last minute (as texted me at 7:36AM for my 9:30AM appointment!), with reasons anywhere from flooding in Redwood City, not having wax machine, not sure where I was on the calendar, or just not even knowing what happened, Judy verbally confirms appointments but doesn’t keep track of the timing, neglecting to send email confirmations in a timely manner, then consequently double-​books and needs to reschedule again and again.
There were many different events and reasons to get my eyelashes done, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, however, don’t schedule and confirm SEVERAL appointments that you can’t keep! It is unprofessional to continue to cancel at the last minute, the same morning of the confirmed appointment, due to the irresponsible timing of moving and not having a wax machine. I understand having to reschedule once or twice, but anything more than that, it’s just inconsiderate, unprofessional and not expected from a salon.
Don’t have time or availability, then don’t book and confirm appointments. I was understanding the first couple times, but after that, when I book other appointments AROUND Judy’s appointments, just for her to cancel just was really frustrating and inconsistent.
Luckily, after I told her I couldn’t reschedule (AGAIN) from her last minute texts, she suggested I call LivingSocial to get a refund (which I figured I’d do already because of the inconsistency and delinquency). So, the 1 star was because she at least responded, was apologetic, and nice.

UPDATE!
TL;DR:
Judy is definitely much more skilled with eyelash extensions now! The lashes I got this time are more comfortable and none of them are stuck together or falling off like last time. The lashes/​glue are definitely less irritating, and much more natural. Thanks Judy!
Deets:
So, I came back to visit Judy at her temp place in Redwood City before she moves to San Carlos next week as a follow up from the LivingSocial deal (I wasn’t so pleased with the results last time…). She gave me a very generous complementary re-​do of the lashes which was great! This time, she used glue for sensitive eyes and more natural lashes.
Bonus: the extensions took an hour less then last time.

UPDATED EYELASH REVIEW:
This was my first time getting extensions and they looked gorgeous during the first week! I was really surprised because I have a natural set of med-​long length lashes.
The process was simple and painless too. I told her I wanted a natural but with oomph. She went to work taping down my lower lashes to prevent gluing upper and lower lashes together and started gluing the individual lashes to my natural ones. Two hours later, I oped my eyes & my lashes were absolutely fabulous. People could tell that my eyes were bolder but didn’t know they were extensions until I told them.
At home, the lashes fell out daily. At the one week mark, they still looked good (like mascara) but lost the wow factor. At two weeks, it started to look normal again which is when Judy said i need touchups anyway. I’m at the 2.5 weeks mark and I only have a few fake extensions left. I checked all the lashes that fell out and only 6 of my natural lashes fell out in the process.
I didn’t get the recommended touch-​ups b/​c I couldn’t get use to the lashes. They were slightly uncomfy (and I have a habit of rubbing my eyes). It was really hard to close my eyes tightly (to wash my face etc) because the root-​end dug into my eyelids when I closed too tightly. As a result, water and soap got in my eyes when washing. This lasted for about a week. This was really hard to get use and made me want to take them off. But as pain is beauty, I left them on for my engagement party. Even though it looked gorgeous, I wouldn’t consider doing this again until my wedding day.

I went in a little over 3 weeks ago to use my Groupon for eye lash extensions and it was overall a great experience! Be prepared to be there for two hours, these take a long time because she’s gluing each lash extension to one of your regular lashes. I’ve realized I don’t have the patience for doing this on a regular basis but the lashes looked amazing and I had a wedding to go to, so they came in handy.
I got a lot of compliments on it and was also able to go surfing in them, no problem. I’ve had a few fall out but nothing majorly noticeable until this week one eye is looking less balanced than the other but still not too obvious.
When the first went on, they felt SUPER long but she trimmed them a little so it wasn’t so shocking for me. Judy was patient, checked in with me throughout the process and even at home to make sure they were doing okay.

«There’s no such thing as natural beauty.» Words of wisdom from Dolly Parton in one of my favorite 80’s classics: «Steel Magnolias.»
Though I don’t really subscribe to that line of reasoning when it comes to one’s looks, I can see the merit in long luscious looking eyelashes that could never have been bestowed upon me without the help of Judy. I love not having to put on any eye make-​up and just waking up with my eyes looking bright and beautiful; I can see why some people would make this part of their regular beauty routine. They make your eyes just pop, and all I feel like I need to add make-​up wise is lipgloss because the lashes are such a statement. Alas, my budget does not allow for such extravagances, but it’s definitely a fun splurge for special occasions.
I recently returned to Luminious Spa in their new location in Redwood City, and I can only sing Judy’s praises. The process was very relaxing, no problems at all, and though it takes quite some time (two hours), she is very careful with the application. She used a new glue that is for sensitive eyes, and applied more delicate lashes. She was very careful and precise in her application, making sure that I was comfortable. The new location is still being organized, but it was quite and peaceful. The space is bigger than her last place, which is nice. I look forward to seeing it when it’s all done.
When she was finished with the application, she handed me a little mirror to check out her work: it looks gorgeous! I’ll have to show these off at the Mad Men Unilocal event next week (:

One of my favorite things is going to Luminous Spa Studios and seeing Judy for some much needed TLC and revamping! Besides the fact that her facials are so fabulous, I come all the way from the city to get them, but I now am obsessed with the eyelash extension service. I can’t believe what a difference some extra length on the lashes can do for a gal. I love this services so much, I already scheduled out my appointments for the next 6 months. Also, at the spa, Judy does a great job of consistently making me feel comfortable, relaxed, and calm during all the service she provides, and I always feel so rejuvenated and revamped after an appointment. But seriously, run — don’t walk, to Luminous Spa Studios and you wont be disappointed! Be sure and check out the eyelash extension service available, you wont be disappointed!!!

«Is it stinging?»
Yes it’s effing stinging. There’s glue in my eye.
I was looking forward to trying out lash extensions when I bought the $ 89 Living Social special for them with a hand treatment AND a brow wax? No way. Too good to be true.
I read reviews from other eyelash extension places and thought, how bad could it be?
It all started out good enough. I lay down on her table and she put on some handwarmers. There was peaceful music and after she taped down my lower lashes (with what I think was masking tape) I started drifting to sleep…
An hour and a half later, I had drifted off and it was time to open my eyes. I slowly started to lift my lids and the shock of glue dripping into my eyes made my eyes immediately start to water. Unfortunately I could not wipe them away because my hands were conveniently trapped by those hand warmers. At some points, my lower lid was glued onto the upper one so she started picking at those points with tweezers which was less than pleasant.
She seemed calm so I was thinking maybe I’m just having a bad reaction to the glue… She retaped my lower eyelids and this time, one piece of tape was placed a little too high and was cutting into my eye when I closed it. She added on a few more extensions and sent me on my way.
I looked in the mirror and thought, I guess it looks good. No more mascara is awesome. But then it was time to wash my face and I touched them. It felt like there was wire on my eyes and I couldn’t even get close to washing my eyes because when I pressed close to them, the cheap plastic lashes pressed into my eyelids. In the shower, I couldn’t wipe the water from my eyes for the same reason.
After a couple of days, I could see the bunches of lashes clumped together with glue and realized she had glued the eyelashes onto eyelids. I could now understand why my eyelids were feeling raw and I was ready to rip them off. I made an emergency appointment with Taka from Skincare by Taka and she helped me remove them. She said instead of putting 1 extension on 1 lash, they had applied 1 extension with a bunch of lashes making it very difficult to remove and understandably uncomfortable.
An hour later, I had finally unloaded those horrible extensions as well as half of my lashes. Needless to say I would never go back to them for extensions and I’m even wary to redeem the rest of my Living Social coupon for a brow waxing (Probably won’t after this review gets posted: P)
If you already bought the deal, just ask for a refund. I definitely would not recommend her for eyelash extensions after this ordeal and I wish I had done more research but !@#$ happens. I’m just sad it happened to my lashes.