Sacred Scarab Nail Boutique — Attraction in Oak Park

I've had probably close to 100 pedicures at dozens of salons, and this was by far the most I've ever paid for the worst service I've ever encountered. I can't speak to the manicures, but I absolutely do not recommend getting a pedicure here. I ended up paying $90 for a no-chip pedicure (including a 20% tip), which was not even the service I had made an appointment for. The quality of service combined with the demeanor of Nicole, the technician I worked with, has made me swear off giving this place a second chance despite the many positive reviews.

My specific experience is as follows: I made an appointment weeks in advance with Nicole for a no-chip manicure with nail art. The day of my appointment I forgot my wallet at home and called to tell my technician that I would be running a few minutes late. Her response was so cold and unprofessional that it took me aback. I was 12 minutes late to my appointment and was told that because of this I might not be able to get the nail art I had booked for, despite the fact that my technician had no other appointments after me. I am aware that being late is not ideal, but the judgmental and frankly rude way it was addressed by Nicole was astounding. After explaining that I basically just wanted a French manicure with a few extra details, Nicole agreed. I asked if it would be possible to add nail extensions, to which I was told Sacred Scarab does not offer that service. I stated that this was not made clear to me while booking, and Nicole responded "It's actually all over our website." This turned out not to be the case, as I explain later. I was offered and accepted a pedicure instead, which I did appreciate.

The experience of the pedicure service itself was mediocre. The salon is extremely clean and well decorated. However, the website indicates that they are still following COVID protocols and explicitly states that staff will be masked. Though masks were offered, I was the only one in the salon using one. The chairs are comfortable, but not massage chairs. The foot soaking basins they offer are just tubs with warm water that cooled quickly. No jets or even soaking salts are employed and they do not refill the tubs with warm water once the soak gets cold. The exfoliation, foot scrubs, and massage were very, very brief and not particularly thorough. During the massage, my technician got oil on my jeans which I have not yet been able to get out. Nicole was very careful when it came to making sure the polish didn't get onto my cuticles, which I greatly appreciated, but the application of the polish itself was uneven and could have used another coat. While receiving the pedicure I took some time to browse the Sacred Scarab website to see where I had missed the note regarding nail extensions. Nowhere on the site is this mentioned despite what my technician said. The salon's instagram bio states they are a "natural nail salon" but does not indicate that this refers to not doing extensions rather than using a natural polish. I finally found the information in the "About" section of the salon's Facebook page, which also says they do not remove dip or acrylic nails. Literally nowhere else is this stated at the time of my writing this review. I let my nail technician know that this was the case and her response was "Oh." $90 later all I'm left with are a pedicure that's fine at best and mildly...

I came in to have a medi pedi for a wedding im attending this weekend and I am beyond satisfied with the service and Gabrielle’s attention to detail. Gabrielle offered helpful color suggestions when she noticed I was struggling to make a decision and did a fantastic job with my hands and feet (5/5). It’s like she did a spring cleaning on my hands and feet. My hands look “engagement-ready” and I’m convinced I should explore foot modeling 🦶 after my visit with her because she made me look and feel that damn good. I highly highly recommend her and I will be returning and referring colleagues that live in the neighborhood. Other things to note, I was seen at my scheduled time and the business...

I had an amazing experience at Sacred Scarab and would say it’s the best nail salon in the area (I’ve tried several). I love that they use sink basins for feet soaking (so much more sanitary!) and the whole salon is sparkling clean. The staff clean and wipe down every surface as clients move through to different stations.

The nail tech who worked on my mani/pedi was meticulous and spent considerable time buffing and working on cleaning up my cuticles, callouses, etc. She asked questions all throughout the appointment to make sure I was happy with the results. She did a fantastic job - sacred scarab has secured a loyal customer for as long as I...