Magic Nails — Local services in Albuquerque

Went here in late July 2023 for a pedicure and came away disappointed. The young male tech who trimmed my nails (and did everything else before painting) did a good job (the only issue was he did not tell me that he made one of my toes bleed), but he seemed uncomfortable and kept making brief comments in his native language. This has never been an issue for me, but that day, there were two female techs who would surreptitiously look at me, and then there'd be back-and-forth comments with my nail tech. This made me somewhat uncomfortable, as I know that my nails are in horrible shape (and I typically tip 75-100% due to this), but then I was told that my tech was going to "meet a friend for coffee" ("friend" was an older male who had already come through checking in with everyone, so appeared as owner/boss to me). An older female tech took over to paint my nails, which made me even more uncomfortable. She was way too talkative while asking me personal questions. When she finished painting my nails and asked if they were okay, I pointed out where she missed one spot. She insisted it was "skin" until I took a picture and enlarged it, and then she "fixed" it. I left when they told me my nails were dry. By the time I got home, about 30 minutes after leaving, the nail she "fixed" was messed up. I was concerned because I had NEVER had that happen before, so I lightly rubbed another nail, and ALL the polish immediately came off! Given how unprofessional they were and how uncomfortable I felt, I did not call or return -...

As someone with significant cuticle buildup, finding the right salon to do proper cleanup is an accomplishment I have not been able to achieve. Magic Nails did not pass, but I want to first highlight the good.

It’s obvious that there’s a regular crowd of folks who visit this salon and know the techs well. The staff working this evening were all incredibly kind. With that, I also very much appreciated that I was offered water free of charge and my tech was very friendly throughout my manicure and pedicure.

Some reviews I have seen highlight the cleanliness of this salon; though I can’t say I’d give accolades for that here, the salon felt cared for and cleaner than many others.

For an opportunity to improve, my tech cut me on both hands…with one cut severe enough that I couldn’t stop the bleeding for about two hours. While she was working on my nails and I continued to bleed, she proceeded to touch it with her bare hands and apply two unspecified liquids on it to help stop the bleeding, then blowing on the cut so as to dry it. She was incredibly sweet and kept saying sorry- and accidents do happen, but I found myself nervous and anxious to get home and treat/disinfect my wounds properly. With that, the work on my cuticle cleanup was not up to par and I have to say that I felt a little surprised when my bill still totaled $70 given the circumstances.

That said, I may have just had bad luck! Do with this information...

I went to this shop today and the owner put me in a pedicure chair. When a young lady came to start and I requested her not to use the latex gloves because I was allergic. It truly was because the young lady was just cleaning another pedicure chair, handling dirty towels, etc., and she didn't change her gloves before coming over to put the blue chemical in my water. This was something that I personally witnessed. The manager said she had to wear the gloves because she had cut herself. She never changed her gloves even after I requested someone else. She started on the other customer with the same dirty gloves. The owner said that it would be about 15-20 minutes for me in a rude tone even though three young ladies came in after me and were serviced. Also, there were two other ladies that could have done my pedicure. At that time I removed myself from the pedicure chair and dried my feet and as I was leaving, the owner was apologizing because she knew that I wasn't threated fairly. I told her that I am going where I feel comfortable with the staff and sanitary wasn't so obviously disregarded! This isn't a place that I would recommend to anyone, nor will I go again for service. Why would I spend my money in an establishment where it wasn't sanitary, the staff is unfriendly, and the...