Paint Bar — Local services in Los Angeles

I had a very negative experience with Paint Bar in LA during a visit. I will share the reasons why. After I posted this on Yelp I saw the other 1 star reviews and learned I was not alone in receiving such terrible customer service, rapid peeling, and the issue of overpricing. Not to mention there were multiple people who experienced racism there. TLDR: Do not give them your $.

1. The website booking made it seem as if a regular manicure could include the application of regular polish, gel, or bring your own for $40, but when I arrived I was told it was an additional amount (around $20-25) for gel. I thought $40 was already extremely expensive, but I was on vacation and heard this dry manicure was good and makes the polish last longer. So I opted for the regular with regular polish. The manager or owner or whoever was in charge told me how the dry manicure makes polish last longer since your cuticle skin doesn't swell and change with water.

2. The manicurist cut me while working on my cuticles and I was bleeding. She had to use something to stop the blood regularly. It stopped enough for her to continue working. I paid, I left.

3. On the day after I got it (I got it Tuesday morning), on Wednesday afternoon, I already had 2 nails that were chipped and there was still some blood from where she cut me. By Thursday I had 3 more chipped, and not just a tiny bit on the edges, but almost halfway off the nail. the top halves continued to peel each day. I think the polish brand was Botanica (possibly the culprit?)

4. I soon contacted the salon via their website and received no reply. On Thursday, I sent them an email with photos and told them about the issues, and asked for a partial refund. No reply for days. I called and left a message. No reply. I could not believe how quickly all my nails started chipping. It is not like I work on an assembly line or fix cars with my hands all day. This was such a disappointment and I felt totally swindled. A regular manicure I get in NYC lasts usually at least 4-7 days before chipping. This lasted 1 day. In an eventual email response I received a week later, they took no responsibility for the substandard service and did not grant any partial refund request.

I highly DO NOT recommend this place for a regular manicure! Save your money or go...

I booked my appointment and was excited about my mani /pedi. On my way to my appointment, I was hit from behind while driving on the 405, and could no longer make it to my appointment (obviously). There were four vehicles involved in the accident, the police were on their way.

A few hours later, after dealing with insurance, my job, and getting a check-up (I’m 8 months pregnant, so the accident had me very stressed), I received a text message from Paint Bar that I would be charged $70 for the missed appointment.

When I called and spoke to a male at Paint Bar, I was told that because I didn’t cancel my appointment 24 hours ahead of time, whatever the “excuse” was, I had to pay for the full amount of the service. They were able to squeeze in a manicure to cover some of the time and “save me money”, but they were not able to fill the pedicure time, so I had to lay $70. He told me that this is how the “girls” get paid. Not once did he say anything about his business, but it was all about how the girls are left without pay due to a customer’s misfortune.

I told him that as the business owner, he should take care of his employees when emergencies like multi-vehicle accidents happen and customers legitimately cannot make it. I offered to send him the information about the police report and images of the four vehicles. Nonetheless, they still charged me the $70 because of their “policy.”

This is the worst customer service that I have ever seen for any beauty service in Los Angeles. Now, in top of dealing with the aftermath of this collision, they’ve taken my money, and shown me that not only do they not care about their customers, but their “girls” don’t get paid when a valid emergency occurs and the employee ultimately pays the price where an owner should step in with empathy and compassion for life’s most unfortunate moments.

I loved their services previously, but will never again give this man or either of his establishments a dime. I will take my money somewhere that cares for its customers and...

I had a horrible experience at this salon. Here’s what happened: I booked a gel manicure, but when I got there I told the technician that I didn’t want gel. I wanted something natural, focused on the cuticles, a clean natural look. Instead, she immediately started preparing a thick gel application.

For context, I usually look for Russian-style manicures because they do deep cuticle work with a very thin gel. My nails are short because I bite them, so thick gel doesn’t make sense and doesn’t look good. But she insisted on showing me a pink gel and kept going in a direction I never asked for.

When I reminded her that I wanted something natural, the whole salon started commenting, almost making me feel like I was being difficult. One of them said, “But this is the technology,” as if I was wrong for not wanting thick gel. I was shocked. The guide and the receptionist even offered me not to pay, just to leave a tip. But I insisted on paying, because that wasn’t the point — it wasn’t about the money. It was about how awful the entire experience was.

Even another manicurist, who wasn’t even the one doing my nails, jumped into the situation just to tell me about “the technology.” Why? It only made me feel worse. I left the salon feeling really bad, like the whole thing had been unnecessary and uncomfortable.

Honestly, maybe this salon works for people who don’t care about having thick, clumsy-looking nails like they usually do here in the U.S., and that’s fine for them. But that’s not me. I like precise, natural work, and what I got here was the complete opposite. This was...