Polished Nail Bar in DTLA — Local services in Los Angeles

RIP Polished Nail Bar 🙏 Under new ownership since earlier this year and the quality is not nearly the same that it used to be. I would recommend getting press ons before going here for acrylic/gel x.

Went this past Saturday for a full acrylic pedi and gel x mani- simple French tip. The mani had a bunch of minor-ish flaws (crooked nails, my thumb nails aren’t the same size, tips didn’t fill my nail beds so they kinda look like press ons, etc). The pedicure was CRAZY. Globby lumpy uneven acrylic, spread way beyond my nail beds, acrylic and glue all over and between and under my toes, painted terribly, looked like a I had a child do them literally). I paid $220 plus $20 tip (I can’t bring myself to not tip someone without feeling super guilty) and left unhappy. They barely soaked or scrubbed my feet at all either. I went home and got a closer look and realized just HOW BAD it was- left a review with photos and called it a loss. I received a text from the owner saying they’d redo my nails on Monday when their “best techs” were available if I deleted my review. I gave it a shot- I told them I didn’t have time to soak off my manicure (I was under the impression they were going to soak off my nails and redo the service) and to essentially just change the polish on it to match my new pedi (was changing the base color because they didn’t use a natural French tip base the first time either, I don’t feel like going fully into this whole long story forgive me). They didn’t remove the nails on my feet, they just removed the polish, cut and trim off the excess acrylic and reshaped them a bit and repolished (they looked way better than the initial pedicure but still wasn’t great or the quality I used to get here. They’re still very thick and weird, just not globby and insane. But I do now have several cuts from all the intense filing.) They did the same thing on my hands. Removed the polish, refiled, repainted. I figured this was the best it was going to get and I could deal with it for the couple weeks and just not return to this salon and call it a loss. I tipped and left. (Again, I feel bad not tipping people). The very next day, my pinky nail on my hand just pops off. I text the owner a photo and they said to come back the next day to fix it. Idk who can make time for 3 salon visits in under a week. They denied a refund and offered 10% off on my next visit. There will be no next visit. I paid over $260 for a mid mani/pedi to not even have a full set because I’m immediately missing a nail. I do not recommend coming here. I was coming here for 3 years and have many friends who used to come here for years as well. None of us will be back 🙁 (if any of the old employees of polished want to let me know where y’all are working now, I know many people who are dying to know 😭)

I don’t really care what they inevitably end up responding to this review trying to explain their side. There is no two sides. I was very nice and polite throughout this entire debacle. I’m just leaving an honest review. And for anyone else who takes up their offer to fix a messed up set, just know it’s going to be awkward. The two techs who were assigned to fixing my nails were nice and worked very hard to try to fix the mess on my feet. But, a bunch of other techs crowded around especially at the beginning to look at the nails and even one decided to ask me “what’s wrong with them?” Girl, please...

I have been getting my nails done for the better half of 15 years and I hate to write a review like this, but after having 2 terrible experiences I think it's important to let this place know where they are falling short....unfortunately both experiences were with the same nail tech, so I feel bad as this may reflect badly on the business as a whole or the other techs who may be great.

First off the last time I was here was a few months ago...I had just moved to the area and was looking for a convenient place to get my nails done on my off days. The service started off by me asking for a fill-before I could stop her she was already cutting my nails off with the nail clippers, so I was of course getting charged for a full set even though I had asked for a fill. Second, the tech starts filing my nails with the drill and pressing so hard it is burning my nails, she also nicked me 3 times and made me bleed each time. I considered leaving multiple times because honestly it was the most painful manicure I have ever gotten in my life. In addition to that I had told the nail tech exactly what I wanted, but she kept trying to upsell me. By the 3rd time I just repeated exactly what I wanted to try to get the point across. At this point I can't wait to get out of this place. Her demeanor was anything but friendly welcoming or hospitable, and the service was anything but enjoyable. After such a bad experience I decided I would not go back to that place. I considered writing a review then, but thought maybe that lady was just having a bad day....Today, the place I have been going was closed for some reason. I was in a hurry and I figured I would give this place another shot. There are many techs in house, so I though the odds of me getting the same lady again were slim, but I was wrong. I didn't remember what the girl looked like from last time, but as soon as she started chopping my nails off after I had clearly asked for a fill I realized It was the same lady. She started with her upselling again and even though I had mentioned my nails were very sensitive in hopes that she would be more careful , she went on with the aggressive filing with the drill. After getting nicked yet again I told her I was going to need to go somewhere else to get my nails done. This has been my worst nail salon experience twice now. I had a 30 minute electrolysis session done today, a nail service should in no way be anywhere close to as painful as that. So disappointing as I would have been a regular customer here with convenience of...

Was recommended this place by someone I know. I’ve seen them go to nice nail shops before where drinks were served and all so I expected that. This was no where near that level of luxury. Not luxury at all. Run of mill shop. Or maybe less than that. Not sure. I usually go to luxe places.

Is it normal nowadays to get a pedicure with no jets on and have your feet soak for maybe a total of 6 minutes of an hour long service ? Is it normal to not be asked about water temperature? Is it normal to file back and forth instead of in a singular direction like a lot of cosmetology/aesthetician schools teach ? Is it normal to not even have air condition running and no fans in use while the doors are open during the summer? Is it normal to essentially just get a polish change instead of a pedicure when you book a basic ?

Cut my mom’s toe and then tried to not acknowledge that she was bleeding. After a little back and forth she added some antiseptic. But she put the bottle to the piece of cotton ball that had already been dabbing up the blood. Very unsanitary. The tool that had her blood on it was not sanitized. Then she proceeded to grab the yellow scrubber from the ground a few times. Also unhygienic. Trash shouldn’t be tossed in the pedi bowl until after the aquatic part is over. Their version of cleaning the chair is just wiping with a basic towel. Not spraying or anything between customers. And why are items being grabbed from the “soiled” box to use on clients? Maybe a refresher course is needed.

The space itself is very tight. The sink for hand washing is small and right by a pedicure station. I would hate to be the one right there. There’s also so much trying to upsell. It’s honestly very annoying. If people constantly say they want one service , and do not want to change that service / are fine with it , let it be. It was happening all over the salon. Why are a lot of the products somewhat watered down? Now one nice thing I’ll say, the lady doing gel-x next to us did what looked like a good job.

And to whoever does the responses to reviews, do not bother responding to me. I can see how you are dismissive...