Salon Nouvelle NYC — Local services in New York

WARNING TO ALL SALON NOUVELLE CUSTOMERS (especially ClassPass members), DO N O T BOOK ANY COLORING SERVICES HERE.

They will NOT honor ClassPass credits, you WILL be waiting for at least an hour to actually start the service (even if you have an appointment), and they WILL charge you anywhere from $250-$350 for the service. You also may be unknowingly paying extra for services that you did not ask for.

I had an appointment for 4:30PM on Tuesday, told the woman at the front desk that I had an Ombré Color appointment with ClassPass. She was confused and seemed to not have it documented - even though I showed her the receipt - but sat me down anyway. I showed Angela pictures of the last two times I had gotten an ombré with money pieces at Salon Nouvelle. Angela blew out my curly hair, and then made me wait for an hour while she serviced walk-in clients. After the first hour, she then starts dying my hair and starts making comments about political affiliations and telling me to vote for Trump, which has never happened to me in the two years of going to this salon.

Four hours later, she then blows my hair out for a second time, and I realize that she actually gave me highlights instead of the ombré that I had initially asked for. The blowout and highlights themselves were decent, but it was NOT the service I had asked/paid for.

Given it was past 8:30pm, I go to the front desk to get change and tip Angela and the washer, but the woman tells me that I owe an additional $250 because I got highlights and not ombré, even though I had shown Angela multiple photos of myself after leaving Salon Nouvelle from the last two years with ombré as a reference that she ignored. There had also never been an issue with ClassPass in the past two years, and the woman had known before starting the service that that was how I had booked the appointment, and said nothing to me about it.

The woman then calls Natalie, who begins screaming on the phone at me for 10 minutes straight that I owe them $250 because they don't do ombré via ClassPass any longer. The woman at the front had never told me that (even though I said it the second I walked in), AND Angela did not give me the ombré coloring that I had asked for (when I never mentioned highlights at any point). If there was an issue was with my ClassPass reservation, that should have been stated immediately instead of their team being inappropriately misleading. Instead, Natalie chose to blame me as the customer for not paying for services when it is her business that works with ClassPass and continuously misleads her customers.

As a prior loyal client to this business for the last two years, getting screamed at, lied to, and overcharged from the owner and front desk woman was disheartening and disappointing. Not a single apology was said from any of 3 of them before leaving. Given Natalie, the front desk woman, and Angela all were WELL aware of the services I had paid for, they blatantly ignored everything, gave me the wrong service, and made this a HORRENDOUS customer experience. I will never be returning and want to make sure others are aware of what they might be getting themselves into before stepping foot into...

DON'T BOOK COLORING HERE!!

They will NOT honor ClassPass credits, you WILL be waiting or at least an hour to actually start the service (even if you have an appointment), and they WILL charge you anywhere from $250+ for a coloring service. You also may be unknowingly paying for services that you did not ask for.

I had an appointment for 4:30PM last Tuesday, told the woman at the front desk that I had an Ombré Color appointment with ClassPass. She was confused and seemed to not have it documented - even though I showed her the receipt - but sat me down anyway. I showed the stylist (A) pictures of the last two times I had gotten an ombré with money pieces at Salon Nouvelle. (A) blew out my curly hair, and then made me wait an hour while she serviced walk in clients. After the first hour, she then starts dying my hair and making comments about political affiliations, telling me who I should be voting for, which has never happened to me in the two years of going to this salon.

Four hours later, she then blows my hair out for a second time, and I realize that she actually gave me highlights instead of the ombré that I had initially asked for. The blowout and the highlights themselves were decent, but it was NOT the service I had asked/paid for.

Given it was past 8:30PM, I go to the front desk to get change and tip (A) and the washer, but the front desk woman tells me that I owe an additional $250 because I got highlights and not ombré, even though I had shown the stylist multiple photos of myself after leaving Salon Nouvelle from the last two years with ombré as a reference that she ignored. There had also never been an issue with ClassPass in the past two years, and the woman had known before starting the service that that was how I had booked the appointment, and said nothing to me about it.

The woman then calls the owner who began screaming on the phone at me for 10 minutes straight that I owe them $250 because they don't do ombré via ClassPass any longer. The woman at the front had never told me that was the case (even though I said "I'm here with a ClassPass ombré appointment" the second I walked in) AND the stylist gave me highlights instead when I never mentioned asking for at any point. If there was an issue with my ClassPass reservation, that should have been stated immediately rather than their team being inappropriately misleading. Instead, the owner blamed me as the customer for not paying for services, when it is her business that works with ClassPass that says online they offer ombré services with Salon Nouvelle.

As a prior loyal client to this business for the last two years, getting screamed at, lied to, and overcharged from the owner and front desk woman was disheartening and disappointing. Not a single apology was said from the owner, front desk woman, nor stylist before leaving. All were WELL aware of the services I had paid for, blatantly ignored everything, gave me the wrong service and made this a HORRENDOUS customer experience. I will never be returning and want to make sure others are aware of what they might be getting...

Unprofessional and Concerning Practices

This salon is very unprofessional and has serious issues with both customer service and employee treatment. There’s a high turnover rate—I notice a new assistant every time I visit. It’s not because they’re bad at their jobs but likely because they’re treated so poorly by the owner that they don’t want to stay. For example, employees are forced to use a tiny storage unit as a break room, even though there’s a large, unused space in the back with a table.

I also had a terrible experience with the products they sold me. I purchased three Kerastase items, and within weeks, I realized something was wrong. The smell wasn’t quite right, and eventually, I discovered mold in one of the products. Thankfully, I noticed before continuing to use it. I would strongly advise against buying products here—stick to the official website, where the products are authentic, often discounted, and sometimes come with free gifts.

Their services are overhyped as well. The styles are outdated, their methods are questionable, and they reuse bleach, color, and toner between clients. Yes, the same bowl of product might be used for multiple people. This is unhygienic and unacceptable.

Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this salon. There are far better options in the area with updated styles, professional methods, and...