Nail Honey — Local services in Philadelphia

I really wanted to love this salon. It seemed perfect — open late, open on Sundays, and within walking distance — which felt ideal for my busy schedule. The first two visits were great, and I got exactly what I asked for. Unfortunately, the last three visits have been nothing but frustrating.

Each time, I walked in and immediately showed multiple staff members, including the person in charge, exactly what I wanted. Each time, they assured me it was doable, gave me a price, and started the service. But after spending hours there, when it was finally time for the design, I was suddenly told they couldn’t do it — whether it was a missing color, polish, or skill.

Most recently, I requested a simple airbrush design: pink with yellow airbrush on one hand, yellow with pink airbrush on the other. I showed the reference photo right away, spent an hour on my feet and another hour on my nails, only to be told when it was time for the design that no one there knew how to airbrush. I was then informed I’d need to come after 4 p.m. for designs — something I should’ve been told when I first arrived.

I even tried to compromise by asking for a painted design instead, just to make the colors look more intentional, but they couldn’t do that either.

This was my third disappointing visit, and unfortunately, I won’t be back. If they had been upfront about their limitations when I walked in, I could’ve adjusted my plans — instead, I left with plain, mismatched polish that I didn’t even want.

I’m sharing this review in hopes that they improve their communication and better manage customer...

2 hours before my shift, I wanted to get a gel polish changed. I called around 9:00 AM to inquire about pricing for a GEL polish change. The lady said 15$ . I said okay and that I will arrive in 5 minutes since I was around the area. There were only two workers working that was already working on a customer .. no problem. She had me soak my nails in acetone, which is fine. I know it’s a first come first serve basis and I didn’t mind waiting but she said that a worker will be in 5 minutes and that he will work on my hand. Every 20 min she came to check on my nails while it’s soaking. Why am I soaking my nails for an hour . At that point I know she was just stalling time. 10:05 AM .. an hour has already passed the guy worker walks in and she has him do a DIFFERENT customer who came in 10 min prior to his arrival who’s getting a pedicure and manicure. That’s when I got pissed. I told her I had to go to work at 11:00 AM and she said she will have me out of here by 10:30 AM. She knew I was mad and dissatisfied. I didn’t get service until 10:20 AM. All I wanted was a simple gel polish change. THAT . IS . ALL. She ended up putting designs on my nails that I DID NOT ASKED FOR and CHARGED ME for it. When it was time to pay she charged me 30$. Didn’t leave out until 10:40 AM.

First and last time. Never coming...

I went in for a new set of acrylics expecting to be there for about an hour and a half max. Instead, I was kept there for almost three hours. Every time I asked how much longer, they told me “20 minutes” or “15 minutes”—over and over—but it dragged on way past that with no real explanation.

The technician doing my nails didn’t speak English, which made communication incredibly difficult. At one point, she started painting over my entire nail instead of doing the French tip part I asked for. It got so bad that her coworker had to literally stand beside her and guide her through it. It took nearly 10 minutes of confusion and back-and-forth before she finally understood what I wanted.

While the nails themselves turned out beautiful, the process was exhausting, frustrating, and unprofessional. I value my time and my experience, and unfortunately, this salon didn’t seem to value either.

It is currently 10 PM, my parents are furious with me, I haven’t even had dinner because I was so frustrated, and I still have things to take care of at home. My first visit here was great, but I’d give it a try they did try to compensate me with discounts and refunds to make up for it—I’m most likely not coming back again because of the second visit but every client and technician is different but I’d still shoot...