O’Studio — Local services in Philadelphia

I was hesitant posting this since I loved this place so much and always recommended it to all my friends. O’Studio was my go to nail spot, but unfortunately my last visit for a removal was such a horrendous experience that even 2 months later I still am so upset about it.

I always requested Chelsea, who does phenomenal work every time and I trust her! This time, however, when I came in for my appointment for a nail removal, I was met with a girl who I notice usually is behind the reception counter even though I had requested Chelsea to work on my nails when I booked the appt. I thought that was so odd since Chelsea was sitting there next to us with no other client, in fact I was the only nail client in the store, but I just assumed there was maybe a double booking coming in soon or the receptionist was in training, so I just went with it. (Chelsea had another client a little over an hour into my service, given removals take about 30ish minutes as listed on their booking site, Chelsea for sure could’ve taken me). I should’ve listened to my gut because what would unfold was so scary.

This lady completely butchered my nails. When using the drill on multiple occasions, the drill kept bouncing off my nails and onto my other fingers, signs that she was not experienced and didn’t use a light hand. It burned so bad, and usually I have a pretty high tolerance to pain and don’t mind the discomfort, but I kept having to tell her it hurt. Not sure if this made her nervous as her hands started to become very moist and sweaty and made the experience more unbearable. I noticed this lady would also ask Chelsea for advice/what step/tool she needed to use next which added to my frustration since I wanted Chelsea to perform my service in the first place! Just overall this girl had amateur technique that inflicted a lot of physical pain and anxiety on my end. The whole removal took 1.5 hrs, usually a whole removal+set takes about 1.5-2hrs!! On top of that, she left my nails in a total disarray, poorly filed and not a single cuticle cut (as seen below). My nails were left so incredibly brittle and beaten, my skin was severely butchered, and there were fibers all over and stuck to my nails. I received my removal in May I still am suffering and waiting for them to heal to this day in July! My nails are about half grown and I still can see where the nail caves in very deeply from the damage and still experience the pain that comes with it with usage. Although I anticipated my nails would be a bit weaker since I got them done regularly, from everything that transpired during this ordeal, I’m confident that this appt alone contributed to the majority of the damage.

Below are pictures of my nails immediately walking out after my nightmare appointment. How they left me was just unacceptable. Thankfully, they had at least given me this appointment free of charge, but it was only due to the longevity of the appointment. Honestly, even if it was done in a timely manner, I don’t think the quality was worth any money at all. I understand when training staff you want them to have hands-on practice, but if an employee is unable to perform services correctly or in a timely manner, I would suggest the business to incorporate different methods of training. I also suggest that if a client requests a specific tech to do their service, to give them that person or inform your clients ahead of time if there are any issues with scheduling! or else what’s the point, it’s just plain unprofessional. I still will never understand this change since Chelsea was clearly at her station unoccupied for at least an hour.

All in all, I didn’t give 1 star in lieu of the good memories I DID have here. I am so sad that O’studio has let me down. I was always so excited coming here to get a new set, but now they have left me no choice but to reconsider...

I'm always hesitant to leave bad reviews because I don't want to impact someone's livelihood or receive a defensive response from the business, but I do want to let people know of my experience. I saw Sisi a couple of weeks ago and I had a painful experience. She made me bleed and disregarded my stated preferences or straight up laughed at me when I asked for things. I do my best to be polite and I did try to be a bit more assertive in this situation, but when someone is doing your nails and tells you that they are the expert and tells you that you don't know what you're talking about, it's difficult to argue with that. I got gel on natural nails. First I asked her match nail shapes on both hands, and she just cut the round tip off the right hand nails. I thought she was going to file a shape into it but thank goodness I said something because she was just going to leave it like that. On my left hand I had round nails and on the right hand she had cut the tip of each one with a nail clipper using one cut, so not only were they shorter and didn't match, but they were also a really strange shape. I told her my hands didn't match (left hand was natural round, and now the right hand was shorter and round with the tip cut off) and she held up my mismatched nails to her face and said she had no clue what I was talking about. She told me they're the same shape. I thought I was taking crazy pills. She said no one would notice anyway because of "social distancing", and that everyone has mismatched nails. I kind of gave up asserting myself at that point because I didn't want to be rude, and just went with it because she kept denying what I was saying. She then made two of my fingers bleed from cuticle clipping. When the first one bled and I flinched, she giggled and told me it's because I don't get my nails done enough. Then she made my second cuticle bleed and kept going despite me telling her it was painful. 13 days later I still have a scab on the cuticle of my left hand so it's in my engagement photos (silly, I know, but it mattered to me). The gel curing burned like hell, and she giggled at me when I flinched every time. She told me it was normal to hurt that much but I was shocked by the pain. I wanted to leave at several points but I didn't because I didn't want to be rude. So that's a "me" problem, but I was discouraged because when I spoke up, she was either telling me I was wrong or laughing at me. She did a good job helping me pick out the gel color and the color itself is beautiful, which is why I gave 2 stars. Overall I was really disappointed in my experience and would not recommend this salon, unless I'm truly a novice and gel manicures are supposed to make you bleed, give you mismatched nails, and burn so bad they make you jump with pain. I...

I recently had a wonderful experience at a nail salon in Philadelphia, known for their special Chinese and Japanese nail art techniques. I wanted a Christmas-themed design, and they absolutely nailed it! The design not only looked incredible but also lasted really well.

The people working there are super friendly and attentive. They really take the time to listen to what you're looking for and come up with great suggestions. It's nice to feel heard and see your ideas come to life so perfectly.

I'd definitely recommend this salon to anyone in Philly looking for high-quality, personalized nail art, especially if you have a specific design in mind, like I did with my Christmas theme. Oh, and they have two...