Polished Nest — Local services in San Francisco

Ladies and gents, raise your hand if you think that a $40 (before tip) gel manicure that barely lasts for 10 days is considered as "pretty good." If you do, I highly recommend taking your business to a different nail salon.

I'm going to start off by saying that Polished Nest was always my back up. I only come here out of sheer convenience since they're located a block away from my office. However, the service and quality of work has never been great.

My last two visits at Polished Nest are completely unacceptable and I simply will not be back. First off, the owner threw shade my way when I came in for my wax. It was partially my fault because I had said I could be there in 20 mins, but my work meeting ran late and I was 20 mins late. When I got there, I received a very chilly "haven't seen you in a long time" greeting which resonated a bitter taste. My wax was no good and I ended up tweezing out the stragglers myself at home. ouch

The following day, I texted her to make an appointment for two manis. She went the extra mile to shame me for the previous day by reminding me that the techs will reserve time for me and made me confirm that I'll let her know if I can't make it. I have never been late or a no-show before, I felt like her attitude was totally uncalled for. Ten minutes to my appointment, she texts me to push back by 15 mins because they're not ready. My friend and I waited an extra 10 minutes in the chairs before they started. I guess the techs' time at Polished Nest is super important, but not their customers'!

The straw that broke the camel's back is when my gel nails started to chip badly 10 days in and my co-worker's only lasted 7 days before it started to peel. When I let her know about this, she first tried to tell me that there are many reasons for a short-lived gel mani including polish, techs and customers' nails being too oily. Well, I've seriously had about 70 gel manis in my life and never an issue with them lasting at least 2-3 weeks-- so I'm assuming the issue is their polish and techs. Then she tried to tell me that 10 days (1.5 weeks) is "pretty good" for a gel mani. Are you kidding me?! I immediately went to Gelish's website to fact check and confirmed that they say it should last up to 3 weeks. Operating at half the max time of 3 weeks and charging about $10 more than usual salons is not "pretty good" to me.

Bottom line is-- it's my own fault for going even though their quality and service has always left much to be desired. Happy to take my business...

I don’t know how they do it, but my gel manicure here had the best retention I’ve ever seen! After four full weeks with no lifting or chipping (despite how incredibly rough I am on my nails), I finally removed the polish myself. The only maintenance I did was a weekly filing to make sure they didn’t get too long. You can see how great they looked as they grew out in my photos :)

The salon itself is quiet and welcoming. They have tons of colors to choose from, including lots of cat-eye/magnetic polishes. The staff were all very nice and I didn’t have to wait despite being a walk-in. My nail tech was also incredibly gentle, which I appreciate.

I loved my experience here, but also know that this is not a typical nail salon. I sat in a cushioned armchair (no table). The nail tech pulled up a stool, put the lamp in my lap, and worked off the arm of the chair. It was different, but really comfortable. It’s a lovely change of pace from the intensity of...

I am OBSESSED with my nails. Came here because a friend comes here and her nails are always super cute.

The place is definitely a bit homey, don't expect anything fancy. The chairs are also not too equipped for short people, I was reclined at kind of an awkward angle and my back was a bit sore afterwards. They're like soft big arm chairs you cuddle up in a cabin to read a book. Not the standard spa chairs.

The nail tech who greeted me and started on my pedi wasn't the chattiest and there was no music playing, so I felt a little awkward since it was just the two of us sitting there in silence. Then the owner (at least I think she is) came in and turned music on and started on my Mani. She was really nice, SUPER detail oriented, you could tell she really cared about doing a good job and giving me a quality manicure that would last a long time.

Make sure you bring cash for tip.

I'm definitely coming back here for my...