I called for a dip manicure. Luckily, I thought she could fit me in that same day since I was in a hurry and my normal nail salon closes on Mondays.
I arrived on time to find both the front and back doors were locked. This should have been my first sign, but I pressed on. After knocking on the front door someone opened the door to ask if I had an appointment. Somehow I thought they would know I was coming?
The person that answered the door said I could wait and pick my color. She had me wait in a dark cluttered and somewhat creepy room. There were no more than 12 dip colors to choose from. About 15 minutes late, my manicurist arrives. Although the manicurist apologized for being late, she went on and on about herself and her troubles.
I will tell you that I had a pedicure first and that went okay. The next problem was that once the pedicure was over, the manicurist realized that she had failed to wrap my nails to remove the previous dip. Not to worry. She wrapped my nails and spoke about how she didn’t realize there was dip on my nails that would need to be removed. Seriously? How many dip patrons come in that don’t already have dip polish on their nails? This can’t be rare to remove the old polish prior to adding new polish. Dip or gel or lacquer, all polish needs removed.
So, the manicurist was in a hurry as she had other appointments later in the day. She took the wraps off my nails and angrily attempted to manually “file” the old dip off. My fingers were now bleeding because she kept filing my flesh as she hurried to remove the polish. Next, she used acetone which stings in open cuts. I tried to smile and hold the conversation.
The dip procedure was going from bad to worse. She had created a gooey mess on my nails that was lumpy and would not harden. In her wisdom, the manicurist decided to add more layers.
Meanwhile more customers showed up for their appointments because this process ran for 3 hours.
Finally, she said I was done. I was just thankful to get out of there. As I paid, she could see the polish denting and smushing off of my nails. I even gave a small tip since I felt sorry for her long tales of woe that I had to listen to for 3 hours.
I had to go directly to another salon, Diamond Nails to get this ugly messed removed and new dip applied. Diamond saved me and gave me a huge discount on their service and even apologized for Radiant FX.
Maybe there are other services that Radiant does correctly, but don’t go for the atmosphere or the dip. It still makes me sick to my stomach to think about that horrible afternoon.