Nail Garden Expands!

The Nail Garden (nailgarden.com), a boutique nail salon chain in California, is officially hopping onto the blow dry bar bandwagon, with two of its locations having launched a blow-out area in the past few months! One of these locations (Porter Ranch) invited me to tour the salon and experience one of its signature mani/pedi and blow-out services. The reasons I couldn't resist this offer were twofold: 1) I'd never heard of a nail studio expanding into the blow-dry biz, and wanted to see how this expansion worked for the salon as well as its staff, and 2) After having an embarrassing amount of time pass without a mani/pedi, coupled with my aching calves and feet during the last trimester of my pregnancy, I was all too excited to indulge in a beauty high!

Let me tell you, on a personal level, the treatments were pure bliss, with my nails receiving a heavily aromatic scrub and massage along with a perfect finish, and my hair looking ready-to-wear for a Friday night date with my hubby! Now, for the nail salon--it was extremely packed (I've rarely seen a nail studio so busy!), with receptionists graciously offering clients coffee, tea and water. The blow-out bar was windowed off in a back area, still very visible from the front to the nail-going client. Once in the blow-out area, the voices from the nail salon become became almost inaudible, making the hair salon feel like a completely different experience in itself--so one aspect of the studio does not feel of greater weight than the other. Now, the blow-out portion of the salon just launched a month ago, so the crowd is still building, but I do have great hopes that it will see success. There's a definite convenience factor in having your nails and hair both set to go, in relatively little time, in a one-stop shop, so to speak. (And yes, the hairstylists are beauty school grads.)

What do you think, stylists? Do you like the idea of a nail salon/blow-out bar combo concept?

xo
Alyson Osterman-Kerr

Me (Alyson Osterman-Kerr) post mani/pedi and blow-out! Observe the relaxed facial expression... [below]