Happy Monday from Colorado! I’m so happy to be back in such an incredible state that has so many adventures to offer! If you need me you can probably find me climbing a mountain or two…or seven(!) while I take in as much of Colorado as I can for these next 11 days! I’ll be doing plenty of Colorado recap posts from this trip, but today I’m so excited to share a local gem in Harrison, NY– Elegant Nails and Spa! They opened at the end of March and I’m so glad that I found them on Instagram and was able to test them out!

A little back story…I’ve lived in Greenwich, CT for the past year and when I was working in NYC I got a gel manicure every two weeks (oh the days of having money to spend on gel nails every two weeks!). As often as I was going to get my nails done you would think I would have found THE perfect place, a place I LOVED, a place I cherished, a place I got excited about going back to. You’d be wrong. There are so many nail salons in Greenwich, I’ve tried a lot of them (not all, but a lot), and I’ve always just been disappointed.

Fast foward to this past week, I was scrolling through Instagram and stumbled across this nail salon in Harrison, NY (just an easy 15 min drive from Greenwich). After looking a bit into their feed I learned that this salon, Elegant Nails and Spa recently opened! YAY! After exchanging a few DMs with Jessica (she is so sweet!) at Elegant Nails and Spa, we set up a complimentary gel manicure for me in exchange for an honest review of their salon.

I think the best way to organize this blog post is by walking through the whole experience and at points where I feel I need to elaborate a little more or emphasis certain things I’ll do so when they arise rather than grouping categories together after the fact. All opinions are my own and I wouldn’t collaborate with a business or brand unless I truly felt like I could share an honest, positive review. So here we go!

Elegant Nails and Spa is located on Harrison’s “main street,” which is called Halstead Avenue. They’re right across from CVS, so it’s pretty easy to spot them (and they have a green awning with their name on it too). I would suggest doing street parking, which is what I did and I was easily able to find a spot a block up or two from the salon. My appointment was at 9:30am on Saturday morning, and what a great time to get your nails done! I think most people are either sleeping in or just having a relaxing morning with their families, so the salon was nice and quiet while I was there! If you go at a busier time though, don’t worry! There is a comfortable waiting area with plenty of juicy, gossip magazines to enjoy.

After meeting Jessica and getting some initial photos of the salon for this post I got to the most stressful part of getting a gel manicure…picking the color! Ha, of course I’m joking, kind of…gel nails usually last me 3 weeks, which is a bit of a commitment to one color. You want something you’ll love just as much on day 1 as day 21. Right? I’ve found a lot of salons in the past always rushed me when I was deciding what color I wanted, but Sarah, my nail technician was so kind and patient with me. She even offered to test out the colors on my nails so I could see how the shades looked with my skin tone. How sweet! These are the kinds of little details that make such a difference and I was so appreciative of Sarah suggesting we do this. I was 99% sure I was going to go with white until I tested a few colors out on my nails and ended up going in a completely different direction.

I didn’t have gel nails on when I arrived [if you’ve never gotten a gel mani before, it takes about 5-10 min for the acetone to dissolve the gel polish from your nails and then another 5-10 min for the nail technician to file the remaining gel off your nails to prep them for the next manicure] so Sarah was able to get right to filing and shaping my nails. I can’t believe how often the nail technician doesn’t ask me what shape I want (oval vs. square), which is why I was pleasantly surprised when Sarah checked with me first to see what my preference was. Oval all the way! Okay, reading this now this all sounds a bit superfluous, but I promised you guys an in-depth review and when push comes to shove, these little details really matter!

As expected, Sarah did an amazingly thorough job shaping my nails and prepping them for the gel polish. I find this step is the one where I really get frustrated at salons. I mean, if you’re paying $35 for the manicure, but then add another $10 for tip, you’re almost spending $50 on your nails so umm yeah, I kind of expect them to look perfect (or at least better than I could do myself!). I always make sure to check my nails before they are painted for any inconsistencies, and I will always voice any concerns I have or things I want changed. I know a lot of my friends are always too embarrassed, but remember, you’re paying for this. I always give the technician the benefit of the doubt, maybe they didn’t notice one nail is lopsided or something, so it’s important to tell them that way they do a great job and you feel great about tipping them. Anyway that’s a round about way of saying, THANK YOU to Sarah who did a great job with my nails!

I chose a light blue gel color. Ideally I would have wanted something a tad darker than how it showed on the nail chips, but Sarah offered to do a third coat and it ended up giving me the exact color I was hoping for. Yay! The whole experience was nice and relaxing with tranquil music playing in the background. I also loved the mini hand massage with lotion at the end of my manicure, ensuring my nails and hands looked the best they could before leaving Elegant Nails and Spa. As I mentioned earlier, the gel manicure was $35. They offer so many different nail and spa services. Behind the nail stations and the pedicure stations (equipped with massage chairs!) are a few private rooms for waxing, lash/brow tinting, lash extensions, and facials. While I didn’t experience these services, the whole salon was so clean I can only imagine they would be to the same standard as my manicure.

Okay, before I wrap this up, the last thing I wanted to emphasize was how clean this salon was! Cleanliness and sanitation are the two biggest factors when deciding whether I like a salon or don’t. So as you can guess, I LOVED this one! Not only was everything super clean and sterile, but the salon is outfitted with all new furniture and equipment. A lot of salons say they “just opened” or are “new,” but in reality they are just under new ownership and are still using the same 10 year-old equipment that is wayyy past it’s prime. Well, Elegant Nails and Spa is doing it right and treating their customers to a luxurious, relaxing, CLEAN experience! I cannot thank them enough for holding themselves to a high standard and making sure the experience for their customers is as enjoyable as possible!

If you’re in the Greenwich, Rye, Harrison, Port Chester, Mamaroneck area you NEED to check Elegant Nails and Spa out! Happy Monday!

Me and Jessica after my gel nails were done! She’s so nice!

       The check in counter.    The waiting area.    So many gel color options! There are also plenty of other options if you want to do gel powder.   Mani/pedi drying station. Look how clean and new it is!!   I love the pedicure set-up they have! I need to go back soon for one!  So many color options!   So many times I go to a salon and the massage chairs are broke, but these are brand new! 

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