Illusion Studio and Spa

This nail salon has by far the best set of gel polish manicure and pedicure Vancouver has seen yet. Leslie and team sure make the experience fun. My hands are elegant and my feet are delightful. Thank you!

Best mani pedi I have ever had. Feet feel amazing. Very relaxing and not rushed at all. Looking forward to next weeks appointment x

I have become a bit of a Groupon/​LivingSocial/​TeamBuy/​etc nail junkie, it’s amazing what good deals you can get through these programs, of course, with the requisite risks to your tootsies.
So far, so good for me, some I would return, others not so much.
Illusion was my latest and I went for a manicure and pedicure as my cuticles were in wretched state and I had several meetings upcoming that looking like I stepped off the set of Slumdog was not appropriate.
The salon was clean, and on the comparison scale of Vietnamese run nail salons this was pretty chic. Remember the scale, I am not comparing all places, just within the category.
The space was clean, large, new tables and really really nice faux leather pedicure chairs. They were massive and comfortable, and the massage actually worked and you didn’t feel like you were being pummelled by a mallet.
They are more than just nails, I know they do fake eyelashes and must do spa services too based on the fact that they sold Eminence products. However, I am daring but not daring enough to entrust my face to experimentation.
My manicure was going really well till she nicked my cuticle and caused a geyser of blood. What is it about bleeding cuticles, it makes me more nauseous than a 3″ gaping wound on my thigh. And i know sh*t happens, and it wasn’t because she was careless or not paying attention, she was very good. No complaints on her ability or service. She was not chatty which I like and she was not chatty with the rest of the staff, which I like as well.
My Oh-​no and not Ah-​ha moment was when she used one of her tools to pat some disinfecting powder onto my cut and then proceeded to put it back in with the other tools. Now, I know A. I have no odd diseases but that doesn’t mean that B. someone else may have had their cooties on that tool and some ebola virus was now triathaloning up my blood stream (i did have her spray alcohol on it immediately!). So, a hygiene alert. If I don’t make my 30 days of Unilocal you know why!
My pedicure was great as well. My hands and toes look very lovely and clean, I keep peeking at them. The polish was put on right. I get very peeved with bad polish jobs, I don’t like bumps, lumps, uneven applications, if they don’t paint the tips, etc etc etc. Yes, I am picky.
Would I go back for another M and P, yes, but I would make sure I watched to make sure everything was cleaned and cleaned. Chances I will go again? Slim because there are so many coupons out there, why pay full price anymore?
** i think this salon is very technician specific, there were a few other technicians I would have been leery to have. One lady spent the entire time texting and working… that is a no-​no in my m and P books.
#30daysofyelp
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Attracted by the nice window display at first. When I saw Social Shopper coupon for mani and pedi, I gave it a try.
Nails chipped with in 2 – 3 days. Perhaps has to do with no name top coat? Overall the lady that did my mani and pedi was good at what she does. But there were no smile, chat or friendly service. The staff spoke to themselves in Vietnamese. The customers were left to watch TV or read.

I wanted to try out eyelash extensions and saw a promo offered by Social Shopper for Illusion Studio & Spa. The price was reasonable @ $ 35.00.
The girl who did the eyelash extensions couldn’t really speak English so she had to get another girl to translate. It turned out ok, my eyes were just super itchy after. It lasted 2 weeks, the itchy eyes were driving me crazy, I think it was too much glue.
I was leery in trying in again, but I had 2 other vouchers. So I made the appointment and was booked with another girl Quinn.
Quinn was great, I didn’t even feel anything at all, and my lashes looked oh so gorgeous. Quinn has done my eyelash extensions twice now and both times perfect. She also did my nails, she’s very good.
So if you go to Illusion ask for Quinn she’ll do a really good job.

Recently I went back because my friend gave me her eyelash extension deal and to maximize my time I also went for a polish change for my hands and a pedicure. Since I went at a time that worked for them, the lady did a pretty good job. I looked like Barbie with my full set of eyelashes and the other two services were overall pretty good. However when I booked an appointment to get a touchup for the eyelashes, it wasn’t a good experience. They kep changing the time on me and told me only the lady who did it in the first place would do the touch up for free otherwise I’d have to pay for the service. That doesn’t make sense! Nevertheless, I’ll go at their designated time. Honestly I wouldn’t go for other services or unless there’s a good deal because I don’t feel valued as a customer.

Like other reviewers, I too bought a Social Shopper for this «studio and spa». I was really excited to try out this place because I have seen some glowing reviews… Boy did I have my hopes up on this one.
From the moment I called to book my appointment, I had serious doubts about this business. I had to call 3 times before someone actually picked up the phone. The line just rang and rang. Seriously? That’s terrible customer service right from the get go.
Finally when someone answered the phone, I made a comment about no one picking up… The woman was so rude, «Ok, so you wanna book or not?» was her response. I was shocked. Reluctantly, I booked the appointment. She sighed and huffed clearly annoyed when I told her I was using a Social Shopper. Also, it took me a few minutes to get my information to the lady on the phone as other people in the salon kept interrupting her and there was some yelling back and fourth between the staff in an Asian language. It didn’t sound pretty.
As the week went on, I realized I had made a scheduling error and called Illusion right away to try and re-​schedule my appointment. The same person who answered when I booked picked up and informed me that there was a strict 24hr cancellation policy and I was «a few hours too late» to reschedule. In reality, I had missed the deadline by an hour, so I thanked the lady, said to keep my appointment and told her I’d find a way to make it work.
I hustled over to the «spa» right after work to make the appointment. When I walked in I was greeted, but as soon as I checked in for my services I knew something was wrong. They couldn’t find my name in the book. After a few minutes of back and fourth, the woman that I had spoken to both times before on the phone came to the front desk. She informed me that she cancelled my appointment because I asked her to on the phone the day before. Also, she mentioned my social shopper coupon was now invalid as well!
Even though I KNEW I was in the right here, I decided to apologize and say the mix up was my fault. I very politely asked if there was any way I could be seen that afternoon for my services and not lose the Social Shopper. I was rudely told that wouldn’t be possible and I could rebook for another time — at full cost! But they were able to take a walk in as I was trying to work through the situation. Unbelievable! They actually were acting as if I was bothering them by asking questions and trying to resolve the issue!
HORRIBLE experience. If this is how they conduct customer service, I’m really glad I didn’t have any services done. I can only imagine the nightmare that would have been!
Will NEVER return!

Wow. I bought a social shopper for this place and I got way more than I paid for. I’ve gone to other places with discount coupons and gotten the shaft. At Illusion, I had one person dedicated to me and she didn’t rush or hurry along. She gave me the best manicure I’ve ever had. She offered me beverages and made sure all my needs were attended to. I will definitely return for full price

Been here twice — once just for threading, and once for threading and a mani pedi. I decided to book the mani/​pedi on a whim because I had to use my social shopper voucher for the threading ASAP and had a party to go to the following night. The good thing about this place was the fact that they were able to squeeze me in on short notice. Aside from that, it was really quite sub-​par.
In terms of the threading, the shape they formed in the end was fine, but oh my goodness did it hurt more than it should have because she didn’t make my skin taught at all! Every other time I have had my eyebrows threaded (which I do regularily) they have me help hold my skin tight — this time, not, and so it was as though they were pulling and catching my skin along with the hair. Ouch.
My manicure and pedicure were fine, although I was, like another reviewer, skeptical of the cleanliness of this place. And although my mani and pedi looked nice when I left there, it was already chipping the next day.
Finally, in terms of customer service, well, there really wasn’t much. I sat in my chair waiting for the esthetician while she flat ironed her hair. People almost traded off working on my nails. Very strange.
Anyway, probably won’t go back unless every other spa burns down. I’d rather pay a little extra and head over to another spa just a bit further west…

I had bought 3 social shopper threading vouchers. I went once, forced myself to used 2 of them. and never again.
I have had my eyebrows threaded a couple of times at another Spa and it did not hurt as much as it did at Illusion Studio and Spa. As I walked in the entrance, the employees were talking very loudly and were fixing up themselves that they did not realize I was there until a couple mins later. They look like I as interrupting their conversation or something, and told me to wait. I was brought to a small room by esthetician who wasn’t wearing any uniform like the others. She told me to get comfortable on the table which was quite tall for me (I’m 5’2) and then suddenly, the other 2 employees who were conversing earlier came in as well to watch. At that moment, I knew that this whole salon is new to threading.
I was right, it was the most painful threading experience i’ve been through. First, i’m being watched by 2 other employees who are speaking in their own language very loudly. Second, I was tearing up and she took tissue and pushed down on my eyes. She did not ask how I was feeling at all. I then felt like she was threading my forehead as well, and I stopped her saying that I didn’t want my forehead done. She said ok. but continued doing her own thing.
When I was paying, I decided to just give her 2 vouchers instead because I won’t be coming back ever again. Horrible and unprofessional service.

I Had My nails done with the Gel polish and they are Amazing!!! I can ruin a manicure within 24hrs but I’ve had it for going on 13days and It still Looks Great!

I’m wary of a place that normally charges $ 73 for a mani, pedi, massage, scrub, and nail art, but that smells of acetone and has the tiniest sterilizer known to man. I did spy a tiny sterilizer, but it wasn’t in use (I’m hoping they do it at night!), and I am pretty sure they didn’t clean the foot bath chair between the previous client I saw in it, and me. And they scrubbed my feet (including the sensitive tops of my feet) with a nail brush that looked well-​used. I will note however, that in N. America we tend to be overzealous about such things — and that it’ll probably be fine. probably…
But, these guys do an excellent job of everything else! my esthetician was chatty but thankfully let me watch my Food Network, and it was kinda nice to listen to them gossip in Vietnamese and not worry that I had to pay attention to any of it. The cuticle trimming, the nail polish, etc was great. The nail art was cute as well.