Star Nails

Great pedicure!

I have been going to Star Nails for about a year since one of my coworkers loved it there. Lily, the owner is very attentive, friendly and sweet! She takes her time in doing your nails and you don’t feel rushed! I usually get the Shellac, or the gel manicure and I absolutely hate when technicians don’t get the polish as close to the cuticle line as possible. It just looks like you did your mani a week ago and you have had some growth. Lily gets to the very edge of the cuticle, so your manicure looks fresh for two weeks! even when another technician does my nails, Lily is sure to «inspect» them to make sure they are perfectly done and to my liking. I am so happy I found this little place!
Also, if you’re running late, they will stay open after hours for you! They are just that nice and sweet. Great customer service, great skills too.

I don’t have a strong basis for judging them, as this was my first-​ever pedicure, but Lillian offered me considerable time and care for short money when I walked in on a sunny mid-​day recently. I am sure to return to this humble shop, as it is in my neighborhood.
True story: I flew back from vacation one week after my pedicure and a woman from the TSA said to me, as I emerged barefoot from the scanner, «not to sound like a creep, but you have VERY nice feet!». I laughed out loud and said, «I had my first pedicure recently!»
Thanks, Lillian.

I’ve actually only gotten my eyebrows waxed here. It was my first time getting them done professionally and I was a little nervous. Lillian was very friendly and all smiles the whole way through. I came in without an appointment with no problem too. I was worried about the skin around my eyebrows getting pink but it faded within a little over an hour which I was very happy about. Service is wonderful here. My eyebrows looked pretty good.

Analyzing the number of reviews and the amount of time between reviews, I took a bit of a gamble going into Star Nails. I’ve had such a hard time finding the right nail salon in the area, and I’m still looking. I must say, a full star is dedicated to the awesome customer service at Star Nails. If I were to review based on service alone, they’d definitely get a full five stars. I went in on Sunday afternoon, and there were two other customers being serviced at the time. They seemed to be regulars, based on their conversations with the staff and each other.
The gentleman at the salon let me know it’d be a wait, which I didn’t mind since they have those great massage spa chairs and I’d spent all day Saturday tending to the housework. After about 30 minutes (or two massage rotations) the gentleman came over and started all the prep work on me, leg massage with hot towels, foot scrub, but nothing involving the tools.
Waited another ten minutes after he finished and Lilian (I think the owner) came over to finish my pedicure. Nails cut using the same tool used to remove cuticles/​excess skin (not a toe nail clipper!), a light file job (no buffing whatsoever), followed by polish application without the use of toe separators, which resulted in polish (OPI Lincoln Park After Dark) on my skin. There was no cutting of my cuticles or the skin around the nail, no cleaning underneath the toe nail… and I haven’t had a pedi in about 8 weeks so I know for a fact those things needed to happen. While the massage and scrub was more spa-​like, I’m having a hard time differentiating between my pedicure experience and a basic polish change.
When it was time for my manicure she started doing it while I was still in the pedicure chair, which seemed unnecessary and inefficient to me so I recommended we move to a manicure station. Manicure was same low frills as the pedicure, with minimal cuticle cutting, light filin, but a nice hand massage after hot towels. I chose Essie Limo-​Scene for my nails, which is a sheer white, and the polish application was streakier than I’d like.
Overall, despite the great customer service, the experience was not great enough for me to become a regular. For $ 37 without tip, there are other salons that offer more for the same price, there just have to be. I’ll keep you posted.

I was heading to Shaws on Sunday for my Christmas dinner shopping when I realized my toes were in need of some r and r. I popped my head into Star Nails around 10:00 am and even though I didn’t have an appointment, I was greeted with smiles. I had Lillian who was just lovely and did an amazing job. I can’t believe I’ve never been to Star Nail’s before but they have themselves a new client. You can’t beat the price and they do a wonderful job.

I’m a little bummed this nail salon wasn’t better than I thought it would be. Upon arrival, I got right in without an appointment (on a Saturday). Very nice, personable woman did my nails, and she seems to have regulars as she was small talking with a couple women who came in after me.
I came in to get a shellac manicure. Asked if they did rockstar nails. She didn’t know what that was. Asked her if they have any shellac with glitter… they only had one that was a mauve color with gold shimmer in it. Not quite the selection I was hoping for. They have 100s of regular nail polish colors. The shellac was about a choice of 15 colors… mostly in the pink/​nude family, and 2 blues. Regular shellac manicure: $ 25. French shellac: $ 30.
The things I weren’t so happy about. No soaks in any way. I had previously had the shellac taken off by soaking in warm acetone. Here they use the electric file that is used on acrylics. Me no likey, as I don’t want my natural nails to ever thin. Then, there was no soaking of the hands in soapy water. Thankfully, I had hardly any cuticle that needed to be cut, because I noticed she took the cuticle clipper out of a bin with polishes. WHAT?! Not sterilized, with all the bad press nail salons have gotten in the past about not doing this? I thought that was a thing of the past!
The good part was… hot towels after the manicure, and the lotion she did my hand massage with reminded me of a lotion I used to buy in Hawaii. Smelt sooo good!
Sadly, I move on from Star Nails in my never-​ending search for a quality nail salon that has lots of shellac options, for a reasonable price.

I tried this place out of convenience. It was my birthday and I had a little extra time and was in the neighborhood.
I thought $ 15 was ok, but on the high side for such a place. I went for it anyway. While getting my nails done I endured someone’s entire conversation on their cell while they were getting a pedicure (I sometimes found her strange advice to her poor friend rather entertaining). At one point she winced at something the manicurist did and said «do you even know what you’re doing». I found that to be rather rude as there are much more polite ways of asking the same question or letting someone know that what they did hurt your little toes. I only include this in my review for part anecdote, part information and part advice — pay attention when getting a cheap pedicure and nicely ask if they not cut so deeply (or at all) –but this interaction is not why I only gave this place 2 stars.
Ok, I’d like to give 2.5 stars because I thought the women were very friendly and helpful but when it all comes down to it we just want a great manicure that lasts more than 2 days (I’d actually like one that lasts a week).
The manicure looked great. I got it done on a Thursday night. Then on Saturday evening a big piece of nail polish came off my thumb and then off my pointer finger and then more. I couldn’t wait to get the polish off my nails on Monday. You know, it was the type that the polish just peeled off my nail. I don’t know why because she did make sure to dry out the nail with acetone first.
It could have been a fluke but I won’t be going back :(

After moving nearby, my roommate bought for my birthday a mani/​pedi at this salon. We have both been pleased with the service and convenience of this salon.
The pedicures are always well done and last the expected two weeks and sometimes longer. The prices are reasonable.
Downsides: There was only one woman working each time we came in beginning in January. So you may have to wait if you haven’t scheduled an appointment. Since then I’ve seen maybe one other person working. Also they close at 7 pm during the week, which is when I prefer to get pedicures, so it can be tough to make it in after work which is the only reason I’ve gone to other salons.

This place is über-​convenient for me as it’s right around the corner from my apartment. That’s really why I go there.
The prices are ok, could be better. The polish job is sometimes lacking. I got a manicure there once and it was chipping within two days! I went back and they fixed it up for me free of charge which was nice. But it was kind of a pain to have to go back. I’ve gotten a pedicure there as well. Fine job.
They welcome walk-​ins and take appointments as well. Never seems terribly busy in there, but I always see at least one customer in there.
I’ll go back because it’s convenient, but I still need to find that perfect nail place.

Great little place for a manicure. I would highly recommend a manicure from Cami she’s super friendly, fun to chat with and does a fabulous, long lasting manicure!

I drive this place all the time on my way to work and figured I would give it a try. I have moved to the area about 3 months ago and had gotten 4 crappy manicure/​pedicures. I was really happy with my nails at Star. I did not have an appointment but they were very accommodating. There was only one girl there at the time and she did an excellent job my nails looked flawless. When a costumer came in in the middle of my manicure the manicurist did a great job tending to both of us. I highly recommend this place.

I drive by Star Nails all the time, and the location on Mt Auburn is convenient. They are open until 7:30 pm– at least on Mondays– — and were the only local shop I could find to hook my toes up with some new polish that late. [Thanks, Unilocal mobile!]
The staff was pleasant, the color selection was pretty good, and, yes, the foot massage was good. This wasn’t the best polish job ever (there are some air bubbles in the paint), and I don’t usually pay $ 25 plus tip for pedicures in the Somerville/​Watertown/​Cambridge areas.
I’ll be back in another pinch, and do appreciate them staying open late for me!

has anyone else found that most pedicure places have gone up in price and down in quality? like they have forgotten that heels need some TLC as well? i was getting so frustrated with pedicure places until i went to Star Nails. This place is FANTASTIC. They really spend time on the whole foot, pay attention to detail, have great massage techniques (and not just the chairs… which are in great shape and give great massages too) and all for $ 25 bucks and a tip. I have never made an appointment and never have had to wait too long. I can’t say enough, but I am going to stop… this place is great!

First, a tip of the hat to Unilocal.I found this relatively new business by searching for the nearest manicure and choosing the one with the best reviews. I love it when the system works!
There’s not really too much more to say. I was not disappointed. There were four nice chairs waiting and ready, and the lovely ladies were not annoyed by the sudden appearance of myself, my mom and my six year old daughter. They gave us all mani/​pedes, and Ruby even let them cut her toenails, which is something she absolutely refuses to let me do (no, I am not talking about my mom!)
So– yes, go to Star Nails for an absolutely well priced and well executed nail job with a smile.

Star Nail is great. I got a manicure and my friend got a pedicure. The woman who did my nails did a real quality job, she took her time, and made sure everything was perfect. I am definitely going back there whenever I need a manicure or pedicure. Great location and they are open till 7pm on week days.
My nails were super short, so the manicure didn’t last the whole week, but I’m going back soon, and hope that I can get a whole week out of the next one. I’m really impressed at how well the polish job held up — seemed like longer than average. And my friend’s pedicure still looks amazing!
I paid $ 15 for the manicure — so it’s not as cheap as some places in Boston, but it is worth the extra $ 5 becuase they take much more time with you. The hand massage was great!

Star Nails is a great place and it has several things going for it:
1. Good location if you use public transportation (71 or 73 bus route) as well as a parking lot if you drive
2. Reasonable rates for manicures and pedicures
3. Clean and organized set-​up with good nail polish selection
4. Friendly staff
5. EXCELLENT quality work.
This is my new favorite spot to go!!!

$ 35 for a manicure and pedicure — that’s cheap! They do a great job and are fun ladies who include you in the conversation, don’t just talk to each other in Vietnamese.

This is a great little spot. They do a really nice job and in fact my daughter (she’s only 4) loves to come here to get her nails done. We make an outing of it. I relax in piece and quiet while she sits on my lap and has her nails done. ($ 5 in money and priceless in mommy’s tune out, quiet time value). Then we both head over to Sofra for an after school snack.
Now that’s the life of luxury.

You will not be dissapointed. I always get a reliable pedicure here. They are on the pricer side but you get an amazing massage.