marimarshe’ salon

Okay, so I just happen to google a spa in the South Loop area. I found this place. It was $ 50+ for a Brazilian Wax, but the lady quoted me an automatic $ 55? Why? Hmm…
Latonya, the lady who performed by wax was really nice. It took her 40 mins which was long and I didn’t mind, but WHY is there still hair near the labia and thigh area from a Brazilian?! All that talking, she should have been doing her job. It wasn’t too professional either, as she kept going over the same section 2 and 3 times… which causes irritation. The work was on the amateur side. Smh. I’ve learned my lesson. I won’t be back here again.

i come here on a regular bases for eyebrow threading with chacku. she is wonderful and precise, and i will keep coming back!

Why list Sunday hours when you really don’t have Sunday hours

Marcia is the best! She is a lovely shop owner and stylist who I have been coming to for about 4 years now. You will not be disappointed. When I first came to her my her was in terrible shape. She saw what my hair needed and did what was best for me. Healthy hair first along with the latest styles. You can’t beat that!

My daughter started here first, she gets the Keratin treatment. Her hair is absolutely beautiful. It’s so healthy and shiny and has grown around 5 inches since she started.
I’d been struggling to find a new stylist and decided to give Marcia a try. When I consulted with her I was very impressed with her knowledge and experience. She really listened to my concerns. Not only do I expect perfection, my hair doesn’t take color very well. When I called Marcia to let her know, she was very concerned and had me come right back in and corrected the problem, with a very pleasant attitude. She gets me in and out (I hate waiting), and her products leave my hair soft and shiny. I love professionalism in a stylist, I get that with Marcia.

I had a Groupon for lash extension here. I had no idea what to expect after all of the unflattering reviews.
First, I called to make an appointment and they were very friendly and accommodating. To work with my schedule they were nice enough to honor my Groupon a week after it expired.
Second, I was 30 minute early due to getting out early from something before and not knowing how long it would take for me to cab it down there. Being early, the lady at the front desk was super nice to me. We chatted for 30 minutes as we waited for my technician to come. She did arrive 1 minutes early before my appointment was to start
Third, Troy, my lash technician, was right on time and very courteous. We talked through the whole appointment. She was great to talk to and when I looked at lashes I was amazed how natural and beautiful they are.
It has been 48 hours and not 1 lash has fallen out!
Two things to work on are:
1. I asked how long the appointment would take and they told me 1 hour. I came in the middle of a work day so i told them my time was very sensitive. It end up taking 1.5 hours.
2. The glue Troy used stung my right eye so bad it got infected. I had to see an eye Dr to day and get antibiotics because of the glue getting in there.
Overall, I would definitely come back even if it’s way out of my neighborhood.

I have received nothing less than superb customer service from the staff at Marimarshe Salon. From the moment I walk in the salon, until the time I leave, i’m always made to feel like I can kick back, relax and get pampered. I’m always greeted with a warm welcome, and not just by the receptionist. During my time there, everyone is always checking to make sure I’m ok and comfortable. This is important to me because I’m usually stopping in after a long day of work.
I appreciate that this is a ful-​service salon, as well. Being able to get all the services we (women) like under one roof is certainly a plus! In regards to hair, Marcia is beyond awesome! I am more than satisified with the work she does. I’m extremely picky and she takes the time to listen, advise and work magic at times! She is a true professional. I appreciate that she cares about your hair. I’ve been to plenty of stylists that just style! They don’t care about your hair being healthy. They just style. Not Marcia! She is 100% invested in your hair because she knows it is a direct reflection of her work. This is what I look for in a stylist; professionalism and that extra TLC. I can’t end this review without also mentioning LaTanya. I’ve been lucky enough to have a facial and brow waxings done by her. She’s also amazing! She’s more than good at what she does, she also provides that extra TLC that I so desire after a long day at work.
So there you have it, nothing but thumbs up for me for this salon. Great people and great services.

It has taken me over three weeks to carefully choose my words to describe my experience at this salon with Stylist Shari Lynn on Friday, June 28^th. I was referred to Shari by my friend who has a natural hair texture similar to mine except her curls are just a bit looser. She recently came into the salon and received a fabulous haircut (her first) and was very excited about her new funky summer cut. Confident in Shari’s ability based on her work, I came into the salon with a photograph of the haircut I was looking to get. Shari commented that my texture was just like my friend’s and that she could easily achieve that hairstyle though my curls were a bit tighter than the woman in the photograph. I explained to her that the woman in the photograph had a two strand twist out and that was not a picture of her natural curls. Nonetheless, she said she could do it and she scheduled an appointment for me to come in later that afternoon.
I can not begin to express the degree to which Shari butchered my hair. The cut is clearly a layered cut but Shari took a section of my hair (some from beyond the crown) and secured it with a clip, then proceeded to cut the reminder of my hair off with scissors the same length all the way around. She then two strand twisted the hair in the clip (no layers cut at all) and wrapped it on flexible rods and set me under the dryer. Because she took hair from behind the crown of my hair, when she undid the two strand twists, the twists stuck out in every direction. In addition, to create the peak in the photo graph, Shari left a tuft of hair near the front of my ear which she tried to slick down with foam and and that awful dollar store ampro brown gel that should not be at the station of any professional stylist. When she spun me around in my chair, I was horrified to see what she had done.
When I complained about my hair, she had the audacity to suggest that the reason my hair did not look like the picture was because of my texture, and if I got a texturizer, it would lay correctly. Not only was the butchered haircut the result of her incompetency, I find it particularly offensive as an African-​American woman who has chosen to wear my hair in the natural state from which it grows from my head, to be told by an African-​American stylist that I need a texturizer to wear my hair in a NATURAL style. And if she felt that was the case, she should have stated such before styling my hair. Not only is her suggestion offensive, but also inaccurate. My hair does not need to be texturized to achieve the style in the photo. Further more, if the issue was indeed the tightness of my curls, a professional stylist should know that if hair coils tightly, you would cut less, not more, to achieve a particular length because the hair recoils.
My hair was shoulder length when I walked into the salon and I should not have left with hair that looked the way it did. It was cut so poorly that I went to a barber who attempted to try and fix all of Shari’s mistakes by trying to cut some transition from the longer pieces from beyond the crown. She had cut so much of my hair that there wasn’t much he could do, but he was able to even out the scraggly pieces and the longer hair she left out untouched. She essentially left me with a short cut with a longer curly comb over. It is taking me quite sometime to adjust. She butchered it so badly that its too short to even get microbraids to grow it out.
I am very disgusted and disappointed with the service I received and in retrospect, I should not have paid her one red cent, but I needed to hurry up and leave the salon before I made a scene. I would highly recommend that Shari be trained in the art of natural hair cutting and in communicating her limitations as a stylist. It’s perfectly acceptable to state to a client that you are unable to recreate a hairstyle for them whether its because of your lack of skill or their disillusioned vision of what their hair can do. I would also like to suggest that while she has chosen to relax a portion of her hair, that she not insult her natural hair clients by suggesting that they do the same; nor is it beneficial to show the clients picture upon picture of her hair unless that is a style they are trying to achieve.

So I really wanted to like this place. Especially since its black owned and I want to support the efforts of the underdog in the business world.
With that said, let’s start at the beginning. From what I can see, the downfall of this place is the customer service. Management needs to make sure that the people working there have some aspect of what true costumer service means. The people who should be picking up the phone are NOT picking up the phone and when they do — they aren’t ‘smiling’ while they speak. Someone has said once to me, call back in an hour or ‘hold on’ and I was put on hold for 12 minutes before I hung up and tried again, with no answer! Today the woman at the front desk let the phone go to voicemail 3 times while I was standing there waiting for my appointment — was she busy you ask? NO, she was shopping for shoes online! The phone should NEVER go unanswered, that’s clients/​business calling on the other end! With 5 employees present, the phone should never go unanswered!
Well today, I get there on time for my appointment and I’m made to wait while I can clearly see my technician talking to another tech in the hallway. Another thing, which just happened right now as I am typing this, the tech should not be picking up their cell phone while filing my toe nails or what happened during my pedi last time, the tech walking away to pick up the phone while in mid filing. Or the way they dress: sweats, T-​shirts and flip flops sometimes dirty — they should dress according to the type of clientele they want to attract. With all the walkaways from my technicians (both times) my Mani/​pedi has taken over 2 hours. It should under NO circumstances take that long! Here I am again waiting for my technician to return.
The shitty thing is that I’ve met the owner and she seems really awesome and customer service minded. I don’t understand why she doesn’t demand the same from her staff. There should be rules, no phones while with a client, no visitors while with a client (yes my tech just had someone visit and stepped away for a moment), no letting the phone go unanswered, no walking away from clients, treat clients well, talk to clients (its been about 25 minutes and my tech still hasn’t given me a name! One more thing: you need to demand that your staff clean the salon thoroughly and the stained towels should be thrown away — that’s just nasty — use paper towels when painting nails so the towels don’t get stained. I shouldn’t have to ask for a clean towel every time I’m here! …which unfortunately, today will be the last time I’m here. Marcia, I wish you and your business well.

Mixed feeling about this salon. I went once, was a bit scarred but wanted to use the other part of my groupon. The first time I went, the girl who did my service (pedicure and no chip mani) worked me over like it was her first time. It was embarrassing for her and for me. She treated my feet like they were made of porcelain. I’m a server, on my feet for 8 hours a day, my feet need a rough, yet efficient hand. They are beat up, and she barely you touched them. My manicure was shoddy and messy, chipped 2 days out. The salon was cold and empty. It was awkward all around.
The next time I dreaded my appointment. I get there and the salon is dark and no one is there. I was the first appointment of the day and I had to wait 30 minutes is drizzly cold weather to get in. I was peeved and wet. I had the same technician. This time she was, well not great, but more experienced. Much better results. She is uncomfortably silent though. All attempts at conversation were clipped and painfully awkward. Again, I was the only one is the salon. It’s a miracle they can afford to stay open when I’m sure I’m always the only one there. If I had my druthers, I’d never go back but unfortunately the place where I get my threading merged with them, so it looks Luke I have no choice. Appointments can be hard to get, you have to call 3 to 4 times to finally get someone on the phone. Parking on Michigan is easy and not that expensive… I just don’t know…

Get your nails done here if you love to waste money, hate having nice looking hands/​feet and have hours to waste.
I bought a groupon for two no chip mani and pedi here. SO DUMB.
The first time I was here, I waited an HOUR for the nail tech. I have NO idea what she was doing since I had an appointment and there was no one else ahead of me.
My no-​chip started peeling after 3 days. I was in Mexico and could get them fixed so I had to rip all the nail polish off all my fingernails.
I was very hesitant to go back but I figured I’d at least get a pedi out of it, the first one was at least mediocre.
This time I had to wait another ½ hour for the nail tech, different girl this time. She made me soak in lukewarm water that turned cold because she ran off someone to talk on her phone for 20 minutes while I was soaking. When I told her about the peeling from the last no-​chip, she tried to tell me it was my fault because I was in water a lot. Ugh… that’s why people get no-​chips! SO they can go on vacation!!!
this time, my no-​chip had some color on the cuticles so I wanted to peel that off. It pulled a little color off my actual nail, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the whole finger doesn’t peel off because of it. My toes have a big chip on it 4 days after the mani. I can do my toes better at home.
this place sucks. DO NOT GO.

I have very mixed feelings on this place as I came here twice. I should’ve written 2 separate Unilocal reviews, as both of my experiences were vastly different for the same service and with the same tech. I purchased a Lifebooker (another type of groupon-​like site) for 2 no-​chip manicures.
First off, this place is impossible to book an appt. I literally called for weeks and was never able to get someone on the phone. I thought the place had closed down for a second because I couldn’t comprehend how a nail/​hair/​salon could not answer the phone during regular business hours. Anyway, after weeks of trying, I finally got someone on the phone. They then told me it was going to be about 3 weeks to get an appointment for a no-​chip mani. Extremely upset, I scheduled the appt anyway. I wanted to just get my money’s worth and move on. I had a family emergency (a big one) and wasn’t able to make it to my appt. I called the day before and they said I wouldn’t be able to get another appt for another few weeks. I decided to call back at a later time as I was too stressed to deal with this
A month later, I call and they answer on the first try. Remarkable. I made an appt on a Saturday morning. I get there and easily score a parking spot right outside. I walk to the salon and have to punch a code on a metal box for someone to buzz me and open the door. Is tight security really needed for a salon? Anywho, I walk in, mention I have an appt and was told to wait. They started looking for the person to perform the mani and couldn’t find them. Then they realize they didn’t come in today. This would’ve been nice to know beforehand, especially since they had my contact info on file. I was then instructed to sit with another individual that could perform the task. I was shown the wall of no-​chip polish and liked they had Opi, Sheliac and Gellish varieties.
I then sit down with a really young (she probably just graduated out of high school) girl and started taking off my nail polish. I immediately notice there is no water to soak my hands in. Nails 101: You never cut a cuticle or polish/​buff a nail before soaking, as you have to soften the skin and wash the gunk off. This was not done here. She quickly went through the cuticle-​cutting and buffing and did not cut the nail as short as I described. A lot of cuticle and rough, dead skin (that annoying, corner skin) was also not adequately or thoroughly removed. She then proceeds to paint my nails. Again, no hand-​washing or water soaking after all this dust and debris was on my hands. As it was really early in the morning and I was exhausted, I didn’t pay close enough attention to the nail tech. She started on a THIRD coat of polish. If you know about no-​chip, you know in essence, there’s 4 coats: 1 base, 2 color and 1 top. This already makes the nail look a little thicker than regular polish if not done correctly. With globs of polish and an unnecessary coat, it looked like I had little helmets on my hands. Seriously, someone thought I had fake nails, even though they’re real. The coating was ridiculously thick. This is a massive pet peeve of mine and I brought it up immediately. The nail tech argued that the color was very light and needed an extra coat for it to be visible. I let it go. Once it was done, I was extremely upset and really never wanted to step foot in here again.
After about a week or 2, the polish was all messed up. This is unusual for no-​chip as I have easily gone a month without having to touch-​up my nails.
About a month later, I realized I was out of money but needed a mani badly. I took my chances and went back to Marimarshe’ for the 2^nd no-​chip purchased. This was a MUCH better experience. The same nail tech assisted me and remembered me. She said she hopes my nails were ok the last time and has «been practicing really hard to get better.» This broke my heart. I must’ve been such a bitch to this poor girl, I can only imagine how hard she was working on her craft after that day. The mani this time did include a hand washing after buffing but again, no water before. This is still very strange to me. I picked a cool white polish and she did a free design on my ring finger for free. She did improve in the sense of placing the perfect amount of polish on the nail but I still had bubbles in one nail, a hair stuck in another, and after a week, chips again.
I see this as not the tech’s fault. She probably just started and needs more practice. I see this as the salon’s fault for placing inexperienced staff to do services on the busiest salon days. I really liked the girl that helped me. She was genuinely sweet and I’m sure she tried her hardest to do a good job. I just feel that this salon should know better than not to have water for any mani and to put staff that still require training wheels. After using my second of 2 services, I will not come back here again. Sorry, my hands deserve better.
0 stars for 1 visit, 3 for the 2^nd (solely on the customer service)= 2

BEWARE!
I purchased 2 Global Keratin Services and 3 Cut/​Blowouts through Lifebooker with no problem. They refused to honor the second voucher because they said there was a 1 per customer limit.
That’s $ 125… down the drain.

This place is being billed as a spa but there is NOTHING spa like about the atmosphere OR the service. I’ve had plenty of manicures and pedicures in my life and this ranks as the absolute worst. I can’t speak for the other staff but my nail technician –and I’m being kind even referring to her as a «tech» because she was the most overconfident, unskilled person I’ve ever dealt with– was the worst. She was lazy and lacked any nail care skills while surprisingly boasting that «she was good at what she did.» Here is how good she was: She clipped my nails haphazardly. She lacked any deft of hand in clipping my cuticles, leaving them in pain and now they’re peeling back. She used an old, weathered nail file that couldn’t file my nails. She didn’t clean off the nail file dust from my fingers before painting my nails. At no point did she use polish remover to clean my nails. And to top it off, she lazily painted my nails, constantly leaving color on the edges. I immediately removed the polish and repainted my hands when I got home given the terrible paint job. While taking care of me, she also complained about having another client following me and said she would call to see if they could reschedule. I was so turned off by her and the service that I opted to have a regular polish instead of the no-​chip manicure I paid for with my Groupon. I thought perhaps she was just a lump of coal in a diamond mine but the place itself was also disappointing. The location was dirty, the nail polish selections were minimal and almost all the polishes were clogged and thick. I hesitated getting into the pedicure tub as the one next to me looked like it had never been cleaned.
In short, I will NEVER step hand or foot into this place again, not even if they paid me. Even 1 star feels too generous. Enter at your own risk.

If i could give them zero stars i would. its a cluster out there. Pain in the butt for scheduling my groupon massage. First I tried to call and literally tried for about 3 weeks before I actually got someone on the phone. I tried at different hours of the day but always got there voicemail which led me to there website. However the problem with scheduling online is there is no option for a groupon. Finally got someone on the phone and she was rude to me and brushed me off. Then I called on the ¹²⁄₂₂ and she said the receptionist was not in and could not make an appointment, told me to call back the next day. I called back to find out that the massage person was not coming in on the 24^th.
Then the final kicker, the groupon is expiring on dec 26, I asked if she could extend it and she said the owner says you can pay the difference. No way! This company needs to learn how organize and get there priorities straight with some better customer service. Yikes this is not how you treat potential new customers and was not only one person it was multiple as I talked to several ladies there, all clearly incompetent or not trained properly.

Sadly, worst hair salon experience to date. While overall, the staff was friendly and the space nice, the experience and the price far outshadow the positives.
I called the day of to see if they had any openings, and was told to come in an hour. On the phone, I was asked if I also wanted a shampoo with my haircut. I said yes, as I assumed they go together like all of the other salons I have ever been to.
I arrived and was warmly greeted by the front desk staff, but then sat for nearly 20 minutes after my scheduled appointment time. Finally, I was brought to the shampoo area and after the stylist washed my hair (all of 5 minutes, at most) I was sent back to the waiting area to wait another 15 minutes with wet hair.
Finally, an assistant came to bring me back to dry my hair, prior to the stylistic cutting my hair. Had I known this was the procedure I would have opted out of the shampoo. But at all of the dozens and dozens of salons I have been to across the country, my hair has always been washed, cut, then dried at one listed price.
After nearly 2 hours into the event, I explained to the stylistic that I needed to go and would finsh styling on my own. She walked me up front, and told the front desk staff to take $ 10 off since I had to leave prior to her styling my hair.
I thought that was considerate until I was told my total was $ 95!!! For a simple trim! I questioned where that price came from as I had seen a haircut was $ 25 on their website. I was informed that because the owner had cut my hair it was actually $ 45 for the haircut. I could have dealt with that, but it would have nice to have been informed when making the appointment.
So where did the other $ 50 come in, I questioned. Apparently, they charge $ 60 to wash and dry your hair! I was dumbfounded as I had never paid separately, and I have fine, thin hair that is not diffucult to work with. Even a blowout at Blow by Blow in the Gold Coast is only $ 35 so I do not understand how they can justify their prices for the location and space they are in.
While I wish the owner and salon the best of luck, I felt the need to inform people of my experience. A little communication when booked, regarding that I was with the owner so the price would be increased, that they charge separately to wash your hair, and that they might not actually be able to get me in at that time or even that day would have gone a long way.

So I purchased a groupon for a mani-​pedi. I scheduled an appointment, but on the way to the appointment I was delayed. The appointment was with Mallory and she was a sweetheart. She understood and rescheduled my appointment for the next day (no talk of cancellation fee, etc.). So I went to my rescheduled appointment. The Salon is nice, clean and sizeable. I loved the atmosphere. There was nice music playing, but not a bunch of noise. There were a few casual conversations going, but overall it was very peaceful.
My nail tech Mallory gave me the absolute best pedicure that I have received in Chicago. I will definitely recommend her for anyone going for their nails. Mallory worked on my feet and hands very well. She was polite and nice. She was also very understanding because I was not feeling very well. She offered me water and went and got it for me.
I used to pass this salon all the time and did not know it was there. I will definitely be back!

I always go to Erin to get my eyebrows threaded. She does an amazing job! Once I was actually asked by a total stranger how I got such nice brows, so I pointed her here. The staff that I have talked with have always been really friendly.
Make sure you bring cash for the tip– they can’t put it on your card and there’s no convenient ATMs.

I received a Groupon for Marimarshe Salon, for a 4 hour mani-​pedi, facial, and massage. So basically half a day of pampering and forgetting about all worries and stresses. I was able to make the appointment easily, I wanted to use the Groupon in one sitting… and weekends were booked out for 3 – 4 weeks. Nothing surprising, its expected. So I made an appointment for 10am on a weekday.
Honestly at first I wasn’t too excited about waking up early and running to the spa, but after my experience, I would highly recommend going in the AM. Not many customers are there, the staff gives you attention, and you can fully relax!
So as I got there, upon giving my name and appointment time, the receptionist said that I was only booked in for a mani-​pedi!!! wth! I mentioned to her the only reason I came in at 10am was so I could use the complete 4 hours in one sitting! At this point I was skeptical about the spa, the services, and the experience I was about to have…
The receptionist asked me to have a seat, and said to give her a few minutes, she talked to other coworkers/​manager made a call, and got someone to come in to keep my appointment! How awesome is that! I mean, she didn’t argue or doubt me once but right away apologized and rectified the issue above and beyond!
3 ½ hours later… I received all four services from three different aestheticians. The mani-​pedi — one of the bests I have had! Facial — staff was very knowledgeable regarding products and skin care, made recommendations and not once pushed to buy any products (to be honest when I am pushed to purchase products I have not heard of even though I may have liked it, i get turned off, big time!). And lastly the Massage was relaxing, relaxing, relaxing! About two to three times I was offered something to drink, and brought water without asking for it.
Overall I had a great first experience at Marimarshe Salon. Definitely felt pampered! Very professional and friendly staff. This place has been open for just under a year, I wish them all the best and hope they keep up with the excellent services!

I like this place. They aren’t too busy and arent too expensive. It’s in the south loop an right by the #4 and #1 bus stop so it’s easy to get there. They use all the good products like Morrocanoil, Mizani, and KeraCare. I saw Janell who did a touch up for me and she styled my hair just the way I wanted it without me telling her! I’m coming back here.