La Vie Nails & Spa

Have gone downhill. Not as clean as they were when they opened. Manicure used to include paraffin dip but not any more. No more neck and shoulder massage. Had a pedicure after work and forgot my flip flops. They did not have any sandals for me at all. Will not go back again

I found myself on my one free day unable to get an mani/​pedi at my usual salon and became desperate when even my back up was booked!!! Apparently Natick prom goers had booked everything in town so I had to branch out.
I am extremely anal about who does my nails as most places I have found over the years are pretty sub par and generally will just wait another few days but desperation drove me to try a new place that my cousin goes to and loves. I figured what the hell, it’s better than how my naked nails are looking now. I called at 3:25 and was able to make an appointment for 3:45…so far so good. When I got there, just moments later, I walked into a very large clean row of manicure and pedicure stations but with the exception of one lady was the only customer. Not a great sign but didn’t judge… I picked a color and the rest was history!
I won’t give up my #1 but absolutely have a new back up place with La Vie salon!!!

Agreed with other posters, they do the mani standing up at the same time if you’re also getting a pedicure. Kinda weird. The quality of the nail polishes is why I won’t go back. All the OPI colors looked so old and goopy and I had to pick a color I wasn’t crazy about just to make sure it would go on smoothly. Who knows.

I came in for a $ 30 gel manicure last Saturday. My nails looked good but one had a large chip the next day. Since a gel manicure is supposed to last at least a week, I went in on Monday to get the nail re-​done. I expected them to completely remove the polish on that nail and re-​do it, so I was surprised when the man tried to hastily re-​paint only the part that chipped leaving an uneven, sloppy looking nail. I asked him to remove all the polish on the nail and repaint the whole thing which he did. Yesterday (Tuesday) about half the polish on another nail chipped off. So I didn’t even get two days out of this $ 30 manicure. I won’t be coming back.

If you like creepy leg massages and one coat of polish, this is the place for you!
I’ve gone a few times over the past 2 or 3 years but it’s gotten progressively worse. On my most recent visit, I was tag teamed by this young guy who looked to be a high schooler, and a man. It felt less like «I’m a celebrity and I’m being pampered by several assistants» and more like «let’s get these customers in and out as fast as we can».
Let’s begin: The kid prepared the water and removed my polish. Then, the man shifted from the woman he was currently working on, over to me, and quickly did the whole file/​cuticle/​exfoliating deal. I mean… he looked like that’s what he was doing but my cuticles looked untouched.
Now for the weirdest part: the kid came back to handle the leg massage. I tell you, it was the strangest, most uncomfortable thing ever. He solely focused on my calves in a way that can only be described as fondling. Or caressing. I considered asking him to stop. I’m not saying he WAS fondling, but I doubt he’s had an inkling of training. It didn’t feel soothing. My calves felt violated. I tried to enjoy the hot stone treatment, but just couldn’t get over the horrifying massage.
Thankfully the man came back, slapped on a coat of nail polish and top coat, and led me over to the dryer… where he rubbed my shoulders for literally 5 seconds (uh what? why?) and asked for me to pay now. I had to apply another coat of polish myself at home. Never. Ever. Going back.

STAY AWAY!
What unprofessional staff! I was there with my sister Saturday morning and while it was just the two of us, they were somewhat doing their jobs, but as soon as someone else walked in, three different people «worked» on my feet (horrible, mediocre job), barely removed rough spots, forget about touching the cuticles and nails painted unevenly. If that is not enough, I requested when I walked in a manicure and in order to save time, while someone was painting my toes, another person came to do my manicure, yes, standing up by the pedicure chair so I had to twist my hands. Again, forget the soaking, the cuticles, the paraffin. When I asked why, the girl barked something in her native tongue to the guy who seems to be in charge and they didn’t seem happy about my inquiry; nonetheless, nothing changed, she painted my nails the exact same way I could’ve done at home and off I went. Perhaps she got mad because when I extended my credit card to pay (sorry, I don’t usually carry around $ 75 for nails) and she asked if she should just charge that and I said yes (I was planning on tipping cash), they probably thought I wasn’t going to tip, so they decided to service us accordingly… Guess what? We were so upset by the time we were done, we kept our cash tips in our pockets and swore never to step foot again in that dump. The tubs for the pedicure are disgusting, moldy and just looked dirty.
Do yourselves a favor and take your business elsewhere, these people don’t deserve and probably don’t even want your money!

Um… nope.
I had a decent manicure here a couple of years ago, so tried it again last week. Walked in for a manicure. It was moderately inexpensive ($ 15).
The manicurist (the man at the front desk) did not seem to speak English. I asked him to file my nails instead of clipping them, but he did not seem to understand – he just passed the file over each nail’s edge once. I had to ask him to make them shorter, and he started to clip them (ugh). He also totally ignored my instructions on shaping the nails. Maybe he didn’t understand me; maybe he did not care.
After the soaking and cuticle work, I had to wash hands (standard). Then the manicurist grabbed my hand (completely suddenly and entirely unwelcome) and plunged it into none-​too-​clean looking warm wax, and then covered it with a plastic baggie. I did not ask for that. I don’t know what Needham’s regulations are on re-​using warm wax, but I did not like it one bit.
Then he tried to give me a massage. Maybe it’s me, but I do not like strange men touching me. He did back off when I said «no».
I was glad to leave and wash my hands very thoroughly at home.

Best pedicure! Hot stones, hot towel, and heel paraffin included in the regular $ 30 price! Parking is easy. They’ve always been great with costumer service.

One of my worst manicures ever… very hurried… cuticles a mess… polish put on gloppy… went home and took off the polish and worked on my own cuticles… will never go back!!!

Great service, friendly staff, very relaxing manicure that I got. Could have done better with my cuticles but I was overall very happy with my experience.

This is the worst nail salon I have ever been to. I could have done a better job myself. I wanted to try La Vie because it is a lot less expensive than my regular place, but you get what you pay for. It wasn’t clean and the tech did a lousy job — I can see the paint strokes on my nails. Also, when I asked for clean utensils, I wasn’t given them. Instead they passed me off to another tech. Communication was another issue. I would NEVER go there again.

I have been going to La Vie for about a year but my relationship ended today. Over the past year, services have been rushed even though I always call for an appt. I had a pedicure today with a new face (every month I see new employees). Before cutting my nails, the clinician cut his finger with the sharp edge of the clipper. He blotted the blood on the paper towel that my feet were resting on and proceeded to continue with my pedicure. I was SHOCKED!!! I told him to stop, clean his wound and apply a bandaid and gloves. He pulled a pair of gloves out of the drawer and put them over the bleeding wound and continued with the pedicure. An older clinician (I assume the owner) next to him began to laugh when I asked my clinician to stop his bleeding before continuing. Although there are machines for sterilizing instruments on «show» in the salon, the clippers went into a glass of cleaner and were used on the person in the chair next to me. There were more new faces being trained today. I believe the Needham health dept. needs to do a check on the salon to verify licensure for cosmetology. I will not be back to this establishment.

I wouldn’t go to this place for free — they need to take lessons in how to treat customers… absolutely no attempt to even be polite. NO STARS

I finally found my new local nail salon! Hailing from Jersey (capitol of big hair & manicured nails), I haven’t been satisfied with any nail salon since I’ve been in Boston. Nail salons here are always wayyy too pricey and the job is mediocre; I have a hard time justifying the prices here when I can go back to jersey and get the same thing for way cheaper.
But FINALLY, I have found a place that does a good job and although its still pricier than back home, I can justify it because they actually do a little more pampering than my NJ salon. The pedicures are fantastic here; they give you a nice scrub on your legs and actually massage them while they do it. Afterwards, they use Hot stones and continue to massage your leg-​one word… heaven! And then when you think it can’t get any better, they give you warm paraffin wax for your heel while they apply the nail polish. Sooo awesome!
The salon is no frills but it’s clean and inviting. The staff is friendly and they don’t rush your service if they are busy.
Will definitely be coming here from now on!

Pleased again with the manipedi’s at this salon. Hot stone massages on pedi’s are awesome and the place is *extremely* clean.

This isn’t a fancy spa, but it is a very, very good alternative in the Needham area. Clean, friendly, and plenty of extras for the money, La Vie does a good job. All pedicures come with hot stone massage and a paraffin heel treatment. When you’re all done, they’ll even give you a mini back massage! Wish they were open on Sundays during the winter, but that’s my only complain. Otherwise, La Vie is a fantastic option for a local mani/​pedi!

nice, clean salon. went in for a pedicure, and the stone massage and hot wax is a really nice touch. the only complaint i have, and it actually is a big one, is that the nail stylist did not pumice my feet enough. forget razoring off dead skin (health dept. violation now) my feet looked exactly the same, except with fresh polish. i am looking at my dry skin and my pedi was yesterday.
go in for relaxation, but please know these sweet young ladies do NOT scrub til you are baby soft on the soles of your feet.

I think I just had the most awesome mani/​pedi in my life!
The manicure was pretty standard and they did a very good job. The best part was the pedicure. Standard pedicures come with a hot stone massage and heel paraffin. That never happens anywhere else I’ve seen and it was nice to have these luxuries during a pedicure. Did I also mention that they massage you while your nails dry?
Pedi/​mani cost $ 45. If you’re getting a manicure, they will make you pay in the middle before they apply nail polish. Kind of unusual, but also ingenious since I don’t have to go digging through my purse and chip a nail in the process. =)