In Style Salon

Josie, Vanessa and the rest of the staff made me fee so cared for and special.
I had a pedicure with extras very beautifully done and quick. I was so happy withe the sevice, the beautiful salon, the skill of my technition, the kindness of Josie and the convenience of the location in downtown San Mateo. Thank you InStyle Salon

It was time for a manicure which I don’t do on a regular basis. I was in down town San Mateo and thought I would try this place as a close friend of mine goes there all the time. Over the past year I have tried several places for manicures and all of them are either dirty, they barely speak English, not friendly and so on.
It’s nice to say that I was pleasantly surprised. In Style was very clean! The gal who did my nails was quite nice and very detailed about her work. They also give a neck and shoulder massage which hurt a little but I thought it was a nice add to the service. My nails look great. Also they took me as a walk in without any hassle.
Price wise, this place in my opinion is very reasonable. I paid 20.00 including tip. (no polish for me as I tend to wreck them very fast.
The only downside was that they don’t take Visa. They should at least get a Square. I’m going to get my friend a gift certificate for her services and need to go back because I didn’t have that much cash on me.
I will still keep going to my favorite place, Avant Garde for my pedis though. No place beats their expertise, cleanliness standards, friendliness and professionalism. They are expensive and they are worth every penny.
But for a quick manicure I would definitely go back to In Style.

large selection of colors, hot stones with pedi, choice of sugar scrub scents, free mini goodie ziplock with a mini pumice and file and card, and friendly staff! treat yo’ self accomplished

Every time I go to Instyle my nails look great and I receive the best customer service. All of the ladies are extremely friendly and pamper you with lengthy massages unlike any other nail place I’ve been to. Definitely my favorite nail salon I’ve been to and will continue to go back!

Very sweet people! Had trouble feeding the metered parking and she took care of it for me. Nice work too. I’m very happy with their service and the price is super reasonable for downtown. Not a fancy stance place, but clean and neat.

Great service. My nails usually last more than a week with regular manicure. When I bring in photos of nail designs, they can usually copy the design well.
The owner Josie even found special nail polish from Korea called Skin Food. It has calcium, vitamin and keratin!
The best thing is they give you a free quick shoulder massage for each manicure.

Absolutely love this place! Every time I come back they have new amazing ways to take nail art to the next level! Not only is Vanessa a wonderful artist but she also has a great variety of nail art stamps and stickers that stay on completely. I also love their nail color selection, definitely the best in the area! Come see these awesome ladies and I know you won’t be disappointed!

My only «go to» for any of my nail/​pedi needs! The entire team do a fabulous job, and cater to whatever you may need. Not only that, but they always are on the cutting edge, and have the current colors, and any creative thing that can be done to enhance your experience. I am a very happy camper, and look forward to being there, and seeing all their smiles!

Rip off. $ 60 shellac mani and reg pedi. I’ve paid $ 45 – 50 top and they’re cash only. They also split the girls up so you spend more on tipping both rather than just one. I wouldn’t come here anymore.

I got a mani/​pedi for $ 40 today. Overall, I’m happy about my decision to go here for the first time because:
–the hot stones during the pedicure felt great. Not sure what their benefits are? Or if they do it long enough?! But nevertheless, it feels great.
–the extra attention they give to exfoliation during the pedicure. Seriously, they scrub like crazy. Not shy at all. Love it.
However there are some quirks:
–CASH ONLY, please minimally get Square, I literally had to go to the Wells Fargo across the street and withdraw cash, in my salon paper sandals
–could have been a bit more detail oriented on the polish job. Not all fingers have an even coat of top coat.
Overall, I’d rate my experience a ⁷⁄₁₀.

Very clean facility. People are very nice and good at what they do! Walk-​ins are welcome! Request Hi for the best pedicure and leg massage.

I went here for the first time a couple of weeks ago with my boyfriend right before our vacation. This place was recommended based on the clean-​spa like environment, & that the fact they offer a separate private room for pedicures. Perfect for guys who are embarrassed going in for a pedicure (like my bf lol), & cute for a couples pedicure set-​up. Considering my boyfriend & I both work in the beauty industry, we were impressed with the cleanliness of this nail salon. They give the files they use on your feet to you when you leave, and all implements they used were freshly opened in front of you. We definitely plan on being regulars in the future! Thank you, jade and Helen!

I had been a regular of In Style salon for about three years now, but I had to cut ties with this establishment due to the overall terrible experiences I have been experiencing lately.
Upon walking in I am never greeted with a «hello» and rather just given a rude stare making me feel as though i am not welcome right off the bat.
I’m placed in a chair and given a cold bath soak, COLD BATH SOAK! why!!! And every time i seem to end every pedicure with some sort of battle wound. Most recently the lady cut my skin off along with my nail, the time before my cuticle was gashed open leaving me with a bloody toe which took 4 weeks just to heal. I should have learned the first time, but shame on me right?
Upon paying i was reprimanded for not having a cash or check. Which is understandable had I been aware of this ahead of time. But there is a clearly a credit card machine, so I’m not sure whyI was hassled several times. I left the store feeling as though I had just been scolded by my mom!
I was humiliated and wounded and plan to never return!

I go to this salon every other week for a mani-​pedi break. Even without an appt they can usually accommodate my schedule. I love all the nail technicians, and I have huge respect for the hard work of the owners! I would recommend this to anyone who values a clean nail spa… also, they sterilize everything with UV light. My only regret is that it took me so long to write this;)

I’ve gone to this salon a couple of times now and have been happy with my mani/​pedi. I really like the leg scrub and lotion massage in particular. All the ladies have been very friendly as well.
I noticed someone mentioned getting pitched Herbalife. I’ve seen the products in the shop, but they’ve never approached me about them.

I used to love coming to this place with my stepmom when I was younger. They were always super nice to me, complimenting me and offering to do little flowers on my nails. My stepmom loved the place and they treated her like a queen, all smiles and compliments and chitchat.
Once I got older and started going in on my own, I noticed all that courtesy was gone. No smiling, terse instructions, rushed, half-​assed jobs… could see unpainted parts of my nails, my eyebrow waxes took literally 3 minutes. I felt like I was practically being shoved into the chairs/​the back room/​etc, like my presence was a burden and they wanted to get rid of me as quickly as possible.
Apparently these ladies assume younger customers won’t tip and therefore don’t deserve good customer service. I tip regardless every time I go to a salon but I will not be coming here anymore. Not sure about their manicures, but I recommend Ted Salon on 3^rd ave over Instyle for eyebrow waxes. I got my eyebrows waxed there and not only is it less expensive than Instyle, but they did a much nicer job and were kinder to me.

I am done with this place. I have been going there almost weekly for almost 5 years. They are a little more expensive than other nearby salons, but they give great manicures, and up unti about a year ago, had great service.
For about the past year whenever I go in they act like they’ve never seen me before even though I’m in there almost every week. No smile, no welcome. There is one woman there inparticular, not the owner, but must be her second in command who is really rude.
A couple days ago I went in and was greated with no smile, no hello, just a «Manicure? Pick a color» from rude woman. She did not give me my manicure, thank goodness. Before my manicurist put the polish on (by the way there was NO chitchat or nice conversation during the manicure… strictly business) I handed her a $ 20 so that I wouldn’t have to deal with paying with wet nails. She gave the money to rude woman who apparently is in charge of cash. I made brief eye contact with rude woman who very snidely said «I’ll get you change in a minute!»
It was so embarrassing… everyone in the shop looked at me. I was stunned and just said «Uh, gosh I wasn’t worried about it.» I have no idea why she barked at me like that and it was just weird.
I have probably spent over $ 4000 in that place over the years, but I’m taking my business elsewhere.

I’ve been going to this salon literally since the day they opened. I know the ladies, they seem nice enough although their English is limited, Josie the owner is super sweet (however she’s not *always* there which is part of the problem) and they do a decent job on nails (don’t know about spa services however as I have a regular esthetician down the street at Equinox).
However, over the past few years, I’ve become increasingly dissatisfied with other elements which are (to me anyway) just as important as getting a good fill on my acrylics every couple weeks and a pedicure once a month or so.
1) Method of payments — for years, they were cash and check only… kind of a pain since I don’t do checks so I have to run to the ATM to pull cash. However, a few years ago they got a card terminal and I was so happy that I would finally have the convenience of paying with my Visa card — however, that joy was short lived as I soon found out that if Josie wasn’t actually in the shop, the terminal would be «broken» or «we can’t charge tips» or some other excuse. Unfortunately I would not find this out until just before the polish was applied which meant I would have to dash across the street to the ATM to pull money out (not my bank, so of course there’s a fee involved) or go to Draegers and buy something just to get cash back. It didn’t take long before I just gave up asking/​expecting I could use my Visa.
2) having to wait up to 30 minutes past the time of a confirmed, booked appointment, unfortunately this has been happening with more frequency lately. My time is valuable to me, and I’d prefer not to spend it waiting to get my nails done — I can see a few minutes’ wait once in awhile, but more than 15−20−30 minutes without even an apology (I suspect that a walk-​in might have come in a few minutes before I did and taken my spot — so much for the security of having a confirmed appointment) is annoying to say the least.
3) finally — about 6 months ago, I guess they signed up with the multi-​level marketing company Herbalife. I don’t get a sales pitch EVERY time, but it happens more and more frequently. I have made it clear (politely) that I have absolutely no interest in Herbalife products or the company, but the subject keeps being brought up. All I want to do is get my fill and go about my business — I don’t want to be sold some crappy MLM products.
So for me it’s bye-​bye InStyle — there are tons of other nail salons in downtown San Mateo and I’m going to use Unilocal and my friends to find one who keeps their appointments straight, cheerfully accepts Visa, and won’t try and sell me stuff I don’t want.

I was a walk in and there were three other ladies that were being worked on. I told them my time frame and they worked within the allotted time. Though they weren’t the most gentle or soothing during the massage, the finished product came out pretty good.
$ 40 for mani-​pedi, both with massage
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Pricey pedicure… they did a decent job but for $ 28 ($ 4 for frenched) seems a little steep Granted this is the first time my legs were massaged with warm rocks which was different. But i’d rather opt out from the rocks and pay a little less.
With so much competition out there, i’ll probably seek a little less expensive place for a pedicure