#letsnailitsaturday

One sure-fire way to relax and have some me-time is either going to a nail salon, or a spa to get a massage. I always enjoy a good mani-pedi, and having to relax there always makes a bad day/mood turn good.

Since we moved to Paranaque, I was not yet familiar with the nail salons in our area, so I always opted for a home-service nail mani pedi by Massage By Us. What turned to be a weekly appointment for me with them, turned to weeks in between because their one and only nail technician resigned, and it has been months of no mani pedi for me.

I always used to go to Dashing Diva for a nail spa when we lived in Makati, and now that we are South people, the closest one to our house is in Alabang Town Center. It is a good 30 minutes away because of the lousy traffic, and I needed to find a nail salon somewhere closer to home. Fast.

Nail-a-Holics SM Bicutan branch

Although some of the branches I have seen before are quite tight and can get pretty packed, this branch in SM Bicutan actually is quite spacious, even when they have a full house.
Even when I arrived an hour after they had just opened their doors, I still had to wait for about 45 minutes for them to accommodate me. I suggest you book ahead of time specially if you want to have a full-service mani pedi and spa treatments done.

I took the unoccupied big sofa in the place because I wanted to relax. I know that was pretty selfish of me, but thankfully, it was lunch time already by the time I was accommodated, so it was not-so full.
I would have stayed under the canopy, but I got too shy. Maybe next time I will. What I love about going to nail salons like this compared to having them at home is that I get to really enjoy my alone time, without the constant "Mama? Mama?" nagging at my feet.
They have quite the comfortable sofas in their place. A lot more soft and lazy compared to Dashing Diva. DD has a more chic decor and kind-of a stiff look for people to take their time lounging. It's more of a New York kind of fast-paced lifestyle if you ask me.

Don't get  me wrong though, I love DD too, I just don't find myself lounging around sipping a cold beverage after my service there. Here at Nail-a-Holics, you can take a little time to rest and lounge. I wouldn't advise it though if you see a line of people waiting for their turn. That would be unethical.
I was handed over some nail polish to choose from. But whenever I have my nails done outside my house, I don't opt for nail polish because they almost always come off right away because of the amount of lotion and oils they massage your hands and nails with.

Plus, they take time to dry, and time is a luxury I just do not have sometimes.
I do apply my nail  polish mostly on my own  most of the time because I more or less can do it by myself, because I change my polish as often as I do my underwear. So if I did not have to learn that for myself, I would have lost so much money on nail polish color change already.
I opted for a mani-pedi service with foot spa, and I was charged PhP 800. That price is not so bad compared to DD, but according to their website as I was writing this, they have the VITAMIN SEA PACKAGE which consists of a mani+pedi+foot spa which is only PhP 690.

I called the SM Bicutan branch where I had gone, and they were very accommodating and apologetic about the incident. I spoke to Anna, their front office person, and it was basically a misunderstanding on both parties. She offered to just subtract the extra fee that was charged to me on my next appointment which is pretty good customer service to me.

So for you to avoid the same mistake I did, do let them know which service package you want before you start your service:

I started with a warm soak for my feet. I have been doing some peeling masks on my calousy feet the past 2 weeks and it really looks even more gross now. I need a good food scrub to slough away the icky dead skin and the scales faster.
I was told that they sterilize their tools often, but no way to prove that right? You just have to trust them. This is what I like seeing in DD, they seal their freshly sterilized tools and they show it to you that it's a fresh pack. It sort of gives you a little peace of mind.

But Nail-a-Holics is a reputable company, so I'm sure one of their SOPs is sterilizing.

I had a really good scrub on my feet. My feet were not as bad as before and they were really smooth after. I still have some cracks even after the service, but definitely so much better than before.
I would have loved to have had my legs scrubbed with longer, but I know that won't be good for my skin. I just love the feel of the scrub though. My legs haven't been pampered like this in so long.