I’d been wanting to go to The Nail Club since I liked their Facebook page last year when I was hunting for a birthday treat manicure so when my friend suggested it as the meeting place for a catch up I jumped at the chance. Now you might be thinking how do two girls on an au pair wage afford to gossip over a mani/pedi. Well you don’t (although you can book a RDV if you’re rolling in the $$$) but we’ve discovered something better.
From the outside the large window stickers disguise a warm, bright room with exposed brick walls and stripped back woodwork. There are several large communal tables so be prepared to share if there’s only two of you. The tables are all flecked in polish so no need to worry if you have an unsteady hand and there are books dotted about full of inspiring ideas. On nearly every available wall are shelves stacked with the greatest spectrum of nail colours imaginable. I was in heaven.
Here is the pro beauty bar where you can pay to get your nails done.
These polishes are for sale. They’re not the cheapest but they are good quality. You’re not here to buy a new shade anyway. That’s what KIKO is for. No instead you’re here for the Atelier and a DIY manicure. Here are the different pricing options.
So Camille opted for the ‘Couleur’ and for two euros was able to chose any polish she liked from the well-stocked ‘Atelier’ shelves and was also provided with cotton pads/buds, nail varnish remover and a base/top coat.
Briana opted for the ‘Manucure’ and received all of that plus a cuticle stick, handcream, and cuticle/nail oil. She chose two colours (they seemed chill with this) layering a glittering polish over an initial mauve coat. Emily opted just to have a drink which was also fine as we were painting.
In the name of research I opted for the ‘Nail Art’ package which basically means you get access to everything, including loads of foil and silver tape and nail stamps. All of which I had no idea how to use. If it wasn’t for my terrible French then I could have easily asked the shop owner for an explanation, she seemed so lovely, and she did in fact step in later to save my nail art after a lack of drying disaster. But it might have been useful to have something that explained how everything could be used in order to access the full potential of my creativity. I had no idea how to use the sponge, for example. Or what the tin foil was for. Maybe it’s for the more advanced nail artist. I did get to keep my nail file though!
Just one of around 50 nail stamp sets I could have used. I was initially considering Halloween themed talons.
The finished result. Very happy with my dusty pink and silver art deco-inspired nails. Oh, and for 2€ you can get a herbal tea (our hot water was happily topped up free of charge after she offered) or an espresso. So basically for as little as 4€ you can relax, out of the wind and rain, with a hot drink and paint your nails. Lovely welcoming atmosphere, we didn’t feel rushed. I will be spending many more chilled afternoons here catching up with the gals. You can book guided group sessions which is a cute idea for a birthday gathering, prepping nails before a night out! Find out more via their Facebook page here.
