Shine On Salon

I always had a great experience at this salon, and was deeply saddened by their recent fire. Luckily, there is now a campaign for Kitty and the Shine On Salon! They are working to rebuild and reopen. Please help them to reestablish this great neighborhood business.
You can make a donation at:
To learn more about the Shine On Salon business, click here:

I usually go to Dove, but their prices are so high and constantly changing (pretty sure they make them up for people who aren’t regulars which is totally annoying). Went into this salon in passing one day on my way home from work, and it was such a fantastic experience. My mani/​pedi was roughly two hours long, and my nails lasted 1.5 and THREE weeks respectively (HOLLA!!!). Probably the cheapest I’ve encountered in the area, so I tip extraaaa big.
Prob going to be a regular.

Wonderful!!! Everyone is excellent and great prices too!

Love this place. It gets busy Saturday mornings, so either plan ahead or try in the afternoons. Really recommend: Helen, Kitty, Gigi, though I really haven’t been displeased with any of the women, those three are just really good.

I HATE to do this. I was so excited about this place. So close to my house. Took me really quick as a walk-​in. My pedi chipped away the same day. I stayed for the ample amount of time they told me… wore flip flops all day. I was stunned what happened in 24 hours. I don’t know if I got someone new who wasn’t up to par of their services.
I’m sorry. Back to Belmont Nails. My go to anyway.

Prior to Shiny Nails, I was used to places that charged $ 45-​$ 80 for pedicures and you could only get in with an appointment. These types of places always seemed pretty cold to me. I am the 3PM french manicure and that is all.
I decided to leave these places to try a little local nail shop mainly for cheaper prices but also to see if they were just as good as the $ 80 pedicures. I was pleasantly surprised to see that their $ 33 mani/​pedi special is just as good as the spas that over charge. The ladies who work here are super friendly and, after 2 appointments, remember my name.
I have been coming here for 2 years now and when I schedule an appointment, I am always taken in on time. I have actually seen them turn away many walk ins because they are so booked. They are clean as I have seen the sterilizers in use in the back area. The regular manicures last a solid week but the shellac will last two weeks. There is plenty of on street parking in front and around the corner on a side street.
Yes, this place is not as pretty as the spas that over charge for their pedicures. The tables that attach to the massage chairs aren’t very sturdy. BUT you get excellent service at a great price.

Love this place! I’ve been going here for my pedicures for years.

I love Ming and Kitty. I’ve been getting a gel fill here for several months now. They do a great job.

I went to Shiny Nails for a shellac manicure based on the good reviews here at Unilocal.While there, I wondered how it could possibly earn so many high-​star reviews. (I’m not by any means suggesting the reviewers are shills, but I do wonder what they saw in the place that I didn’t.)
Shellac manicure is $ 30, about $ 5 more than the typical storefront nail salons. That extra $ 5 doesn’t get you any added value, though. In fact, this place is pretty dirty. No décor to speak of, dingy walls … and most importantly, no jars of Barbicide visible! (This is the blue disinfectant liquid for sterilizing instruments.) The technician pulled out a file from her drawer (it had obviously been used before), and the cuticle trimmer was sitting right on the table (probably from the last customer … and the one before that … and so on and so on).
The staff are friendly and professional, but the lack of sterilized equipment is a deal-​breaker for me. I can’t recommend this nail salon, and I definitely won’t return.

I love Shiny Nails! I feel like I never had a good manicure until I went here. I don’t think I have ever had a single bubble.
I generally see Ming, Kitty or Tina. There seems to be a 4^th worker that changes every 6 months or so. Some are hit or miss. Though the ones that miss are usually due to being new and taking more time than normal.
My favorite part about Shiny Nails is that it is the quietest nail salon I have ever been in. I hate when nail salon workers are practically screaming across the room to each other.
Walk ins are possible but if you try to do so on a Friday or Saturday don’t be surprised if you can’t be seen for a few hours. Make an appointment early to make sure you can be seen on those days.
Prices are average, though I feel overall I get better service there than paying the same price at other local salons.
Also they pretty much only have OPI and some shellac. If you are an Essie fan bring your own!

I went to Shiny Nails for the first time on Saturday and was very pleased with the overall experience, and my manicure. After 4 days, I have only 1 chip (this is great for me, as for some reason my nail polish tends to chip a lot).
The salon was clean, everyone was friendly, and they use different nail files and buffing blocks for each customer. And unlike a certain other nail salon on Belmont Street where I’ve gone in the past, they didn’t rush! I’ll definitely be back.

I went to shiny nails today for leg and underarm waxing and I am very pleased! The owner Ming did the waxing and she was great – very thorough and meticulous. I don’t agree with the very negative post about the waxing – the room wasn’t fancy but it was very clean and private.
I had waxing done at another more expensive salon in Belmont recently which left a few stray hairs and seemed rushed. I’ll definitely be back to Shiny Nails. They have a great selection of nail polish colors too, including a lot of glittery top coats which I haven’t seen at other places.

Very accommodating (I was running late and decided to get a manicure at the last minute)…great job on the mani and pedi (warm towel near the end was a nice touch). Overall great and relatively cheap ($ 33). Will definitely go again!

I LOVE Shiny Nails. I can’t say enough about how great they are. I believe they are the best local salon in the area for a $ 30.00 mani/​pedi.
There are four women working here, and I’ve had experience with all. Ming is the owner– she & Kitty give the best manicures & pedicures, but the other girls are good as well. There are four manicure stations, three pedicure booths, and four drying areas. They also have a back room for waxing. My friends and I have had our eyebrows done there several times, and are always happy with the results.
There is a large selection of nail polish– almost all OPI along the wall, and then a variety of essie kept at the stations. If you can’t find a color, tell the name and they will be able to find it for you. They often buy new colors, too.
The manicures are quick & efficient, and I’ve always had really nice experiences with the moisturizing & hand massages. The pedicures are great, too; they really, really buff your feet.
I’ve also had acrylics and gel nails from here. They will make them as thin and short as you want, so they look natural, and I’ve also seen them very long on other women. I took them off to let my natural nails breathe, but may go back again eventually.
Also, it’s totally illegal in MA to use callous removing scrapers, and has been for awhile now, so if you’re at a salon that does this/​disappointed that they don’t do it here, well, ew, you’re gross :(Also, they no longer have individual boxes for each customer; another law that was changed for sanitary reasons. Instead, they constantly sanitize clippers and only use new files, scrubbers, etc.
I come to this place almost every weekend. I’ve introduced five friends from the Boston area, and they always go as well. The place is always packed, so I insist you make an appointment in advance, because if you walk in you’ll probably be disappointed. Also, if you have an appointment, they take you right away– I’ve never experienced a wait.
love love love shiny nails!

The best there is!
It is advisable to have an appointment, but the work that is done there is always perfection.

The lady who worked with me was very friendly, and the place seemed to really have it together: it was clean and everyone had their own little labeled box of mani/​pedi stuff in the front room.
The waxing room looked slightly less clean, but I was still optimistic. And then the lady pulled out this plastic (I say «plastic» as in «not likely to survive five seconds in an autoclave») wax roller that looked like it had been around the block (several blocks, really) a few times. I tried to ask in a roundabout way: is this a one-​time-​use instrument? And it turns out: no, this roller has been around for YEARS. Practically passed down from generation to generation.
If she had been waxing closer to my nether regions, I think I would have said, «k thx bye!» and hustled my half-​waxed nether bits out of there. As it is, I’m not going back. I’m not a fan of double dipping, and to my knowledge, neither is the sanitation department.

I love shiny nails. Here’s why:
1. Not a lot of parking in front, but parking on side streets isn’t a problem.
2. The pedicure chairs are BRAND Spankin New!
3. VERY CLEAN. They have a machine in the back that they use to sanitize the equipment.
4. Ming is the owner. She is truly an amazing lady. The ladies who work for her, Kitty and Tina, are also meticulous and do a great job with manicures and pedicures.
5. The time Ming spent on my nails was about average. Did not feel like it was too long at all.
6. They have a flat screen TV in the corner w/​HGTv or Food Network on to distract you.
7. They do waxing at a fair price.
8. Ming and her staff always ask exactly what you want before they touch your hands or feet.
9. They are VERY gentle with the dremel.
10. The salon is open until 7pm on weekdays.
Make sure to bring cash for tips, they don’t allow it on your debit/​charge.

I’m a regular at Shiny Nails. When I first moved to the area, I tried other salons that were closer to my home & was never completely satisfied. I’d driven by Shiny Nails a few times and thought I’d give it a try. I’ve been going back to them ever since!
The salon is very clean and the technicians use rubber gloves when working on your pedicure. From my observation, the utensils are always in disinfectant & the tubs get a good scrubbing after each client. If you become a regular at Shiny Nails, they will set aside your own nail kit (free of charge) — that way, you can rest assured the files have been used only on you!
The staff is very friendly and they do a great job with the mani/​pedicures. The salon offers other services, but I’ve only had my nails and toes done. I do agree that they could spend a little more time on the massage portion of the mani/​pedi but find that they are consistent with other salons I’ve been to in Massachusetts.
They have a pretty good color selection, carrying mainly OPI polishes with only a handful of Essie ones. I personally like Essie the best, but have come to terms with OPI (nothing against OPI, I think I’m just a creature of habit).
The salon is on the smaller side with only 4 manicure stations and two pedicure ones. They say walk-​ins are welcome, but I suggest calling ahead for an appointment because they fill up very quickly. With sandal season upon us, the salon is very busy on the weekends!

This is a very nice salon. Very clean and not overly crowed at all which I appreciated. I did both a mani/​pedi and I thought they did a great job. A little soft of the elbow grease as Doris mentioned when it comes to the scrubbing and massage, but I thought the overall quality was superb.
Also as my partner in crime mentioned I too thought the people were very nice and I appreciate the quiet atmosphere while I got a relaxing treatment. It kind of takes away from the experience for me when they are chit chatering away very loudly.
Prices are extremely reasonable and considering it’s on a main st parking is easy to find.

This local nail salon is great for something quick and close. I got a pedicure here and although they have wonderful massage chairs and things are clean, I felt that the person doing my pedicure didn’t put enough elbow grease in scrubbing my feet. She also didn’t massage my feet long enough.
The people were nice and not extra talkative which I like and another plus was that they had central AC.