Charming Nails

High quality and excellent equipment.
Pros:
— each customer gets their own sterilized instrument kit
— gel nail UV light has a timer that emits only the amount of UV needed to cure the polish (reduces the time spent under harmful UV)
— gel nails last a full 2 weeks without any chipping or peeling, and could probably last 3 weeks if you can tolerate the nail bed growth
— highly experienced employees (but very serious about their job, unflinching, soup nazi style attitude)
Cons:
— a little expensive, but worth the extra quality
— only 4 booths, so usually have to wait 15 minutes to be seen

A mani pedi costs 38.50. Their instruments are sanitized (you see them opening a bag for each customer) and quick dry is included. The women are so nice — they do a thorough job, they all help each other out and genuinely like the customers.

Totally adequate mani/​pedi.
Mani lasted a whole week, which is good for me. Pedi has lasted two and is still going strong. Service was friendly and fast but not rushed. It’s a tiny, somewhat older spot, so it’s nothing fancy, but it was clean enough for me. I’ve been looking for a regular spot up here and I’ll definitely give this one another go.

Huge fan of this place! Good-​size, rewards card, and absolutely perfect mani/​pedis! The girls are so sweet and friendly, staff is mini-​UN comprised of nail techs from Ecuador to China! I also really liked the pedicure chairs. Debit cards only.

I’m giving this 4 stars but I really mean 3.5 — and this review is based on a pedicure only.
Stopped in to charming on sunday afternoon. This place is easily missed! It’s down some steps on 87^th between 2^nd&3^rd but closer to 3^rd ave. First impressions, the place was clean and fairly small with about 4 mani stations & 4 pedi chairs. Once I was sitting in the pedi chair I noticed there was a «massage» room which looked incredibly tiny & claustrophobic — note to self, do not get a massage here.
The pedicure: Only worth 3 stars. I thought it was a bit rushed and the paint job was pretty pathetic. For starters it wasn’t very even and there was some polish build up on some toes and uneven application on others. What kills me is that my polish started chipping the next day. Normally my pedicures can last a month & I usually have a hard time getting it off myself– I can’t be the only one who feels like toe nail polish can withstand an explosion, can i? Also worth noting that they only seemed to have Essie which in my experience is the worst nail polish and chips very easily. Fun fact: I once met an Essie employee and expressed my grievances (before knowing they worked there) and they admitted most ppl complain about this. So, basically, don’t use Essie. Anyway, someone else painting my toes and massaging my feet/​legs is always better than doing it myself — so 3 stars.
The chair: omg. I NEED this chair. 4 stars for the most amazing massage chair. This may seem over dramatic but this really was the best pedi chair I’ve ever sat in! I would (will) go back just for this chair. There were 3 different massage options and 3 different types of massage options (lower back, upper back, both –i think? and then choppy, wavy, both). Pressure was awesome and i thoroughly enjoyed my hour.AMAZING.
I live across the street so I will certainly be back but if you need to travel more than a couple of a blocks for this place, I wouldn’t. Unless your getting clear or no polish and you just want to have a great chair massage.
Everyone was also super nice here. I don’t usually like when manicurists are speaking to each other in another language & laughing while doing your nails and no one in this location was doing that. All very friendly & sweet!

Literally perfect manicures — every time. Julie and the manager are highly experienced. It doesn’t get more precise than this.

This is a middle of the road nail salon, but good for them, they are always busy. They have a «rewards» card, I used it religiously for years, but never got anything. When I mentioned it, they insisted that I had. I would go back to Charming if I was in a huge rush and nothing else was open/​available, but I stopped being a «regular» a while back. They keep the place clean, it’s just okay.

So upset 3 of my nails chipped after 1 week and 3 days. I probably won’t get a gel manicure from here again. Knocked them down 3 stars.

This is probably the best nail place I’ve found yet. Great prices, very very clean, and they do a great job! Very happy with their work, and I will continue to go back!

I just had the best mani-​pedi. The Ecuadorian girl (I think her name was Lati…) rocked it. My toes look amazing :)

I got a gel manicure there 6 days ago. The place was cramped, she rushed through the service, and my nails are already chipping. Don’t waste your time or money.

Great place I found after google, Unilocal and researching everything. I even walked around the whole neighborhood to see how clean the places were and how nice the people are. I found this one and I haven’t gone any where else.
I am a clean freak and I worry about all the diseases you can get by getting your nails done. So far this place is really good. Prices are great for the area but still a shock to me to see how much nails cost in NYC.
The people are very friendly and always have a smile on their face even when you have a not so happy person come in. The people that work there are great but some of the woman that come in that place are not so nice. Its all about them and they don’t care if the nail techs are running late. I will say that’s my only complaint. But the mean woman customers haven’t scared me off yet. I will not go anywhere else.

Cute little place, disposable sanitary kits and great service for a quick mani
I had to pass time in the area, needed a mani so Unilocaled the nearest place (here) and a passer by also said she always goes there.
Not crowded — It was 720 on a Friday and only a couple other customers were there, possibly because of the cold weather or because it closes at 8.
The staff was very friendly and one gave me a backrub — I had stress knots/​and she was great working them while another gave my mani. Efficient and well done mani then another even better backrub while my nails dried ($ 10 for 10 min massage as most basic nail salons.)
Highly recommend for a quick mani (and on a stressful day to work the knots at the same time :))

The place is very clean and have great magazine choices (that’s a big factor for me). They only carry Essie but color selection was alright.
My problem was that the nail polish chipped after a day and I’m on day 3 and you would think I got my nails done last week and I’m too lazy to take the polish off.
Definitely don’t plan on returning. I would rather spend a little more so my nail polish looks good past day 4.

Really great spot — one of my favorites on the UES! Super friendly staff, and the spa pedicure is well worth the money, my feet have never felt or looked this great. Gel mani was great too — super diligent about every detail and they really took their time. Overall great spot and definitely recommend!

Charming isn’t quite the word; average is more like it.
My friend and I for a wild girls night out went here for a mani/​pedi for $ 34; I booked over the phone and had no issues.
We get there, and we’re shocked as to how small this place is; I’m talking single file walking small. The space was clean, and the licenses of all the women were posted upfront, so that was a plus.
Pedicure was average– no reason why it was $ 23. My girl huffed and puffed the whole time (I even caught her rolling her eyes more than once) as if I was an alien that never got a pedicure before. She never bothered to clean under my nails, and she was apparently allergic to cutting cuticles.
The color I picked, a light mint green, was a fussy color to apply, so that pissed her off even more. My friend sat next to me the whole time, and we chatted. We spoke normally — not shouting — and once I was done, my manicurist covered her ears with her hands and shook her head!!! Are you kidding me?! We can’t talk in here?!? Needless to say, I left NO tip!
Overall, my nails look like I did them. We will NOT be coming back.

Overall the space is clean, which is always nice.
Called and made an appointment about an hour ahead of time. Got there, service was so-​so, with the gal who did my mani & pedi constantly talking to other estheticians or clients. Annoying.
And the paint job: blergh. Scraped too hard on the buffer so paint on my fingernails is pitted (why? on a healthy smooth nail? why must you scrape it with a rockhard buffer?) and even so, the paint job is uneven– parts only single coated– very noticeable with a burgundy.
And three – 3 – of my toes chipped… Within. Four. Hours.
Within four – 4 – hours.
n’uhuh. Won’t be back.

Ladies! Trust this place to give you a super solid mani/​pedi.
I am on day EIGHT and only just started to get some chipping around my cuticles. Eight!!! This is just soooo unheard of for me, so I’m psyched. I’m tough on my hands in general, but I’ve also gone to three outdoor bootcamp classes this week, so it’s even more bananas that my manicure has held up. My pedicure looks good as new!
I paid $ 35.50 for a mani/​pedi with a quick dry coat. It’s a little more than what I place at the place by my apartment in Astoria, but way less than what I’ve paid elsewhere on the UES and far superior quality.
The nail techs are nice, the place is clean, the selection of Essie polishes covers all the bases. I’ll definitely be back for more lunch hour indulgence.

This was a sham of a place, I honestly dont understand the great reviews. everything was rushed (i got a half a**ed pedicure) and my bf got a mani (he had to remind his technician repeatedly to clean under his nails) i left with the same dry feet i came in with in hopes of fixing.
the women there seemed nice tho, but i like hard work along with nice workers.

One of the way better places on the UES! Reminds me fondly of my old Korean salon when I used to live down in Murray Hill. I called ahead to schedule a mani for a friend and I to go at the same time. We experienced a very short wait– 5 min or so. We came on NYE, o it was a Mon, at 1pm and it wasn’t terribly busy as it seems to be on most days at prime time. I guess reservations are recommended.
Bobby did my nails and she was very polite, quick and efficient. A mani is $ 10 but an extra $ 1.50 (or $ 1) for QuickDry– which I think really helps the drying process as well as makes the polish lash. They do prefer cash– you can’t really tip on the card.
It’s been a week and honestly. VERY little chipping. I got black with some transparent glitter (the glitter suggestion was Bobby’s — thanks Bobby!) Granted it’s dead of winter so my cuticles don’t look so great but i recall even that being a nice experience (sometimes people aren’t careful and it hurts!) I don’t believe they have a mani pedi special at $ 20– i think it’s higher in the $ 20s but at least it’s quality. I’ve tried Yours Spa up on 90^th and that shit lasted me like 2 days.
Anyhow, I dig Charming. It’s underground so don’t miss it– the space is pretty decently sized and clean. They ask you if you’d like neck/​shoulder massage when you dry. Normally i’m a fan of this but I wasn’t sure if it was extra. One complaint I had was that
I had to dry my hands in a pedi chair with a crappy portable dryer but no serious biggie.
I’d return. FYI– I overhead someone saying a 4^th finger design is some $ 5 a nail. Not sure where that price point is in relation to other places as I’ve never had it done but FYI.