Golden Nails: Bayside, Queens, NY

TROPICAL VACATION on nabi and pink flowers on dali

design by: unknown

technician: unknown

price: $$

Studios are rated in a 1-3 star system. To learn more see our studio list.

Overall:★

This studio is great for medium to basic work for a pretty reasonable price. We were surprised by what our technician was able to pull off with limited materials. We’re giving this studio three stars overall as it is not at the level of the other art studios.

STUDIO: ★★

This is another one of those studios that will have you going, “Is this where I am supposed to be?” Located on Bell Blvd in Bayside, Queens, aka the center of the town, the stairs leading up to Golden Nails are easily lost amongst the bustling restaurants. If on your way up to the second floor you start thinking, “Is this a Korean church?” the answer is yes, there is a Korean church next door. The studio is tiny, only two manicure desks and two pedicure chairs. However the couple that run the studio are so sweet and the place is very clean. They have an adorable little daughter that comes around sometimes as well. They work hard to keep their customers happy, and if you have any specific requests I’m sure they would accommodate.

NAIL CARE: ★

The nail care at this studio was average. I expect that there will be nothing that surprises you, but nothing that stands out as well.  

ART: ★

I once again arrived with a vague concept rather than a specific design. It’s annoying to a lot of the technicians, but I like to do go in “open minded” to studios I try out for the first time to test the studio’s creative muscles. Our technician was cautious but confident, and when I told her we were going on vacation to Mexico and wanted something beachy, but no so beachy, she came up with the above teal based design on her own. I was very, very happy with the results. Dali not so much, as a couple of the flowers on her nails were placed the wrong side up and she felt that the work was a little sloppy overall. There were not as many colors and accessories available as some of the other studios we’ve been to, and the polishes were not my favorite brands.

LONGEVITY: ★

Unfortunately, these nails lifted. It happens to me a lot. They did not lift on Dali, however, because her nail gel never lifts and that’s why she thinks she has better nails LOL. The polish also was not that hard, and I am a fan of hard polish since my nails need the reinforcement to grow. On the plus side none of the gems fell off and they lasted over two weeks.