Maniboo: Florence, Italy
Simple and Elegant on Nabi
design by: Maniboo
technician: Unknown
price: $$
Studios are rated in a 1-3 star system. To learn more see our studio list.
Overall:★★
If you find yourself in Florence, Italy and in need of a manicure, this is the only place I would recommend. To be honest it might be only one of three nail salons, but it’s extremely special nonetheless. I liked this salon so much that I made a video about it that you can see at the end of this post.
STUDIO: ★★★
The very special thing about Maniboo is the studio itself. The owner had everything custom designed for the space, it really feels like a luxury boutique. You walk into this beautiful oval shaped room with manicure benches in adorable nooks. The walls are wonderful shade of lavender and the nooks are lined with a fun geometric wallpaper with little golden lanterns hanging from the top. In the middle of the room is an oval bench where you can wait while watching American rom-coms like Confessions of a Shopaholic badly dubbed in Italian. In the back they have custom pedicure stations with a loft above for special events. Even if you don’t normally get manicures, treat yourself to something special on your vacation and go to Maniboo.
NAIL CARE: ★
The technicians at Maniboo are generally very gentle. However, I came there with a semi-hard gel that their nail polish remover was not strong enough to take off. The technician was unfamiliar with removing the kind of extensive nail art that I had on at the time, so she just plain old filed it off which did some damage to my nails. I don’t know if this has changed since then, as she said that she was having more and more people show up with nails like mine.
ART: ★★
Although it was super simple, I have to say this design is one of the most randomly complimented designs I have ever had. The picture doesn't do it proper justice, in person the combination of the shape, length, shade and gem had this wonderful balance between professional and fun that I have yet to recreate. I also have not been able to find that same shade of tan that matched my skin tone perfectly. The technician that I had had done more complicated designs, but they were all still quite simple. Additionally, their accessory selection is basically limited to the larger sparkles that come in some of their polishes. I don’t know if they have acquired some gems since, but I would not go in expecting something extravagant.
LONGEVITY: ★
Unfortunately, since they only work with OPI gels, the nail polish did not last as long as I wanted them to. They lasted the standard OPI time, about 2 weeks, but my nails were damaged from the filing so they broke at two weeks on the dot. It may have just been from the filing, but in my experience OPI gels do not give my nails strength the way other brands do. If you are used to harder gels don’t expect them to last as long, but it’ll be hella fun getting your nails done.