Paintbox: Soho, Manhattan, NY

OFF THE MENU on nabi

design by: unknown

technician: unknown

price: $$

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

Overall:★

The thing about Paintbox is that it is just so Paintbox. Located in “fetch” Soho, the salon has a boutique vibe and is almost always pretty busy. You have to make an appointment beforehand and they make you put down your credit card so that they can charge you a fee if you cancel. Paintbox is a lot of people’s introduction to nail art, and for that I thank them. That being said they are not my favorite studio.

STUDIO: ★★

The salon has three parts, the waiting area, the removal area and the art area. The receptionists are always very nice, they help you take off your coat and they offer you something to drink, I’ve gotten Prosecco or tea. It makes you feel very bourgeois. They give you a menu to choose your design from, and then when the technician is ready they move you into the removal area. The same technician usually does the removal and the art, so that’s a plus. While your nails soak they also give you a stylus so you can use your phone while you are waiting.

NAIL CARE: ★★★

All the technicians that I have had at Paintbox have been super nice and very well trained. I actually spoke about the training program with one of the technicians and she said it was one of the reasons she likes working there. Even though she was certified before she really appreciated the program and its standards. When taking off the gel they never scrape too much. Filing is gentle. The most recent technician I had was kindly conscious of keeping my nail’s length. The nail care of this studio is definitely the best part of the experience.

ART: ★

My issue with Paintbox is the art. I get their whole thing about how they have a specific esthetic, as many salons do, and that for faster turn over they teach all of their technicians the same set of designs, but I just think that overall their designs are not that creative. The same thing on every finger is boring to me. I like it when salons sell sets, where every nail is a little different, and as the two hands come together it’s like a little symphony. And for what you pay at Paintbox, $85 without tip, you could be getting something much better at a salon in Flushing. This is, of course, no fault of the technicians, who have all been more than happy to assist me in making the designs there more to my taste. It’s also weird because they have a lot of really great materials to work with, but the technicians aren’t allowed to use them for their own creativity. It’s just they way they run the business. And that’s fine. I have actually been happily surprised the last two times I went there. Other salons are just better.

LONGEVITY: ★

I lied. I have a second issue with Paintbox. The gel lifts a little before two weeks on my nails and last time it chipped around one and a half. I think this is because the gel is not that hard and they don’t do a lot of coats, since they don’t do very complicated art. For what they charge I would like to be able to push it a little longer.