Lovely Nails - Pedicure

It's my first pedicure of the summer! I decided to try a new place today. I looked up nail places near me on google, and came across Lovely Nails in Carmel. It had a couple of good reviews so I decided to check it out. Before I went, I called to see if they were open on Sundays and they were.

Lovely Nails was in a strip mall, and looked pretty average, but didn't have a lot of decorations. There was a big screen TV that was showing a tennis match. I chose a polish from the slightly limited selection, a blue-green that reminded me of the ocean on my cruise to the Bahamas in 2008, and was told which pedicure chair to go to. It was a good thing the massage chair was pretty good because I ended up waiting an hour while several appointments came in and were serviced ahead of me. Oh well, I guess I should have listened to the review that said to make an appointment.

Finally, a young girl who I gathered was the daughter of the owner, came over to remove my toe nail polish while a pedicurist finished up with another client. By this time my water had gotten cold and I asked for it to be heated up. My pedicurist then came over and began my pedicure. He used a dremel on my cuticles which I don't think I have ever had done before. He also used a razor and pumice on the bottoms of my feet and stuck to the rough parts so it didn't tickle. He also gave me a fantastic leg and foot massage even though it was short. He started my polish, and then had the girl finish it so he could go to the next customer.

The Bahamas! See the blue-green water?

My toes-ies.

Overall, it was an average experience. I would go again, especially on a Sunday when my favorite place, Allure, is closed. But next time, I will make an appointment. The pedicure cost $28 plus tip, and there were no extras offered as far as I could tell. That was a slightly higher price than normal, but it was in Carmel after all.


Service Quality Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
"Spa Experience" Rating: 2 stars out of 5
Price: $$ (unless you count my super long chair massage, making it $, but that was too long to wait)

Price Guide
$ = less than $1 per minute (very budget friendly!)
$$ = about $1 per minute (reasonable)
$$$ = more than $1 per minute (an occasional treat)
$$$$ = about $1.50 per minute (only if I get a gift certificate or great coupon)
$$$$$ = more than $1.50 per minute (I'll be surprised if I ever get to go to one of these)

Summer! (and Spa Tip #6)

Hey spa fans! I have been super busy at school and I haven't been able to post much lately. But, summer is almost upon us, and I will be free as a bird starting Friday! Actually, I will be running a couple of camps for a few weeks, but other than that, it's summer fun for me. I have a couple of spas on deck that I have purchased groupons for, so look for Radiance Skin Care and The Alabaster Box Massage Studio reviews coming soon.

Summer Spa/Health Tip: Going to spas and getting pedicures, facials, and massages is all about taking care of yourself. Take care of your skin this summer and wear sunscreen!

Spa Tip #5

Hey all! Sorry I have not been on for a while. Here is Spa Tip #5 for you:
When you get a massage or facial, make it the last place you go before you go home. You will look a mess, either with lines on your face from the face cradle on the massage table, messed up hair from when they massage your scalp, or no make-up and a reddish face after a facial. But, you will feel amazing!

ProWellness Chiropractic - Hot Stone Massage

Happy Spring Break! I have decided to kick off my Spring Break with a massage! I found another great deal for a hot stone massage on livingsocial.com at ProWellness Chiropractic in Fishers. This was a bit of a drive for me, but well worth it.

ProWellness is in a nice new-looking strip mall. The inside is designed in kind of a modern natural way, with a stone desk and a large waiting area. Since it is also a chiropractor's office, the look combined medical with spa. I was the only person there and was greeted by two ladies at the front desk. I was asked to fill out some paperwork with medical questions and given my privacy rights. My massage therapist Heather came to get me right away, and took me back through the chiropractic area to a massage room. The room was simply decorated, but had the essential components: some candles, a chair, hooks, and a mirror. Heather explained to me that they usually do 90 minute hot stone massages, and that livingsocial made a mistake and was not supposed to offer that massage at the 60 minute price (lucky me!). She said that it takes some time to lay the stones on all the different parts of your body, which is why it is normally 90 minutes, but she was going to do mainly just the massaging part and less laying to fit it into the 60 minutes that I bought, which was fine with me.

Heather left me to get undressed and I was happy to discover that the massage table was heated. When she came back in she started some soothing music, and even turned on a white noise machine to drown out the light rock station playing in the lobby. I started face up, and she massaged my face, chest, neck, arms, feet, and legs. If you haven't read my other hot stone review, a hot stone massage is where the massage therapist uses heated smooth stones to massage you, and also lays heated stones on you. She even put little stones between my toes, which I had never experienced before. I then turned over, and she laid stones on my back, and then massaged my legs, feet, and back. The massage was very good, with a nice medium pressure, and the stones were a good temperature. Heather checked in with me to make sure they weren't too hot.

I bought this massage for $49 on livingsocial.com. Thanks to their mistake, I was able to get a hot stone massage, which as I have mentioned before, is usually 1.5 times more than a regular "hands only" massage.  The usual price for the 90 minute hot stone massage is not listed on the website, but their regular massage is $70 per hour. I am estimating a 60 minute hot stone massage to be worth at least $90, so I saved $40. Yay!

Service Quality Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
"Spa Experience" Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Price: $$$$ - approximated regularly charged price ($ - price I actually paid :)

Price Guide
$ = less than $1 per minute (very budget friendly!)
$$ = about $1 per minute (reasonable)
$$$ = more than $1 per minute (an occasional treat)
$$$$ = about $1.50 per minute (only if I get a gift certificate or great coupon)
$$$$$ = more than $1.50 per minute (I'll be surprised if I ever get to go to one of these)

BR Nails - Pedicure

Yesterday was a beautiful day to get a pedicure! My friend Natasha and I went to BR Nails in Broad Ripple since we were in the area. This place is nicely decorated, with a European type feel. We signed in, but were not greeted by anyone. We waited about 10 minutes, and then a nail tech called me back to a pedicure chair, and my friend about 5 minutes later.

The pedicure area was through a pretty scalloped cut-out wall. An extra feature that BR Nails had was a cute little girl's pedicure chair that was smaller and had a bear on it, which I thought was a good idea for kids. My chair had a pretty good massager on it. I waited for about 10 more minutes and then the nail tech started on my nails. My pedicure was average, but short, with no offer to razor my heels. The nail tech did use hot stones to massage my legs which was a nice touch, but it was not very long. I got my nails painted a neon pink color.

My pedicure cost the average amount, $25 plus tip. The overall quality of my pedicure was average also, but very short. This might be a good thing if you are on a tight schedule, but it was not enough relaxing time and massage for me.

Service Quality Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
"Spa Experience" Rating: 2 stars out of 5
Price: $$

Price Guide
$ = less than $1 per minute (very budget friendly!)
$$ = about $1 per minute (reasonable)
$$$ = more than $1 per minute (an occasional treat)
$$$$ = about $1.50 per minute (only if I get a gift certificate or great coupon)
$$$$$ = more than $1.50 per minute (I'll be surprised if I ever get to go to one of these)

Spa Tip #4

For those who have never gotten a massage before, you might be wondering or worried about what to do about clothing when you get a massage. There are several different situations that will determine your clothing for a massage. If you are going to a multiple-person-per-room place or getting a chair massage, you will be fully clothed with the exception of maybe your shoes and socks. Definitely remember to wear comfortable, light clothes for this because the massage therapist will be massaging you right over your clothes, or may go slightly under your clothes around your upper back or legs.

If you are getting a table massage in your own room (this is most common) there are a couple ways you can go depending on your comfort and modesty level. The most common is everything (including your bra for the ladies) taken off except underwear. You can also go full-on nude if you are brave enough. The massage therapist will leave the room to allow you to get undressed and under the sheet, and should have hooks or a chair to put your clothes on. Some swankier places have "locker rooms" where you can put your clothes and they give you a robe to use. You will have a sheet covering you, and the massage therapist will move the sheet around to only uncover the part he or she is working on at that time. Private parts should always be covered by the sheet, with the exception of maybe part of your butt cheeks. Remember that you can always ask the massage therapist to cover a certain area, stop working on a certain area, or stop the massage altogether if you are feeling uncomfortable.

Foot Fitness - Foot Massage

Today I went back to a place that I reviewed on 11/7/10: Foot Fitness on 86th and Michigan. This time I got the foot massage. This place is almost identical to one of my favorite places, Foot Finesse. They have about 15 recliner chairs with ottomans set up in one room, and you keep all your clothes on for this massage. The room is dim with soothing music. The only thing I didn't like about the atmosphere was that the waiting area had a couch with several lap top computers left on the table in front of it. This is clearly the area where the massage therapists hang out when there are no customers.


When I got to Foot Fitness today, I had a 20 minute wait, which is unusual for this place. They must be gaining in popularity. Also, although Foot Fitness has a lot of chairs, there seems to be only 4 or 5 massage therapists. The receptionist gave me a bottle of water while I waited. After 20 minutes I was led back to a recliner chair which was set upright, and my feet where placed in a tub of hot water. The massage therapist started with my hands while I sat up in the chair. Then the chair was lowered back, and he massaged my head, face, and feet and legs. Finally, I turned over and he massaged my back. The quality of the massage was good, the pressure was just right. He did spend more time on my feet and legs rather than my back, which was a nice change from other massages.

This massage was a great deal at $25 for an hour, plus tip. Like I said, Foot Fitness is comparable to Foot Finesse in price and service, and I would rate them fairly equally.


Service Quality Rating: 4 stars out of 5
"Spa Experience" Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5
Price: $

Price Guide
$ = less than $1 per minute (very budget friendly!)
$$ = about $1 per minute (reasonable)
$$$ = more than $1 per minute (an occasional treat)
$$$$ = about $1.50 per minute (only if I get a gift certificate or great coupon)
$$$$$ = more than $1.50 per minute (I'll be surprised if I ever get to go to one of these)