Magazine for the professional nail industry.
Issue link: http://nailsmag.epubxp.com/i/688035
JULY 2016 | NAILS MAGAZINE | 121 clients opened up her own event space and it's hard to open up a new place, so I donated. It's like giving back and supporting your peers at the same time." THE MENU: Luxe Nails ofers manicures, fve types of pedicures, acrylics, gels, and waxing. However, they are best known for their nail art. Nguyen says her nail techs create many intricate designs and can draw detailed characters. "We do a lot of Swarovski crystals and we fully stud them. We have diferent variations, colors, shapes, and we're actually known for them staying on," she says. The salon likes to stay on top of trends by always having the latest colors. Nguyen says that customers love their extensive nail polish collection, which includes 600 bottles of traditional polish. "It's crazy, but every time you go to the supply store there's a new collection! I like variety so they get me every time," she says. The salon ofers competitive base prices, with manicures starting at $15 and pedicures starting at $25, and higher prices depending on the amount of nail art. THE CLIENTELE: The salon has a very loyal and diverse group of regulars, including some men, whom Nguyen is happy to call part of the family. She says that it's normal to see many clients of diferent ages, races, and backgrounds having group conversations. But this is more than a community nail salon. Some of Luxe Nails' regular clients travel from out-of-state. The salon has also served a few high-profle clients including Nicki Minaj, Adrienne Bailon, and Angela Simmons. However, Nguyen admits that the salon struggles to meet such high demand. "We turn away clients all the time, we just can't keep up. A lot of the work we do is really intricate and it takes a lot of 1. The salon is best known for its trendy nail art, and the staf gets many requests for intricate designs or detailed drawings. 2. Nguyen says that the nail techs at Luxe are like a family, with very diferent personalities but a mutual love of nail art. (That's Nguyen in the center with the purple hair.) 3. The 900-sq.-ft. salon includes seven nail stations, fve pedicure chairs, and a waxing area. 4. Luxe Nails lets nail art clients select from 600 bottles of polish and a variety of gems and embellishments. 1 2 3 time so, we can't really service 100 clients a day. Some of the nail art — like studding individual crystals, for example — can add an hour or more to your basic service," she says. THE STAFF: "We're really family-oriented. There are eight of us and everybody special- izes in nail art," Nguyen says. Although she owns the salon, Nguyen doesn't consider herself the boss. Instead, she encourages everyone to contribute to the salon. Instead of a full-time receptionist, nail techs take turns handling the phones and front desk. They also collaborate to teach each other new skills. "Even though I may see a design and not understand it, another technician sees it diferently and can break it down. We've talked about attending diferent classes, but with so many tutorials online, we usually just look things up and fgure it out ourselves," she says. THE DECOR: Nguyen still remembers how run- down the space looked when she frst began renting it almost four years ago. "It was an old-school salon," she says. "It had a bunch of neon lights on the window and a bunch of diferent fiers — specials and things like that — stuck to the window." When designing Luxe Nails, she wanted to convey that this wasn't a run-of-the-mill salon. She chose a warm neutral color palette and a minimalist design that makes clients feel comfortable but doesn't clash with seasonal decorations. The staf decorates the salon for every holiday and changes the pillow colors for the pedicure chairs every season. THE EXTRAS: Expansion is the next step for Luxe. Nguyen is currently in the process of opening a second location in Glen- dora, N.J. with her sister. The new salon will be double the size of the Philadelphia space. After that, she plans to move the original location to a bigger space and open a third salon. However, she plans to take things one step at a time. But overall, she is excited to expand Luxe Nails and serve even more clients. "I learned the business from my mother so it's exciting to actually succeed in it," she says. 4