Dupont Nail- $35 Waxing

Posted on the wall. My kinda place

"Wait so you go down to a sketchy Asian basement in Dupont and let them touch your coochie?" -Good friend 2 months ago. As of one month ago she is a regular at Dupont Nail. It's that much of a bang for your buck yall.

• Price: $35 Brazilian, $8-$12 eyebrow IN DC YALL
• Service: Kim is great. She's really sweet and truly cares about her service. And she waxes her own self. I don't know what says you can trust a waxer more than that...
• Quality: Same quality as an $80 wax I got a Groupon for a few years ago.
• Cleanliness: They change out the wax after every appointment and do the same with the table coverings. This makes me feel even better than other places that just don't "double dip"

image from betcheslovethis.com

I discovered this place 2 summer ago when they were advertising their $35 Brazilians- $35!!! In DC!!!! At that point I was so desperate for a clean-up that I didn't care that it gives off the aura of a Vietnamese basement dive salon, so I went for it and have been going back to Kim every 4-6 weeks since then. Kim is so sweet and gives you a hug every time you come in, like, she really cares. (They have since been taken over by a salon management company and it has a better feel inside.)

I understand one of the ways they can keep their prices so low is by using regular brand products (i.e. aloe vera, Neosporin), but an old waxer friend told me that most salons just put "Neosporin" into a bottle with an exotic label and tell you it is a special healing cream from another country, so I don't feel that gypped by the fact that Kim doesn't try to hide the products she's using. When I go in for the eyebrow/Brazilian combo they give a little discount and only charge $42 for all the services which is still half the price of just a Brazilian at other places. I have never had my nails done here before because it is a little pricier than Revo and I just can't justify that extra $8 (it's a whole eyebrow wax!), but a friend has said good things about their gel manis. Also not sure if this is a selling point for anyone out there, but they just got a new chocolate flavored wax that smells like chocolate. I might be missing something but I really don't understand that. Neither does Kim. If anyone has information about the benefits of chocolate wax, please let me know. Until then Kim and I are assuming the salon management company has a fetish.

Here is the price list:

Dupont Nail- $35 Waxing

Monday, September 16, 2013

$25 Mani/Pedi at Revo Nails

Price: $25 mani/pedi
Service: Friendly and attentive
Quality: Thorough and good!

Cleanliness: Looked good to me!

Gotta walk to the back wall to find the colors on U St

When I first saw the giant banner hanging outside Revo Nails I rushed to the computer and looked fothe catch- $25 Mani/Pedi? Where am I- NYC?? These prices just don't exist in DC, even in the burbs. After sifting through Yelp reviews (because they don't seem to have a website- red flag?) it seemed legit, and I consulted my good friend who is a nail connoisseur and she told me she goes there on the reg, so I gave it a try. And you know what? It was much better than I was expecting for $25 in DC.

Yelp had complaints about Revo not having a good selection of colors, but when I walked to the back of the shop there were two walls of nail polish. I mean maybe 1/4 of the colors were OPI and there were 4 Essies but I buy whatever is $.99 at CVS so I'm not complaining. I went at 1:00 on a Friday afternoon and there was zero wait, but my nail friend told me if you get there after 5pm you usually have to wait. My nail technician was super sweet- actually awkwardly sweet (NT: "You're soo pretty, I love you pretty hands, does your boyfriend love your pretty hands?" Me: "Umm actually people always make fun of my baby hands...I'm kind of insecure let's not talk about my baby hands anymore please this is so awkward?"). The pedi jet tub worked, massage chairs worked, the whole time, which is a major improvement over the last place I got a $25 only-available-Wednesdays-before-4pm pedi. For an extra $10 they would have thrown in a salt massage but I'm not into spending money (duh) so I passed. Plus they were really thorough with the pedi cleaning so I didn't really feel like I needed it.

The only down side was the lack of AC. I know I'm sweatier than the average person, like prescription deodorant sweaty, but this was out of control hot. I was afraid my freaking fingernails were sweating and the polish would run right off (they weren't and it didn't). But I was satisfied when I left- the mani lasted a solid week (the norm for me...I'm pretty destructive) and the pedi is still on a month later. So my recommendation: if you go to the U Street location wait for the weather to cool down, or just try out the other locations. But hey, for $25 I'm down for anything.

$25 Mani/Pedi at Revo Nails

Monday, August 26, 2013