And my manicurist is the one I'm debating letting go. I really like her personally, but I have not been happy with my manicures for awhile. Pedicures are fine, but I find myself not having her polish my fingernails and it's always too thick and I manage to mess it up immediately. But more important, I find myself reshaping my nails after I get home. Maybe I can ease off telling her I've decided to do them myself. When we were in California I went to a nail shop and never worried who I got as they were all great. Usually I'd call on a Saturday morning when I wanted to go in, never made an appointment.
The difference between an ok manicurist and a great manicurist is huge. I would try to find an excellent one, either word of mouth or maybe yelp. Marilyn does a modified mani, she cleans up your cuticles and shapes the nails but that's about it. But that's why it only takes 45 min. Her gel technique is impeccable. And it costs $35. She hasn't raised her price in the 3 years that I've been using her so I give her a $10 tip now. Honestly the price is almost the same as the big shops. Just the quality is better. She is fully booked every day, and I have a standing appointment for forever! She's had some clients for 30 years. I just love her.
I did get one excellent manicure/pedicure here. It was when my manicurist was out of town and I needed to get one before we went on vacation. My manicurist gave me the name of someone she knew, and warned me she was more expensive. I called her anyway. The day I was supposed to get the mani/pedi this woman called me, said she had stomach flu and wasn't coming in that day, could she do it the next day. Uhhh no, that's when we were leaving. But I called her shop and asked if there was anyone there who could do a mani/pedi. These was. I went in, it was great. But it was very expensive! I had been so used to the place I would go in California where I could get both a manicure and pedicure for somewhere around $25 - $30. Much more expensive here.