Gel manicures are A Thing right now, but paying for one (especially if you’ve already mastered the art of painting your nails) seems redundant. This $28 UV nail dryer comes with UV gloves and a nail file to really give yourself that nail salon treatment, without busting out $40 every time. And with a 4.4 average…
The Great Nail Reckoning continues: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is reportedly set to announce Monday that nail salons who illegally denied their workers overtime or paid them less than the minimum wage have been ordered to pay out a total of $2 million.
Last year’s bombshell New York Times investigation on labor conditions in nail salons won both praise and criticism, the latter mostly from salon owners, who claimed the story greatly exaggerated how poorly paid many workers are. The evidence continues to show the Times series did indeed find serious flaws in the…
In May of this year, New York Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir published a deep-dive investigation into exploitation, unfair labor practices and health hazards at New York City nail salons. Since the series was published, nail technicians tell the Columbia Journalism Review, life is changing gradually but definitely…
Those of us with the dexterity of an inebriated giraffe are prone to rejoice at innovations that make at-home manicures less of a catastrophe. The Nailbot, a new machine from San Francisco-based company Preemadonna, is one such invention — it enables you to apply nail art simply by using your smart phone. But CEO and…
Last night the acrylic nails came off in a fit of rage over how expensive they are to maintain. This morning there are no regrets, except for how awful they look and feel.
Welcome to Grim Yelp Reviews, a regular feature where we share people’s worst experiences at the worst places. This week: I feel pretty, I feel oh so—oh, man.
The New York Times has issued a rebuttal to former Times journalist and current spa owner Richard Bernstein, who wrote in the New York Review of Books that nail salons can’t possibly be as bad as the NYT suggested in their series “Unvarnished.” The Times says they are standing by the series and that Bernstein is…
The New York Review of Books ran a rebuttal this weekend to the much-talked about New York Times series “Unvarnished,” Sarah Maslin Nir’s yearlong investigation into the horrendous labor practices at many New York nail salons. The rebuttal, written by former reporter and current nail salon owner Richard Bernstein,…
The New York Times exposé series about labor conditions in New York nail salons continues to produce swift state action: Governor Cuomo ordered emergency measures for the investigation and regulation of salons in the state, there’s been an active local campaign to partner with community groups and city agencies on…
The recent New York Times nail salon exposé and subsequent, appropriate government reaction has come accompanied by a lot of entry-level and highly limiting personal quibbling from manicure-loving women, who are here to remind us of the power of the internet’s dominant heuristic—which is to read something that does…
Ever since Sarah Maslin Nir’s investigative pieces on the poor working conditions and human rights violations at nail salons, manicure fans might be wondering what the most responsible nail route is going forward. While it’s great news that Governor Andrew Cuomo quickly stepped in, ordering investigations to be…
After the New York Times “Unvarnished” series made an entire city of women rightfully ashamed about all the times they’ve ever gotten their nails done, Governor Andrew Cuomo has come in big with an order for emergency measures to regulate and improve the appalling working conditions that have become standard for many…
On Thursday, the first installment of “Unvarnished,” the nail salon labor exposé series from the New York Times, laid out many of the cultural and economic strictures that determine the workings of an industry that for many women remains relatively invisible outside of its visible results (“Cute nails, omg”). And,…
The New York Times has spent the better part of a year conducting a fairly groundbreaking investigation of labor conditions for nail salon workers, and the first installment in their “Unvarnished” series is clear, chilling, and heartbreaking to the last word. Reporter Sarah Maslin Nir starts with a scene of young…
During a recent trip to Houston, I got a manicure and pedicure because it was spring in the south but the dead of winter in New York City and my toes were not ready for public consumption. As a woman who affords herself few mani-pedi’s, I’m never sure what to tip so I texted two girlfriends and asked. But when I gave…
Shu Uemura Duocolor Blush in Fresh Apricot, $18.90 (was $35) Orange blush! Have you tried orange blush? You should. It's great, especially for darker skin tones. This one comes with its own highlighter, so really it's only nine bucks if you think super hard about it.
The last time I went to get my nails done, I paid $45 dollars for some kind of green tea infused wash that included rose petals, healing crystals and clear nail polish. If that kind of manicure costs almost 50 bucks, can you imagine how much this beautiful disaster must run? How about the person you need to hire to…
Christian Louboutin, the luxury shoe brand that's a favorite among reality stars living beyond their means, is entering the beauty industry with a line of exorbitantly-priced nail polish. It's actually a natural move for the company as its shoes' infamous red bottoms were initially designed using a coat of nail polish.
There's always something happening in nail world, and right now it's texture. The "hot" look for summer is "beachy" statement nails, in which "beachy" means grainy and jacked-up looking.
