Mingee's Nails & Spa

After 2 hairdresser friends of mine bailed on doing hair for my wedding, I made appointments for my mom and me at Salon Bleu for the day of the event. I called about a week ahead and they set us up with simultaneous appointments. When we showed up for our appointments, Stefanie did my mom's hair and makeup and I was led to my chair by my stylist (I am so bummed I can't remember her name!) After offering us water, they worked their magic.

I explained that it was my wedding day and my stylist, who was gracious, sweet and very attentive, created EXACTLY what I wanted despite my vague yammerings about updo's and curls. I am lackadaisical about my own hair and pretty much the only styling I ever do is a ponytail. My Asian hair is stiff-straight and hold curls for about 2 minutes before springing back to flat. She created a beautiful half-updo with pinned curls and it looked amazing! Everyone at my wedding kept commenting on how beautiful it looked, and it all took less than an hour. My 'do was secure and stayed awesome well into the late evening. And miracles do happen: I still had curl in my hair even when I woke up the next morning.

My mom's hair looked great as well, and Stefanie used all MAC cosmetics on her, which lasted all day and into the late evening without touch-ups. The look was soft and natural, and I was impressed with how quickly she worked.

Overall, they get 5 stars for professionalism, speed and friendliness, but I have to take off 1 star for their receptionist. The girl to whom I spoke when making the appointment was vague when I asked about the stylists who would be working on us. I was hoping to have names or portfolios I could browse, some information about what kind of styling I could expect, but she was of no help. There are about 10 stylists who work at Salon Bleu and only the owners and another stylist have profiles on their website. Perhaps that's what I get for waiting until the last minute.

The price for 2 updos and make-up came out to $140, which was WAY less than the $450+ wedding hairstylists quoted me. Of course, they travel to you, but I am glad I saved the 300 bucks and went to Salon Bleu instead.

I came here with my bridesmaids on the day of my wedding to get mani-pedis. We were greeted and brought to some nice massage chairs and were each waited upon by two ladies each. Needless to say, they were completely empty that Saturday morning. I soon found out why:

They give you the hard sell on their services, pretending they didn't hear you the first time and asking you over and over again if you want to more expensive services. This was not appreciated, especially since I was paying for everyone.

The lady giving me my pedi didn't know what she was doing and had to ask the lady doing my mani what to do every step of the way. She started to apply polish before evening out the ridges in my nails with the buffer. I had to stop her and tell her how to do a proper pedicure.

This selfsame woman turned and loudly exclaimed in Vietnamese to the the other ladies that I was being being a pain the ass. I don't care what language you speak and what language you think your customers speak, but it is NEVER a good idea to talk shit about your customers right in their face. It just so happens that I am Vietnamese and hear this kind of shit-talking all the time when the girls don't think you understand. I don't look Viet, but I sure as hell have the temper of a Viet woman, and let me tell you, THIS is why the Viet Cong won!

I told my bridesmaids what that lady said and the lady doing my mani finally caught on that I understood what the hell was going on. She obsequiously asked me if I was Filipina, to which I emphatically assured her I was Viet, just like she and everyone one of the ladies in the salon. From then on it was fake smiles and sickeningly sweet questions about my wedding and oh-my-you-are-marrying-a-white-man comments.

Run right past this one. They have terrible service, talk shit about their customers and are racist to boot.