Spa Review: Petticoat Parlour

I’m a lover of all things vintage inspired. So just the logo was enough to lure me to Petticoat Parlour. What I walked into what was not a heirloom covered salon, but a chic and modern retro-inspired spa.

Candy colours, a pin up girl mural and a diner style bar where you can order lollipops, lemonade and cupcakes, is just my kind of thing. Light, bright and girly - this is the kind of place you would imagine the Grease girls would come to get primped and primed.

With fifties music playing through the speakers, I was ushered to a row of manicure tables with an adjacent pedicure couch – a great place to take at least seven of your girlfriends – for Biosculpture Gel Overlays (which is what I had). In simple terms, it is a manicure where the polish is a gel set under a UV lamp. This means that it lasts between two and two and a half weeks without a chip, depending on your lifestyle.

Think false polish instead of false nail. It’s a slightly long process, but worth it. After your nails have been shaped, buffed, cuticles removed and hands massaged, a base layer is applied and dried. Then comes your colour. For a new product, there is a decent colour choice from soft pink and summer coral, to dark blue and even French.

Two coats are applied and dried. A final top coat is applied and then put under the light to dry. A final file around the nail takes away excess and voila – perfectly painted nails that are instantly dry! Gone are the days when you leave the salon with hands in the air afraid of smudging.

It’s brilliant for those of us who constantly find our polish coming off two days after application. Since Friday I have washed dishes, done my hair, soaked in the bath and painted my toes. And nothing. The shine is still there and all fingers are fully coated. It’s a revolution for busy women who don’t have time to constantly have their nails done.

To remove, it’s a quick soak in hot water and acetone at home or at the spa. I received so many comments this weekend and was super excited to gush about Petticoat Parlour and this new product - I’m hooked on both!

Who? What? Where?

Name of Treatment: Nails Sculpting (Bio Sculpture) acrylic/gel overlay

Price: R260

Price for soak off: R100

Address: Suite 1, 1^st Floor Paramount Place, 105 Main Road, Greenpoint

Tel. 021 434 9484

Visit their website www.petticoatparlour.co.za