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‘Grooming’ Category

  1. Nail Salon Review: Associate Editor’s First Pedicure!

    April 22, 2012 by editor

    So, our Associate Editor, Badge, had her first pedicure yesterday.  Now she’s can be a girly girl, but typically does not indulge in services such as this.  She was on her feet quite a bit this past weekend so I thought I’d treat her.  Check out her review of Nails by Mary.

    Nails by Mary
    6175 Balboa Ave
    San Diego, CA 92111
    (858) 565-1008
    Hours: Mon-Sat 9am-7pm


     
    I didn’t know what to expect with my pedicure.  I’ve gotten acrylics put on before at different salons and always left with something bleeding or not looking right, so to be honest, nail salons kinda freak me out.  This experience was quite nice though.

    Nails by Mary is a nail salon in Clairemont, San Diego.  When you walk up to the storefront you can tell it has been there for a while. The owner of the salon is Mary and spoke with both my boss and I at length to make sure we were all good to go before she left for the day.  It is Vietnamese owned and run.

    My boss and I were walk-ins 15 minutes to closing and were still greeted warmly by all the ladies there.
    Everyone was very nice, pleasant, and personable.

    We were ushered to the chairs where you soak your feet.  No time wasted getting us in and ready.  The water was a little too hot for me, but the lovely lady who got us set up was nice and made sure it got to a comfortable temperature.  I know you’re supposed to relax, but there was so much going on that I was just trying to watch everything.  Unbeknownst to me, I was also getting a manicure. So, I had a nice young lady working on my feet and another nice lady working on my hands.


     
    I asked that my cuticles not be cut since, as I described earlier, something always gets cut!  They both listened to my request.  They also told me that I didn’t have a lot of cuticle to begin with and that I was lucky.

    The manicure came with a forearm massage which I wasn’t expecting.  The manicurist was quite strong which felt good.  I got a wonderful purple manicure. She did a great job considering I’m a chronic nail biter. I’ve been trying to stop nail biting and have found that when I’ve got a nice layer of nail polish on it curbs my habit for a bit. My manicure feels like it is really on there. When I do it at home I am guaranteed some chipping almost immediately, but having it professionally done really makes a difference. I have noticed a little dryness around my cuticles today, but maybe that is because I’m not used to that much attention on my fingertips.

    My pedicurist was just the sweetest young girl.  With everything going on, I forgot to get anyone’s name. My pedicurist was gentle yet thorough with the foot scrubbin’.  I’ve got fairly nice feet, so she did a perfect job for the condition of my feet. My boss, on the other hand, has got some stuffs that needs takin’ care of.  His pedicurist went to town, so they really cater to your needs without you even having to say much.

    She trimmed my toenails perfectly and gave me a nicely done manicure of hot pink iridescent polish with a beautiful white flower design with jewel.

    I was then given a pair of those disposable flip flops since I arrived in socks and tennis shoes.  I was told that if I sat under the nail and foot lamps that it would help the polish to dry quicker.  I was even instructed by both pedicurists how to walk and how long before I could put my shoes back on since I had more work to do.

     
    Overall, I had a good experience. No cuts, nice looking manicure, and a good foot scrubbin’. For one pedicure and one mani/pedi it came out to about $53. The ladies were all very nice and we were in and out. Definitely a good place to go if you’re looking for some quick pampering.


  2. Nail Salon Review: Beautiful Nails

    March 24, 2012 by editor

    Beautiful Nails
    5152 Kanan Road
    Agoura Hills CA 91301
    Phone: (818) 707-3275
    Open Monday through Saturday

    There are places that are foo foo for doing beauty stuff, and then there are places that get down to business.
    This place rocks. I had Mary work on my feet today, with my crazy calloused right foot. She obviously has done this for a few years, and is a master at her craft.


    They had nice massage chairs, the place was clean enough for my tastes, but not for snobby foo foo types.

    Remember, the name of this blog is roadfish, not day spa. I had an appointment that I was half an hour late for, since I stopped at Trader Joes for a Tuna salad wrap.
    They didn’t even blink an eye that I was late. This was my favorite pedi I have had. Mary was a rock star.


  3. Pedicure Review: Sole Soothing Nail Spa

    March 3, 2012 by editor

    So, I have been driving a lot and whenever I drive a lot I start to build up a huge callous on my right foot that then cracks.  I am not positive it is from the driving, but I am over 90% sure. I think what happens even with my cool Geox shoes is that they have very thin soles and don’t have a strong heel cup so although they are super air conditioned to wear on your feet they don’t provide a lot of support for long distance driving.  That is why I often wear my hiking boots.

    So, I’ve ended up with a huge callous on my right heel.  When the callous gets too big it cracks and becomes excruciating painful to walk on.  I know that is probably more information than you wanted but if we ever get in a fight just know to go for the back of my right heel.  That is my weak spot, but then again you don’t know I may have just gotten a pedicure and I’ll be ready for ya.

    Sole Soothing Nail Spa
    966 S Westlake Blvd
    Westlake Village, CA 91361
    805-494-4884

    So, I went into the salon.  It was very aesthetically pleasing.  They had a decent restroom.  It was halfway between your typical Vietnamese nail salon and a fancy hotel salon.  It was run as most nail salons are by Vietnamese people.  The price was very reasonable.  It was $32 before tip.  With that your manicurist spends about 45 minutes.  They had the typical massage chairs.  I wish they could make these stronger because my shoulder is always bugging me and when I try to cram my shoulder into the machine I wish it dug in deeper.

    She did a wonderful job.  She talked to me about my divorce, my new relationship, and she consoled me on the loss of my last marriage, and applauded the creation of a new relationship.  Very nice people who work there.  They place was very well run.  On a Saturday they were able to get me right in.  All in all it was a good experience.  When you compare it to the price it was an excellent value.  I highly recommend the place. 

    In addition, around the corner is a cupcake place that is the winner of the Cupcake wars T.V. show.  I didn’t have time to go in there, but I’m sure it will be the subject of an upcoming review.


  4. Awesome Nail Biting Cure

    February 21, 2012 by editor

    Over the years… I’ve had a lot of close friends struggle to stop biting their nails.

    Personally, I look at nail biting as a mild case of cannibalism. :)

    So, if you’ve had challenges trying to stop biting…I suggest you check out this awesome cure for nail biting.
    It’ll give you a new way to stop biting that is fast and pain-free!

    Mindy Wright is the founder of this how to stop nail biting program.  Mindy claims to be a geek that did tons of research to find the best method to kick this habit.

    She has even said the cure to stop biting nails can be fun!  I checked out the product and it is top notch!

    The videos are easy to follow and understand.  This is a unique software that just may accomplish one of your goals for the new year.  Most people want to get healthy and fit.  This definitely falls into that category since nail biting can affect your health because of all the germs that get passed from your hands to your mouth and vice-versa.  So, if you want to stop nail biting in it’s tracks check this out!

    Enjoy!


  5. Best Place To Get Your Back Shaved

    January 23, 2012 by editor

    So, the truth is that this road fish has a hairy back and a hairy chest.  Yes, some girls prefer a hairy chest, but I have never met a girl who likes back hair.  When I was married it was relatively easy to beg my wife to occasionally shave my back when I started to look like Sasquatch, but now that I am single I’ve lost that option.  It doesn’t work as well when you are out on a first date and you say, “Nice to meet you.  You are much prettier than your pictures online.  Can you shave my back?”

    I happened to be in Long Beach with a few hours to kill before a date and went on Yelp to find a good place to get a pedicure.  Surrender (1092 East Wardlow Rd., Long Beach CA 90807 562-426-6500) had the best reviews for the area for a pedicure.  I am getting one, as I write this, from Belinda, a charming, cute, youngish girl/woman who is attentively removing my calluses and pushing back my cuticles.  By the way, keep the calluses off the chicks dig that.

    While I was on the phone I found out from Dre, the young lady in front running the show, that they also do waxing and hair work.  I politely asked if the waxing woman also could shave back hair?  Now almost no salon does this and it also confuses them. Getting waxed fricking hurts like a mother when I have had it done and getting it shaved works just great.

    I arrived at the salon and Elis showed me back to her room. Unbelievably soothing, warm lights, comfy bed, soft music, just amazing.  Eliz has been here about a decade from Brazil and is a master both with people and with removing body hair.

    Eliz getting ready to shave the back

    She pulled out a trimmer, used talcum powder to find the missed hair, and deftly worked me top to bottom while leading a charming and lulling discussion about divorce, body hair, men’s hangups, and the salon. Along the way, she got me a glass of water.  I felt like I was in heaven with a little buzz going on at all times removing my excess hair.  She did the back and my chest.  By the time I was done I looked like a slightly overweight 12 year old boy who had not quite hit puberty.

    I always feel so much cleaner and more human without my back hair.  With the chest hair gone, I also feel cleaner as well, but just my preference.  I can’t recommend the place more highly, parking was easy, it was affordable, all in all a rocking experience.  They had no idea I was blogging this and my calluses are continuing to be removed as I write this.