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Salon, Spa & Style

Scheduling time to pamper yourself is often difficult. For this month's "Salon, Spa and Style" the only free time I could scrounge up was on Mother's Day afternoon.   I grabbed my usual partner-in-crime for another beauty-related escapade and headed to Carytown in search of a pedicure.   I try to maintain my feet at home with scrubs and pumice, but this was to be my first professional pedicure; ditto for her.

We intended to visit a newer salon on Cary Street that specializes in nails and welcomes walk-ins.   Trouble was, on a Sunday, they weren't staffed to handle two pedicures at once, so we kept on walking and ended up at the other end of Carytown at Salon Vivace (804-565-9000, 3426 W. Cary St.)   Miraculously, there were two nail technicians on staff, and after a short wait we were escorted to the oh-so-comfortable recliners that would be our pedicure thrones.  

Salon Vivace offers a range of pedicure services that focus on extra exfoliation, moisturizing, and massage.   The most luxurious is the Hot Stone Pedicure, topping the price list at $52.   However, these wonderful-sounding services weren't available for walk-in clients at the time of our visit.   This was disappointing but fair considering the circumstances.     

Our $25 Express Pedicure started with a foot soak in a basin.   It was quite relaxing and even included rose petals floating delicately in the water.

The exfoliation was effective and brief, and included a particularly intense moment when the technician ran the exfoliating paddle between each of my toes.   I scrub my feet every now and then, so there wasn't the annoyance of removing giant calluses or cracked heels.   I've heard horror stories from nail technicians about clients whose feet take several sessions to really get into shape, and probably the Express Pedicure wouldn't be enough for feet in such a state.  

After the exfoliation, the procedure moved on to target the cuticles and skin around the nails.   Both of us received an application of a cuticle softening liquid, and the technician working on my toes used a cuticle nipper and a metal pusher to remove the excess skin from the bottom of the nail.   During this step the old nail polish was removed as well.

Our nails were buffed to remove any obvious ridges (I have fairly obvious ridges on my big toenails) and filed gently to a pleasing shape.   I've always been told that it's best to file toenails straight across, but the technician did round the corners of the big toenails somewhat.  

About twenty minutes into the service, we made our final polish choices. A ridge-filling base coat, two coats of polish, and a quick-dry topcoat finished the look.   The polish was the one attribute of the experience that differed from my expectations.    Salon Vivace has its own line of polishes, but I was looking forward to picking one of the shades from OPI's new India collection.   The color I chose instead was Azalea, a bright coral just between pink and orange.   I loved the bright pop of color and got several compliments in the following days.   It has lasted with not a chip for going on two weeks.  

My friend was wise enough to wear sandals that would not interfere with the newly applied polish, but I was given a pair of disposable foam sandals to wear until the polish was dry.  

Given the upscale nature of Salon Vivace, I was surprised and very pleased that the staff was courteous and accommodating.   My companion and I both felt the price was reasonable and compared very favorably to a pedicure in a mall salon, where all the clients are in the same large room.    The service was just the right length of time, and fit nicely into a busy weekend afternoon.   The semi-private nail suite was very lovely and relaxing.   I can definitely see myself making an appointment for one of the more intensive pedicures in the future.