Essie Fiji swatch
Recently I’ve been craving light pink almost-white nails, but, surprisingly, I don’t have a polish like it! I know everyone raves about Essie’s Fiji on YouTube, so I decided I’d either buy it or get it during my next manicure. Recently when I was on a trip I discovered XpresSpa, which has spa services inside airports…how amazing is that? I found one in my terminal at San Francisco International (SFO) & just couldn’t pass a manicure up.
Essie nail polishes at XpresSpa
Come to find out, they use Essie! They have all the basic nail polish colors that one could wish for…Anyways, I got their Mani-Xpress, which is a $30 basic manicure that is very rushed…about 20-25 minutes from start to finish. That includes removing polish, filing, cleaning, cuticles, and nail polish application.
Relaxing at XpresSpa
I will say that their chairs are quite comfy- reclining massage chairs that elevate your feet (yes please!). Also, my burgundy “doc marten” style boots are from H&M! I love them. Anyways, back on topic. I was glad I tried this service out, but I’m not completely sold on it yet. I think I would have rather lugged all of my nail polish supplies and do my own manicure at my gate. I appreciate that they used all one brand, essie, from base coat, top coat, polish, and drying drops.
My XpresSpa nails (Essie Fiji) right after getting them done
I just feel that the service was really rushed & could have been better. My nails didn’t feel smooth from filing, they were a bit rough around the edges. I didn’t feel like she removed my polish all the way. I thought it was strange that instead of painting Fiji on one hand at a time, the technician painted 1 coat after the other on the same hand, without waiting for it to try. Luckily, it didn’t cause any bubbling like it usually does.
Overall, I have mixed feelings. I LOVED this manicure though, so I’ll definitely be picking up Essie Fiji sometime soon, but I’m not sure if I’d return to XpresSpa. Maybe at a different airport.
Have you ever gotten a manicure at an airport? What did you think?
