Anytime I visit Edinburgh I always pop in to Harvey Nichols, mostly to window shop but sometimes to spend. I particularly like the Forth Floor, regardless of whether it’s for coffee, lunch or just a cheeky glass of champagne. (Although due to the luxurious nature of the surroundings, I’ve discovered that it’s best not to drink champagne before browsing….)
Another fun spot in Harvey Nicks is the ground floor, where you’ll find accessories (a sweetie shop for grown-ups) and the fabulous beauty department, which features a Nails Inc Champagne Nail Bar. I recently visited the nail bar to experience their brand new English Rose Pedicure and, as a fan of Nails Inc, I’m excited to bring you my review. Along with OPI and Leighton Denny, Nails Inc is one of my favourite nail brands because of the colour range and durability of the polish.
The English Rose pedi was really lovely. It began with a tidy up of the nails, cuticles and dry skin before a long overdue foot soak (I’ve been very lazy this winter, hiding my feet in socks and opaques). My therapist, Romana explained that the rose oil would help to soften the feet (I can confirm that this is indeed true) and after drying them off, she sprayed my tootsies with rose water using an old-school atomiser – you know the ones with a balloon-like pump? So nice. It was really rather lovely and for some reason made me think of Rosie Huntington Whiteley for Autograph at M&S; I would have liked to take the spray home and spritz it over my feet while lounging in my M&S jammies, a la RHW (ha).
Anyway, after a relaxing foot massage (I could have taken a bit more pressure, but a foot rub of any sort is fine with me) Romana applied the base coat, the polish (Victoria, Victoria Beckham for Nails Inc in Judo Red) and a top coat, which, over a week later, is still perfectly intact and super glossy. Absolutely perfect and exactly what you want from a pedicure – immediate results in improving the condition of the skin, but long lasting so that you don’t have to worry about reapplying your polish for a good 10-14 days. Top marks on this front.
The only constructive criticism I have is the location; the nail bar is tight on space and, although they do make the best with what they have, a more comfortable area would make this treatment more luxurious, and in the kind of surroundings you’d expect from a high-end department store. Proper pedicure chairs (or even just upgrade the existing chairs) would help to make the space – and thus, the customer – feel a bit more loved, and a few glossy mags to flick through while sipping the delicious champagne would be the cherry on the cake. I would have given this treatment a nine out of ten had I felt more comfortable but, instead, it’s a strong eight based purely on the excellent end result.
PS. I went home with the VVB for Nails Inc collection – look out for my review, coming soon.
