The evolving presence of green beauty in Manhattan over the past few years still amazes me. Since I’ve moved away, I feel a bit sad thinking about all the lovely shops and salons that are sprouting up all over Manhattan that I don’t get to go to, but I’m happy to know so many more people get to experience and understand the importance of healthier consumer choices. D.C. isn’t that far, but the city is still in it’s infancy in terms of excitement and exposure to clean beauty. On a recent weekend trip back home last summer, I stopped by Manhattan’s newest non-toxic nail salon, sundays at their NoMad location.
Tucked between the facade of office buildings a few steps away from Madison Square Park is sundays’ main salon, a tiny yet bright, two-storied space. With wellness at the core of sundays, the services and vibe are also largely inspired by the minimalist Hygge style and mindset. Providing vegan and non-toxic manicures, pedicures, and stress-reliving massages, Sundays has 3 New York locations: their flagship location in NoMad, inside Saks Fifth Avenue Downtown, and inside Saks Fifth Avenue Fifth Ave.
Sundays also has their own collection of 10-free, non-toxic, cruelty-free, and vegan nail polishes that are responsibly-created, all of which are used in nail services at the salon and sold in-stores and at various online retailers. The collection offers simplistic, neutral shades packaged in beautifully minimalistic glass bottles. The salon offers a variety of unique services and events that combine wellness and beauty. Currently, their menu also features a 30-minute “guided meditation and manicure.”
Upon entering the sundays NoMad location, I was greeted by a friendly woman at the front desk who helped me decide what services to get and then showed me to my nail attendant. The salon was buzzing with what seemed like two separate bridal parties at the time I arrived, and everyone was busy yet there wasn’t a hint of stress in the air. Normally every customer is greeted with a healthy drink and a snack at the salon, though the busyness that day might have been why I was forgotten. Nonetheless, I liked the atmosphere of the salon, and the nail treatment tables and seating were comfortable, bright, and clean.
With every manicure, there is a lovely sundays signature hand treatment involving organic hand lotion, and a rose petal soak. My nail attendant was gentle with my nails and friendly, yet wasn’t very chatty with me, but I didn’t mind too much.
I opted to try the Sundays’ LED Healthy 7-Free Gel Manicure service, which doesn’t use the Sundays nail polish line but rather, the Gelous nail line from ncLA. I don’t often get my nails done and when I do, I prefer my nail color to last (I’m quite lazy) plus, it’s not often you get the chance to try a clean, gel manicure. I chose a light grey-blue color for my nails (it was the summertime) and I was happy with the result.
The gel manicure required a ncLA Gelous base coat and top coat, and quick drying using the LED light. I was surprised at how long my manicure lasted, after 2 weeks my nail color was still looking fresh and hadn’t chipped! In addition, my nails don’t feel brittle or weak like after normal gel polish treatments.
The ncLA Gelous nail polish does not budge! While that’s a great thing, I was frantic at how to remove it about 3 weeks later (when my nails were starting to look less attractive). I’d forgotten to tell the salon I was from out of town and wouldn’t be returning for polish removal. I began to scrape off the polish, as that was the only thing that would work, none of my regular organic/natural nail polishes would remove it. Then I found this video from ncLA instructing to remove the gel polish by scraping off with a nail file and soaking in acetone. I wished someone at sundays had at least mentioned the removal process of the gel manicure beforehand.
I also decided to get the Signature Pedicure service, opting for a beautiful neutral sundays nail polish rather than gel. My nail specialist guided me over to the simple yet serene seating area, where my pedicure began with a relaxing sea salt soak, buffing, cuticle repair, and nail shaping over a French water basin. The pedicure also included a nice foot massage with a hydrating organic lotion made by Sundays. The Sundays nail polish collection is simplistically gorgeous, with a beautiful variety of neutral and bright colors that are quite pigmented, smooth, and last quite long with appropriate care and application of base and top coats.
I enjoyed my experience at sundays, with the manicure and pedicure services being top notch for those that sway towards healthier beauty options. The salon’s atmosphere and aesthetic are definitely another reason to visit Sundays, and would probably make for a fun girlfriends outing. Sundays will please any hygge-lover or someone looking for a bit of minimalistic calm from the bustling city.
Though I visited while word of the salon was still growing, I just hope the quality of service continues to remain warm and hospitable, rather than not. It’s clear that evidence of a beautiful manicure and pedicure coupled with inspiring wellness experiences are currently unique to sundays in New York City.
You can purchase nail polishes from sundays here and browse the salon services.
Have you experienced services at sundays? Do you have other recommendations for salons with healthier manicure and pedicure options?
*Services kindly provided by sundays for my consideration, however all words and options are my own. Please see my disclosure policy for more details about brand collaborations.
