Featured: Wet Paint Nail Spa – Boston, MA
While walking through Cambridge on a lovely summer day you may stumble upon this hidden gem. Inside you are awakened with brightly painted walls and upbeat music. Laughter resounds throughout the salon as both clients and staff chat about the latest in pop culture while regular clients stop in to say hi and share a joke on their way to stroll the Charles.
The owner of this lovely place? Michelle Pheonix. Her big smile and curly hair welcome you with a cup of tea to enjoy. We sat with Michelle to talk about her salon, trend predictions, and Gaga.
Tell us about the environment and what customers can expect upon entering Wet paint? Wet Paint Nail Spa is all about “Pampering Without Pretension”. I want my clients to feel like they’ve indulged in some well deserved “me time”, without feeling like they had to shave their legs, do their hair and dress up before they even walk through the door. So often, I felt intimidated when going to a spa and I never wanted my clients to feel that way. Come on in, throw your coat on the couch, grab a fabulously trashy magazine and relax. We’re always ready to chat and laugh with you, but we’re just as happy to let you be quiet and rest. Our goal is simply that when you leave you feel fantastic. We even have clients who stop in just to hang out. They’re not scheduled for a service, they just want to hang with us and have a few laughs. We LOVE that!
Flashy decorative nails have come back in style pretty hard. How do you feel about this and where do you see nails trends going in the future? I love flashy nails! When I was in school, I loved doing nail art, but in my 8 years of being a nail technician, I have really only had clients that wanted conservative nails. That’s not to say dull, or uninspired by any means. We have clients who love outrageous colors, or even combinations of colors, but in terms of length, couture shapes and nail art, not so much. I have many colleagues with stilettos, lipstick or edge shaped nails and they look amazing, but A) I’d have a helluva time learning to work with those length nails, and B) my clientele are semi-conservative natural nail ladies.
As for future nail trends, my feeling is that the invention of gel polish is is an historic moment in the industry. It’s caused a paradigm shift in the way nails are done for the everyday woman and I’m loving watching the improvements being made in the technology. Honestly, I don’t know why anyone wears traditional lacquer anymore.
Owner Michelle Pheonix and Tabatha Coffey
Which celebrity is killing the nail game right now? If you had your way, which celebrity would be a regular of yours? Lady Gaga is totally killing it as a trendsetter right now. Her music is dancey, but her aesthetic is full on punk rock. Love her! My dream celebrity client is Michelle Obama. She is so gracious with such a simple elegance. I bet she’d be a fantastic natural nail client. *dreamysigh*
Leave the people with a message. If readers know nothing else about you and Wet Paint, they should know that____? Wet Paint Nail Spa is the spa you’ve always dreamt of. We are scrupulously clean, environmentally minded, educated, dedicated and hilarious. We love our clients and have made our spa your “safe place” to escape to.
