Best Nail Salon

There’s no shortage of salons that’ll adorn your nails with foils, chrome powder, gel polishes in every shade of the rainbow, and more festive embellishments (like studs and fur), but TREAT YOUR NAILS wins the creativity-meets-cost matrix. At this Buford Highway outpost, customers can choose from binders upon binders of floral, geometric and galaxy-inspired patterns — or come with their own designs for the manicurist to replicate. Basic manicures start at just $14, while a gel manicure runs you $30. From there you’ll pay extra based on how complex your nail art wishes might be. Foils, for example, start at $5 a pair, but the price drops per unit if you want more. The last time we visited, we walked out with a custom design with regular polish for $25 — or about the same price you’d pay for a plain manicure at more high-end spots. 5938 Buford Highway N.E., Suite 106, Doraville. 770-458-1756. www.treatyournailsatl.com.

photo by: Joeff Davis

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If you want to bring the nail salon experience home, there’s no better place to start than NAIL MALL, a Buford Highway shop featuring rows upon rows of manicure goods. Brand-name polishes, such as Essie and OPI, line the walls in every shade (and opacity), and go for $4 and $4.75, respectively — or about half of what they’ll cost you at the corner drugstore. Plus you can pick up wholesale-size bottles of lotion and cuticle oil, or even salon-style chairs and nail-drying machines (typically only found in wholesale-only stores) at discounted prices. 5338 Buford Highway, Doraville. 678-547-0098. www.nailmall.com. less...

If you have yet to hit up NOUVELLE NAIL SPA, tucked behind Octane Coffee on the Westside, one scroll through this spacious nail salon’s Instagram page should be all the convincing you need to make an appointment for the team to do you up right. This snazzy salon’s talented technicians are not only well versed in the basics — pedicures, acrylics, gel polish — but many are also skilled in the latest trendy nail designs. Want two-toned tips, gold foil accents, ombre glitter, or 3-D adornments? They can do it all, people. Nouvelle has loads of space, a soothing atmosphere, and art-dotted walls, all working together to create that calm spa feeling. Pop in for one of its signature treatments, and you’re guaranteed to leave feeling refreshed and looking fly, of course. less...

Part of the reason why HIGHLAND NAILS has remained a secret for so long is its location. Tucked in a nook behind San Francisco Coffee in Morningside, it's hard to spot – even from the alley where the entrance sits. Upon entering, the first thing you notice is the smell: sweet and clean. And the space itself, though minimal on frills, is spotless. The shop's meticulous hygiene (the most important attribute in a nail salon) carries over to the nail techs' stations, too. There are a half-dozen each for manicures and pedicures, the latter of which are outfitted with comfy – and surprisingly effective – massage chairs. The Asian English-speaking staff is cheerful and attentive, and their work is spot-on. The best part: A pedicure is $20 – cheap for a shop not in a suburban strip mall – and a mani/pedi combo will set you back just $28. less...