Candy Nails - Not So Sweet

In lieu of dressing up for Halloween, I watched The Shining for the first time. I must admit, I was a little freaked out watching this movie alone. After finishing the wildly popular psychological thriller, I decided to get some fresh air and for a manicure at Ann’s Nails. Normally, the glass door of the staircase leading to Ann’s Nails is propped open, but today it wasn’t. I opened the door and entered the stairwell. It was unusually dark. In fact, it was pitch black and there was hardly any light. But as a devout religious customer, I knew the stairs like the back of my hand and climbed the steps with caution. As I got to the top of the staircase, the door to the salon was propped open, but the place was empty. I mean…lights off, totally empty, chairs covered in a plastic tarp and the wall of color was GONE!!! CREEEEEPY…especially after watching the infamous scary movie about an empty hotel.

As I rushed down the dark stairs in fear of my life, I was wondering why I was so scared. Was I scared that I just left a dark abandoned salon on a Sunday afternoon? Or was I scared that Ann’s Nails was gone forever? But at least I was not going to be murdered by a crazy writer today and I could finally try the nail salon across the street without feeling guilty.

So I entered Candy Nails and climbed the well-lit staircase. I walked into Candy Nails and I was immediately directed to "pick a color".
I faced the wall of color and was severely disappointed. They didn’t have an extensive collection like Ann’s and the polishes weren’t separated by brand or in any order. All-in-all, it was a wall of chaos. My self-diagnosed ADD reared its ugly head and I chose a boring color that I would never normally pick out of frustration. I missed Ann's. I sat down at the available nail station and waited for a manicurist to free-up. While I was waiting, I checked the place out. The place looked a lot like Ann’s and the prices were the same. The only obvious difference was the ultimate collection of love songs playing on the flat screen. The playlist of songs during my manicure was “My Heart Will Go On”, “Take My Breath Away”, “Unchained Melody”. Did I mention there were words on the screen too? They had a karaoke dvd playing.

After waiting for 5 minutes and tearing up to “My Heart Will Go On”, this tiny little girl sat down on the other side of the station. She was wearing a nametag that said “Lyn”. Lyn started with the manicure. Man did she move fast. I quickly gave her the nickname – Lightening Lyn. She was the fastest in the city. In 15 minutes, my nails were manicured and ready to be painted. Here’s where Lyn would fail or soar in my book. Base coat…First coat…Second coat…Top coat…FAIL! Dang Lyn, haven’t you heard about staying in the lines?

This manicure was a poor excuse for a manicure. I missed Ann’s Nails, the home of the “Sex Color”. With a glimmer of hope, I called Ann’s on Monday. Maybe Sunday was a fluke and Ann needed a break. The phone rang and rang. I was about to give up all hope when I heard the sweetest words “Hello, Ann’s Nails.” A rush of excitement came over me. I asked Ann “what happened on Sunday?! You scared me.” She said the water was broken which explains the plastic tarp covering the chairs.

Thursday night, Ann’s Nails and I have a big night planned. I’m going to get me a kick-ass manicure and a 10 minute massage.