1 /5 Emma Kielty: I visited Beauty Genesis Northland with my mum to get mani-pedis ahead of my brother’s wedding, and unfortunately, it was a really disappointing experience—especially for my mum.
The pedicures were okay for me, but my mum’s was poorly done. She requested a French tip, but the lines were uneven, and her nails were cut crookedly.
The manicures were even worse. I asked for builder gel with a French ombré design, which they clearly didn’t know how to do. They kept blaming the spray tool, which they didn’t end up using anyway. It took 45 minutes just to figure it out. Mine turned out passable in the end, but far from great.
My mum wanted the same design, but after seeing how poorly mine was handled, and with the wedding coming up, she didn’t want to risk it. She opted for a regular French manicure instead, thinking it would be safer—but it was a disaster. The technician wasn’t confident at all, painting and removing the white tip 5 or 6 times. The lines that were left on looked shaky and uneven.
What was most frustrating was that the manager was sitting there on her phone the entire time, watching it unfold, fully aware that the staff member was struggling and that we were unhappy. I had to ask her directly to step in because my mum was visibly upset and too uncomfortable to speak up, especially since the staff were laughing and speaking in another language, which felt very unprofessional and made us feel mocked.
When the manager finally did take over, she used a completely different technique and finished the job in 10 minutes—making it clear that it could’ve been done properly from the start.
This used to be my mum’s regular salon, but after this experience, neither of us will be returning.