Included
- Prep and dry cuticle work
- Builder gel over the natural nail
- Shaped and refined
- Colour or a clear finish
$72 · 1 hour 15 minutes · back in three to four weeks
Builder gel
A thicker overlay across the whole natural nail. It adds strength rather than length, which is why it lives on the manicure list and not on the extension list.
What it is for
Nails that split at the side walls, peel in layers at the free edge, or never get past the fingertip before something breaks. Builder gel puts a layer of structure over the whole nail so that the nail can grow underneath it without meeting the world edge-first.
It is not an extension
Nothing is added past the end of your own nail. There is no tip and no form. If you want length, that is acrylic or hard gel and it is a different appointment at a different price.
It is refilled, not removed
Every three to four weeks the regrowth is filled and the overlay rebalanced, and the same layer of gel can stay on for months. That is the point of it: the nail underneath is never being stripped back to nothing and starting again.
What to expect in the first month
It feels thick for about two days and then you stop noticing it. Most people find their own nails are visibly longer at the second fill, because they have stopped breaking — which is not the gel making the nail grow, it is the gel stopping it from being lost.
When we would say no
If the nail plate has been thinned to the point where the surface is soft and tender, an overlay on top of it is not the answer and we will say so. That is a fortnight of oil and nothing on the nail, and then come back.
What is in the appointment
A thicker overlay across the whole nail, for nails that split at the sides or peel at the free edge. It adds strength rather than length and it is refilled rather than removed, which is why it is on the manicure list and not the extension list.
The rest of the manicures list
Same table, same technicians, different amounts of work.
| Service | Length | Price | Come back in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Express manicure | 30 minutes | $28 | one to two weeks |
| Classic manicure | 45 minutes | $38 | one to two weeks |
| Gel manicure | 1 hour | $55 | two to three weeks |
| Structured gel manicure | 1 hour 15 minutes | $68 | two to three weeks |
| Builder gel overlay | 1 hour 15 minutes | $72 | three to four weeks |
What the calendar does with that
- Builder gel overlay1 hour 15 minutes$72
- Nail art, one or two accent nails+ 10 minutes+ $10
- Nail art, all ten nails+ 25 minutes+ $32
- Your appointment1 hour 50 minutes$114
The calendar looks for a 1 hour 50 minutes window, not an hour. That is the whole difference between this booking form and one that offers everybody the same slot.
Before you book this
The length is worked out, not assumed. Every service on this site has a length against it, and every add-on adds its own minutes. The calendar adds them up before it looks for a slot, so the time you are offered is a time that actually fits what you asked for.
Everything here has a cadence. Most services have a cadence — a gel manicure at two to three weeks, a fill at two to three, a pedicure at four. We will offer you the date before you leave, and if you would rather not take one then, the reminder comes by e-mail when it is due.
There are nails we will not work on. There are nails we will not work on, and there is a page that lists them. Being told no at the beginning of an appointment is better than being told nothing and finding out in a fortnight.
Six tables · three pedicure chairs · a published price for everything
Book an appointment
Pick the service and any add-ons and the calendar adds up the minutes before it looks for a slot, so the times you are offered are times that actually fit what you asked for. A pedicure also needs one of the three chairs, and if none is free at four o'clock on a Saturday it will say so rather than book you in and hope.