Faxlandez Family Blog

We moved from Texas to Virginia about 4 months ago now and I have to say one of my favorite non-food finds since moving here is Escape Nails & Spa. See, back in Allen, TX I had a fantastic nail salon that I frequented, Nail Lounge. I thought Nail Lounge was the best and I was worried I might not find such a place after the move but… wow was I wrong!

In the past 4 months I’ve been to this place more times than I’m comfortable saying. Normally I like to have my nails and toenails done (with a mini massage) before I travel and I’ve been doing a whole lot of that lately. I’ve had several great experiences at this spa, so I wanted to write up a little about what happens at this magical place.

I’ve really never been anywhere quite like this before. When I arrive they start me out with a plate of amazingly delicious fruit, sometimes crackers and cheese too! I’m offered a glass of water or wine, but since I normally go mid-day I’ve only ever had the fruit-infused water. The only thing bad about this is I have to make sure and eat all the fruit during my pedicure, as it’s not too easy to eat while getting a manicure!

They bring out fresh fruit.

Sometimes they bring out crackers with cheese too!

Normally when you hear “nail spa” you don’t actually picture a spa with relaxing qualities – that’s because the word “spa” is often misused in my opinion. In this case, they really live up to the words “escape” and “spa” in the name. The spa is amazing – immaculately clean with loads of workstations so you’re never waiting around for a station to open up or sitting next to a Chatty Cathy type.

They have a wall of wine (yes you read that right, an entire wall and sometimes there’s so much wine it’s on the countertops too) and separate rooms for the different phases of your salon experience. Some of the rooms have large, glass doors while others have a sort of curtain made out of chains – very trendy and interesting.

From what I’ve explored, there are at least these rooms: 2 semi-private pedicure rooms, 2 private pedicure rooms, a private waxing room, an open room with nail dryers, the main area with all the manicure stations, and a private room for relaxed chair massages.

A view from my pedicure seat in the semi-private pedicure area. Yes, that’s a wall of wine.

Soaking my feet! Depending on the package you purchase, they plop in some fruit and flowers.

Paraffin wax on my feet, lotion and warm towels on my legs.

If you feel the need to use that ladies or gentleman’s room while at Escape Nail Spa, you’re in for a treat! This shop has super high-tech toilet with all of the bells and whistles. This toilet opens when you walk up to it, has an illuminated bowl, heated seat, bidet, it automatically flushes, and closes when you walk away. Maybe one of these days I’ll have one in my home, I love them so much.

They have a super sophisticated toilet!

It opens as you walk up to it, is warmed, has a bidet, and flushes and closes automatically as well.

Over the year’s I’ve found my favorite paint style: french tips with glitter. The nail techs are great, never have I had a poor manicure or left dissatisfied with the color or style.

These are my natural nails with gel polish – white tips painted on and glitter on top. I limit myself to this style every once in a while, if I did it every time I would probably get tired of it and I don’t want that!

This is my favorite gel manicure look – french tips painted on and sparkles on top.

Here’s another shot of the same style.

And this is what it looks like after 2-3 weeks.

This sparkly and sophisticated manicure reminds me to point out two observations/recommendations I have:

1. Gel polish is your friend, it can can last a good 2 weeks without chipping or wear. I always have gel polish applied when I plan to travel or will need to do a lot with my hands. Though one thing to keep in mind is the removal process – it’s not for everyone. In fact, I’d recommend having a professional remove it because it’s super cheap and way less hassle for them to do it.
2. If you want the manicure to last longer, go for a french manicure (painted on). As the nails grow out it’s much harder for anyone (including yourself) to notice the gap between the polish and your nail bed. See the third photo above from 2 weeks post appointment… you can hardly tell!

Check out some of the other work they’ve done over my visits these last few months:

Pink + Sparkles

I like to play around with colors some.

Blue is a go-to when I’m not feeling pink.

Sparkles just in time for Grand Meetup 2017!

My toes must be sparkly as well.

With the package I get, after the manicure and pedicure I receive a neck, shoulder, scalp, face, and arm massage in the private massage room. I’ve not once had a “bad” massage from this place, despite having many different techs. They seat you in a comfy chair with a pillow to rest on your lap and get to work right away.

This is one of the main reasons I make it a priority to have a manicure and pedicure before traveling, it gives me a bit of time to focus on resting and relaxing before the trip. I highly recommend this to anyone who travels frequently or compulsively cleans prior to their travels.

Speaking of travels, who is now interested in visiting me for the sole purpose of accompanying me to the Escape Nails & Spa? 😉 We’re finally settled enough and the guest room is all put together so we’re ready for tons of guests (when we’re not traveling ourselves!)

Love these lamps, they have Hue bulbs in them and cute little pull strings too 🙂

The bedding took a while to pick out, it’s a little wrinkly in this photo, but super comfy.

This geode has been Anthony’s since he was a kid – I superglued it to a shell so it sits upright. The seahorse is scent infused and came from my good friend Samantha for Christmas last year <3.