Pedicures

Seven years in California changed me. I learned to be decadent. Example:

Once, in Maine, a lovely older lady told me she intended to visit the spa that week. Someone had given her a gift certificate for a pedicure, massage, and facial. She told me her plans apologetically, and said, "I know it's shallow, but it sounds nice." Shallow? I confessed my twice-monthly pedicure habit to her immediately, ignoring her shock.

Apparently, some folks consider personal pampering shallow, and in some areas things like pedicures don't fall under the "necessary" heading. But for me, after my years in the sun-and-smog belt, pedicures are a necessary part of feeling well-groomed.

If you share my view, Lexington can offer you a variety of pedicure choices. I'm sure most are adequate, but one really stands out to me. But fair warning: when I go looking for a pedicure, I'm not looking for a fancy spa day. I don't want to wear a robe, make an appointment, or talk about my chakras. I want to walk in, settle into a nice massage chair, and read a trashy magazine while I go from snaggly to spiffy. I want a place that smells good, is sunny and bright, and where I can feel confident that the nail polish is new enough not to clot like old honey.

So. Recommendations?

Posh Nails, on Todd's Road near Hamburg, is relatively new. They've been in business about 3 months. The space is small, but they have brand-new pedicure chairs, multiple slots for manicures (you can get that with your pedicure in the chair, too), and a nice round fan-table to blow on your hands and feet while you dry. The magazine selection is pretty good (mostly gossip and things like Redbook), and the staff are pleasant, talkative, and skilled with the clippers and brushes.

Best of all, Posh Nails costs the same as all the other places in town, and considerably less than some. In March, 2008, it was $25 for a pedicure, with a steep discount for adding a manicure at the same time.

Compared to other places I've tried (Glamorous Salon and Spa on Richmond Road by Mr. Kabob - not a great job, not super-friendly, very dark place so reading a magazine is hard; the nail place at Hamburg next to the Coldstone Creamery in the same strip as the UPS store - expensive, snooty, and it smelled terrible! We walked out.), Posh Nails is the best. It comes the closest to the pleasant, relatively inexpensive, easy experience I had in California.

Posh Nails, 3100 Todds Road, which is the same little strip-mall where the Buffalo Wild Wings is, and the dry cleaner. Coming from Lexington, take Richmond Road (aka Main Street) out of town toward Athens, turn left onto Man O'War, then left at Todds Road (before you get to Hamburg), then left at the stop sign (might be a stop light in the next 6 months as they widen the road). Turn left into the little shopping center, and the Posh Nails is on the side that faces Man O'War.