Although I have my fair share of indulgences, I'm not much of a mani/pedi person. And it's for no other reason than I am just too lazy. Yes, TOOOOO lazy to get a manicure, go figure! But I've always felt like they are time-consuming and not that much fun — not too mention that I mess them up virtually the moment the manicurist says, "you're done." However, my curiosity was peaked when I heard about a new salon called TenOverTen (opens in new tab) that my good friend Adair Ilyinsky opened with her partner and BFF Nadine Ferber in Tribeca.
My first thought when I entered TenOverTen was, "Wow, this place is so cozy!" There were all these oversized chairs looking out onto Commerce Street with big water bowls to put your feet in. I went with two girlfriends — Courtney Weinblatt from Marie Claire and Hannah Rood from LaForce + Stevens — and we immediately got to chatting during our pedis. Then we were walked over to a limestone-slab communal manicure table with built-in iPads — perfect for when you want to read but you can't turn the page because your nails are drying! There was also this very chill, ambient music and before we all knew it, we had been there for two hours! I couldn't believe how the time had flown, but no one was ever pushy to get us out (probably in part because their closing time is 10 p.m., perfect for a working girl).
Long story short, I liked the experience because it felt like I was at a lounge with some friends, chatting about everything and nothing all at once.
I talked to Adair, who opened TenOverTen, to get her take:
(Adair Ilyinsky and partner Nadine Ferber.)
"Nadine and I have been friends for almost as long as I've lived in New York, and before I moved to Tribeca, I lived around the corner from her amazing boutique in the West Village, Mick Margo (opens in new tab). We'd often meet after work to get our nails done somewhere in the neighborhood and would complain about all of the little things that annoyed us about the nail salon experience. We would jokingly talk about opening our own nail salon, but it wasn't until we had dinner a year ago in October that we thought, why not? All of our furniture is either custom made or vintage and we have a large selection of polishes from brands like Chanel, Nars, and RGB, and those are the small but important details that set TenOverTen apart. And it was important to us that a better experience wouldn't cost a lot more — our starting prices are $20 for a manicure and $35 for a pedicure."
The Agenda: Los Angeles
