Nail Salon Near Me in Long Island City: Awesome Nail Studio

Awesome Nail Studio opens at 9 am most days, earlier than many Manhattan salons, and it focuses almost entirely on the Russian dry manicure. The woman-owned Awesome Nail Studio is at 43-22 36th Street, a short walk from the 33rd Street–Rawson Street station on the 7 train. A hard gel manicure starts at $90 on its booking page, which shows a 5.0 rating from more than 1,200 client reviews.

The studio calls itself the home of flawless Russian manicures in NYC and says its artists specialize in the elite dry technique, known for precision, safety and lasting results. Instead of soaking, the technician works on dry nails with an electric file to lift and clean the cuticle area, then builds gel over a prepared nail plate. The aim is a finish that grows out neatly and holds for weeks.

Because it sits upstairs in Suite 207 rather than on a busy retail strip, look for the building entrance on 36th Street and head to the second floor. The listing promises specialty coffee during appointments and medical-grade sterilization for tools, and it is tagged as woman-owned, LGBTQ+ friendly and pet-friendly. The founding year and owner's name are not published, so the reviews are the best guide to the work.

Every price on the booking page is a starting price. The HARD Gel Manicure starts at $90 and takes between an hour and a half and two and a half hours. A soft-base gel manicure starts at $80, and the Russian Dry manicure with no polish starts at $50 for clients who want clean cuticles and bare nails. Aprés Gel-X extensions start at $160, and a hand scrub add-on is $30.

Pedicures use what the studio calls Smart discs, a patented e-file attachment with disposable sanding pads that it says removes dead skin from heels in minutes. The Smart gel pedicure starts at $70 and the Smart dry pedicure, without gel polish, starts at $60. A same-time booking that pairs a hard gel manicure with a Smart gel pedicure starts at $160 and saves you a second afternoon.

The service notes say plainly that the final price depends on the technician's qualification, and the team list includes junior technicians and discounted student-practice hard gel sessions alongside senior artists. That is useful if you are price-sensitive, but it also means two people can pay different amounts for the same service. Individual technician ratings shown on the page range from the mid-fours to five.

If this is your first Russian manicure, skip the student-practice slot and book a senior artist; the cuticle work is the whole reason to come, and it is the part that most depends on experience. Removal of an old coating, repairs, extensions and designs are not included in base prices, so budget for them if you are arriving with a set from another salon.

Booking happens through the Fresha page, which offers instant confirmation and pay-by-app. The studio's service notes include a five-day guarantee: if a nail lifts or breaks within five days, the fix is covered, and after that any nail fix or extension is charged separately. Accepted payment methods listed on the page include cash, credit and debit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay.

The listing does not publish a formal cancellation policy, so treat your booking like any appointment-only studio and give as much notice as you can if plans change. Weekday mornings are the easiest time for anyone in Queens to slip in before work, since the studio opens at 9 am on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and at 10 am on Wednesday and Sunday.

A practical tip for the first visit: arrive with bare nails or book the removal of your old set as a separate add-on, because removal, repairs, extensions and designs sit outside the base price. Tell the artist how long you want the nails and whether you prefer a square or almond shape before the e-file work starts, since the structure of a hard gel set is decided in the first twenty minutes.

If every senior artist is booked, the simplest backup is to go a step down rather than across the city: a junior technician is usually priced lower, and the five-day guarantee still applies. For a different style altogether, Lili and Cata on Greenpoint Avenue in Brooklyn offers a non-toxic Russian Manicure, a short G train ride from Court Square.

For clients working in Midtown, the 7 train makes this studio a realistic lunch-hour or after-work trip; Grand Central to 33rd Street–Rawson Street takes a handful of stops. Allow at least two hours for a hard gel manicure, and plan your next visit for when regrowth at the cuticle starts to show.

The studio sits in the Dutch Kills section of Long Island City, a mix of older industrial buildings and new apartment towers between 36th Avenue and Northern Boulevard. Once your gel is cured, the elevated 7 train is a block or two away, and two stops west you reach Court Square, home to MoMA PS1 on Jackson Avenue, the contemporary art space housed in a former public school.

For waterfront views, keep riding to Vernon Boulevard–Jackson Avenue and walk to Gantry Plaza State Park, where restored cargo gantries frame a direct view of the Midtown skyline across the East River. It is a calm place to sit at sunset with a coffee, and the park's long piers make a better photo backdrop for a fresh manicure than any salon mirror.

Awesome Nail Studio: 43-22 36th Street, Suite 207, Long Island City, NY 11101. Hours are Monday 9 am to 7 pm, Tuesday 9 am to 7:30 pm, Wednesday 10 am to 7:30 pm, Thursday 9 am to 7 pm, Friday and Saturday 9 am to 7:30 pm, and Sunday 10 am to 7:30 pm. The nearest subway is 33rd Street–Rawson Street on the 7 train.

Starting prices from the booking page: HARD Gel Manicure $90, soft-base gel manicure $80, Russian Dry manicure $50, Smart gel pedicure $70, Smart dry pedicure $60 and a combined hard gel manicure with Smart gel pedicure $160. Prices can rise with technician level and add-ons. Ask Karpo in the Karpo APP for a nearby lunch spot on 36th Avenue after your appointment.