My first trip to Unistella - home of Insta-famous nail designs
Having been a fan of Unistella for some time, I was thrilled that I had booked an appointment at their nail salon in Cheongdam-dong. With only 50hrs to spare in my short trip to Seoul, I had to make every hour count!
Those who follow Unistella on their Instagram are frequently blown away by the creative nail designs conjured by Unistella founder, Park Eunkyung and her well-trained team. Back in 2015, Park took the world by storm with shattered glass nail designs and more recently using unusual materials like gold wire, gold chain and coloured stones to add just enough bling to make your nails complement your individual style.
The appointment had been setup through WeChat, they were quick to respond and we settled on a Friday afternoon. Making my way there was pretty easy as I had my trusty Citymapper app (thanks for the recommendation Bernise!) and took the train from Myeongdong to Gangnam-gu Office station, making sure to get out from exit no. 4 and walk approximately 10mins to reach Unistella. The train ride was around 45mins.
Entrance to the holy grail of nail designs, here I come!
Right before heading in for a nail makeover
Before getting started, I was offered a refreshment and got to know Sopy who spoke fluent English. That helped as I could not speak Korean! There was a large selection of nail design to choose from and after singling it down to my final design, we got down to business.
One of many nail design plaques in the store, I was tempted to do plaid, then pearls...it was difficult to choose from so many amazing designs
Sopy getting my nails prepped and ready for a Unistella makeover.
Trimmed and polished - a rare chance that I have round nails but I like it
Before applying the colours, they had put on 2 layers of clear soft gel polish to set a strong base for what's to come next
Operation green gemstone on thumb - using stone adhesive to delicately attach it to the nail.
A spray of Nail Glue Dryer to keep it in place
This really shows how attentive Unistella is - the gap between the stone and my nail where it curves is filled in so it is well attached to the nail and won't break off easily
Hundreds of nail accessories all kept in these round partitioned cases, the gold bar that I chose was then trimmed to better suit my nail length
The addition of these tiny gold bars really complemented the green gemstones
Huge thanks to Seo Jung Seo and Sopy who teamed up to get my nails looking rad
VERDICT
If you're in Seoul and wish to up your nail game, look no further than Unistella. I spent close to 2.5hrs there and throughout that session both nail specialists Sopy and Seo Jung Seo were attentive, skilful and easy to talk to (a must if you have questions like I do!). I also found out that they have to allocate a design time each day to constantly come up with new designs or try and improve their nail skills. That is truly impressive and shows how dedicated they are in pursuing their passion of new and innovative nail design. I would definitely stay tuned to their IG to learn of the next trendsetting design.
Unistella by E.K. Lab
Price ranges depending on your chosen nail design:
- Shellac removal at 30,000 won
- For my particular nail design using 2 gemstones, 4 gold bars and multi-colours it was 145, 000 won
19-30, Cheongdam-Dong, Gangnam-Gu, Seoul, Korea
Tel: +82.2.517.5884
WhatApp: +82.10.5669.5884
WeChat: unistella
Website | Instagram by Unistella | Instagram by Park Eunkyung