But at one salon on Oak Lawn Avenue, Nailuscious, the job just became even more daunting. At Nailuscious, there are more than a million options.
The salon has a new nail polish machine that lets customers create their own colors. It might change the polish game for good.
Nailuscious, which is owned and operated by Catherine Vo, opened a new location on Oak Lawn three months ago. The salon is comfortable, with tons of chairs, natural light and a friendly staff.
The rectangular polish machine is tucked away by the main desk. It's surprisingly small, with a little plastic spout and a colorful logo that reads, “DreaMàu, The Future of Polish."
With its containers of dye and automated screen, the device looks a lot like a miniature version of a paint mixer you’d find at the hardware store, but it's a first in the beauty industry.
DreaMàu has only been on the market for a few months. As Vo looks at the machine, beaming, she says she decided to take a risk and “order it before it was totally finished.” She wanted to be the first.
Vo thinks the machine makes it easier to make a decision. You can dream up any color you like before coming into the salon and make it a reality. There are settings for hue, glitter, shade, texture and highlight.
Once you've designed your color, the machine selects a base color and combines it with other dyes to produce your order. There's no cost to use the machine as long as you're paying for a manicure or pedicure.
Nailuscious' prices are reasonable. A full pedicure, including shaping, trimming, callus smoothing and four minutes of massage, costs $30.
The best part: When your treatment is finished, there is often enough polish left over in the bottle for at-home touch ups. Think of it as a manicure with a free gift.
Vo likely will allow customers to stop in purely to buy a bottle of custom polish, but she hasn't settled on a price yet.
Nailuscious, 3513 Oak Lawn Ave.
