Beauty

Glamour at Your Fingertips

The manicure goes 3-D in Westerly

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I was in desperate need of a manicure. It had been a few months since my last one, and I was attending a fancy wedding that weekend. Now, I’m not one to get my nails done regularly. As much as I love the look of freshly painted fingernails, I just can’t seem to keep them from chipping. Maybe it’s the constant typing I do at my job or the fact that I am about as graceful as a horse in heels. Needless to day, I usually ruin a paint job within 24 hours.

I had already invested in a great cocktail dress, shoes and a day-of hair appointment for the wedding, and the last piece of the beauty puzzle was a manicure. I was intrigued by the 3-D manicure offered at Sara's Glam Squad Salon in Westerly, so I made an appointment with owner Sara Faella a few days before the event. An extra dimension had to be a good thing, right?

As soon as I entered the space, a bubbly Sara greeted me. She explained how the manicure worked and looked – it’s basically a solid base coat color of your choice with tiny crystallized beads affixed to the wet polish. Since my dress was black and white, I went with a neutral pale pink base with matching crystals. And knowing how prone I am to manicure malfunctions, I purposely picked a foolproof lighter hue.

Sitting with Sara was like hanging out with your best gal pal. She has an easy, breezy way about her that instantly puts you at ease in her chair. With a background in fashion and a penchant for making women look beautiful, Sara opened her first salon – or beauty loft, as she affecionately calls them – in 2010 in Westerly. She quickly gained a local and then a national following, securing a partnership with Rain Cosmetics, an official sponsor of the Miss USA pageants. “I touched up Olivia right before the top 16 were called,” she beamed, describing the frenzy of this year’s pageant and RI’s own winner. “I was in tears. I was so excited for her.”

Last year, she expanded with a downtown Providence space to better accommodate brides that were traveling all the way from Boston. Along with pageants and celebrity cosmetic artistry, Sara and her Glammies – Sara-speak for her staff of hair stylists and make-up artists – are really known for impeccable bridal services. “I’ve done thousands of brides. I just love to be around the positivity that comes from their awesome day,” she said, smiling.

As we chatted, she was filing and buffing my beat-up nails. Once she shaped them, she put on a clear base coat and then a coat of the colored lacquer. Next came the fun part, sprinkling the itty-bitty beads on the wet polish. I could see why it’s also called the “caviar” manicure, as it looked like tiny pink crystallized eggs had just landed on my fingertips. It also made them look super luxurious, which is the ultimate goal at the Glam Squad. It also met my goal, lasting until my cousin’s big day. Though a few beads slipped off as expected, the bling effect remained for a week. With a variety of colors and even Swarovski crystals, it’s a fun and glitzy way to accessorize your digits for a special occasion, like a wedding or holiday party. It’s a whole new dimension of glamour.

sara's glam squad salon, westerly, 3-d manicure, nails, beauty, salon, south county, so rhode island

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