While in Paris, I will miss my weekly manicure. Does anyone recommend a salon where I can get a standard manicure? Thanks!

I went to an institut de beaute on Blvd Raspail - just off of Blvd. St-Germain. I can't remember the name of it but they were adequate enough. Just make sure to BYON (bring your own nailpolish!) they didn't have any to choose from. I also got a pedicure (because we were going to Nice and I needed it) but I wouldn't get a pedi in France again - they weren't equipped for it, they just stuck my feet in a basin of water while I sat on a folding chair.

I asked a Parisienne friend of mine if she knew of any other places and she said the French aren't as into manicures as we are. I guess its true because I was the only one getting my nails done!

Thanks, Beth. I have also e-mailed a friend in Paris but have not yet received her reply. I'd be suprised if there weren't salons that provide manicures, as Parisenne women seem to be so well coiffed!

They have full service salons where they do manicures at the big dept stores. I know Galleries Lafayette does, and I'd presume Bon Marche. I'll have to admit I don't do that, so don't have first-hand experience to recommend.

I've heard of this small local chain, Institut Sarah, which has several shops around Paris, several in St-Germain:

http://www.institutsarah.fr/

They certainly advertise on that website "soins des mains" and manicures, so you could drop by to see what they look like.

In Suzie Gershman's new book about moving to Paris, ("C'est La Vie&quot she mentions that her Parienne friends can spot an American woman by our nails... interesting...
Another great book... I evidently now have a collection of books about moving and living in France...

I'm getting quite a collection of these, too, SuzieC! I really enjoyed C'est la Vie, although the chapter about finding an apartment and all of the challenges with that was a little daunting. I will need to do serious planning before I make my dream move!

LOL.. serious planning and some serious money. Like her, I'd proably shortly want my own little country get-away...
Brittany? Normandy? The little town of Annecy? Provence?
ooooh the dreams...
sorry Iregeo. about that manicure??
Back to our previous programming...

Suzie, sorry to be so dense, but is the point that our nails are well manicured, or the opposite?!? Please advise!

mostly by the fake nails, nail "art", weird nail polish colors, that sort of thing. Just well manicured natural looking nails would not cause a second look.

If I recall the bit in the story, it was also the length to which American's aspire. As to colors of the enamels, I noted a great many of the young girls/women did wear bright blues, greens, purples, etc. Just a whole lot shorter. And I did not see one, not one "French" Manicure. (That style that appears as if one were playing with the White-Out). Obviously, French Manicures are an American affectation

Yeah - I always laugh about "French" manicures. I don't know of a single French woman who would be caught dead with nails like that.

But the biggest dead give away (anywhere in Europe) is the long false nails/tips.

Well, just for the record, I've got little stubs, no long luxurious acrylics! I just find if I get a weekly manicure, with simple, sheer polish, they stay neat looking. I promise to try hard not to give American women a bad name in Paris!

BTW, my law school roommate married a frenchman, lives in Versaille and practices in Paris. (Luckiest woman in the world?) She has told me that she has a great salon for manicures. Once she tells me the name and address, I'll pass it on, if anyone's interested. A bientot!

That should not be a problem at all! Nearly every hair and beauty salon (couture) place I walked past, I saw signs for nails/manicure and also "American" hair styling. I stayed in the 7th Arr at the Hotel Kensington on 79, Ave de la Bourdonnais, right around the corner from the Eiffel Tower. Walking through the 7th, 5th, and 6th Arrs, as I said, I saw numerous beauty shops advertising nail care in the shop.

I found nothing to substantiate this but I read somewhere that the French Manicure that is so popular in the states was originated by French prostitutes. Oolala.

I was just reading the posts and noticed this one. Thanks for mentioning Susie's new book. I am leaving for Paris again on Wednesday and plan to go out and buy it for good reading.
Thanks again