Azena Nail Spa | Nail salon in Westport, CT (2024)

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"Mani, pedi, pick color". Many people believe this is Korean for "hello". In fact most of the staff at Azena are Chinese. You will know this because they talk to each other, probably about you, in Mandarin pretty much non-stop, taking time out to talk about the spanish-speaking massage girls, who also can't understand a word. But they're mostly good-humored gigglers, and there are a few party girls in the bunch, plus one very young looking boy who surprisingly has a few gray hairs. Tina, the owner, believes she is a shrewd business woman, and she will tell you to your face that your eyebrows need grooming. "Eyebrows too bushy. Make nice shape. You need". I have never set foot in the waxing room, nor is that on my "to-do" list. The women who do go in emerge looking like they'd just been molested by their favorite uncle. Another word about Tina and her hard-sell approach. The last time she did my nails, the product was.....how shall I put this....thick enough to pave roads, past its prime, one step away from the trash can (but Tina was too cheap to put it there), and she labored to apply the product, which looked bumpy and wavy. Shattered glass is one kind of nail look. Bumpy and wavy is not another. Her rationale? "Bad for me. I make good for you." not really.

The quiet brains of the operation, a barely audible man I assume is Tina's husband, can usually be found outside sucking back cigarettes. The prices here must kill him. More likely he's having them smuggled in from China. Same cigarettes. Much cheaper.

And then there is Michelle, a delicate little flower of a manicurist with a heart of broken glass. Her work is the best I've seen. She is meticulous with her nail prep. And she can send an unwanted massage girl running back to Nicaragua with a mere glance (the rest of her face is hidden behind a mask). Last December I asked if she had turkey for Thanksgiving. "Chinese don't eat turkey." Oh really? Chinese eat all kinds of things round-eyes would never let into their homes, let alone serve on a plate. But they don't eat turkey? Nonetheless, Michelle is a genius, takes pride in her work, elicits the jealousy of her boss, Tina, which Tina attempts to mask under good humor, but it's plain to see Tina would like for Michelle to meet with an untimely end in a dark alley, or baring that, get run down by a pedi-cab in Queens and have all her fingers broken.

GO to Azena. Don't go to Michelle because then she won't be free when I need her. And tip the massage girls.

So here's the thing about Azena....they may not be the hippest place in town to get your nails done, nor do they have the most up-to-date pedicure chairs and drying tables...but they are so sweet!

It's nice to find manicurists when aren't gabbing about you in their native tongues. They also do a pretty decent job with polish precision and cleaning, I've been going there for years.

They are also conveniently located in the Barnes and Noble shopping center so between book browsing, Starbucks, and mani/pedis, you can really enjoy your afternoon in one long stop!