• Julien Farel

  605 Madison Ave., 212-888-8988

  The manicures at cheap corner shops may give you two days before chipping starts—and high-end places give you a solid week if you’re lucky—but Julien Farel’s lasts close to two weeks ($33). His technicians use the same Dior polish as other high-end salons, but they clean nails far more thoroughly than most, applying very unglamorous Sea Breeze to disinfect and remove excess dirt and oil from the nail bed, which makes polish cling more effectively. Also, you’ll never get dried-up dregs—manicurists use only new, fresh polish.

From the 2006 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine