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Enter Charming Nails and that awkward moment found in salons citywide instantly occurs: dozens of eyes on your person, then a brief silence before someone pipes up with “Manicure? Pedicure?” Here, the clients—a mix of senior citizens, mommies, and even on occasion an Avon CEO—often say yes to both. Before placing feet in a tub filled with Caribbean-blue water (or jade for the green-tea spa pedicure), the soft-spoken Korean and Nepalese attendants slough legs with an apricot scrub, then follow the bath with a calf-kneeding massage. Instead of scraping, a callous serum is available for ridding heels of dead skin. The 15-minute manicures start with a lavender tablet dropped into a bowl of water (to relax stressed out fingers) and can end either under the dryer or, for those in a super hurry, with quick-dry drops. — Chanize Thorpe

Charming Nails has a sister salon, Twinkle Nails, around the corner at 87th and Second Avenue.

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Best of New York Awards

• Best Basic Manicure: Upper East Side (2007)