I’m sure most of you have heard the buzz by now about the first ever OPI Concept Salon. The soon-to-open Studio City, Calif.-salon is co-owned by Robbie Schaeffer (son of OPI founder George Schaeffer) and his college fraternity brother Dan Schilleci; the salon manager (salon M.O.M. — manage, organize, mentor— as the salon prefers to call her) is OPI veteran Nadine Galli. This all-star team has been working on this nails-focused salon for several years now and its doors will finally open to the public in October. I visited the salon last week to see the almost-finished space and watch an employee training session, and I have to say that ROB|B: An OPI Concept Salon was worth the wait.

Upon entering, I was blown away by the high-end design. The color scheme is primarily blue and brown, which instantly calmed me down (plus, it’s fitting for both male and female clients). There are flowing water wall fixtures behind the pedicure chairs that add to the pampered feeling. I was also thrilled by the outdoor deck that’s part of the second floor (complete with a barbeque grill for special events!); the salon will offer nail services out there. Even little design details made the space feel like the best of the best; for example, I found myself oohing over the stylish door handles and aahing over the Japanese toilet on the second, spa-service focused, floor. (I’d never seen one before, so I was pleasantly surprised that when I walked up to it, the lid automatically opened for me.) You can check out salon photos for yourself by visiting Robbie’s own blog.

I also really lucked out because since I was observing a pedicure training session, I was volunteered to be a client guinea pig! Nadine was training the techs in pedicure consistency (i.e. making sure every tech gives the same pedicure using identical steps and products), so tech Cierra Hester practiced on me. Cierra is so cute because she pretended (as she was supposed to) that I was a paying client, even asking me questions like, “What do you do for a living?” and “What brings you to this area?” She also made sure to ask me if the pressure during the foot massage was OK and if I’d like something to drink. It was a perfect pedicure.

Afterwards, I went for a bite to eat with all of the techs, and I was just so impressed with how cool they all are. Plus, they mentioned their excitement about the new salon to everyone they could, passing out business cards to a restaurant manager and our server in hopes of getting them in after the salon opens. I’m so impressed that I’ve already made my appointment for opening day, October 10, again with Cierra (I heard she does polka dot nail art!). I definitely urge you to make an appointment too if you’re in the L.A. area; just call the salon at (818) 980-7622. It’s an amazing role model for other nail salons.

—Sree