Polished Boston

Polished Boston is a nail studio with a social side, located on Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington. The studio describes itself as an award-winning nail studio and social house, and its website states it was named Best of Somerville five years in a row.

Services include traditional and gel manicures, pedicures and nail art. According to the studio, gel and shellac polishes come off in about five minutes and produce no fumes, and removing gel carries a charge when a client already has gel on their nails. Appointments can be booked online or by phone.

The studio also hosts events at its space, and prospective hosts are asked to call for details. It sends manicures out to events and charity photo shoots as well.

Giving back is part of the studio's work. It donates in-kind services and gift cards to the charities it supports, provides on-site manicures at Photo Shoot for a Cure events that benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, and visits the Ronald McDonald House at Boston Harbor six times a year to offer complimentary manicures to guests. It has also donated to Bigelow Cooperative, Prospect Hill Academy Charter School and Respond.

The studio performs water-free manicures, spraying cuticles with water instead of soaking nail beds. It states that gel and shellac come off quickly without fumes, while acrylic can require drilling or an acetone soak of about an hour, which it says weakens nails and creates fumes.