After months of boredom-induced nail biting and chipped polish from unsuccessful manicures at home, we’ve never been more ready to have our glamorous nails back…
I’m sure many of us tried some DIY beauty solutions during lockdown, coming to the painful conclusion that our eye-catching acrylics and creative nail art designs just can’t be recreated at home.
Thankfully, Manchester’s salons have reopened and are welcoming us with open arms to get glammed up with a new set of nails this spring.
Whether you want a fresh pub garden manicure or desperately need your nails neatening up, look no further than these must-visit nail salons in central Manchester.
Doll Parts
Doll PartsManchester
Doll Parts is a groovy nail salon is based in Affleck’s in the Northern Quarter, meaning you really don’t need to travel far to get a new set of nails.
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The venue is offering a variety of fun and artistic nail art designs to meet your tastes, as well as acrylic and gel extensions.
The creativity of this funky salon knows no limits – meaning you can let your ideas go wild with their designs!
It’s A Nail Thing is a new salon that has just launched at Hatch on Oxford Road, making it the student quarter’s hottest new salon.
It’s an inclusive salon of three independent nail technicians that share a love for unique designs, creating some intricate and artsy pieces in the process.
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Nail art has never been trendier than it is right now, so It’s A Nail Thing is the perfect place to go and get your fill.
This squad of creative nail technicians have grouped together to form Nails By Ya Gal Studio, providing us with the latest and trendiest in nail art designs.
Each member of the team has their own Instagram filled with funky and fresh nail art designs – I think several appointments may be necessary to book in with each of them!
The salon is a 20-minute walk outside of Piccadilly Gardens, but it’s definitely worth the short journey for their insanely intricate designs.
The Nude Nail Company is well-versed in gel manicures and bespoke nail art, creating a selection of adorable designs.
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They’re capable of everything from funky pastel designs to more simple and elegant block colours, so the sky is the limit.
Although they’re based in Didsbury, they operate both home-based and mobile, making it a great option if you don’t feel confident venturing into a salon just yet.
Drama Call opening first-ever flagship shop in Manchester
Danny Jones
Streetwear superstars Drama Call are opening their new flagship store and first-ever permanent site in Manchester city centre this weekend.
Expect massive queues and lots turning up wearing the increasingly recognisable starry logo.
Already a much-loved brand not just here in 0161 but across the nation at large, the native independent business turned street-style favourites and UK fashion phenomenon are no strangers to HUGE pop-ups in their hometown.
However, they’ve never had a mainstay location anywhere in the country, let alone Greater Manchester – well, until now, that is…
Credit: Press shots (supplied)
Debuting in the Northern Quarter this Sunday, the venue located on Tib Street will effectively serve as Drama Call‘s new HQ.
The local label has done everything from popping up vans with Manc rapper Aitch to collaborating with Man United for multiple limited edition collections, so it only felt like a matter of time before they’d make a big brick-and-mortar splash in our fair city.
Most notably, they’re also taking over the same unit as the Sheep Shop, a former skate shop and legendary urban clothing tastemaker of the 90s; they were one of the first places in Britain to stock famous names like Stüssy, Supreme, Carhartt, The North Face and many more.
With that in mind, it feels only fitting that they carry on the trendsetting tradition from the same premises, and just spitting distance from the likes of Note, as well.
And that’s not all, either: before the full launch, they’ll also be holding an exclusive cash-only shirt swap event, where a limited number of certain collector’s items will be sold for as little as £10.
Other things to note are the additions of signed vinyls by homegrown artists such as the aforementioned Aitch and even The Smiths.
In fact, the store will also feature strictly Mancunian exclusives, too.
Everything from polo shirts and tees to branded mugs, matchboxes and other accessories will be available in-store only.
NQ is bound to be buzzing across launch weekend, with doors officially opening to the public on Sunday, and we wouldn’t be surprised if you see people camping outside the front well ahead of time.
What a moment the Manc shopping scene is having right now.
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (supplied via Pear)
Style
Keo play Projekts: garage and grunge revivalists crush Manchester skatepark for new music video
Danny Jones
This past Thursday evening, fast-rising rock band Keo took over Projekts MCR skatepark for a special pop-up gig and to film a brand-new music video for their latest single, ‘Pistol’, starring some of their biggest fans here in Manchester.
In fact, it didn’t take long for us to suss out that plenty of them had flocked from far and wide to be there, and let’s say we’re sure they’ll say it was worth the journey.
We caught Keo’s well-attended festival set inside the Woodlands at Kendal Calling 2025, not to mention their completely sold-out show at the O2 Ritz back in March – their biggest headline date up to that point – and we’re more certain than ever that they’re going to be absolutely massive.
And if they keep up doing more memorable stuff like this, it’s just a matter of how soon…
Packing out Projekts to the point that people were literally hanging off fences and standing on electrical boxes at the side of the street to try and get a peek at the post-punk, grunge and garage rockers, some of their most enthusiastic young fans had been waiting outside the location as early as noon.
For context, doors opened six hours later, and the boys didn’t come on until 7:30pm.
Those who signed up to Keo‘s mailing list were sent information regarding securing a spot at the one-off performance earlier this month.
While you would have seen the place fill up even if they were just standard concert tickets, the fact that the band were taping the whole thing to use as the visuals for their newest single, as mentioned, meant that Keo’s avid followers were literally clamouring AND clambering to get the best view position possible.
Turning the popular skaters’ hub’s central bowl into a makeshift stage, with lights, camera, booms and various crew surrounding the entire venue, it was a surreal experience to say the least.
And, of course, they were absolutely brilliant – just as they were at the Ritz at the start of the year and Kendal before that, playing a short but sweet set that left everyone wanting more and choruses of punters chanting Keo long after the final song.
We can’t wait to see how the video itself turns out, especially seeing how much the people who wrapped around them and the skatepark were lost in the moment, and we’re also looking forward to them headlining Neighbourhood Fest in Manchester city centre this October.
You can grab a ticket to see them and the rest of the NBHD lineup right HERE, but until then, give the full studio version of ‘Pistol’ a play and get ready for their debut album.
Daisy Bradbury -
23rd April 2021 
