Colin of London

Colin of London is a fabulous salon! The staff make you feel welcome and I always have a great color, cut and blow-​out from Paul. Lisa does wonderful mani-​pedis. Gabby is also an awesome stylist and is very good at doing waterfall braids.

Note: This review is about nail services only.
I used to bounce around to whichever nail shop was convenient to me at the time I needed a manicure until I found Lisa at Colin of London. I came to her over a year ago for a no-​chip removal and reapplication and have been a loyal customer ever since. I’ll even wait a few days if she doesn’t have time to see me on short notice in case of an emergency! She does great work in a relaxed environment and never rushes, which shows in the quality of the manicures I’ve gotten. I am also very impressed by the selection of LED-​only no-​chip colors as it’s hard to find salons that offer anything but UV light activated colors, which I personally avoid.
Lisa takes her time but also uses proper nail care techniques, such as not cutting cuticles, which in and of itself is hard to find these days. The price is right for a no-​chip that truly stands up to the name and doesn’t catch at the bottom after some regrowth, and I always feel it’s worth tipping her a little extra over the 20% standard for great service. Even though I’ve moved out of the city, I make time on my trips downtown to see her whenever I can.
Bottom line: Every customer I’ve seen go to Lisa has a relationship with her, which means she has a loyal customer base. In a city flooded with nail shops on every block, she is truly a rare find.

Wow! I came here because I saw a groupon… most amazing service, phenomenal haircut & accommodating of my needs to get in before noon, last minute as a walk in! I live in Toronto & will come back for my next hair cut! Thank you Gina (my new stylist) :)

Always a phenomenal experience. Lisa for a manicure today for my daughter and a haircut yesterday for me from Paul. Makes for perfect daddy/​daughter time. Colin of London? There’s no better place to go!

PAUL PAUL PAUL. I live in Los Angeles now and when I come back in town I schedule a haircut w Paul. He does some amazing haircuts and the price is surreal for the quality. I’m picky w haircuts and can say I have never found anything under $ 100 that I feel is worth well over. The two hairdressers I use in LA that are raved about for a decent price ($ 150+) do an average job compared to Paul. In Chicago I used to go to Maxine Salon which gave me an equally awesome haircut for at least double the price and triple the snob. Colin of London is classic Chicago cool & a gem in the city. Paul won’t fail you. The studio is pretty simple but rad.

Now I have been going to Colin of London for almost 15 years (that makes me feel old). Paul is still there and still fantastic! I don’t think they use the pushy sales guys on the street anymore that seemed to turn people off (according to some of the other reviews on here). Ask for Paul! If you can’t get him, I would recommend Gabby. She hasn’t done my hair, but I have seen the before and after while I’m waiting for my color to process and everyone looks great.
I also appreciate the advice they give – without being pushy to sell products. Paul really knows which products work for your hair. Lisa has always given me perfect eyebrow waxes and manicures, when I get them, as well as advice on split or weak nails.
I love these guys, so I hate to see all these negative reviews. Other random positives: great floor to ceiling windows to people watch on Oak Street, parking is actually easy, or there is valet on the street, they have these great chairs that spin and tilt, so your stylist washes your hair right at their station – no walking across the salon with wet hair.
Maybe most importantly for some, I think their prices are comparable, or possibly lower, than other quality salons in the city.

This is where you will find the best manicurist in the city. Lisa has been doing my nails for 20
years, and her French manicure is the prettiest! Parking can be difficult down here, but it’s a great area to spend the day.

I’ve been coming to this salon since 2007, I believe. I love it. Gabby is fantastic!
Here’s what it comes down to, besides the fact that I adore Gabby.
Prior to finding CoL years ago, I went to many salons and couldn’t get a good cut at the right price. Here, the price is more than reasonable for the quality and the neighborhood. Far less expensive than their fancy salon neighbors. Since the salon is small and simple, I really believe you’re not paying for unreasonable overhead and you’re simply paying for the quality of your stylist.
The salon is clean, my appointments always start on time, things run efficiently, and Lisa is always friendly and prompt with managing appointments and payment.
As I’ve been going here long enough, I can also offer the observation that clients of other stylists always leave looking wonderful as well.
Frankly, I won’t trust anyone else around with my hair but Gabby. I trust her judgment and her skills. She’ll be doing my hair and my bridal party’s hair for my wedding this year, and I can’t wait.

I went there for no chips and I wanted Bio gel but there’s only two colors. So I tried opi instead. Lisa was very nice and we had a great time. I like the color I picked, hope it can last 2 weeks. Let’s see.

I feel the need to write this review especially after all of the negative ones that have been posted. I, too, first came to Colin of London with a «new customer coupon» deal, and did not have high expectations because I saw all of these negative reviews. The manicure was a joke, but the haircut was INCREDIBLE! Gabby has got skills… she knew exactly what I wanted without having to explain too much and ONLY got rid of the dead ends (I HATE when hair stylists don’t listen to you and end up cutting off 3 inches!!).
Gabby and Lisa are both so wonderful and have gone above and beyond in taking care of me as a client.
The only reason I am giving it 4 stars is because of the price… I never would have paid this much for a hair cut, but I just can’t give it up… My hair comes out that good and I always get so many compliments.
FYI — Paul is also incredible — he cut my hair while Gabby was out on maternity leave… Definitely try this place!

My friends and I bought a groupon online for the no chip manicure. Greatest purchase all week :) we had such a great experience! Lisa was AWESOME. So nice, easy to talk to, and full of historical information about the salons past! The manicure itself was so fantastic too! My hands are beautiful, soft, and flawless! Even though this was our first time at this salon it felt like we had been coming there for years! I can’t wait to go back for my Brazilian blowout! I would recommend this place to anyone that’s looking for great service and environment! Thank you so much Lisa and we’ll be seeing you soon!!!

This place is great. I saw a groupon and was very skeptical due to the bad reviews specially with a hairstylist Gabby. However it was a good deal and decided to go for it. What a pleasant surprise. I called around 11 am and got an appointment at 1 pm. Gabby was my stylist and we did a consultation before she started and wow she listened to my wants. I got a cut and blow out and I couldn’t be happier. I truly recommend this place and apparently they have learned from their mediocre reviews. Friendly staff and superb service. I for sure will be back when I’m in town and will definitely have gabby as my stylist.

I bought a coupon card from Salontaneous with one of my roommates in the fall and used it for a haircut and manicure recently. Booking was pretty simple.
I got my haircut by Gabby who was not very friendly. She didn’t smile upon meeting me and didn’t introduce herself (I found out her name from one of the other workers there). The wash and deep conditioning were alright. The haircut was done super quickly – probably taking 10 – 12 minutes. Then she nearly burnt my scalp with the intense heat of the dryer.
I’m young, 20 now, and I’ve had gray hairs since I was in middle school and she told me it was weird that I had them. Okay, lady. I know. I’ve had to live with them for almost my whole life. Don’t say it out loud; I’m embarrassed as much as it is.
The manicure was alright. Though I feel like she cut too deep into my cuticles so now whenever i do something and my fingers slide past something, it hurts. I ruined the manicure (not very conscious about having it dry significantly longer after leaving the salon) which was my fault.
This place just wasn’t for me. I was really looking for the friendliness of the place, good service, and efficiency.

I bought a coupon card thing from Salontaneous over the summer, and finally used it for a haircut. Booking an appointment wasn’t the smoothest but they were able to accommodate me on short notice and worked with my schedule.
I got my haircut by Vicky. It was pretty quick and I liked the cut, but she was the most distracted stylist I have ever been to. She asked what I wanted at the beginning but didn’t check in again until she was ready to blow dry. The entire time that she was drying my hair, she was craning to stare out the window watching the passerbys, not really paying any attention to what she was doing.
They accepted the card with no questions though, and were friendly overall. Decent experience for the cost. I’ll come back to try their nail services.

I’m a new girl in Chi-​town with yet-​to-​be-​established salon loyalties. Card on the street, no scalp massage or «hair consultation», you Unilocalers know the drill.
Fastest hair cut of my life — nothing wrong with that, but if I’m paying money for somebody to unleash scissors on my precious tresses, it would make me a bit more comfortable if it took longer. I asked for long layers when I got my hair cut about a month ago, and now that it’s growing out, the layers are terrible. Half of my hair isn’t layered at all, it’s just a big chunk cut straight across. And the top is over-​layered! Disaster.
Five stars for the no-​chip manicure, though — this would be the only reason I would come back. Manicures are one thing that I do not have the patience to wait around for, and this salon uses the new LED lights that only take 30 seconds to set each layer! And it stayed on for the full three weeks before it started peeling. The nail tech (who is actually the owner’s stepdaughter/​cashier/​appointment booker) actually discussed a few of the techniques that she was using — like painting the top coat over and under the tip of the nail to seal and prevent chips (you’d be surprised at how many salons I’ve noticed don’t do this) so I guess I’d say she was pretty experienced. Cheers to that.

I bought the card on the street like everyone else — I was going to pass it up because I thought that $ 60 was a bit much for what I wanted (just a cut and style), but then he offered it to me for $ 40, so I decided to take it.
Most of the bad reviews for this place seem to come from people who had highlights or color, but all I wanted was a trim and some long layering. Gabriela did a great job with it — she was communicative and made sure I was okay with how much she was cutting, and she even put a bunch of pretty curls in my hair at the end. It looked awesome.
Gaby was also very fast (under 45 minutes), which I liked, and the view from the second floor looking down into Oak Street was a pretty distraction while she was cutting my hair.
Overall, I think $ 40 was a great deal for the service, and I’d recommend it for anyone who wants a fairly uncomplicated type of cut like I did.

At first I was not really happy because Gabriela was criticizing my hair and telling me about the imperfections of the hair color I had gotten done last time. I had given her the option to do whatever she wanted to my hair (color, cut, highlights), but she was still complaining about it in front of other customers, so that made me a little upset.
After that glitch, she went ahead and did partial highlights (even though I really wanted a full head of highlights) and cut my hair the way I wanted it (just a trim). She had me turned so I can see the view out on Oak street and I love people watching so that was nice.
Overall, the hair is a masterpiece and I am in LOVE with the highlights and the cut and how she straightened my hair and it looks absolutely amazing, but I wish she hadn’t bashed about my hair in front of other customers because that is not professional to criticize other salons (and I didn’t think my hair color was bad from the previous salon).
I will definitely be going back since she did such a great job.

I came here after getting a package coupon for package a & b deal from a guy off the street in front of old navy on state street. I made my appointment months ago. I was on time and the salon was deserted except for 2 people. My stylist, gabby, seated me immediately and proceeded to give me the fastest hair cut of my life. I received a wash, hair cut and blow dry a ll within 15 minutes.
Gabby was sick, and was coughing the whole time. I appreciated that she came even though she was sick, but I would have rescheduled because I rather her take longer time for treatment.
I asked her to do the completely package a, which included deep conditioning, hair cut and blow dry. She did not do the deep conditioning, because she was in a hurry, and almost burnt my scalp with the super heat of the dryer. I kept on moving my head away from the dryer, and she kept on pushing it closer.
The other lady present, gave me a nail polish reapply, which actually lasted a long time. I enjoyed that part much more than the haircut.
I have to say that the hair cut itself was good, but I just felt that i was completely rushed. I rather she reschedule than rush.

I had a hair cut with Gabriela and I think she really did a very good job. She gave me very nice layers and was very careful to listen to me.
I think the salon is really modern. The chair is so cool. It goes down so that you do not have to go anywhere else to wash your hair. Everything is done at the station. After she washed my hair she spinned my chair to face the window so that I could look out on Oak street.
I had a very nice experience. The receptionist (a very tan lady) was very friendly. When I initially called to book my appointment she was nice and then I had to reschedule few times and she was very nice to accommodate me and fit me into their busy schedule.

I freaking HATE those gift card salemen! «Can I ask you about your hair?»
Why don’t you just be honest and ask if you can rip me off?
This was the single largest waste of money I’ve ever experienced. I paid $ 75 for a card that I was told included a scalp massage, manicure, hair color, cut, deep conditioning treatment, and style.
I went into the salon, and it was totally empty (shocker). I didn’t get the scalp massage or the manicure or the deep condition, and I didn’t want to come back because they ripped me off so bad. I was told hair color was included, but then afterward I was told it wasn’t and paid $ 80. WTF? My hair looked ok, but no one even noticed I changed it.
STAY AWAY.