San Francisco - July 20, 2005

Won't You Be My Neighbor

Le Crème Nail Salon

Pac Heights girls have it all: great shopping, sweet salons, swell eats.

And, far too often, unkempt toenails.

But that’s about to change. Yan Lu (the girl behind New York’s Lush Essential Hand & Foot Spa) has moved west and opened up Le Crème, a nail salon on Sutter Street.

Duck into the serene space and take a load off while adorable estheticians in vintage aprons tend to your barking dogs. Decked in white and pastels, the place is very shabby chic: overstuffed floral-print chairs, antique furniture, and aged light fixtures. An outdoor garden for parties is in the works.

But the real draw is the services. The basic mani-pedi includes a footbath with lavender or eucalyptus oil, a hot cream massage, and a sage-peppermint salt scrub. Choose from fancy polishes by Paul & Joe and Lippmann Collection. Or take it up a notch and opt for La Bonne Vie, which includes a footbath of milk, rose petals, and lavender; a lavender salt scrub; warm booties to flush out toxins; and a ten-minute leg massage.

For Pac area feet, it hits the nail on the head.


Le Crème, 1971 Sutter Street, between Fillmore and Webster Streets (415-359-9530 or lecremespa.com).