She's Polished
Photos: Curt Saunders for Black-Owned Brooklyn
For Anjaneth “Angie” Aguirre, owner of She’s Polished, her nail care obsession started early. “I’ve been doing nails since I was 13 because every time I went to salons, I would leave with polish on my skin,” says the Panama-born, Brooklyn-bred nail technician. “I couldn’t work with that.”
Angie continued to practice her skills on friends throughout high school and in college, converting her dorm room into a makeshift beauty parlor from which she churned out perfect mani-pedis and braided hair. Despite this deep-seated entrepreneurial spirit, opening an official shop wasn’t an option.
“My mother wouldn’t let me,” Angie, 37, says matter-of-factly. “She was like, ‘We came from Panama. You have to get your degree.’” Dutifully, she worked for nearly a decade as a foster care case manager. But by the time her 30th birthday rolled around, Angie’s longing for self-expression grew too strong — she enrolled in beauty school, trained as a nail tech in Tribeca, and co-owned another salon before opening She’s Polished in July of 2018. And Mom’s on board now. “She’s with me; she gets it,” Angie says with a smile. “She was actually an investor in this salon.”
“Like everything else, when it was just us doing nail art, it was ‘ghetto.’ But when everybody else wears it, it’s edgy. So it’s important to embrace our swag and and take care of our culture.”
“If you look in the dictionary, ‘polished’ is something that’s shiny,” Angie says of her salon’s name and concept. “But when you break it down, it’s something that’s very refined.”
Accordingly, She’s Polished has a modern boutique feel with its clean white space punctuated by an artsy floral accent wall, sleek seating and sunlight spilling through floor-to-ceiling windows. Leaning into the broader definition of “polished,” the salon does more than nails — a downstairs area also offers hair services (relaxed, natural and weave styles) and lashes.
But one thing you won’t find at She’s Polished is acrylics. “Something about the scent...it cheapens the experience,” Angie says, adding that her salon’s absence of harsh fumes invites a more diverse clientele of men and women. “I need it to smell like flowers at all times.”
When it comes to the She’s Polished approach to nails, Angie say there’s only one rule she lives by: neat work. “I don’t care what you do, as long as it’s in the lines,” she explains. “I’m very particular like that.”
A remarkably talented technician, however, Angie also specializes in intricate nail art, from bold neon patterns to miniature masterpieces painted with delicate brushstrokes. It’s a skill she’s been honing since long before the look became trendy.
“Like everything else, when it was just us doing nail art, it was ‘ghetto.’ But when everybody else wears it, it’s edgy,” she says with an eye roll. “So it’s important to embrace our swag and and take care of our culture.”
434 Hancock Street, 718-975-0910, shespolishedny.com
