Pregnancy-safe Hongdae nail salon: deep brown magnetic gel, Byuazeu

Suddenly autumn nail-salon photos started popping up all over my Instagram Explore page again?! I was actually about 8 weeks pregnant at the time, so I was worried whether I could even get my nails done — but after double-checking with my OB that gel nails are fine even in early pregnancy, I went to a nail place near my house haha.

This is Byuazeu Nail! It's close to Hongik University Station, so it was easy to get there on foot.

What is Byuazeu Hongdae like inside?

The inside of Byuazeu was this cozy! Seems like it's run by two people — the owner and one staff member? I've had a lot of not-so-great experiences at factory-style nail salons, so having two dedicated professionals there made me happy from the moment I walked in haha.

As soon as I walked in, they gave me a welcome drink! I've been to a lot of nail salons but this is the first time I've seen this lol. Nothing on offer really caught my eye so I didn't drink it, but I bet it'd be really welcome if you visit on a hot summer day haha.

Byuazeu also does lash treatments, so there's a bed set up inside! The space with the bed is comfortably arranged too, so it seems great for lash appointments. Since it's an all-in-one space, getting nails and lashes done together would really feel like a nice little reset!

Maybe because it's a total-care salon, there were also skincare-related photos, promo materials, and cosmetics for sale?! If you're interested, it's worth taking a look haha.

Choosing from the color chart and Byuazeu's nail design of the month

At Byuazeu you can sit and wait for a bit before your appointment while browsing the color chart and this month's nail designs. I already had a clear idea of the design I wanted and had already messaged them beforehand, so I mainly focused on carefully picking out the color haha.

You can check nail shapes alongside the color chart too, so time really flies while you're browsing!!

Early-pregnancy gel removal at Byuazeu: minimal acetone, 10 minutes

At Byuazeu I first asked them to remove the gel I'd had on previously. My technician's hands were incredibly fast;;; lol. At other salons full removal usually takes almost 20-30 minutes, but at Byuazeu it was done in about 10 minutes.

Whenever anything felt painful or hot during the drill work I spoke up right away, and she adjusted and was extra careful with it! And when I mentioned I was in early pregnancy, she minimized the acetone use and was really careful throughout the treatment — I really appreciated that!

Removal was clean and fast!! Since I'd had my previous nails on for almost 6 weeks, my nails had gotten a bit thin. I was worried it'd hurt when applying color, so I asked her in advance to be careful. If your nails are thin, I'd really recommend mentioning it before the treatment starts!

Autumn deep brown magnetic gel gradient, finished in 1 hour

I wanted a gradient design in an autumn color! When I showed a sample photo, she suggested the base color would look pretty as a magnetic gel, and let me test up to 3 colors, so I was able to get exactly the design I wanted!

Honestly, gradient treatments at other places have taken up to 2 hours when they run long lol, but the owner at Byuazeu did removal + base magnetic gel + a 3-tone gradient all in just 1 hour... Her hands were so fast that when I told her so, she just laughed and said she knows lol.

Here's the finished design! It's seriously so pretty!!!!! Exactly the deep brown I wanted, and with the sparkle of the magnetic gel catching the light, I was really satisfied haha.

Even now, about ten days later, it's holding up really, really well, so I'm truly satisfied!!! It's also a great deal money-wise, so it's a budget-friendly Hongdae nail salon — definitely go check out Byuazeu haha.

Don't miss Byuazeu's discount for writing a review