Hongdae nail salon brown gel art with hand care, ₩49,000: Byuazeu

I went to 'Byuazeu Hongdae Nail, Lashes & Skincare' on a weekday last week — it's known as a great-value gel nail spot in Hongdae! I'd been wanting nails for a while, but my nails got pretty thin from doing DIY nails at home before, so I took a break for a bit ㅠㅠ Now that my nails seem healthy again, I figured it was time for a little refresh haha. If you're looking for affordable gel nails in Hongdae, this might be worth checking out!

Byuazeu Hongdae Nail, Lashes & Skincare / Hours: daily 11:00–21:00 / Parking: Mapo Lifelong Learning Center public parking or Hongik University parking / Pet-friendly

How far is it from Hongik University Station?

It's about a 5-minute walk from Exit 9 of Hongik University Station, so accessibility was great! I arrived about 10 minutes early and sat in the customer waiting room for a bit. The waiting area was clean and comfortable haha. There was a welcome drink fridge too — you just grab whatever you like. I picked a Vita500 that day haha.

Byuazeu isn't just a nail shop — they also run lash and skincare services, so you can get a variety of treatments in one place! Since you can get nails, lashes, and skincare all in one spot, it seemed like a good fit for anyone who wants multiple treatments done together haha.

September's monthly art: an autumn brown design

One wall of the shop had lots of nail tip samples hanging up! There were so many pretty designs it was fun just looking around haha. From clean, simple looks to designs with more of a statement, there was a good variety to help decide what to get!

From September's monthly art options, I picked a brown-toned design that felt very autumn! I went with the third design in the sample photo haha. It had that perfect fall color and I liked it the moment I saw it! The price was ₩49,000, which was really good value — getting the design I wanted plus hand care all for that price was great haha. Considering the quality too, this seemed like a solid pick for affordable Hongdae nails!

The ballerina shape and hand care process

I asked for the ballerina shape, which is what I wanted! The technician carefully did hand care first to match the shape, then shaped my nails nicely haha. What I really liked was that she kept checking in with me along the way, showing me the shape as she went to make sure it was what I wanted! I could tell she was making sure to match my preference exactly, which made the whole experience more satisfying :)

She kept as much of my nail length as possible while shaping it beautifully into the ballerina shape! I liked that she didn't cut the length down much and still got the shape I wanted haha. She really preserved the length while making the ballerina shape look great.

After shaping came the full hand care and cuticle removal, done really thoroughly! Everything around the nails was tidied up so nicely that my hands felt cleaner even before the polish went on haha.

After the shaping and hand care, even my bare nails without any polish already looked prettier haha. The cuticle removal was totally painless and left the area around my nails looking so much cleaner!

Can you change the colors and layout of the monthly art?

Now for the actual gel nail application haha. Turns out with the monthly art design, you're not stuck with it exactly as shown — you can change the color, and even change the layout, combination, or order of the design elements! I love brown so I kept the color as is, and just slightly changed the layout and order on my left hand haha. Being able to customize it a little to fit my taste was a nice bonus!

The finished autumn brown gel nails

Ta-da! Isn't the gel nail turned out so pretty?? haha Throughout the whole process she was so meticulous and careful, yet the pace was faster than I expected, which I loved! The design came out exactly how I wanted it, and the gel was applied evenly across every nail, making the whole thing look really polished and satisfying haha. I liked it so much afterward that I kept staring at my nails while walking down the street lol.

A total autumn nail success!! haha I kept looking at my nails even after getting home lol. Everything came out so clean and pretty overall that I was really satisfied. With that fall-toned brown color and the ballerina shape I wanted, this set of nails really hit the mark!

How was it as an affordable Hongdae nail shop?

It had been a while since I got gel nails, and I was really satisfied with how the autumn-toned brown color and ballerina shape turned out exactly how I wanted haha. The monthly art designs were all so pretty, and I also loved that you can change the color, layout, and combination to fit your own style! Even just changing the layout slightly while keeping the brown color gave me a design that felt way more like 'me.'

The hand care and cuticle removal were done really thoroughly, and she checked the shape with me along the way, which made the whole process feel careful and attentive. Still, the pace was fast enough that I didn't have to sit for too long, which I appreciated! Above all, the design was pretty and hand care was included, so the value for money was really great. I liked it so much that I kept looking at my nails even after getting home lol.

If you're looking for a place to get pretty nails in Hongdae, Byuazeu is worth considering as a Hongdae nail salon recommendation! Especially if you want pretty gel nails at a reasonable price, it's a solid choice when you're after affordable Hongdae nails. It's also close on foot from Hongik University Station, so it's convenient to swing by before hanging out, a date, or an appointment in Hongdae haha. This autumn nail set was such a success that I think I'll be admiring my nails for a while lol.