Students find pampering near campus

Painting fingernails and waxing eyebrows are not just a job but an art form for Tiffany Do, owner of Universal Nails in the Emporium, a shopping area abutting the campus and popular with students.

I spent 2-4 p.m. with her in the salon while she serviced customers.

"I've been coming here for two months, since my friend told me about it," said URI student Sheila Caberello, 21. "Not only is the service great but it is clean and has a trendy décor."

Do welcomes all customers in a friendly manner and is located in the first station when you walk through the door.

While Alicia Guadagno, 21, waited, she ate a bag of Cheetos, available to all customers, and flipped through the April edition of Cosmopolitan magazine.

At 3 p.m. two college students and I watched "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on the flat-screen TV in the back of the salon, while Do and Kevin, another manicurist, painted the students' fingernails.

In the two hours that I spent at Universal Nails, five people came in for different services. Two got manicures, one got an eyebrow waxing, another got an acrylic fill and the last got a pedicure.

"On an average slow day, we will have about 10 customers," Do said. "On a busy day we can have anywhere from 30 to 35."