What’s your biggest pet peeve while walking into a salon? Mine involves a cramped, crowded space where I have to wait half an hour for a simple blow-dry or nail polish application. Just doesn’t seem fair that one has to wait as long for a service to begin as it takes to actually administer it, particularly when your threading is making you late for your next meeting. Realizing that the multi-tasking woman of today packs so much into 24 hours that wasting time at a salon is just not an option, beloved Arammish revamped their original space in Cantt to cater to the woman who wants to zoom in and out, while knowing she’s in an oasis of calm and quiet even if it is for 20 minutes.

I walked into the salon expecting its usual buzz and que but was pleasantly surprised by how zen the atmosphere was. Having discussed the services I wanted (sans waiting), I was ushered by two young girls, Sunaina and Nazia, into a commodious manicure/pedicure room with tiled white walls and fun quotes on the walls. Though they offer express manicures and pedicures, the girls took one look at my talon-ed hands and feet and declared I was in for the long haul. While my limbs were being treated to a healthy scrubbing, in walked Amber and commenced with my hot oil hair treatment, making me feel like Marie Antoinette with three women working to beautify me - or would Belle’s Beast be more appropriate, considering the amount of man power it took to make me pretty!

For an hour, I sat blissfully while my nails were transformed and the hot oil treatment, which comes with a free back/shoulder massage, pampered me. What made the experience better wasn’t just the quality of service but the silence I was surrounded by. There was no chatter among the girls, no discussion on love, life or other clients and most importantly, no questions other than "Is the pressure alright?" directed at me. The only thing that marred the tranquility of my hour was a rather loud woman, who kept inquiring about the status of others she had come in with, despite being ankle deep in hot water, literally. Point to be noted: if you like quiet salons ladies, work to keep them that way!

After Sunaina helped me make the crucial decision between candy apple green and a fireball red ("You were wearing a similar pastel shade," she reasoned and fireball red it was!), we moved to the wash station and here’s where things got a little hairy. Despite three very extensive scrubs, the oil just wouldn’t come out of my hair and Yasmin, blow-drying a test section, sent me back for a final wash to make sure my tresses were squeaky clean. Fourth time’s the charm and my blow dry took 20 minutes during which I finally had a chance to devour my coffee and sandwich (Arammish offers fun munchies to nibble on), which I had ignored earlier due to more pressing issues.

Another reason to love Arammish - they don’t break the bank. Their express manicures and pedicures start at PKR 800 and blow-dries are priced as low as PKR 600, so that you retain your smile even while paying the bill. I walked out a happy customer and am glad to report that in the subsequent days my hair survived Saturday night and nail-polish defied chipping. If you’re still not convinced, just walk into Arammish and try it out for yourself.