Music to a teacher's ears. Finally that one morning you don't have to wake up once your alarm goes off. When I was relief teaching, I used to set my radio as an alarm and it was hilarious because once it sounded, it would play Majulah Singapura which in any case, was rousing and inspiring for like, the first day and that was it. Is it disrespectful to say that after awhile the sound of the national anthem made me squirm and protest a little inwardly about how 'it's too early. bejeezus- this is inhumane!'.
I don't teach in a goverment school now but term time is no less frantic so when the holidays roll around it's time for some R&R! Every end of term I treat myself to a day off. That is FOUR days off a year T.T to eat good food, get a hair cut maybe and definitely, definitely get a massage. This time, the plan was to indulge in something healthy and great tasting, get a massage, go to the dentist, get my hair trimmed and.. get a facial.
I know this sounds weird to you guys but my experiences with facials (I can count them on one hand) have never been amazing. I usually go because a girlfriend of mine wanted to go. It's like taking rollercoasters- said friend always promises that it'll be great! It'll be awesome! You'll feel so good after! It'll be fun! C'mon! and I always agree because.. maybe, this time? Only to walk out of the place feeling meh. At best I feel meh. On my last trip to a facial salon however, I walked out feeling absolutely traumatised. The person doing the facial had found a small, tiny pimple on my face and instead of cooing over it's adorable baby-ness, she proceeded to attack it with such viciousness there should have been baby pimple laws written to protect them. ALSO, the thing I dread most- the EXTRACTION process. I HATE IT HATE IT HATE but everyone says it's a necessary evil and the road to smooth skin is full of bumpy little white and blackheads that need to be aggressively removed. Suffice to say, I left my very last facial a couple of years ago absolutely traumatised and with a pimple scar that lasted almost 2 years.
Anyway, I decided to schedule a facial this time because (1) my face is insanely clogged. There aren't any pimples or anything and it looks clear if you see me from far away but late nights and poor hygiene (eep!) have left much room for improvement. I don't know how to explain it but if I look into the mirror under strong sunlight, the surface of my skin is bumpy :( and (2) I had a voucher for a free first trial at a new facial salon called Le Queenz that just opened at Tanjong Pagar Plaza. Haha, yes I'm very cheapo.
I wasn't intending to blog about it because quite honestly, I was just hoping for some blackhead removal and crossing my fingers the beautician wouldn't scar my face and please please please be gentle with the extraction BUT GUYS, this was such the bombdiggity that for the first time in my life, I actually signed a package with them.
Since I wasn't intending to blog about it, I don't have any pictures so I took the following off their facebook. I love it when beauty salons are new! Everything is so gorgeous and pretty and I love the color palette of the place. Some beauty centres make my head spin- everything is so pink!
Doesn't it just look so inviting and pretty?
The process is quite standard I guess. When I arrived I filled out a form (area of concern: dry skin, BLACKHEADS, BLACKHEADS!! CLOGGED PORES!) and was then ushered into the room above to have my skin 'analysed'. It was quite embarrassing to have to tell the beautician that I don't do anything with my face except to wash (sometimes without a dedicated facial wash) and I uh, also don't put sunscreen. But! She did say my skin was in very good condition despite my horrendous neglect (yay!) and said I must have a very good diet with a lot of fruit, veg and water. YES! I DO *bows* hahaha." Pity eating well doesn't clean my skin :/
The beautician was a fountain of knowledge though. She smoothly answered all my question, talked me through how to take care of my face while she cleansed, exfoliated and whatever else beauticians do (I was falling asleep).
Then she said the magic words!
" I don't believe in extraction because it actually harms the skin and introduces bacteria into the pores. So what we do here is that we use a special machine that 'scraps' off the black/ white heads and unclogs the pores"
AND THE MACHINE IS AMAZING I TELL YOU. It's quick and painless and afterwards, she actually shows you all the stuff that comes out (ew).
But seriously, NO EXTRACTIONS! I didn't care what she did after that man. This place is my new favourite!
Okay, I'm going to show you guys something- I was half asleep so when she was zapping away with the machine and she actually missed a small spot- I suppose it's easy to miss coz it's the spot under my lower lip and you actually have to stick your tongue there to be able reach the skin in that area. If I was awake I could have told her but hurhur, it was too comfortable and I was in zzzland. Anyway, good thing she missed coz I could take a photo of what my skin was like before the facial.
Prepare for something really gross though..
Hahaha. It looks like a whale's jaw but that's okay coz everybody looks like that when they do that :) But do you see all those little bumps! That's what I had around the sides of my nose, on my nose and my face in general!And after the extraction my skin was smooth like a baby's bottom! No redness too! You can see that the skin surrounding it is totally free from all the bumps. AMAZING. I need to remember to stick out my tongue in that place next time haha.
After everything was over she brought me to a chair to get my eyebrows done (she says she can't do it when I'm lying down because it wouldn't be as accurate as when I'm sitting up) and this was the only part that I didn't really like because I was so zenned out by the facial that to have to sit through the eyebrow plucking was sheer torture T.T I rather 先苦后甜 you know?! Plus for the eyebrows, she shaved a little of it for me which I also disliked because shaving makes it grow back much faster but the good thing is that whatever it is, you can just tell the beautician. She customizes everything to what you say and what your skin is like so when I vocalised my concerns, she was quick to switch to plucking it entirely. Also I heard that she's had almost 10 years of experience and used to work at this really well known eyebrow embroidery place. It's amazing she has 10 years of experience though. She looks so young! But when she speaks, you know she is definitely worth her mettle.
The salon is new so package prices are going at great promotional prices. I bought a package of 12 sessions for only $1000+ I can't remember the exact price. A session is usually $168. I'm trying to slowly move away from chemical laden skincare too. Le Queenz uses Babor which is a German skincare brand that is preservative free. I'm going to start with preservative free skincare followed by partially (?) chemical free then hopefully organic. Still very new to all these! (Is there such a thing as a organic facial spa in Singapore?)
Alright, I just wanted to share my experience here because I've finally found an extraction free facial place in Singapore that actually works. I've been to facial places that offer no extraction as well but my face has never been this clean. So if you are looking for a place as well, definitely give this place a try. Since it's new, first trial is only $68!
Hahaha. Can't believe I wrote so much about about a facial salon. Anyway! The next place I went to for a quick hair trim was Organic Hair Professional. It's located in the same plaza as Le Queenz and I am in love with the place. Seriously, if you want to pamper yourself, don't spend 3 hours stuck in some hair salon filled with chemical smells! I used to not notice how strong the chemical smells were in hair salons till I went to Organic Hair Professionals. Now I can never go back! Seriously, even if you don't go for a hair cut, at least walk in to smell the salon. It smells so lovely!
I ended the day with a tuina massage at XinHua TCM clinic located at 100AM. I love deep strong massages and honestly think shiatsu massages are a waste of money haha. Just as I was paying to leave, I noticed they offered a 'tummy detox slimming massage'. Curious, I asked what they did. It's about $80! The woman replied that they basically massage your tummy for a while then they WRAP you up for the remaining time. $80?! To be wrapped in shrink wrap for an hour?! I think the only way it helps you detox is by preventing you from eating anything for that hour.
With my $80 safely tucked in the depths of my bank account, I hot footed out of that place and headed back home with a considerably cleaner face, neater hair and a less tense body.
T'was a good day.
xx
p.s I feel compelled to say that I wasn't in any way compensated monetarily or made to write the review for any of these places. I just like to share good things. :)
