Review of 1-Hr Lymphatic Detox Treatment at Indulge Skin & Body Lab, The Star Vista

Recently purchased the Groupon deal for 2 sessions of Lymphatic Detox Treatment at Indulge Skin & Body Lab for $54. Arrived ahead of my 12.30pm appointment to ensure there is ample time for me to enjoy the full hour of lymphatic massage. However I was sorely disappointed when the masseuse continued talking till 12.50pm on my health analysis until I kindly informed her that I need to leave at 2pm. The other customer who also had a 12.30pm appointment (also using Groupon) was promptly whisked off to her treatment without much sales talk by the consultant.

I wasn't too happy about the time management and had voiced out to the masseuse to please take note of time and she suggested that another masseuse help out so the treatment can be completed within less than an hour. I was upset because I had arrived on time for my appointment, but thanks to the salesperson yakking away. my treatment had to be cut short.

Finally I changed out of my clothes and lied down on the massage bed. Even before the treatment started, the masseuse had already started hard-selling me some massage oil for $68 on the pretence that it was beneficial to my body. Hello??? I paid $54 for 2 sessions of treatment, why would I top-up $68 for a product that can only be utilized for a single session. And because of the time constraint, the masseuse could only work on my back.

I rejected her courteously and finally she started kneading on my sore muscles, unfortunately the happiness was short-lived as she rattled on again about topping up for some other products. I gave in and paid $38 for a moxibustion product that did not serve any purpose. When the 2nd masseuse join in, both of them just kept yakking away when all I wanted was to rest and relax in peace. Certainly most annoying.

The treatment was approximately 40mins and I did not relax at all, when I left the shop my back was still as sore, as though the lymphatic massage was not done at all. Understandably I was not too pleased and that $38 top-up clearly did not work any magic as promised. Overall I do not recommend this place, masseuse were not skilled and in fact were much more equipped at yakking away.

Review of facial and lash extensions at Pheonix La Beaute, Palais Renaissance

Bought the deal for $50 and scheduled my appointment on a Sunday morning. I had enquired with the staff to find out how much time I need to set aside for both facial and lash extensions, the staff had informed me both procedures would take roughly 2hrs thereabouts.

First, the staff performed the facial which turned out to be my longest facial ever. I was lying on my back so long that my back was starting to ache. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy long facials so long as time is efficiently spent. And generally I would equate long facial = better results, I was simply stumped by how slow-motion everything was and the end results was not impressive at all. Not surprisingly, the facial took a whole 2hrs. 

The blackhead extraction was not performed thoroughly despite me instructing the therapist to not go gentle on me because I preferred to put up with the pain and torture of extraction in exchange for a clean nose.

Next was the eyelash extensions. Lash artist informed me that my natural lashes were short, sparse and unequal in lengths hence she could only manage 10mm extensions. Well, I trust the professional's judgement. 

Everything went fine but my major gripe was when she was removing the tape on my eyelids at the end of the procedure. Boy oh boy, that bloody hell hurts! It did felt like they were using industrial masking tape because I have never encountered tape that adheres so strongly onto the skin! Of course, I voiced out my discontent and the lash artist could only apologize. My eyelids were slightly bruised from the ferocious masking tape removal. That really spoilt the experience, just imagine how pissed I was! I left the saloon after 3hrs and 15mins, talk about major overrun man!

The extensions were nothing to shout about, I've had more impressive extensions done before. But going by the value I paid for the deal, it's not too bad after all. 

Review of Fat Freezing at Only Aesthetics, 25A Lorong Mambong

Purchased a Groupon for 2 sessions of Exilis Laser Fat Reduction for $114 but owing to misinformation on Groupon's website (not again!) and wrong information given by Only Aesthetics' staff, I showed up for my appointment only to find that the Lorong Mambong outlet does not have the Exilis Laser machine.

Nonetheless, the consultant swapped Exilis Laser Fat Reduction for Fat Freezing treatment (Groupon price 3 sessions for $260). In today's single appointment alone, the Fat Freeze treatment administered was 2 sessions. Of course, no beauty appointments are complete without up-selling by the consultant. As part of their ongoing promotion, the consultant recommended CoolSculpting for $588 which promises to deliver results in a single session. Blehhh, I am here to utilize my Groupon and see results from this treatment, not spend additional bucks on other costly treatments.

I went down during lunch and the clinic appeared to be under-staffed, the consultant attending to me was overwhelmed with phone calls and faxes. There was no explanation given to me for the treatment I was having and no explanations on what to expect.

After I rejected the consultant's offer for CoolSculpting and insisted on going ahead with Fat Freeze, the consultant kindly added that Fat Freeze does not produce results in a single session, I will need at least 5-6 sessions to see results.

The consultant applied a gel on my tummy and laid out a cold wet piece of cloth on my tummy before using the Fat Freeze machine on my target area. The overall sensation was a strong suction pressure (similar to vacuum cleaner) on my belly. The 2 suction plates (1 on each side of my tummy) is equivalent to 2 sessions of Fat Freeze.

After 45mins I was done and of course, there was no visible results (abuthen!). Oh well, at least I tried.

Review of body massage and premium facial at Beyond Beauty, Tampines

$42 Groupon comprised of -
60-min full body massage (choose 1):
 - Fusion massage
 - Ginger massage
 - Red wine massage
 - Swedish massage

60-min premium facial (choose 1):
 - Micro dermabrasion facial
 - Vita Glow facial
 - Bi Polar facial

15-min bird’s nest eye mask application
15-min royal steam bath or hot blanket treatment

I redeemed my Groupon yesterday, the massage and facial were most basic and nothing to shout about but what was abhorrent was when I checked back to the Groupon deal site only to realise that I've been short-changed! The consultant and beautician did not redeem the 15-min bird’s nest eye mask application and 15-min royal steam bath or hot blanket treatment for me.

As a customer I felt short-changed because I did not get to enjoy what I paid for. This is certainly not acceptable behaviour of a reputable beauty saloon and I have reached out to Groupon, let's see what they have to say.

Review of bikini line IPL at BioSkin, Tampines

Groupon deal - For $88, you get 12 Bikini IPL Hair Removal Sessions (worth $3852).

Q : Did 12 sessions produce a permanent result?
A : No. After 12 sessions I still have very normal hair growth on the targeted area.

 Q : How was the overall experience at BioSkin?
A : Mediocre.

Inconsistencies with difference therapists - each time I visit, there is bound to be a different therapist attending to me. Though a therapist have mentioned before that each and every personnel is well-trained in the various services BioSkin offers. I did not experience that at all because for the 12 treatment sessions, every therapist administered (1) varying number of shots and (2) not hitting the same exact bikini line targeted area I signed up for. I did feel short-changed for that. Even when it came down to instructions for undressing, there was one treatment session where the therapist requested I removed my top (I was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt) too just so that hair will not get onto my clothes. I was simply bewildered.

No hard-selling - this came across as a pleasant surprise because after the nasty experience at Jean Yip the last time round, I had a deep-seeded belief that these big enterprises will want to cross-sell customers different services available at their saloon. However at BioSkin, you can feel rest assured that you will walk in for your treatment and not have to listen to any hard-selling by their therapist. 

Ease of booking appointments - as I stay near the beauty salon, I usually picked weekend appointments as early as 9am in the morning so that I could continue the rest of my day with no disruptions. I usually book the next month's appointment on that month's appointment day. A couple of times I did have to reschedule and it was really a pain because the salon is almost always fully booked.

IPL experience - it is painful but tolerable, according to my underarm therapist at another salon, this could be due to BioSkin employing an older generation IPL machine which produces a distinct "piak" sound each time a pulse is administered. Furthermore, at body parts where there is so much nerve endings, sensations are naturally heightened.