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 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.

Deal gone sour?

I purchased a 3 session massage from Deal.com.sg to redeem at Narcissus Javanese Massage & Hairdressing.

I was able to redeem the first session smoothly, albeit the masseuse miunderstanding my instructions - I had requested for the 1hr session to be shortened to 45mins but she misunderstood as I wanted the session shortened to just 30mins. Narcissus is not exactly your posh spa place and the treatment "rooms" are actually partitioned by curtains. I didn't felt secure when removing my clothes before the massage. There were also no proper cupboards or locker for you to store your belongings.

Nonetheless the masseuse is good at kneading my sore shoulder and back with her firm strokes.

Made an appointment for the 2nd session on 13Feb but to my horror the merchant contacted me on 12Feb stating that they are not able to honour my voucher because Deal have not paid up for 2months already.

Rang up Deal and after plenty of time spent waiting on the line, a curt and unsympathetic customer service officer picked up my call. When I questioned her what happened, she shot back a reply saying that I am the 1st customer to voice out such a complaint. Out of concern that they are going bankrupt or winding up soon, I asked the officer if their company is facing any financial issues, to which she says she has to check with the relevant departments and cannot offer me a direct answer (oh wow, what a cover up?). Before I could even get her name, she hurriedly ended the call.

Meantime I had also dropped an email to Deal demanding to know what exactly happened -

Hi Deal.com.sg,
I purchased the attached deal and made an appointment on 13Feb unfortunately the merchant tells me that deal.com.sg did not pay up in the past 2 months hence they not allow me to redeem my massages. Please advise and refund at your earliest convenience.

Following the call the officer dropped me an email -

Hi Good afternoon to you.

We are in the process of checking your enquiry with the relevant department as well as the merchant. Kindly do provide us some time for us to provide you with the solution. Once we have received the solution, we will be contacting you at the soonest. We hope to have your kind understanding on this issue. If you have any enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact us at (65) 6299 3011.

Thank You.

Sincerely, Nurul
Customer Relations Executive
Ensogo Group
sg.crm@ensogo.com

I also left a comment on the Deal's Facebook page demanding to know why, originally a representative had replied me but subsequently Deal deleted my comment entirely! Sneaky eh.

Thankfully Deal.com.sg did not take long to settle my dispute, on 16Feb they reverted

Dear Ms Lisa

Good day to you. Thank you for your email.

We will proceed with a refund for you for the remaining 2 sessions. The amount of $41.33 will be refunded back to you in approximately 14 - 21 working days, back to the same credit/debit card that was used to purchase the voucher. Thank you very much and have a nice day ahead. If you have any enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact us at (65) 6299 3011.

Thank You.

Sincerely, Nurul
Customer Relations Executive
Ensogo Group
sg.crm@ensogo.com

As at today 6Mar, I am still waiting for my credit card statement, fingers crossed!