Traditional is trending, and this Lunar New Year festive period gives us all the more reason to embrace all things Asian. The food, the colour, the customs, and the cultural practices we grew up with — all of these, of course. What’s CNY without them?
But if you want something extra (and who doesn’t? Isn’t it desirable to have things in abundance during the CNY festivities?), why not check yourself in for a spa treat that revolves around Asian elements. Think classic massage techniques like Gua sha and Tui-na and ingredients like ginger and Ayurvedic oil blends. Time to spa out.
01 | Hanbang Skin Solutions, Hydro Boost Care
This is no ordinary facial. It is a skin problem-solver, whatever your complexion concerns may be. How? It incorporates the Korean beauty salon brand’s signature Geunmak Therapy, which is a Korean skincare method rooted in traditional medicine. Each facial session can effectively target individual skin concerns from clogged pores to signs of ageing like sagging and dull skin tone by masterfully integrating traditional skincare ingredients and massage techniques that differ in pressure, hand movements and targeted areas of the face to resolve various issues and leave you with naturally radiant, supple, healthier skin à la your favourite K-pop celebs.
Hanbang Skin Solutions, #03-02 Wheelock Place, tel: 6208-8989.
02 | Porcelain Face Spa, Oxyrevive Plus
The facials at Porcelain are old school in the best way. They all start with double cleansing, and a meticulous manual extraction that eradicates every blackhead or zit on your skin surface. Then for this facial, skin is treated with the OxyJet micro-dermabrasion machine which delivers a cooling, gentle exfoliation and refreshing oxygen infusion. Next, a Shiatsu face massage commences, encouraging healthy microcirculation, renewed firmness and a marked lift in the skin tone and texture. Premium grade customised serums and a hand-blended bespoke mask treatment then follows while your neck and shoulders are treated to a relaxing massage. What’s left is you feeling tranquil and looking radiant and enviously clear-skinned.
Porcelain Face Spa, #03-13 Orchard Gateway, tel: 6844-9660 and 3 other outlets. For information visit porcelainskin.com/.
03 | Clarins Skin Spa, Ultra Relaxing Aroma Facial
This newly launched facial treatment engages all the senses to help you unwind and destress and leave with healthy, glowing skin, of course. It starts with the perfect soft music and special mood lighting in the treatment room, then the treatment itself opens with the brand’s signature Ayuroma Touch, an Ayurvedic massage technique that involves the dripping of warmed Clarins face treatment oil onto the forehead to induce deep relaxation. You’ll also be treated to the Clarins hands-on massage, a facial massage technique that leaves your face (and your entire body) super relaxed and calm. The facial focuses on nourishing and revitalising the skin and encouraging your most radiant complexion ever with lotus and sandalwood oils and a face wrap with ginko biloba extracts.
Clarins Skin Spa, #04-19 ION Orchard, tel: 6838-5060.
04 | Ikeda Spa, Geisha Organic Facial
Uniquely Japanese indeed. This facial uses Chidoriya skincare created for Geishas in conjunction with Japanese meridian massage techniques to beautify the skin. What’s so special about the skincare? Oh, it just contains rice bran, camellia oil, red bean extracts and, erm…, UV-sanitized nightingales droppings. No kidding. Also known as “Uguisu no fun” (Japanese: 鶯の糞), which literally means “nightingale feces” in Japanese, the ingredient is said to naturally smoothen and lighten the skin. The treatment starts with double cleansing using a refreshing green tea cleansing foam, followed by a red bean exfoliation and manual extraction. The powdered nightingale droppings is then mixed with water to create a paste that is applied on the skin as a mask. Rest assured, there is no bird poop smell and the entire treatment leaves skin sparkly clear, glowing and feeling soft, smooth and refreshed.
Ikeda Spa, 787 Bukit Timah Road, tel: 6388-8080; #05-22 Clarke Quay Central, tel: 6388-8080.
05 | Sulwhasoo Facial Studio, Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Treatment
Scent is subjective, so you get to pick the oil scent that most relaxes you — sandalwood, frankincense, pine, or plum blossom — to complement this facial treatment. It will be used for the massages and also added to the skincare used for your treatment. This facial is centered on the brand’s Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Cream EX and complementary products to deeply rejuvenate tired, dull and ageing skin. The skincare application steps are accompanied by the therapist’s firm massage strokes that drain the lymph nodes and a warm compress alternated with icy cool jade applicators were used for a refreshing facial massage that tightens and firms the skin and leaves it smoother and more refined too.
Sulwhasoo Facial Studio, L4 Tangs at Tang Plaza, Orchard Road, tel: 6736-0339.
06 | SK-II Boutique Spa, Senze Rejuvenating + Facial
A highly effective yet indulgent facial that rewinds time on your skin and restores its firmness, clarity and glow. Of course every product used in this facial is chockfull of Pitera, SK-II’s signature ingredient that promises to reveal brighter skin, prevent sun spots, reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, improve skin’s texture, and boost its retention of moisture. Besides the Pitera-rich products, this facial also harnesses a RadioFrequency machine that is used to deliver a warm massage to your face which stimulates collagen. Combined these elements give you multiple benefits in one treatment — lifted and firmer facial contours and suppler, smoother, healthier and crystal clear complexion.
SK-II Boutique Spa, #02-26B Raffles City Shopping Centre, tel: 6336-4880.
07 | Clarins Skin Spa, Rebalancing Massage with Essential Oils (60 minutes, $185)
Nothing beats a good body massage, and it is definitely a treat that will be much needed after CNY visiting round the clock. Additionally, this body massage also offers an aromatic escape for the mind, while relaxing the muscles thanks to the specially blended essential oils designed for calming and soothing. Simultaneously, Clarins beauty therapists employ the traditional hands-only Clarins Touch massage incorporating the ‘Nian Fa’ technique adapted from the traditional Chinese massage of ‘Tuina’, to release knots and tension and eliminate stiffness to restore a balanced circulation of energy within the body. And that’s not all. Expect a relaxing face, neck, shoulder, and scalp massage with Clarins’ Aroma-Phyto Body Care Products and a hot stone application too. Truly an indulgent head to toe experience.
Clarins Skin Spa, #04-19 ION Orchard, tel: 6838-5060.
08 | Spa Esprit, House Proud
Step into the eclectic, kitschy yet homey decor of any Spa Esprit outlet and you’ll already feel more at ease and revitalised. For this super invigorating body treatment, a special blend of organic black pepper and ginger was concocted to give the body’s blood circulation a boost before the massage begins. The topically applied mixture also opens up the body’s circulation channels and this helps to prepare it to receive all the relaxation and tension-relieving benefits from the pressure point tui-na massage. The massage is delivered expertly by the therapists, who always seem to be able to seek out every sore spot, tight muscle and hardened knot that we can’t seem to shake and that desperately needs some TLC.
Spa Esprit, #03-19 Wheelock Place, tel: 64790070, and 2 other outlets. For information visit www.spa-esprit.com/