Valen’s Vanity Square

Now, I will continue to share my experience at NYSS.

FYI, their current promotion offer for first timer is a FREE facial treatment (initially I thought it was the RM38 ringgit promotion) plus a set of basic trial kit (cleanser, toner and moisturizer). I don’t know how long this promotion is on, as they change it from time to time. So if you are interested, you should check out their latest promotion first.

First I filled up a questionnaire on skin and lifestyle related questions, then the beautician scanned and took photos of my skin, magnified! From the scan, I could see big and somewhat congested pores all around my face, a problem which I’m well aware of. I could also see many, many lines just below the cheeks, near to the corner of my lips - an indication of dehydrated and sagging skin!!! Also, there was a mild degree of pigmentation and uneven skin tone - Arrggghhh! Signs of sun damage to the skin, which will fasten the process of skin aging!

Scared or not when you see all your skin problems magnified? Haha!

Anyway. The beautician told me I have oily skin that is showing signs of dehydration and oxidation (e.g. lines, enlarged pores, slow healing), and the skin aging process has started to kicked in. Although it was a free treatment, the beautician still explained the value of treatment I would be receiving. Based on my skin condition, I would be getting what is called Intensive Repairing Treatment, which costs RM350 per session. It would be topped up with an ultrasound treatment (to assist penetration of serums) (RM90) and mineral mask treatment (RM75). So the whole treatment totaled up to more than RM500!

Was the facial session enjoyable? Hmmm, let’s see.

First, my face got double cleansed, then the beautician massage onto my face some peeling cream, which I think it’s meant for exfoliation.

After the cream was wiped off, she started the extraction process immediately. This is different from what I had in Leonard Drake, where they will ’steam’ my face (to open up pores) before the extraction process.

And unlike using a needle to ‘open up’ closed comedones in LD, in NYSS they use white head extractor. The extraction process was quite short, and was followed with a soothing mask and something I’ve never experienced before - my face got ’steamed’ with cool air instead of a hot one! This, I guess, is to help calm the skin and close the pores.

Next, good stuff - collagen!!! The beautician applied the collagen serum and cream onto my face and neck, and with the help of the ultrasound machine, massaged my face and neck to facilitate the goodness of collagen deep into my skin. This is a very important step. Just like a car that needs turbo parts to boost its power and performance, skin needs collagen to help boost the skin’s smoothness and firmness. After all, collagen is the major structural protein in our skin.

After the ultrasound treatment, the beautician immediately gave a face and neck massage with the collagen cream still on. In LD, I would describe their facial massage as… ‘elegant’. They use aromatherapeutic face oil, and press on your face very slowly and carefully to make you relax. In NYSS, the beautician’s hands moved fast on my face and neck, her touch was rather ‘rough’ compared to LD. Her hand were warm though, so I felt better by thinking that the warmth of her hands plus the massage would aid more collagen goodness into my skin.

Lastly, after the remaining collagen cream was removed, I was given two mask treatments - a mask that smelled of mint (for oil control) topped with a mineral mask. The mineral mask is the weirdest mask I’ve ever had. It was thick and heavy, and really pressed onto my skin that I had to ask the beautician to make a hole near my nose so that I could breathe. As the mask dried up, I could feel my skin being pulled and became tighter, while the mask became hard as if I was wearing an iron mask. (I guess that’s why you shouldn’t laugh or speak when you have a facial mask on.)

The masks were removed after about 15-20 minutes. My face was then toned and moisturized. Done.

How’s the result? Well, stay tuned for my next post!

Yep, I had my first facial treatment with New York Skin Solutions last weekend, and of course I will share my experience with them here. In this post I will mainly share about my first impression of the skin centre, then I will talk about the actual facial treatment process in the next post.

First of all I must say that whatever I am going to describe here refers only to NYSS at the Gurney Plaza outlet, as I have no idea how the other outlets are like or whether they are identical in settings and procedures.

Secondly, the comparison I’m going to make will be made against what I’ve experienced so far (a good 8 or 9 years, I think) with Leonard Drake beauty centre, as it was the one only and only ONE beauty centre I went before I tried NYSS.

In terms of setting and ambiance, Leonard Drake is a place where I feel like I’m being pampered. Smells of essential oils that are almost therapeutic as soon as I step into the centre, plus the nice setting that provides convenient and comfortable to their customers, such as a personal locker to my personal belongings, a changing room, slippers to change, etc. The whole place is bright and well lit, with soothing music to accompany me over the 1 or 2 hours of my facial. Although the room (where the facial is carried out) is small, it is equipped with a couple of machines, a counter top with basin and to place the necessary products used during the facial.

Well, it’s VERY different in NYSS @Gurney Plaza. There’s no changing room nor locker to keep my stuffs. I had to put my handbag next to me, on the bed. And before I entered the facial room, I walked passed many, many rooms, through a dark-dark aisle, you know, just like in the cinema when all lights are out before the movie starts. Haha!

I changed into the robe provided in the small-small and dark-dark room where my facial was carried out. The room was really small, with no cupboards to keep their skincare items. The beautician brought in only the necessary items, which are kept in a separate section outside the rooms. I only noticed a steamer machine inside the room (unlike all those high-tech equipments in Leonard Drake). The washing basin was also very small.

There was music playing alright. But somehow I felt as if I were lying in a creepy dungeon, that a dragon would suddenly appear and eat me up.

In summary, the two beauty centres are so totally opposite in their environment:
- Bright vs dark
- Big vs small
- Feel-like-a-pampered-queen vs feel-like-going-to-be-the-dragon’s-dinner.

Hahaha!

So, this is the first part of my experience with NYSS. How about the facial? Is it as good as it claims on TV and commercials? Stay tuned for my next post and find out!

I know I already have quite a number of eye shadow palettes in my cosmetic pouch, I’m still pondering on the idea if I should get one of those cream-type or pencil-type eye shadows to try. I actually would also like to try out mascaras or eyeliners with colors, too, hehe.

You know, just curious.

Men probably wonder why women (or it’s just me!) need a basketful of eye shadow, eyeliner or mascara to live with. Well, it’s just like why you need different categories of cable – CAT5, CAT6 or CAT7 – to suit the different needs of Ethernet and interconnect technologies! Women also have different needs for eye colors and creating different looks to suit different occasions, okay?

But guess I have to wait a while before I head to the Guardian or Watson pharmacies to check out what’s currently in the store. Am still waiting for cash, waiting to be paid for the assignments I did 2 months ago! Grrrrr~

Oh man! I just found the ultimate online swimwear store! Gals, if you are heading to the beach for a holiday, you MUST, MUST, MUST check out InStyleSwimwear.com!!!

I’m going crazy by just browsing through their catalogue!

One-piece swimsuit, two-piece swimsuit, monokini, tankini, kaftan, tunic, dress, flip-flop, sandals, tote, skirted bikini, string bikini, Brazilian style swimwear (ooooh), …. and lots of lots of exciting styles and options!

Items above and more are available at InStyleSwimwear.com.

Their price tags are on the high side because they are all designer brands. If you can afford, great. I know I can’t afford, but surfing through their catalogue already made me feel very happy as if summer was all around me right now.

Whatever. Although they come in different terms, one thing for sure, you will need to apply it before putting on your moisturizer.

There are generally 8 types of toner/lotion/water with different functions to suit different skin needs. That’s what I read from a beauty magazine this morning.

Let’s see what the 8 types of toner are for:

1. Whitening (e.g. Lancome Blanc Expert Neurowhite Ultimate Whitening Beauty Lotion, Clarins White Plus Hydrating Aqua-Milk)

2. Revitalizing (e.g. Givenchy Power Youth Lotion, Shu Uemura ACE beta-G Reinforcing Gel Water)

3. Oil-control (e.g. L’Oreal Paris Hydrafresh Instant Freshness Toning Water, The Body Shop Seaweed Clarifying Toner)

4. Anti-aging (e.g. Kiehl’s Yerba Mate Tea Toner, Shu Uemura Phyto-Black Lift Radiance Boosting Lotion)

5. Clarifying (e.g. Biotherm Hydra-Detoxifying Balancing Lotion, Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2)

6. Exfoliating (e.g. SKI-II Facial Treatment Clear Lotion, Biotherm Line Peel Pre-Peeling Renewing Lotion)

7. Super-hydrating (e.g. Sonia Rykiel Moisturizing Treatment Lotion, Isa Knox Multi Moist)

8. Soothing (e.g. Clarins Extra Comfort Toning Lotion, Bobbi Brown Soothing Face Tonic)

Jeez, how many bottles of toner on earth do we need? Man, can’t we just have an 8-in-1 toner or something? My skin needs all of those!

Just came back from KL today. I felt really exhausted, although all I did today was sitting in the car, haha! I think it must be an effect of yesterday’s 1-day window shopping at Berjaya Times Square. ;P

As usual, tomorrow will be a busy ‘un-packing’ day for me. However, I must remember to call up New York Skin at Gurney Plaza to make a facial appointment on this Saturday. They are having special offer for first-timers, probably a facial session at a markedly low price and some skincare product freebies.

I was told that it will be a 3-hour session for first appointments. They will first examine my skin to find out what kind of ‘help’ it needs. I don’t think they will use any sophisticated medical devices to perform the task; may be just some sort of scanner that is able to ultra-magnify lines, pores, whiteheads, impurities, marks, pigmentation and all that I hate to see on my face!

I hope the facial session will turn out to be a good one, although I have read bad comments about their staff being very pushy on their customers to sign up for full package of facials. Well, they may use that tactic on me, but sorry, this customer is just too broke to help you meet your sales target. Haha!