Valen’s Vanity Square

What I dreaded happened again! About 2 hours after my facial, the usual sensitive areas of my face started to feel itchy again. Another hour later, rashes started to pop out.

I went back to the saloon and showed my ‘naturally blushed’ face to my beautician, to prove that the allergic reaction is really triggered by the facial, not other skincare products or foods.

Then my beautician started to tell me about a similar case that happened to another client, but they eventually managed to solve the problem after they adjusted her facial regimes after several sessions.

According to her explanation, my skin cells became ‘hyperactive’ than usual since I received a particular treatment, therefore the change in my skin sensitivity. What the beautician suggested is that I should continue with the facials, but not the ones that I usually do. They will perform basic skincare steps, ie cleansing, extraction, and mask, by using milder products, so the sessions will be very short, around 30 minutes or so. It seems that she is confidence that her skin specialist will be able to overcome this predicament of mine.

Well, in my heart I thought, how are you going to actually find out what the problem is? Not that you have some skin scanner software that could just scan and identify the root cause of skin allergy. And I don’t think you’re going to perform patch tests on my face.

But I did accept her suggestion, hehe, since she said that the few following mini sessions are free of charge and not considered part of my package. If that’s the case, I will give it another try. If there is no improvement at all after that, then that’s it, bye bye NYSS, you’re not meant for me after all!

My skin still reacts to the facial treatment from NYSS. Went for facial 2 weeks ago, and the itchiness and bumps and rashes were worse than the previous time. Perhaps because I went for facial too soon, only 2 weeks apart. Previously when I spaced out the intervals to more than 4 weeks, the reactions were much milder.

But I don’t want to go through the allergic symptoms each time I go for facial! Facial should be an enjoyable (err, sometimes painful as well because of the whitehead extraction) experience, during and after. I don’t want my face to look red all over, or have dry skin at the corner of my lips that last a few days. Well, my complexion do looks clean and glowing once these signs clear up, but it’s such a suffering!

I want to figure out whether it’s my skin that has become sensitive (to any form of facial), or I’ve developed some sensitivity towards ONLY NYSS treatments and products. If it is a problem with my skin, then I can blame no one but to ask NYSS to change or modify my treatment. But if it’s a problem with only NYSS, then it’s time for me to switch program.

So, I now have to ‘hunt’ for good facial treatments in town and put my skin on a test. Eeeeks, dangerous act!

Should I try Jurlique? Cres Wellness (using Cellnique products)? Bella? Thalgo? Where else? May be I should go window shop this weekend and do some beauty salon research.

Oops, I totally forgot to update about my ultimate facial treatment I had 3 weeks ago! And tomorrow I’m going for my facial again. I will just do a quick recap.

Overall, after the Plantcenta treatment, the pores on my face looked smaller. I don’t expect my complexion to be pore-less just after one treatment. In fact, I don’t expect my face to be pore-less ever again. Don’t think it’s possible. I fully understand that those flawless and porcelain-like complexion I saw on cosmetic posters are results of computer touch-up, okay?

However, I did notice that my face is able to take on make up better. Meaning - it is now easier to apply foundation and compact powder, where the pores and fine lines are not as obvious as before after putting on make-up coz my skin is now more supple and seems to be able to retain hydration better than last time.

Anyway, it was just my first treatment in the package. Tomorrow’s facial will be the second. Well, I think I should look fabulous by Chinese New Year. Haha!

Ohhhhh jeez, I spent money again!

Remember that little ‘trick’ that my beautician did for me during my last facial session 3 weeks ago? It minimized my pore and made those fine lines look less obvious? The pores are still smaller than what they had been for the past few years! That made me signed up for NYSS ultimate treatment package - the Plantcenta treatment package!!! (I see, it’s a trap that they set up for me, haha!)

The package original price - RM9,800! But I got a huge discount, hehe. Also received a set of their skin care products, just when I need to replenish mine. I am paying the money by installment, of course, for 2 years.

Oh man, I really maxed out my credit card this time. And I will be in debt for the next 2 years, haha! But think of it this way, I won’t have to go around tying different types of expensive anti wrinkle cream from now until I completed the package, which will last me for more than 1 year, because the facial treatment would have improved my complexion so significantly. (Hopefully…)

I will certainly keep my blog readers updated of the progress of my skin after the facial sessions. But now, my most important task is to come up with a few money-making plans. I need money, can’t let my debt stop me from shopping, haha!

Went for my facial at New York Skin Solutions last week and has an extra step added to my regular facial procedure. Results - finer pores for my left cheek! Excellent!

My beautician told me that since my skin condition is rather stable now, with less blemishes and whiteheads, she would do a skin cell renewal procedure at the end of my facial. I didn’t know what she meant, but as long as I didn’t have to pay, hey, just do whatever you want. Haha!

So, instead of applying moisturizer as the last step of the facial, she applied some liquid form thing on both my cheeks that caused a very slight sting to certain areas of my face. Then, she preempted, “I’m going to wipe your face, you will feel like ‘Teppanyaki’.” Huh? TEPPANYAKI? On my face? Anyways…

She wiped over my face with a damped cotton pad. I don’t know what has been put on the cotton pad, as soon as she pressed it on my face, I felt heat generating on the touching surface, and then came this tiny cracking sound as if someone was frying egg on my face. Oh, that was what she mean by ‘Teppanyaki on my face’.

I admit I was rather nervous with the new experience, but luckily the heat and the ‘cooking’ didn’t last for long as she wiped the cotton pad over my face. I anticipated some blotches of redness on my face, but when my beautician handed me a mirror for my to look at myself, my face was perfectly fine and I could see that the pores were finer and complexion was brighter. Lucky me!

After this step, my beautician applied some kind of treatment powder on my face instead of moisturizer. She said it is for post-treatment protection and to dry up the skin. I don’t know why my skin needs to be dried up, but  it seemed to work well without causing my skin to become dry and tight for the rest of the day.

My beautician later told me that the procedure was actually, if I heard it correctly, is the plantcenta treatment, which she recommended me to sign up months ago. I didn’t sign up for that due to its exorbitant price - about RM900 per treatment!! Of course, the one she did for me was a ‘mild’ version, focusing on just my cheek areas. For people who have had previous severe acne problems that have left obvious scars and uneven skin texture (i.e. bumps and holes), they will need to go through the ‘full version’ of the treatment in order to repair their skin.

What this treatment does is that it boosts the growth of new and young skin cells from the deeper layers of the skin, which follows a healthier skin renewal cycle. As new skin cells move up  to the outer skin layer, pores will become less prominent, fine lines will reduce and scar or marks lighter, and skin less saggy. So this is like the Ultimate Solution to a renewed, younger looking skin!

One can’t do this treatment regularly, as the skin now has to go through its skin renewal cycle that takes about 3 weeks. My beautician will check on my skin in my next appointment to see if I can continue with another treatment by then.

I don’t know why I’m getting this additional treatment because it is not part of the package I signed for. If I did not misinterpret what she said, it’s something they offer to long-term customers. I hope that’s the case, and not a ‘prelude’ to persuade me to sign up another package! But I would say that this additional treatment did improve the large skin pore problem that I’ve been suffering. Hopefully I can see more improvement after the second session of this treatment.

Here are some picture taken from the spa at Awana Kijal Golf, Beach and Spa Resort. Unfortunately, there’s just this many photos I took of the spa. Can’t take photos when I was naked on the bed, or lying in the jacuzzi tub, can I?

The main entrance of the spa if you are approaching from outside the resort…

On the way to the spa from within the hotel…

Seems like a nice corner to chill out before or after a spa session, but funnily, never saw anyone doing that, including us…

Taman Sari Royal Heritage Spa is the name of the spa at Awana Kijal Resort, a Javanese spa originated from Indonesia, with centres spread across the world, and there’s one and only one in Malaysia.

As usual, spa treatments are costly especially when the services are located in hotels and resorts. There are quite a number of services available from this spa centre, including facials, pedicure and manicure. There are 4-5 standard body massage treatments priced at RM250 for 2 hours. This is of course not what we intended to pay. Luck must be on our side, hehe, as there was a special offer - 40% discount for hotel patrons between 10 am to 3 pm! So we ended up paying only RM150 per person.

So what did I get for RM150 in 2 hours?

1. A whole-body oil massage, that means including the front part of the body.

Yes, breasts totally exposed. Not completely naked though, coz I was given a pair of disposable panties, which was rather ‘transparent’ I would say. Haha! Before the treatment began, I actually had to fill in a form to state whatever medical conditions I have (in my case, don’t have), and what kind of pressure I would prefer (light, medium or strong). I chose for medium strength. I liked it when I was massaged on my forehead, feet, and lower back. Quite ticklish when massaged at the area around my breast and tummy. Perhaps I wasn’t physically tired, so I didn’t feel any significant difference on my muscles after the massage.

2. A body scrub with papaya enzyme.

Enzymes need to be kept in cool temperature. So before my masseuse spread the scrubbing paste on me, she switched off the air-conditioner. But it was still very cold! Shivered a bit, but luckily the scrubbing movements generated some heat for my body. Haha! My masseuse really scrubbed into every inch of my body, including armpit and the groin area. I had to take a shower after the scrubbing, to remove all the scrub residues (errr, may be they’re from my body) before I went for the jacuzzi tub. I felt very clean after that, my skin was soft and appeared fairer than before! That’s what hubby said.

3. My favourite - milk bath with rose oil in a jacuzzi tub.

It’s just like what I saw in movies - a woman soaking in a bathtub full of white fluffy foam, raising up one of her silky smooth legs, gathering some foam on her palms and blew them into the air…  but mine was far more better, because mine had water shooting out from jets to massage pressure points on my body to help stimulate blood circulation!

Getting into the tub - which required me to walk up a 3-step staircase - was not much of a problem. My masseuse lent me a hand to prevent me from slipping. But getting out of the tub was a bit challenging, because there were no where to hold on to for support, except for the masseuse’s hand. Also, it’s a really awkward situation, letting another woman see your body when your disposable panties were wet and kinda see-through.

To me, this RM150 was worth spending, hehe. As for hubby, he opted for a treatment with longer duration of massage that ended with a volcano mud body wrap. For him, this spa experience is considered a form of luxurious enjoyment. He still prefer his powerful Indonesian Makcik from the Zouk Spa in TTDI. Haha!

Went for a mini-facial today, and the ‘beautician’ is my sister!

I don’t know how she managed to find such an offer - free facial course for 6 months, you can go anytime and learn as much as you can, but you have to complete the beginner’s level facial cleansing phase by practising your skill on 20 people, and approved by your teacher before you can proceed to the next level. And, once you fulfill 50 hours of lessons (including practical hours) within that 6 months, you will receive free product vouchers some more!

I’m the second person to be practised on, my sister’s hubby was the first one, haha!

My sister is still unfamiliar with some of the steps in facial cleansing now. I think I will let her practise on my face again after another 5 or 6 more persons. Although there is no extraction or face massage, it is still nice to get a free facial with exfoliation and mask, hehe.

Argggh! More signs of aging and tired skin!

Went for my facial yesterday and my beautician pointed out to me that I’m starting to have skin tags (little non-whitehead bumps) around my eye area. This arises from poor blood circulation around the eyes, or may be due to certain health conditions such as high cholesterol. (Okay, that reminded me to go for a body check-up.) If I don’t do anything about it, it may start to appear in other areas of my face and get bigger over time.

I did notice the skin tag thing on my right eye lid and under my left eye since weeks ago, and there are also some on my neck. I had these before and somehow they disappeared after a while. So I don’t know if this is a temporary problem, or can be as serious as what I saw in a photo my beautician showed me.

My beautician also told me that my skin cells are sluggish, the cells regrowing cycle is slow. So my skin loses nutrients faster than it could absorb. I know, I know, I also realized that my complexion looks kinda dull and darkened and oily these couple of weeks, despite all the sun-protective creams I used daily.

My beautician strongly suggested me to sign up for their ultimate facial treatment that is able to remove the aging skin and produce new young and healthy skin cells faster. I can’t afford it, of course. Perhaps what I need most is simply more hours of sleep and a bottle of eye cream. Haha!

When I was in New York Skin Solutions the other day, after I finished my facial, my newly assigned beauty consultant asked me if I could spare some time with her so that she could check my skin (since this was my first visit to the Midvalley branch).

Well, she didn’t really examine my skin, but was trying to sell me another treatment course, when my current one was not even completed. She recommended their most popular, effective, and certainly EXPENSIVE treatment so that I could see even better results in pore size reduction.

How expensive?

It costs RM980 PER TREATMENT! Imagine how much one full course of 10 treatments would cost. It’s a lethal bomb in the wallet!

If she thought that I was some rich man’s wife, then she’s super duper wrong, haha! As much as I want my skin to look perfect, I don’t commit to expenses that I cannot afford. She must be cursing silently in her heart when I told her that I am jobless at the moment and would not consider purchasing additional courses until I get a job.

But what I didn’t tell her is that, I actually don’t intend to get a job, haha!

After 2 years of working from home, I don’t think I can adapt to the normal working lifestyle in KL anymore, where I have to wake up early, commute to work every day and get myself stuck in massive traffic jams! I won’t even know what to write in my job descriptions column (e.g. a housewife + blogger + freelance medical writer who didn’t get much business?) if I were to send out a resume now, haha!

Well, if I win the first prize lottery this weekend, may be there’s a chance I would sign up that insanely-priced facial treatment package to become one insane vain pot, haha!