Valen’s Vanity Square

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!

Tomorrow I will be going for my second facial session at New York Skin Solutions.

Not sure if it’s pure psychological factor, or the facial is really working well, I do notice improvement on my skin.

Of course the pore and fine lines are still present, coz one can’t expect miracle to happen after just one or twice of treatment, right? (Is there such a thing as ‘miracle’ in this world?) However, the pores on both sides of my face are much refined now, and the fine lines near the corner of the lips less ‘densed’ (perhaps due to some lifting effect?).

May be the facial has helped reconditioned my skin, such that now it is able to absorb better the goodness of whatever anti-aging cream or hydration moisturizer I put on it, haha! Well, I still have to go through nine sessions of the facial to see the final results. That would be like…. 10 months later?

I went for my first PAID facial session at New York Skin Solutions on Monday.

I had the same beautician did my facial. Actually she will be the one attending to all my facial sessions. I think this system is better, as she will be able to monitor the progression of my skin condition.

This time I had Intensive Collagen Treatment, which mainly targets the inner layer of skin cells. It aims to help restore healthy skin cells and rectify problems like acne marks and emerging pigmentation problem from within. She was quite thorough in the extraction process this time. Kind of painful~~~

The result of this session wasn’t as obvious as the last one, but I could see that my complexion exudes a healthy, natural glow now. How nice if I can keep on doing facials even when I am 60, haha!

You know, in the US they have health insurance called Medicare for the seniors, and also medicare supplement policy to pay for health care bills not covered by Medicare. I wonder if our country will eventually develop some beauty care policies (as part of a health care plan) for senior women. Hey, I also want to look good when I’m old, okay? ;P

Went for a body massage yesterday at the Puteri Ledang Traditional Foot Reflexology and Body Massage @Gurney Plaza, level 4. It has been ages since I had my last full body massage. I think it was almost a year ago!

The massage center is simply a massage center; nothing fancy like what spa centers have. Its built-up area is actually quite small, with some shelves for window displaying their very own home spa products, and a small waiting area at the corner. There are only two rooms for body massage, a ‘bathroom’ for washing, and a room with several seats for foot reflexology. The massage rooms are very small, with a bed and just enough space for the masseuse to walk around.

Hubby and I both chose the 1-hour full body oil massage on the back. The massage costs RM70 per person. It is considered slightly at the expensive side by hubby’s standard. But after the massage session, hubby was satisfied with the skills of his masseuse because he could feel all the tension and aches on his shoulders and back diminished. Before this he kept complaining about how difficult it was to find a good (and cheap) massage therapist here.

I was happy with the massage session, too. My masseuse was indeed one strong girl despite her petite figure. You see, I like to be pressed hard and feel the pain going deep into and through the muscles. That really helped to relief the shoulder ache and back body ache that had been nagging me for a while.

I think we will go back again for our next massage session, hopefully sometime next month. Instead of 1 hour, we probably will go for a 90-minute session at RM90.

It’s result time!

In short, I’m very satisfied with the result after the facial. Pores were visually smaller, lines less obvious, the whole face was glowing, my forehead looked especially smooth. I noticed that my skin was firmer and slightly uplifted (an effect of the collagen?). Some might say that this is nothing to be amazed about; skin will naturally look better after a facial, right? But, honestly, I have never seen such significant before-and-after difference with facials at LD. Not that I can remember anymore!

Now, I know I’m going to sound very stupid. Despite reading all the negative comments about NYSS online - how they ‘harassed’ people into signing up their programs and the tactics they used to close deals - I signed up for a package of 10 sessions!

(Ya, ya, I know, I have to eat my own words now. *Chomp, chomp, chomp*)

The course comprises mainly of Intensive Collagen Treatment and Intensive Repairing Treatment (5 times each), topping up with ultrasound treatment and mineral mask treatment. Based on the printed price list, the original total price was RM5,400. I was given a discount (is this part of their selling gimmick, too?) and the whole package now cost me RM3,000.

You see, I didn’t just simply sign up, okay. I did because:

1) It is my intention to get a replacement for LD coz I no longer see effective results from their facials and products.

2) The result I experienced with NYSS looked promising. The instant post-facial improvement I saw didn’t just diminish the following day. In fact, the effect lasted for several days.

3) And very importantly, I can pay by installment with HSBC credit card 1-year installment plan. I wouldn’t have signed up if I had to pay them one shot.

Are they being pushy? I don’t know how pushy the staffs in NYSS can be, since I signed up so easily, haha! But I can tell you - they are all just the same, be it NYSS and LD. I suppose it is a standard protocol for the beauticians to start ’selling’ as soon as the customer lies down on the bed. But because I had been such a long-time customer with LD, they didn’t really bother to waste time pushing their promotions to me.

So, if you are a person who like to hop around different beauty salons for free stuffs, no harm getting a free or discounted facial at NYSS, as long as you are confident that you can say ‘no’ at the end of the day.

For those who are seriously looking for effective treatment to their skin problems, no harm trying as well. Just be prepared that, in case you are happy with what you see at the end of the first treatment, you will be tempted to sign up a program.

In short, it’s the customer that decides to buy or not buy their products or services. And always remember, there’s no such thing as FREE in this world.

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!