Beauty: Facial Treatment@My Beauty Cottage

As far as my research on organic facials has yields, the number of beauty centres offering such treatments are relatively low in the city. My Beauty Cottage is one of the few renowned salons in KL that uses organic products in its treatment. Down with limited choices, I decided to give it a try at its pioneer outlet in SohoKL, Solaris Mont’ Kiara.

Eminence, an organic skin care made in Hungary has a wide range of fruit-based products targeting at different skin conditions of both males and females. In fact, it’s well known and popular among celebrities such as Paula Abdul, Megan Fox, Maggie Q, Katherine Heigl, Peter Facinelli, Lance Armstrong and more.

When I stepped into the store, I was greeted by the strong fruity smell in the air. As its name suggests, the interior of the store assimilates a classic European cottage home with an evident flower theme that reflects not only on the expensive furniture but also some accessories in the W.C. and treatment room.

The reception area.

The reception/waiting area was lavishly decorated with expensive furniture, floor timber, modern lighting and cute teddy bears which I was inwardly urged to purchase *hehe*.     

The beautician was extremely polite as she extended her greetings in her best professional manner.  For a start, I was introduced the Citrus-C Refreshing Treatment that claims to restore hydration level, tone, balance, heals and prevent blemishes, tighten and firm skin. After changing into a rose-printed robe before the treatment, I was given a warm footbath for relaxation. It did me good since I was pretty worried of the beautician’s skills especially the extraction part!

As per standard procedure, the treatment started off with cleansing, exfoliating, extraction, eyebrow trimming, massaging and mask.

While I love the fruity smell of the products, I find the exfoliator too rough for my skin and the extraction was damn painful! Perhaps it is just me who couldn’t bear that kind of sharp painful feeling of being squeezed and pricked. Other than that, everything else was excellent. I also like their facial massage as the technique is milder and more gentle. 🙂

At My Beauty Cottage, beauticians don’t use steamer before extraction. It’s not a bad idea though because othwerwise the heat of the steamer might stimulate highly sensitive skin like mine.

The treatment took about 2 hours. I came out from the room with an ugly face full of “post-torture” marks and spots. Back to the reception area, the marketing talk began. I listened to the beautician while enjoying a cup of warm tea and chewing grapes (at other saloons, clients are given only sweets. Price difference hmmm..) as she explained about my skin condition before subtly introducing the packages they have.

Their facial service ranges from RM288 to RM388 per session. Definitely higher than other centres in the current market but if you’re looking for highly pampering treatment and services especially organic products, it’s one that’s worth signing up for. While the products have been receiving numerous compliments and recommendations, no one product is perfect for all. So, do go for its trial before investing in this high end beauty service.  

 Anyway, living on moderation, I guess I won’t spend RM2,000 for a total of less than 10 treatments.  As the saying goes, Beauty always promises, but never gives anything.  ~Simone Weil

Cellnique Facial Experience

It’s my third sessi0n of facial treatment at Shins Beauty Sanctuary in Kuchai Lama. 

Handled by a lady called Moon for the first time, I was quite apprehensive.

Visuals of horrible outcome began playing in my head – swelling, irritation and scarring (yeah, I was paranoid). Fortunately, it turned out okay albeit the extraction part was a hell of agony.  

For curious individuals who wish to take a peek at what facial treatment is all about…here’s my personal anecdote:-  

Step 1: Cleansing ( appx. 5 minutes)
Using lukewarm water, the beautician wiped my face with a thin fibrous sheet to remove the grease followed with thorough cleansing.      

Step 2: Scrub (appx. 5 minutes)
Next, she gently rubbed the scrub all over my face. It smelled pineapple.

Step 3: Steam (appx. 5 minutes)
A tall steam machine was placed above my head. Like dumpling, my face was steamed (for several minutes at mild temperature) to open up the pores. Both my eyes were covered with cotton sheet.  In the meantime, she gave me a shoulder and neck massage.

Step 4: Extraction (appx. 40 minutes)
This is the most crucial moment of any facial treatment. The beautician worked on my flawed face, steadily and skillfully with her strong pairs of hands and a sleek comedone extractor. I could feel her energy of enthusiasm as she extracted all the blackheads, whiteheads and oil seeds which were clogged in the epidermis. She worked all the way from nose to chin, then cheek and lastly forehead. I wanted to scream. I wanted it to end. At one point of time, I wanted so much to ask the beautician for a jab of anesthetic or stopped whatever she was doing on me. But I endured every painful seconds silently with one mantra “It’s gonna end very soon…real soon…”      

Step 5 : Eyebrow trimming (appx. 5 minutes)
Once the extraction was over, I could smile again. Eyebrow trimming isn’t all that painless but the slight feeling of biting is relatively much bearable.      

Step 6: Mask Application (appx. 30 minutes)
To celebrate the end of the agony, I was treated to a repair mask treatment eventually. Before the mask was applied, my face was once cleaned again with lukewarm water and covered with a new thin sheet. She then gently smeared the mixture all over it. It gave a pleasant soothing cold sensation. Then, I was left alone in the treatment room accompanied with soft instrumental music for about 30 minutes. I nearly fell asleep.

Step 7: Toning and Moisturizing
The mask was carefully taken off; its sticky residue was slowly removed before toner and moisturizer were applied.

Phew. “It’s finally over,” I told myself. I looked into the wall mirror and whispered a blessing. There were some red marks but also a cleaner and healthier visage. It would take at least two days for the red marks to ease.  

Post-treatment: Change the robe and get a nice cup of flower tea and chewy mint candies.   

Address: 29GF, Jalan Kuchai Maju 2, Off Jalan Kuchai Lama, 58200 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03 7987 7176.