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Review: Masego, The Safari Spa

Friday, July 27, 2012 @ 9:36 AM | 0 Comment [s]

All thanks to Gone Shopping (a site with fantastic giveaways daily ranging from minor to major), I was able to experience the massage at Masego, The Safari Spa. I won myself a pair of Masego vouchers (individually during June and July) which is worth $88 per voucher. The voucher allows me to opt from either The Signature Safari Facial or The Signature Safari Massage. I chose the latter and brought cousin along to have that de-stress we always needed from our hectic life.

We made an appointment at 7:00pm but we were 10 minutes late due to the massive jam near Tuas. Gentle tip for drivers: Unless you're a SAFRA member, you might wish to consider parking your car at Jurong Point and walk over. It takes 5-8 minutes and if you're early, you could stroll by the park.

Masego, The Safari Spa is inspired by the safari living, to create a relaxed atmosphere of nature all in the sub-urban area, Safra @ Jurong. Exiting the lift, this banner would be the first to welcome you.

Upon entering, you would hear the entire room fill with sounds of the birds and crickets chirping and a relaxing background music to go with. This alone, has made my mind relaxed although I'm feeling excited about the massage.

We were hurriedly rushed to the waiting area (as we were late), where we would have to fill in our particulars and medical history. The masseur left us to fill in while she went in to prepare the tents for us. Upon finishing, I took my camera up and off I go snapping again.

Each of us have a locker which contains a towel, disposable panties and shower cap. You would have to be completely naked without any lingerie and wrap a piece of "sarong" over you. I didn't take any pictures of that because we were in a complete rush.

Right beside those toilet cubicles are the shower rooms and beside that, is amazingly, a sauna room.

Even their hairdryer which allows you to set your time and the speed, is so unique. Cool yea?

I particularly loved this logo, it depicts a girl, which is obviously the sign for the toilets and changing room.

This is the tent, where you would have your massage and this entire area holds up to 14 tents. Most of which are separable by a curtain.

The bed in one of a tent, where you have your massages. You could choose to not separate tent with the curtain if you're not very particular about privacy. But I choose to have it separated as I'm sharing the tent with cousin who is very particular over "body privacy", haha.

One special thing I've noticed is that once they "close the doors" (which is drawing up the curtains), the tag would be displayed which states "occupied". This is a very great idea and the person who thought of this must be a genius.

Spotted this! The party and event they had previously with Vanity Trove and a few other sponsors. One look at the poster, I sense fun but it was sad that I couldn't join them!

After finishing our massage, we were brought to the little resting area where we get to enjoy their ginger tea and a little wet towel for us to clean up our hands that has the residual of their massage oil.

This in fact is the favorite corner of mine. I feel so relaxed and youthful when I saw this. The inner child side of me went totally crazy, except that I didn't yell. How I wished I could have this whole corner at home, and I promise to never leave home if my wish came true!

And well, all good things come to an end. So that ends our journey of our de-stressing massage today.

Verdict: Overall, I felt that the massage was so-so although I really loved the place. The voucher we had was for a 45 minutes massage but we only had a 20 minutes massage and masseur wasn't attentive enough. She was engaged in a conversation with me asking what I do for a living but she totally forgot her role. She didn't ask if the strength for massage was alright and if I felt comfortable.

I am the kind that if you don't ask, I don't take the initiative to request. So throughout the massage, I was bearing with the pain as my threshold for pain was really minimal and I woke up the next day with my shoulders and arms aching. Thinking back, I regretted not requesting for a smaller strength, serves me right.

If you ask me to rate, I'd probably give this a 6/10. Atmosphere is great but for a spa to be score, you need your masseurs or therapists to be attentive to clients and although clients are late, you should not rush them and simply cut their time short without informing. However, I believe that I would be visiting them again should I be given the chance to.

Details and Location of Spa:

Masego, The Safari Spa

Safra Jurong, 333 Boon Lay Way,

Level 3, Leisure Wing, Singapore 649848

Contact No: (65) 6790-1661

Email: enquiries@masego.com.sg

Labels: Beauty, Massage, Reviews, Spa

Review: Bellabox (June)

Sunday, July 1, 2012 @ 10:30 PM | 0 Comment [s]

This post is going to be about the June Bellabox reviews. I joined a giveaway contest held by a blogger, Christine and won the Bellabox from her. Since then, I've loved this and I'm always looking forward to a launch for their next month's pink jumping box!

The pink box is already a plus point for their packaging, simply because that's my favorite color!

In the box, they have this pink envelope where it contained brochures and introduction cards of the products given in the Bellabox. They also have discount cards too, if it happens that you would want to buy their products.

This is not supposed to be in the BellaBox, but this is an additional perk give by Christine! It's a Loreal Color Infaillible Eyeshadow!

This Ralph Lauren Romance fragrance is just awesome. This fragrance has a floral scent with a tinge of musky smell. I always wear fragrance at three points, my inner wrists and the side of my neck. These are the pulse points and the smell would spread around your whole. This is available for sale in 50ml at $116 and 100ml at $149 respectively.

Biotherm White D-Tox BB Cream. This is advertised as oil-free, spot fading formula and after using, it does prove right! The texture is a nice fluid and could be applied on almost like a lotion. The application is really easy, as compared to the current BB cream that I'm currently using (I'm using the Korea TheFaceShop Odbo BB Cream) and is more light when applied. I do not have the heavy feeling like how I had when applying this as compared to my current BB.

I liked that it doesn't have an artificial smell nor was there any overwhelming fragrance. I didn't like that it provided only a SPF 25+ PA+++ and it doesn't provide sufficient coverage for my dark eye circles and my freckles. And I also didn't like that it doesn't provide long-lasting effect. The BB lasts maximum, for up to 3 hours and no I wasn't out in the hot scorching sun.

I'd probably rate this a 6/10 and I would not purchase this product if given a chance to.

Lancome Blanc Expert Derm-Crystal. Serum tends to be light weight and this is no exceptional case. The ingredients in this serum contains soy and sunflower extract that helps to brighten up your skin. I've used this for like a week or so, and I'm not very generous on my application each time but I do realise my skin turning smoother. Boyf says I have skin that GLOWS! So thumbs up for this and I'd rate is a 9/10. I loved that it's so easy to apply and the smell is simply fragrant. The aftermath of application doesn't give you a sticky feel, it just leaves you feeling fresh and cool.

Lancome Genifique Youth Activating Concentrate. Just like how the name sounds, this product works incredibly awesome. I didn't try this on my face but on my hands, where there were some more creases and it did work! Continuously without fail, I applied this for 7 days and one more great thing about it, is that it absorbs well. Throughout this experiment, I tried it all on my right hand and when compared, it was really a vast difference. I'd rate this a 10/10 definitely! I could now claim myself as Lancome supporter!

Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concetrate. One of my favorite product, this is awesome and you ought to get it now. My skin is gets dull very easily when I do not slap on sufficient moisturising products at night. After using the concentrate which is in oil form, I do not face this issue anymore. Although this is in oil form, it doesn't hinder me although I've got an oily T-Zone. I just try to apply lesser on my T-Zone and more on the cheek where the skin tends to be drier. The fragrance made me go "ooh-ahh-shiok!" it smelt so nice and this is especially great for the night. It makes you go into deeper sleep with the extra tinge of lavender fragrance. I'd rate this a 8/10 because I haven't had enough to fully try the full effects, it's just a review for the sample pack. This product made me notice about Kiehl's all over again.

Kiehl's Calendula Herbal-Extract Toner. I've always wanted to try out a new toner as I couldn't find one to stay on to. Those that I've loved their fragrance, would always contain alcohol and leave me with a stinging pain or that they would totally be alcohol free but they still smell like alcohol. Whatever. This toner is basically one of my absolute love. I already fell in love with the obvious fact that it has petals in the toner, making me trusting them totally that they're using natural ingredients. Second, the toner is so gentle on my skin I don't feel any stinging pain nor any extreme tightness in my skin. Thirdly, the scent is so calming and refreshing that it smelt like tea. And lastly, the color is so nice, why is the color so beautiful?! I'm giving this a 9/10 for sure!

shu uemura Whitefficient Brightening Cleansing Oil. I have never liked removing make ups with oil basically because I'm too lazy to go wash it away. I've always been an avid fan of water base makeup removers and I never switch to cleansing oil. I've decided to give it a try this time to see if it changes my firm decision about removers. I poured some of the cleansing oil on my hands and began massage it all onto my face including my eyes, my eyelashes and my lips. This is rather gentle and I don't feel really heavy while massaging it in. After which I wet my hands and massage through my face again till the solution turns milky. I spent a little more time on my eye area as I always find it hard to remove my Kate eyeliner (it shows how strong it is). Overall, I rate this product a 7/10 as you know I don't prefer cleansing oil and I hate having so many steps to remove my makeup. My daily skincare routine is already a chore so I always try to find solutions to cut short my time spent on makeup and my time spent on removing my makeup.

The above statements are basically my personal humble opinion and reviews are given according to my skin type and my habits. They might not be suitable for me but they are absolutely great for you and vice versa, they might be a great product for me and a hater for you.

Labels: Beauty, Bellabox, Reviews

OpenRice's Cook & Dine Session

Saturday, June 9, 2012 @ 9:30 PM | 0 Comment [s]

I was invited to a Cook & Dine Session Event by OpenRice (http://sg.openrice.com/). It was a cooking demo held at La Galerie De Detrich (The Cendex @ 120 Lower Delta Road, #01-04) from 11am to 1pm. We learnt about modern Japanese cooking with Chef Tadashi Takahashi.

I'm allowed to bring along another friend, but I chose to bring along my smaller aunt. She's a great cook and she loves Japanese food (sounds rhyme eh?). Anyway, she is so excited that she woke up early in the morning and gave me the "morning" call.

We learnt and tasted the following simple yet complicated dishes:
1. Salmon Sashimi with Japanese Shiso Sauce
2. Beef Sirloin Misozuke
3. Japanese Sakura Mochi

Reviews of the food:
Salmon Sashimi with Japanese Shiso Sauce (9/10)
I really liked the sauce. The taste is somewhat spicy, sour and sweet. It just tantalizes your tastebuds, a real cool way to have Salmon Sashimi with. I've always thought that Salmon Sashimi goes only with wasabi and I didn't thought that it goes so well with this self made Shiso sauce! The alfafa and the rest of the raw veggies goes so well with the salmon. Thumbs up!

Beef Sirloin Misozuke (7/10)
I felt that the beef was a little too hard to chew on. However, as the beef has been marinated in sweet miso for a day, it tasted somewhat like "Charsiew" (sweet roasted pork). The sweet miso sauce tastes a little peanut flavored, with smoky taste. The salad is made up of only arugula (which some calls it as the rocket) and the whole dish was drizzled with the handmade special sauce. Overall, I liked the sauce with arugula more than with the beef.

Japanese Sakura Mochi (8/10)
This is a real eye-opener, I've always known the mochi to be those chewy kind with fruit fillings wrapped inside (like Taiwanese mochi) or those with soy powder on the exterior and nothing inside. But this one, it's sort of like glutinous rice with red bean filling and wrapped with a sakura leaf on the outer. You can get those sakura leaves at Japan supermarket, like Meidi-ya or some Japanese cuisine stores would sell them. They come in a pack of 50 pieces and the leaves are salty by default. For less saltiness, you can choose to soak the leaves in water for more than 10 minutes and change the water, then do the process again. I loved the taste as the saltiness first hits your tongue, then the sweet glutinous rice and the sweet tasty red bean. But you can't have one-after-another as you'd get sick and tired of the taste after 2 or 3 pieces. I think you're feeling that I'm being contradicting but you know, some food you can't have alot at one go?

If you wish to have a copy of the recipe, do leave a comment here with your email address and I'd email you with it!

OpenRice has a personal interview with him, wish to know more about him, click here: http://sg.openrice.com/singapore/restaurant/article/detail.htm?article_id=400

Labels: Food, Japanese Cuisine

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