Date: 1 July 2011
Deal: $28 for 75 min Hydro-Source Anti-Aging Facial with Sparkling Eye Treatment at D’Light Spa (Worth $196)
How it went:
Booking an appointment was easy and when I had to change my appointment from Wednesday to Friday, it was easy too. I had it in my head that Punggol wasn’t that far from Kovan (where I live now) since it was only a few stops on the North-East Line. Turns out, it was a different world altogether… even if it wasn’t very far away. It was quiet and dark when I left the beauty salon. The nearby blocks of flats were yet to be completed and some were just not occupied yet.
After exiting Punggol MRT, I had no problems locating the shop. It was a small set-up with 3 rooms and nicely renovated. From what the therapists told me, they had been there for about 3 years. It was nice, clean and very decent. Unfortunately, it was right under the MRT tracks and the trains rumbling kept me from relaxing. My therapist was a girl called Jess. She was quite inexperienced in that she was too gentle and afraid to hurt me. Her technique was ok though. I liked getting my face massaged with lotions. I saw a lot of Decleor and Gatineau products but I doubt that was what they used on me. I didn’t like that I was sharing a room with someone else and I had to inch my way in. Also I could hear the other woman talking to her therapist.
I’m not sure if the facial was what the deal was supposed to be. There was no hard-selling, that I liked. Jess asked once if I wanted to add an ampoule for my dry skin even though the description on Groupon said this facial was meant to combat dry skin and fine lines. I said no, and she left it as that. She did have problems removing my eye make-up though. I found that there were dark streaks under my eyes when I looked in the mirror before I left.
I was told about a special package they were offering to customers who came with Groupon vouchers. It came up to slightly less than $300 for 4 facials and some extras. Unfortunately, I’m a cheapskate and I can’t afford anything more than $50 for a session. Also, I’ve been told I’ve got good skin (even if they always tsktsk me when I said I had no skin care routine at home). I don’t care if I have some fine lines – I’m 33! This is part of aging, no? I don’t need expensive treatments nor can I afford it yet. But no hard-selling. They said ok once I said, I’ll think about it but not now.
Was it worth $196? Nope, maybe about $70? But if I lived in Punggol or Sengkang, I’d definitely consider buying a package there. They were really nice to me and it’d be convenient if I lived in that area.
An Exercise In Trivial Pursuits 