MEDIA INVITE
Hey everyone!
You know, every time I receive compliments on my skin from readers who have been following my lipstick reviews, I can’t help but feel a pang of guilt because in reality, my skin is nowhere near flawless. Beneath the layers of foundation and concealer you see on pictures is a face blemished with zits and scars of adolescence which I’m always too ashamed to reveal.
I used to enjoy enviable radiant skin until cystic acne starting emerging when I was 15, and my complexion went downhill from there. I didn’t know what triggered the acne but I knew, for one, that my body was going through a major metamorphosis. My face turned pimply and along the way I also gained a truckload of weight, making me the subject of taunts from school hooligans whom I stood up to. My confidence level plunged to a new low although I never really showed it. I guess if not for my strong willpower I would have probably ended up depressed or suicidal.
Hey, look! It’s the stock image girl (source)
I had tried all possible ways (minus seeing the dermatologist, as being a secondary school student I had no money for that) to treat my face but not only did they not work, my skin became drier, thinner and more sensitive. I remember going to school once with a swollen and blistered face caused by my allergic reaction to Benzoyl Peroxide.
Although my skin now seems to have cleared up a little with occasional breakout here or there, the traumatising experiences I went through during my teens had certainly made me apprehensive about anything that has to come in contact with my face. That’s why, for the longest time, I refused to get a facial. I mean, really, who wouldn’t be? Just look at all the horrific post-facial experience shared by so many people online (a notable one here)! You not scared I scared leh!
So when boyfriend surprised me with a facial treat (my first ever) 2 years back, I berated him (poor guy). Still, not wanting to let his money go to waste, I obliged, kept my fingers crossed and went ahead with his plan. The experience, however, reaffirmed my stance of facials. It was mostly agonising (especially extraction, quite the norm actually) and the session left me with a cluster of aggravated red bumps on my face which took forever to subside. And to top it off, I had to endure the hard-sell for 15 minutes (could’ve been longer if I didn’t cut her off) thereafter! Argh.
Staying away from beauty parlours, I continued to do my own facial at home using conventional facial masks, and popped my own pimples in front of the mirror (yesssss, I know it’s a terrible habit). It didn’t improved my skin condition nor did it worsen it. But I had no complaints because I’ve kinda resigned to my fate of never getting back my clear skin. Then, one day, I received an invitation from GLOMAX Aesthetics to try out their facial treatment.
To go or not to go?
By then, my first awful facial experience had more or less become a distant memory. Nonetheless, part of me was still quite wary of what could possibly happen to my face after the session (with the aforementioned beauty blogger’s facial ordeal still etched in my mind). But with boyfriend’s encouragement, I eventually took up the offer, albeit with a lower expectation.
GLOMAX Aesthetics
GLOMAX Aesthetics
Although conveniently located next to Clarke Quay MRT station, GLOMAX Aesthetics isn’t accessible by everybody. I had to “make known” my presence using the intercom on the first level before taking the lift up. The parlour itself is nestled among many office-like rooms on the sixth level and it has a small interior with no more than 3 treatment rooms.
GLOMAX boasts a superlative collection of award-winning ultimate face and body treatments. Their treatments are specially crafted for instantaneous results and meticulously executed by a team of highly-trained beauty masters with over 8 years of experience in the beauty industry.
Analysing my skin
Upon entering, I was ushered to a table to fill out a health-screening questionnaire-cum-declaration form. My skin was then analysed by Evon (one of the beauticians there) and diagnosed as the typical acne-prone skin (as expected) – dry on the surface but oily underneath. For this reason, I was recommended the 60-minute Intensive Acne Medic Treatment (which bagged the Simply Her Best Anti Acne Facial Award 2014). Click here for a list of facial treatments offered by GLOMAX.
My face before the treatment. You can literally see the flakes around my nose.
Treatment room (from the door)
Treatment room (from the back)
I took a couple of pictures throughout the facial treatment, mostly with my eyes covered (yes, I also couldn’t believe how skilled I was haha), so I shall let them do the talking.
Cleansing to remove any product you might have applied onto your face earlier (I had put on moisturiser before I left home)
Sonic Cleansing to remove all the impurities and dirt off the skin surface
The amount of dirt on my face!
And here comes the most excruciating part of the facial treatment:
Manual extraction to remove dead skin cells
Besides preventing me from witnessing the dreadful procedure, I believe the cotton square puffs were there to soak up my tears because my eyes were literally tearing from pain. I had always thought the purpose of extraction was to pop my visible pimples so I was a little baffled when that step took so darn long (when in actual fact, was less than 5 minutes la because the esthetician moved from one area to another very quickly)! I didn’t remember seeing a lot of pimples on the mirror before I left my house!
SO PAINFUL!!!
Even when I pop my zits on a regular basis! (bad habit, please don’t learn)
Although I could have alert my esthetician about my discomfort (and she would adjust her techniques to my level of comfort), I chose to endure the agony because I somehow knew it would be beneficial to my skin that way. I later found out that extraction helps to draw out all the accumulated dead skin cells in the pores! You can watch some examples here and here. It’s actually quite gratifying seeing those nasty stuff underneath your skin gets taken out. After this step, my skin felt a lot cleaner and “emptied”.
My face being cleaned with a wipe after extraction
My face after extraction – red and blotchy as I had expected. But it wasn’t as aggravated as I had imagined it to be.
Mild Antiseptic High Frequency for anti-bacterial and to heal the skin
BROW BONUS: My esthetician offered to shape and groom my brows! Totally didn’t expect that!
Had cold gel applied onto my face in preparation for the upcoming Acne IPL
Acne IPL to rebalance the sebum level and clear up the skin
My eyes were shielded from the sudden beam of light with a goggle-like protective gear (pictured below). Every application would leave a warming sensation that went away within seconds. If I’m not mistaken, this also helps to remove some facial hair which could have trapped sebum, bacteria and dead cells in its follicle, thus causing a pimple to form.
After Acne IPL
The acne on the left side of my face seemed to have flattened
A piece of facial gauze laid over my face. Guess what’s next?
Acne Treatment Mask a.k.a charcoal mask!
The Acne Treatment Mask was so comforting on the skin because it was cold!
And then I was left to rest for the next couple of minutes! I unknowingly fell into a deep slumber after my esthetician left the room.
The session ended with moisturiser and sunblock application
Face not as red and blotchy anymore, eh?
A few hours later, under natural lighting (still with my moisturiser and sunblock on). The redness and bumps have substantially subsided!
The aftermath
Probably due to my unhealthy diet (ate Samyang spicy Korean noodles that night oh goodness gracious me), pimples still formed from time to time but they were mostly small, pus-filled ones that healed speedily. My old zits had also disappeared and for the first time in years, my face was near-spotless (like 85% thereabout) during my menstrual cycle in August!
My no-makeup face exactly one week later! This, despite late nights everyday and an unhealthy diet haha
Side-by-side comparison. Very pleased!
And that’s abo- oh wait, there’s more!
GLOMAX Aesthetics has kindly extended an offer to my readers!
Quote “FIONA” when making appointment to enjoy a full 60-minute Intensive Acne Medic Facial for just $88 (UP S$150). SMS your preferred time slot to
94590795.
If you’re planning to treat yourself to a facial, I’d highly recommend GLOMAX Aesthetics because I really think the facial was effective (FYI, I’m not obliged to review on their service). Well, I believe my pictures speak for themselves, don’t you think? 🙂
With my esthetician. Thanks GLOMAX Aesthetics for having me!
Thanks for reading! ❤
GLOMAX Aesthetics – The Face Artistry
12 Eu Tong Sen St
#6-168 (beside Swissotel Merchant Court)
SOHO 2, The Central
Singapore 059819
Nearest MRT station: Clarke Quay (less than 5-minute walk)
Operating hours: Mon – Fri 10:00am – 8:00pm, Sat – Sun 10:00am – 5:00pm
Email: callglomax@gmail.com
Tel: +65 6225 5193
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