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Whenever I have a bad hair day or I have a blemish on my face, I refuse to take any photos. Let's face it, as much as we wish we were born with Fang Bing Bing's flawless skin or Fann Wong's never aging complexion, that is rarely the case. For me at least I admit that's true! It's up to your own efforts to diligently follow your skincare routine, and that's why we girls spend tons in department stores.We are women - we can't help wanting to look our best!

But try as we might, there are times where we need specialists to help us. If you just got back from a cold country, for example, your skin (which always seemed oily in Singapore's humid weather), is now as dry as the desert and is flaking! OR you may have used some products that aren't suitable for your skin, and now it is inflamed and you are breaking out. What should you do??? Of course you can't just go to ANY salon for a facial, you can't risk anything worse happening to your skin. Which is why a salon's reputation is so important.

I recently checked out NUA, a japanese beauty and waxing salon in Singapore and am here to share my review! It's really rare to find japanese beauty salons here, especially one where all staff speak BOTH fluent japanese and english!!

Don't miss this door!!

NUA was a short walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT Station, and helms from Tokyo. One of their branches in Tokyo is in a mega hip district called, Omotesando where only cool kids go. I totally missed this door the first time and had to do a double take when I realised I had reached the end of the street. Oops!

Part I:

Facial

When I reached, I was greeted cheerfully and was promptly presented with hot tea. My therapist, Shiori-san introduced herself as I filled in a form describing what I wanted to achieve for my face. If pigmentation spots annoy you or if you want smoother skin, those are all possible to list down too! She then recommended NUA's signature treatment, which is the NUA Customized Facial (60 mins, $135). As its name suggests, it is a customized, results-driven, therapeutic treatment to suit your skin type and needs! Was super excited to see how my skin could improve in just an hour!

The facial room, where the magic happens

Once I had enough tea, I was brought to the facial room where I got comfy on this bed here. My young and pretty therapist, Shiori, (whom I also found out later is also the owner), started with a thorough skin-analysis and gave me a quick run through of my skin's condition. I need to sleep more! Then she left the room briefly to mix products for me as I relaxed on this comfy bed.

My facial began officially with a gentle cleansing, then a mild chemical peel mask followed after. NUA uses products from PCA and Dermalogica which are two of the most trusted skincare brands used by professionals worldwide! In the initial discussion, I told Shiori that I wanted a 'brighter' face and what better way to do so than to get rid of the dead skin cells??

One of my aesthetic doctor friends told me that strong chemical peels can make your face turn red and you have to avoid sunlight for at least a week! In our crazy Singapore weather that is almost impossible to avoid, so I'm really glad Shiori shares the same sentiments as me and prefers mild chemical peels instead.

All customised facials at NUA include high-tech machine treatments which are suitable for your skin type and hand-picked according to your skin's condition! Another concern I had was my terribly stubborn dark eye circles, which Shiori did a micro-current eye treatment to activate the skin's fibre and stimulate the area. It was really soothing!! Zero pain at all, though I was initially shocked at the first vibration lol.

As my nose is generally more prone to blackheads and whiteheads. Shiori recommended an organic clay mask to clean them out, which explains the white bit. I was really happy when my nose was smooth at the end of the treatment!! Goodbye blackheads! Well, stubborn whiteheads (if you have them you will be aware), are not that easily removed, usually a few sessions will help.

Brushes are used to apply masks on your skin, I like how they were so soft and nice to feel! Do note that trimming of eyebrows is not included (though you could add it on), and deep cleansing extractions are a separate facial treatment.

After about an hour, which passed by reaaally fast because it was so relaxing, here are the results! Okay the skin tone is slightly different that's probably due to the auto settings of my camera, but ignoring that, my skin definitely looks more radiant, and was more bouncy too! Yes that is me without any make-up please refrain from making comments that will make me unhappy.

Verdict: Really love it! Will definitely want to come back to give my face another pampering session. Shiori is really gentle and has years of experience treating skin of different types, plus she's super fun to talk to!!

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Part II:

Waxing & Permanent hair removal using Depilar System!

After the fabulous treatment, I decided to try NUA salon's permanent hair removal service. The product they use for this hair removal is a new formula which reduces hair growth without the need for lasers! Even though I'm a frequent IPL user, there's always the risk that your skin becomes sensitive, or your skin darkens/reddens due to the procedure. When I heard about its benefits, I was eager to try it out!

Step one, waxing. To ensure that the produce is penetrated into your pores, the treatment begins with a wax!

I picked my Upper lip to try out as I had never waxed this area before! Waxing doesn't hurt much for me, does that mean my pain tolerance is pretty high? Haha.

I look like KFC's Colonel Sanders right? Haha!

After waxing, Shiori applied calming mist to soothe the area, and moved on to my lower leg wax!

I was just chillin on the bed when a delicious smell of chocolate hit me. I looked up and realised it was the wax! How amazing was that! The whole process was made even sweeter (hurhur) and I was craving chocolate for a bit after that, haha.

Once the wax was done, Shiori applied the two Depilar System activators and left it to dry! Ok I know what you're thinking.

What is a Depilar System?

The Depilar System is used directly after a traditional waxing, sugaring, threading or tweezing to target the hair follicles, and is an enhanced enzyme-based formula which is safe to use on any part of your body.

Since it was my first time using the Depilar System, it was natural that I had a few queries, and here are some simple Q and A that I think you guys might wonder about too!

Q: I have been doing IPL on xx areas, can I use Depilar System?

Answer: Yes! The Depilar System will work if you have not had success with laser treatments. You must discontinue laser treatments and continue with regular and successive Depilar Applications.

Q: I have dry skin. Is that a problem?

Answer: No. Simply exfoliate or dry brush the skin prior to application.

For more info, check out the official Depilar System website.

For best results, it is recommended to go for your Depilar System treatment every 4-weeks for applications on the face, and 5-6-week intervals for applications on the body. This is to coincide with your hair growth cycle and allows your hair to grow out just enough for maximum effectiveness! Most ladies have experienced 0 hair growth after 16-24 months of continued use!

Verdict: Two weeks on and my skin still feels pretty smooth! Though results are not drastically different (ie, like 50% less hair) you can tell that hair growth isn't that fast and is thinner. You can also use this for brazilian too! Could get hooked onto this and stop using IPL forever lol.

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