My Cozy Room spa is tucked in one of the shophouses lining the exclusive estate along Cairnhill Road. it might be easy to miss, but keep your eyes peeled and you will spot the sign outside :) head up the wooden flight of stairs, and at the top, you will step into another realm. the hustle and bustle from the busy street outside reduces to a soft whisper, and you will feel your stress melting away as the soothing music relaxes your senses.
My Cozy Room caters to people of all ages, from students to some celebrities, and both women and men. many brides love coming here for their pre-wedding facial preparations, as shown by the numerous accolades the spa proudly displays in their waiting area (: and i can imagine why! the super cozy spa, coupled with Celine’s (the boss) sweet professionalism is more than sufficient to calm any pre-wedding jitters. and it’s really nice how she treats every single customer with equal respect and concern! although students get a special price (more details below! ^^), every customer who goes through the “My Cozy Room experience” will get the same professional treatment, that strives for the results you are looking for. of course, you have to be realistic that a facial isn’t magic, and while i often walk out of a facial with battered skin and angry red marks, i would like to share how my experience was different here! and beware, this is going to be a long post, but i’ll try to keep it fun! ;)
so i settled into one of these comfy rooms and got ready for my facial. hey, there is even a cushion to prop your knees up! it’s little touches like these, which makes the experience extra special :) my therapist ran her fingers gently over my face and pointed out the areas of concern that she would be working on. all the therapists here are “tested” personally by Celine to make sure that they all meet her exacting standards (: this was something i felt was particularly important and that i really appreciated! i didn’t know this till the end of my facial, when i asked Celine how she maintained quality control over her therapists, in an industry where the turnover rate is so high! i’m no expert, but i’ve had my share of sub-standard facials >:( so it turns out that the therapists actually have to perform facials on Celine herself, so that she puts herself in the shoes of the client and knows exactly how to coach her staff towards improvement, and to maintain a quality standard of work.
before my facial, Celine briefed me about the entire process, and also about the products that would be used during the facial. my therapist also explained each step as we went along, which i really appreciated, because even though i’ve been doing facials for awhile, it’s always good to know what is being put on your face, or what procedure is going on at the moment. (especially when it comes to extraction, it buys you some time for mental preparation :p).
as you can see from above, all the products used at My Cozy Room are from BABOR, a premium skincare brand which originates from the Aachen region of Germany. the spa is proud to tell their customers about this range of products they use, because they want to be absolutely transparent with the customers, which is also something i appreciate! knowing that the products used are of a reputable brand is very important when it comes to something as personal and sensitive as putting substances on your face.
the brand was founded by Dr Michael Babor and it was only after speaking to Celine that i found out it was actually the pioneer company that created cleansing oils (now sold by brands such as Shu Uemura) and ampoules. if you’ve been for facials, it is likely that spas would recommend add-ons in the form of ampoules as a quick skin-booster. when it comes to ampoules, the results speak for themselves. there is a wide range produced by BABOR, for functions such as detoxification (algae), age-resistance (collagen), and many others! all these produced by the brand are of extremely high concentration, if i remember correctly, 90-95% of pure essence of natural, biological ingredients, which is why they are supposed to be so effective, absorbed right into your skin for immediate results. personally, i did not try the BABOR ampoules, so i will not comment on their effectiveness. but you can see here that they are certified to be produced by the brand, and are Made in Germany. which, if you ask me (having been to Europe), is telling of the certainty of its quality.
the cleansing oil pioneered by BABOR is HY-ÖL (pronounced hi-oil) is an amazing invention, in the way it defies the biological nature of oil and water being unable to mix. this hydrophilic oil is a completely natural product that cleanses your face of excess oil. sounds counter-intuitive? i thought so too! but the best thing about this product is how it removes oil and water soluble impurities, giving it a deep cleanse when you wash it with water without leaving your skin tight. it gives such a thorough cleansing that there is actually no need for the use of a toner. in fact, it can be used to remove face makeup, eye makeup (it’s THAT gentle!), cleanse the face, exfoliate and tone, that it is considered a 5-in-1 product.