Beauty Empire
33 Erskine Road
#01-08, The Scarlet
www.beautyempire.sg

Oxygen Anti-wrinkle Treatment: 90 minutes, $150
Eye Treatment: 30 minutes, $85

Having never had a facial before, I thought it was about time! I was a little apprehensive on arriving at this lovely boutique spa (affiliated with the very chic Scarlet Hotel), but was soon put at ease by therapist Anne, who talked me through each treatment in detail.

To start, she gave my skin a deep cleanse to remove every last scrap of makeup and then steamed it to get it ready for extraction. For fellow novices out there, extraction is the removal of blackheads and other oily build-up under the skin. Although this was a little uncomfortable, the results were well worth it. No pain, no gain.

Anne then used a suction pump (think mini-Hoover) to lift and firm my skin by stimulating the circulation, and followed this with a concoction of serums, targeting different problem zones and using ultrasound for deep penetration. After a massage to encourage my skin the absorb the residual products, she applied an oxygen mask seal everything in and leave my skin looking radiant and fresh.

The next day, my skin was glowing and felt incredibly smooth.

Rebecca Wood