A fairly belated post as these poor little pictures have been sitting around in my folders while I prioritized everything before them. Finally, here's me sharing about my very luxurious 3 hour long pampering session at at Salon 360 and Lancôme Institute de Beauté.

I do jot down my thoughts and the various processes on my phone after such experiences (such as massages etc), so while it was some time ago, everything does come back to me upon reading my notes.

I headed down to their fairly new branch (opened in 2010) at Marina Bay Sands and booked a 7pm timeslot which works out to end around 10pm. A quick check with the staff and it seems that both Salon 360 and Lancôme Institute de Beauté closes at about 11.30pm.

While I was wrapping up my session around 10pm there were still people strolling in for haircuts and all!

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My experience started with a facial session at Lancôme Institute de Beauté – a one stop place for luxurious facials and body sessions as well as a Lancôme retail counter for makeup touchups/purchases after.

I was served a cup of Rose tea while waiting for my beautician to set the room up.

I was later escorted to the treatment/facial rooms which had a very interesting cocoon-concept. Upon laying in the bed, the curtains will be drawn, giving a very cozy and 'wrapped-up' feeling, almost as if you were in a cot.

The bathrobe and slippers to change into.

The beautician will leave you to change and once you are done, all you have to do is flick a switch and they will be abe to see that you are ready to proceed. I thought that was pretty cool, sure beats the usual of them having to constantly knock and check.

All ready for my treatment!

I didn't get to take any shots while the treatment was going on because I wanted to relax and enjoy it. Instead, I will list down the procedures and my thoughts below, in point form too so it's easier to digest.

This treatment focuses on using the Lancôme Visionnaire line, with inclusion of a couple of others, all of which you can purchase at the counters. I will include photos of them at the end so you can reference, after the 'name-dropping' with the procedures.

• Upon laying in the 'bed', the beautician will first help wipe your hands and feet with a wet towel so you feel freshened up.
• Just before proceeding to the face, the beautician will do a mild body massage called 'Let Go' to relax your muscles and body.
• The next step is to cleanse the skin. I had on light foundation but very stubborn mascara (Majolica Majorca) which ended up not being an issue because the beautician used Bi-Facil Eye Makeup Remover, so you can be sure your skin will be cleansed of everything before the session.
• Next was exfoliation, using Lancôme's Exfoliance Confort.
• Following that, Lancôme Visionnaire's Beauty Lotion (toner) is applied to refresh the skin.
• Instead of the usual hot-steam procedure to open the pores for extraction/cleansing, Lancôme practices the Oshibori Warm Towel, which is rolling of a warm towel over the face while pressing on various shiatsu points (temples etc).
• The next step is extraction and pore cleansing, quite a straight-forward procedure. This is done to cleanse the pores to ensure a brighter complexion after the facial session.
• The next step is very luxurious. A generous coat of Lancôme's Visionnaire Advanced Skin Corrector is smoothed over the face.
• After this, the Iontophoresis Mask is laid out over the face and hooked up to a machine which delivers mild (and safe) currents. This current massages and helps draw active ingredients from the Serum into the skin.
• While the mask is on, I received a arm and hand massage which basically left me feeling a little drowsy and I think I was slipping in and out of sleep. The mask is then left on for 10-15 minutes after so I got the beautician to help snap a photo though she jokingly mentioned it was too scary to post up. heh!
  
• Following the mask is probably one of my favorite parts of the session, a deep facial massage! Using more pressure, strength and various techniques, this massage actually lifts and sculpts the skin to make it appear more defined and firmer.
• After doing half of my face, the beautician held up a mirror to compare and I'm not even joking when I say it is quite apparent that one half of the face is sharper and firmer then the other, especially the jawline!
• Ending the facial session, Visionnaire's Advanced Skin Corrector is applied once more, together with the Génefique Youth Activating Concentrate. Topping all that goodness off, Visionnaire's Moisturizer was applied to hydrate the skin.
  Is this not a luxurious treatment just based on the products alone?

 

If you have noticed, the color of the light had changed during the course of the facial. Each treatment at Lancôme Institute de Beauté has it's own special ambient music and light sequence. This is to help create and set an ambiance and experience suited to the nature of the treatment.

Here's a shot I took right after, sans makeup. You can choose to do some touchups at the Lancôme counter outside but I decided to skip that to allow the goodness on my skin to sink in.

There is a slight flush/redness on my cheeks and the beautician explained that it is the blood circulation from the deep massage.

Here are some of the products that were used throughout the facial session.

Summing up my thoughts...
I really enjoyed this facial session as it was pampering not only for my face but the arm and hand massages inbetween were also soothing and a nice touch. The music, scent of the product and all contributed to the relaxing ambience such that I was dozing off about halfway through! On top of that, the effect of the deep facial massage stayed around for a good while. Who doesn't like having a firmer jawline and also a slightly lifted face? While it's not crazy obvious such that people will think you've done anything, it still shows and you can notice it slightly when it goes away, which depends from person to person. For me I believe it lasted for about 2 weeks maybe?

Price: $290 for 90 minutes

Now that we're done pampering the face and arms, lets not forget the hair!

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Salon 360 is situated beside Lancôme Institute de Beauté so you could walk over without having to leave the shop.

Salon 360 provides the works of hair styling, cutting, coloring and on top of that a scalp consultation.

That aside, they also provide a very pampering hair spa that is known to be revitalizing for damaged to dry hair. Not to say those with 'normal or oily' hair can't enjoy it too as some products will be customized to suit your hair condition.

Like the Lancôme facial session who's star product is Visionnaire (along with the deep massage technique), Salon 360's hair spa focuses on using Kérastase Elixir Ultime.

Suitable for all scalp and hair types, Kérastase Elixir Ultime contains four complex and nourishing oils, Maize, Argan, Camellia and Pracaxi. This product can be purchased for your own usage at home be it as a pre-shampoo mask or a leave-in conditioner after your shower.

With the Kérastase Miracle Boost Treatment that I will trying, your hair will be doused with the Elixir Ultime. Each time around about 1/4 of the bottle is used, that's a lot!

The hair treatment is held in a smaller room, tucked away from their main hair styling and cutting premise.

The treatment starts off with a shoulder massage while waiting for the generous amount of Elixir Ultime to be warmed.

Following that the warmed up Elixir Ultime is applied evenly and generously over the hair and massaged in. The head and neck massage was done using deep strokes and also finger pressure to help release tension and promote relaxation.

The purpose of using Elixir Ultime at a warmed temperature is to enhance the nourishing effects and the heat circulates blood circulation within the scalp. Add the massage to everything else and there you have a treatment that regenerates your hair and relieves tension.

At some points I felt the pressure was a little hard but the relaxing feel after added pressure is really quite awesome.

After the massage, the Elixir Ultime is rinsed out followed by shampoo-ing and conditioning (using an anti-aging hair range). After this is done a hair mask will be applied and left on for about 5 minutes. The hair mask will probably be customized according to your hair's needs; I had on one for colored hair.

Hello more pronounced jawline, thanks to the Lancôme facial!

If you feel 5 minutes is a long time to just lie in that hair wash chair, then you probably will not feel so at Salon 360. Over here, their hair wash chair (sorry I do not have the right term for it!) comes with a massage function! I kid you not...

Once the hair mask is rinsed off it's off to the main salon area to get your hair blow-dried and treated to one more light coat of Elixir Ultime, this time serving as a leave-in conditioner.

More tea and some snacks being served.

At the end of it the hair stylist thought to give me some volume and curls at the ends of my hair. Coupled with my bangs it's quite a retro look. I never thought I would ever style my hair this way but it's quite cute if the occasion calls for it?

A mildly creepy shot where I attempt to use my bangs to hide my eyes/eyebags.

Summing up my thoughts...
At the end of it my hair felt very soft and smooth all the way till the next day. What surprised me most was by night the next day, my hair wasn't feeling flat, limpy or overloaded with products either which I thought would happen. While I'm not one who takes too much care about my hair, I liked how the head and neck massage did a great job with relieving stress and tension in the area, especially the neck and shoulder where there are always knots and aches.

Price: $168 for 60 minutes

Salon 360° and Lancôme Institute de Beauté
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, #B2-40, Canal Level
Telephone: 6688 7666

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I must thank Salon 360 and also Lancôme Institute de Beauté for having allowed me to pamper myself this much. It's not something I commonly indulge in but when you do think about it, it's a nice thing to do once in awhile or even better yet it would be such a lovely gift if you're stumped on what to do for a girlfriend or mom's birthday.

There's nothing much like taking a little break and just indulging in some girly pampering!

This entry was super long so if you made it to the end of my session, kudos to you! Thanks for reading!

 

Disclosure:
Pampering session was hosted by Salon 360 and Lancôme Institute de Beauté, special thanks for their hospitality.
I am not affiliated to them and all opinions expressed are my own.