My Date With DESIRE In HK!

The elevator opened on the 19th floor of Stanley 11, Central’s newest boutique mall and there, I was introduced to Desire. She was everything I expected … stylish, charming and purred a warm, irresistible welcome. Quite quickly like a dainty Fly invited into the Spider’s parlour, I was soon powerless especially after I crawled into that awesome massage chair in her treatment room. A matter of a few short minutes later, I was already won over, completely compelled by  the charms of this elegant, private and discreet Studio Salon.

 

Desire is probably Hong Kong’s best kept beauty secret, located right in the heart of Central (in the lane behind the prominent Coach Store) at 11 Stanley Street in a new boutique and restaurant mall called Stanley 11. This loft concept building houses one different tenant per floor on each of their 26 floors.

What is interesting about Desire besides its two-treatment room concept offering Beauty and Slimming services, its  discreet location and an even more private client list that we hear comprises the who’s who in the movie and socialite circles  -  is the fact that it is owned and run by Singaporean Spa Stylista, Chee Su Ling who opened this, her first Hong Kong outlet here in Central last year. Desire currently has 3 other outlets in Singapore at Central, River Valley and Holland Village, 2 outlets in Kuala Lumpur and Melaka in Malaysia. The Hong Kong outlet is the Group’s latest jewel piece with its chi-chi dramatic all black and red decor and its centre-piece ceiling chandelier.

SimplyFab was invited to try their ultra pampering two-hour Platinum Deep Cleansing Facial Treatment and their hour-long Body Slimming and Contouring Treatment and I took on the challenge which left me feeling preened and pampered and quite frankly, like a whole new and totally rejuvenated me.

 

THE FACIAL

Do stand warned.. if you are looking for a quick and cheap facial, what I call a ‘squeeze and tweeze’ then turn back as this is not the place for you. This is not your ‘for-the-masses’ squeaky clean facial venue. Instead Desire offers aesthetic spa solutions that treat deep-rooted skin problems with the use of specialised machines that go well beyond the skin’s surface. So on the menu, expect to find complicated terms like ‘Iontopherosis’, ‘Sciton STAR Treatment’ using infra-red technology and ‘Broad Band Light Photo Facial’, ‘IPL’, ‘GRF’ and ‘Blue Light’ Acne Treatments. I was sufficiently overwhelmed by this glossary of terms during my first visit but then again the Team were patient and knowledgeable and explained in detail the benefit and science behind each of the procedures.

At Desire, your experience begins in a massage chair. I give them a thumbs up for thinking of this one. I have to say as it felt awesome to be getting a full body massage albeit mechanical instead of just lying there and getting your face worked on. Now if they could do a mani and pedi, whilst they were at it – the experience would be truly complete. LOL!

My two-hour session started with a facial skin Microdermabrasion using a machine that efficiently sucks out the impurities, removes dead skin cells and unclogs the pores which cause acne. You get the sensation of a very small but powerful vacuum firmly sucking out the impurities from deep within your pores as something that feels like a pen-like instrument is slowly moved over every exposed surface of your facial skin.

A Vitamin C treatment followed where a pure 100% Vitamin C serum made by dissolving Vitamin C crystals is force fed into the skin via a process called Iontopherosis. The effect of this is a smoother and more radiant complexion as the treatment lightens acne scars, discolouration and controls UV damage and the skin’s photo-ageing tendancies.

A Cell Renewal treatment which uses the hot roller massage was applied next and after that a soothing face massage which together with the body massage sent me into a restful slumber.

I woke up to a cooling gel being applied to my face and thereafter, a warm, gentle contouring action massaging over the skin’s surface, part of the radio frequency treatment called 3GRF (third generation radio frequency) which distributes heat evenly all over the facial skin into the pores to further stimulate the production of collagen and elasticin thus toning the upper and lower layers of skin, tightening your face, eyes, neck, jowls and chin. The effect is a leaner looking face.

That done, I was asked to close my eyes and relax as the final treatment, a 3GIPL (third generation intense pulse light) treatment using intense pulse light in combination with bi-polar radio frequency energy was applied wherever there were blemishes on my skin. Shot on to the dermal layer of the skin, the skin’s blemishes absorb the light and get broken into microscopic particles which are then excreted through the lymphatic drainage system. After that a soothing cool mask sent back off once again to lala land till I awoke blissfully rested.

 

 

BODY SLIMMING AND CONTOURING

I came back another time for their Body Treatment and got to choose which problem area I wanted treated. For me if was an obvious choice. Too many hours on the computer and one too many glasses of Bailey’s Chocomint for supper was giving me a flabby tummy. I was recommended a 3GLipsonic Shaping Treatment that combats localised fat and cellulte.

First a cool gel was applied on my flab, in this case all over my all too prominent love handles and a machine with a lightly heated surface distributed the gel over the surface area of the skin here. The heat and ultrasound  from the machine produces a light tingling which produces pressure changes in the interstitial fluid of the adipose tissue, generating microbubble cavities that first implode and then explode, in short, draining out the fat cells via the body’s lymphatic system.

After that, a slimming oil was used over the same spot for what I call the ‘pinch test’.  Not for the faint hearted, the pinch test is actually an intense pressure therapy treatment where your extra fat is pinched together by a special machine to break up and thereby disperse the orange peel skin that you may have accumulated in the region. Great if you have alot of post-birth cellulite that you want to be rid of and like the feeling of someone pinching you. Needless to say that at the end of this session I concluded that my Grandmother was right – you DO have to suffer for the sake of beauty and I had a serious rethink about dessert, that night and for a few nights after.

Spa Manager, Allison Guok-Kam runs the HK salon with a local team of expert staff so if you miss the spa back home in Singapore whilst on holiday in Hong Kong, this is the place to head to for some respite away from the stress of shopping at Harvey Nics (and we believe you),  pollution at The Peak, too much high tea and/or one-too-many cocktails at Sevva (hic!).

On the other hand, if you live in Hong Kong and work in or near Central then the location is perfect to escape to for some lunch time pampering.

Desire is located at 19/F, Stanley 11, 11 Stanley Street, Central Hong Kong at tel: +852 2522 1329. Bookings are made strictly by appointment only. See Desire Website.

JUST FOR SIMPLYFAB READERS IN HONG KONG:

We are making it super easy for you to win your own date with Desire. SimplyFab and the gals at Desire are inviting our HK readers to win 3 lucky prizes:

2 Facial Packages comprising 5 sessions of Deep Cleansing Platinum facial

and

1 BodyTreatment Package comprising 5 sessions of Slimming and Contouring.

To qualify you have to have a valid HK ID card. To enter, just subscribe to the SIMPLY FABULICIOUS database. Go to our HOME Page and

enter your email address under ‘BE FABULICIOUS’.

 

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^{CALL AHEAD AND ASK FOR 2 SPECIALLY PRICED PACKAGES:}

SimplyFab LunchTime Special at HK$788

Valid from 11am to 3pm daily.  The treatment is just under an hour and comprises a basic cleansing for the face, a 10 minute soothing face massage a choice of either a radio frequency or intense pulse light treatment depending on your particular skin condition and type.

SimplyFab Trial at HK$1,188

Valid from 15 March daily. This treatment is a great chance for you to find out what actually suits your skin and allows a detailed skin analysis. It is 2 hours long and includes a skin Microdermabrasion, Iontopherosis Vitamin C treatment and a 3GRF (Radio Frequency Treatment), 3GIPL (Intense Pulse Light Treatment) followed by a Collagen Mask.