October 2014
Hi I’m Shiying!
I’m not a blogger nor a beauty expert…
I’m just a normal girl who wants to look my best the day I marry the love of my life 
That was why months before my wedding, I read fervently online: What should I do to make sure I look my best? Waxing? Facial?
I don’t go facials all that often because the experience was always negative – hardselling, skin becoming worse after the facial and the lingering bad feeling about my self esteem afterwards.
However, my skin condition was far from perfect.
Not sure what to do, I browsed Beauty Undercover and came across NUA.
- Close to workplace?
- Personalised Service?
- No hardselling?
- Effective Facial Service?
- Great Japanese Service?
- Private location?
Seeing how positive Agent G’s experience was, I decided to try out NUA!
First Impressions of NUA
The first time I entered NUA, I fell in love!
Warm, cozy and welcoming, NUA felt like a resort than a typical Singapore salon.
Instead of the usual “sales talk”, Shiori was more concerned about me and my needs. She asked several questions about my daily skincare routine and examined it closely to identify issues to improve upon.
The whole process was professional and informative. During the facial, Shiori shared with me about the type of skin I have and the importance of using the right moisturizers, sunscreens, serums and skincare products for my skin. Not just my face, my knowledge on skincare products improved a lot in a single session!
Choosing NUA to help me prepare for my big day!
I have been to several salons (some of which came with a high price) but so far, NUA is the only salon I could see a visible difference. Moreover, I felt soooo comfortable with Shiori as there is absolutely no sales talk at all.
Even though I never did like facial packages, I was so impressed with Shiori that I took the initiative to ask her to come up with a Customized Bridal program for me.
She designed a facial program around my problem areas and my schedule. She also scheduled a waxing session for me a few days before the wedding to ensure that I’ll look my best!
How a facial at NUA feels like
Each time I arrive for my appointment, Shiori would have gotten the room ready and prepped with a clean comfortable sarong waiting on the treatment bed.
She is so thoughtful, she even has a small pillow to prop up my head to make me feel comfortable throughout the facial.
Before she starts, she will take some time to inspect my face, asking a few questions to better understand my skin condition. I love that she is super observant… any redness or bumps would be spotted by her!
She would then cleanse my face, often with specially prepared clay cleansers and scrubs for thorough cleansing!
Whatever residual dead skin cells will then be removed by Ultrasound to rejuvenate my tired dull skin to reveal tighter glowing skin beneath.
Blackheads will then be extracted during the blackhead extraction.
Usually, the word Extraction strikes fear into my heart when I go for facials. At other salons, extractions is usually very painful and my nose would always start to swell and turn red the day after.
It was therefore a great big pleasant surprise to note that Shiori’s extraction was gentle yet effective!
Maybe its because of the premium products and ultrasound that she use before extraction, Shiori does not have to use brutal means to remove the blackheads!
SO HAPPY I no longer have to dread extractions!
The next step is the customized masks. What I really like about Shiori is that she actually customizes 3-5 different types of masks depending on what each part of my face requires! For example, she used water recovery mask for my forehead, emollient hydrating mask for my cheeks and clay clearing mask for my nose and chin.
NUA is the first salon where I’ve had a therapist customize so many different mask for me all at one go… so I’m impressed!
(most therapists just follow a simple formula / use the same mask for everyone!)
To improve the penetration of ingredients, she even used Radiofrequency to accelerate absorption into the skin!
I’ve heard of other salons charging extra for this so I was relieved to know that the extra use of the RF is already included in the price of the facial!
To give me that extra oomph right before my wedding, she applied some serum for some really powerful concentrated treatment!
(Top: before, bottom: after)
I don’t know if you can see through the photos but I’m happy to note that the slightly oily, tired look is gone… replaced by the lovely natural glow!
How a typical Waxing session feels like
Frankly, its my first time going for back and leg waxing. I expected the experience to be like painful… but really, the pain was minimal. On a scale of 0-10, I’d probably say 1!
The products used were natural and there were no side effects on my skin (my skin can actually be very sensitive).
Best of all, its effective… no more bad hair days!
MY OVERALL EXPERIENCE AT NUA
Experience at NUA Singapore
Shiori’s service was impeccable. She was very sincere, courteous and approachable. She also puts in a lot of effort to know her customers better on a personal level. I was amazed with her “super” memory – she could remember the contents of the conversation we had and the condition of my skin on my previous visit. Not only was she friendly, she was also very knowledgeable. She examined my face carefully before starting and took care to customise the products used during the treatment so that it would work best on my skin. NUA Singapore comes across as very genuine and I loved the personal and friendly service. No hard-selling was also a very big plus point! Not only did my face look better, my knowledge of skincare products also improved a lot after visiting NUA.
Advice for Brides-to-be
Every bride would agree with me that preparing for the wedding is a very stressful process. I felt so assured and relaxed having Shiori take care of my face and body before my wedding. She designed a proper skincare program for me to follow and gave me lots of valuable advice (e.g. products to avoid before the wedding, the type of diet I should have to ensure good skin, etc.).
When my big day finally arrived, I received compliments that my face was radiant and rosy. I am really thankful to Shiori!
My husband (then boyfriend) also went for a treatment before our wedding and he really enjoyed it too. I’m quite surprised that he wants to go with me again for my next facial treatment. That really says a lot about NUA’s services!
PS I had my wedding a few days after this visit so stay tuned for my Actual Wedding Day photos!
In the meantime, a photo of our glowing faces during our honeymoon in Milan!
For those who are interested in trying out NUA, note that she is often fully booked so do call at least a week in advance