This summer has to be one of the wettest, greyest, most miserable on record – and I’ve been feeling rather dull and deflated as a result. So thank heavens (when torrential storms aren’t pouring out of them, that is) for lovely spa treatments that act as the perfect rainy day pick-me-up, like the Natura Bissé Diamond Brilliant Facial at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong’s Oriental Spa.
This facial isn’t just a pick-me-up for your rain-soaked soul though; it’s designed to be a real pick-me-up for dull skin, brightening your complexion and reducing uneven pigmentation… And with sun-deprived, sallow skin in desperate need of a rapid shot of radiance, I couldn’t reply to my trial invite quick enough!
I’ve previously reviewed The Oriental Spa at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong – but on this occasion, I actually arrived on time, which gave me a chance to check out its world-class heat and water facilities (probably the best spa ones in Hong Kong). I’d recommend you allow yourself an extra hour for full exploration of all the perks on offer; it’s essentially a spa junkie version of kid-in-a-sweetshop syndrome, with far too many blissful experiences to choose from.
My favourite feature is the vitality pool, heated to a just-right 35°C and equipped with ergonomic loungers that are strategically positioned around super powerful air jets, which deliver divine massages without a therapist in sight. There’s also heated tepidarium lounge chairs (just the thing to get a blast of heat into chilly bones), revitalising experience showers, three different saunas and an amethyst crystal steam room to enjoy… so be late at your peril!
Meanwhile, the treatment itself gave me a chance to try Natura Bissé, a Spanish skincare brand far too expensive for me to actually own any products from – and I was pretty impressed. The Natura Bissé Diamond Brilliant Facial focuses on their Diamond White line, which is unsurprisingly dedicated to fighting dark spots and dull complexions.
The steps are pretty de rigueur for spa facials – cleansing, exfoliating, hydrating… you know the drill – but there are a couple more noteworthy elements amidst the general pampering party. The exfoliation is done with a chemical peel containing glycolic acid, which removes dead skin cells in a flash, without the abrasiveness of conventional drugstore scrubs. You’ll feel a slight tingling sensation depending on how sensitive your skin is (though nothing compared to a Skin Laundry facial, I promise!) but the results are pretty incredible – my skin really did feel born again and was tonnes brighter, smoother and more even as a result. Although this treatment doesn’t include an extraction, I also found this made blackheads much easier to remove myself that night, and probably for around a week afterwards.
There’s also a fantastic facial massage courtesy of your therapist (mine was Natalie, who I’d highly recommend) using Natura Bissé’s Diamond White Serum. Who knows if it was the product itself or Natalie’s gifted hands, but my skin felt fantastic afterwards – supple, clearer, less puffy and positively luminous. You guys all know how much I love my head massages by now, so I’m happy to report that application of the Diamond Glowing Mask allows ample time for that – and with Natalie at the reins, it’s simply sublime.
An hour never goes by quicker than when you’re at a spa and all too soon, my 60 minutes of divine diamond intervention was over. My skin had drank up every last drop of Natura Bissé goodness and was as glowing as it gets without makeup; I’m afraid you’ll just have to believe me on that one as I was too self-conscious to make a proper go of the obligatory post-spa selfie, especially given the danger of butt-naked ladies making cameo appearances in the changing room background (hmmm… that would be one way of getting more hits though). Although just one treatment alone doesn’t make much of a difference to dark spots (and nor would I expect it to), my brighter, clearer, more even skin tone lasted around a week and I definitely felt more radiant and rejuvenated as a result.
So if you’re in need of a little ray of spa sunshine, you can’t go far wrong with the Landmark Mandarin Oriental’s Natura Bissé Diamond Brilliant Facial. So if you want to shine bright like a diamond (and we don’t just mean singing along to Rihanna at karaoke), you know where to go!
The Natura Bissé Diamond Brilliant Facial lasts one hour and costs $1900 on Monday-Thursday or $2100 on Friday-Sunday.
The Oriental Spa, 5/F, Landmark Mandarin Oriental, 15 Queen’s Road, Central, Hong Kong, +852 2132 0011
www.mandarinoriental.com/landmark/spa
Note: this treatment was by invitation
Through The Looking Glass 