Water Massage at Ace Water Spa

If you're looking for a different kind of massage or relaxation, you may want to try the water massages at Ace Water Spa.  As what the name implies, Ace Water Spa offers various water facilities that can massage different areas of your body using forces from water.  The best thing about their water massages is that each facility gives health information about the good benefit that you will get while taking that kind of massage. Required number of minutes is also indicated to better achieve the maximum benefit.  One can choose from soft, moderate and hard massages through these various water facilities.

Ace Water Spa also offers sauna, steam and hot herbal pools.  The hot herbal pools have various temperatures with different scents on each to achieve healthy benefit appropriate for that temperature.  Cautions were posted also in some areas as not all are appropriate for every one especially the hot pools.  It is also best to "rinse" on their cold pool after using the hot pools to achieve maximum benefit.  They also have an olympic size swimming pool if you want to do some laps or just swim around it. 

I've tried most of their massages and they're really relaxing.  My favorite is the rainfall acupuncture.  You can almost sleep with it while waters are falling on your back.  Another favorite is the jet chair as it is so relaxing.  Both uses moderate massages.  I also like the hot herbal pools but I don't take the cold pool right after it because the water is really really cold.  I just rinse with their other showers or back to the water massages. Most of the people I know who have been to Ace Water Spa for the first time really enjoyed this one of a kind massage.

Ace Water Spa has two branches: Quezon City and Pasig.  I've been to both locations and there's not much difference between them except that the Quezon City branch is much bigger.  The Pasig branch is also connected to their hotel, Ace Hotel and Suites (read my review about this hotel here).

If you have Belle De Jour planner, it has 2 coupons which offer buy 1 take 1 on Ace Water Spa at any branch.  One has a duration of January to June while the other one July to December.

Genesis Super Salon by Louis Phillip Kee

The Genesis Super Salon by Louis Phillip Kee had its dry run opening last June 2.  They offer 40% off on all their services until today, June 9.  Since its the last day today to avail the discount, we expect it to be jammed packed.

Located along Dona Soledad Avenue in Better Living, Paranaque, it was indeed full of customers by the time we got there, about 4.30pm.  We waited about 30 minutes before my sister is called for her haircut.  I followed after her.  The haircut with shampoo and blow dry took about an hour.  The price for haircut is different for men, women and children. You may refer below for their pricelist.

My hair is long, about below the bra line at the back.  I planned to have it just trimmed, about an inch.  I'd like to maintain a long hair as this is what my boyfriend desires.  But after my sister's hair was done, I find her cut nice and stylish so I intend to copy her haircut.  It was a layered cut specifically on the sides and in front.  The back was just trimmed but a bit layered just to make it appear thin.  I requested for some bangs which the stylist made it a side swept cut.

My sister and I's stylist is John Kessel.  He has been a stylist fo Louis Phillip Kee's Salon for quite some time already.  He has a different style of cutting one's hair, well at least for me and my sister.  He let us stand while he cut the back of our hair.  I think this makes the cut accurate and even in case of the layered style.  This is unusual for me but I find it better as the cut was made with precision.  Besides, you wouldn't stand for so long or on the whole duration of cutting.

Our stylist

The hair shampooing and blow dry is also quite different.  Angel, who shampooed my hair, did a little massage on my hairline and scalp.  Most salons I've been to only massages the scalp.  The shampoo and conditioner they use does not have strong smell, just right.  After shampooing, I noticed that they do not have a wide tooth comb to untangle my hair.  But the great thing was they don't force your hair untanlge it which will cause hair breakage.  They instead use their fingers to gently untangle your hair, especially the ends.  They are also careful in blow drying your hair.  They don't pull hard your hair and the heat from the blow dry was just right.

My sister had a pedicure or more like cleaning of her toenails as she does not want a polish to be applied on it.  She enjoys this service as she didn't experience any pain unlike other salons who put much pressure in cleaning toenails which can be painful.  Original price of this cleaning is only Php 100 but my sister only paid Php 60 applying the 40% discount.

The design of Genesis Super Salon is just right, not too spacious and not too small.  There is a somewhat kitchen on the right side upon entering the salon.  We are told that it will soon be a cafe.  The receiving area only has one sofa.  So other customers sat on the "kitchen area" while waiting for their turn.  Magazines were provided but all were back issues as late as 2008.  At the back of the reception area was the hair cutting area.  Further to it was the mani-pedi, foot spa area.  There is stairs in the middle of the room which leads to the massage area and other services on the second floor.

I'm not sure if it just the last day but Mr. Louis Phillip Kee arrived at the salon to checked on the staff and customers.  He also helped out in blow drying, conversing with customers and even preparing the chair for the next customer.  He also provide guidelines to his staff on how to properly assist customers from the receiving area up to the time they leave the salon.  His guidelines, as I see on how he converse with his staff, were polite, not making them look stupid or scolding them in front of the customers.  He was there at around 6pm and was still there when we left at around 8.30pm.  I guess he will stay there until the salon closes.

Overall, I would love to go back to this salon and try their other services.  I was happy with my haircut so as my sister.  She also likes her pedicure.  i would like to try mani-pedi-foot spa package and relaxing my hair next time.  The staff were all nice, and no hard selling for the services they offer.  Prices for their services were quite reasonable.  We were told by the receptionist that they will have another discount on their grand opening sometime in July.  I will definitely watch out for that.

Sparkle review

I finally availed the Sparkle service I bought from Metrodeal. The voucher includes Japanese hot oil, hand and foot srub and reflexology. According to the deal, the whole service is originally valued at Php 800 and will last for 60 minutes. Here's my review.

When I arrived at the spa, there's a lady who also availed the deal (i only noticed it when we were seated side by side) and she almost had her hair done that is all wrapped with foil. No electronic heat was put on her head for the hot oil. The staff is already preparing for her scrub when another staff called me to wash my hair.

After washing, the staff put on some mask or conditioner like on my hair. While applying with bare hands, she also massages my scalp and head which is good. When applying and massaging is done, she wrapped my hair with a foil and secure it with a towel-like band around my hairline. By this time, the lady customer beside me had her scrubs on her hands done. She was a little ahead of me on all of these services.

The next thing the staff did to me was applying some essential oil on both my arms and hands. Later, a scrub was applied. Same procedure was applied on both my legs and feet. The scrubs were kinda coarse. I felt uneasy when the staff rubbed the scrub on my arms and legs hard especially to those sensitive skin areas. I thought I had a skin scratch with it.

These srubs were removed by the staff with water and sponge. After it was removed, the staff started massaging my arms and hands. I guess this is the reflexology part. The massage was a little hard, making my fingers "crack" which I didn't like. When my arms were done, the staff started massaging my legs and feet. Most of the massages were at my sole. Pinching and pressing my sole, fingers and legs. I thought these will be very relaxing if you have tired lefs an feet. As for me, again, it was kinda painful. Well maybe because I'm not fond of massages. And also, I wasn't tired that day so my muscles were not stiff. There were even times that I already exclaimed painfulness to the staff so she can lighten the massages.

When all this massages are done, the staff then rinses my hair. Afterwhich, my hair was swiftly dried with a blower. The staff didn't comb or used a brush while drying my hair. She just gently scan my wet hair with her fingers to dry it. I like this technique in drying my hair. While blow drying, the lady customer was at that time was just gettig ready to rinse her hair.

When my hair was dried, the staff gently combs my hair. Surprisingly, there were no tangles. My hair was all straight as if I had it relaxed. I love the effect on my hair. It was soft to touh too.

You will noticed that I keep on mentioning the lady customer. Well, it is because she were ahead of me to undergone the treatment and all but still i'm the one who finished it first. It took me less than an hour to finish but I guess that will be dependent on the staff who is taking care of you.

Overall, I give the whole experience a rating of 7 out of 10 (10 being the highest). I like the Japanese hot oil on my hair. I like the srubs but it would be better if the staff won't rub it hard on your skin. I didn't like the massages simply because I'm not fond of massages. It's painful on my part. But I think that kind of massage will be very relaxing after a tiring day. The deal at Php 149 discounted price was all worth it. But if it returned to its original price of Php 800, I find it expensive. The Japanese hot oil has a good effect on my hair but it seems the same effect when I use Human Heart Nature's Hair Mask. As for the massages and scrubs, I can't comment further on the price as I haven't done same service from other salon. Should I go back there? Well yes, but mostly for hair treatments and mani/pedi or foot spa service. Nothing more than that. Will I recommend it? Yes, especially if you are fond of massages. The staff are friendly too. They're also giving recommendations without really hard selling their products and services.

Me Time at Sparkle and David's Salon

When I saw this pampering coupon in Metrodeal at Sparkle Hair Rebonding Treatment Center and Spa, I immediately got interested since its associated with hair pampering.  Since I haven't got back to relaxing my hair at Fix salon, maybe a hot oil will do for the meantime just to keep my hair straight.  Another interesting item in the deal is the hand and foot scrub.  I'd like my feet to be pampered as this is often times neglected.  I don't get to moisturize my feet as often as I want unlike with my with hands which are more exposed.  What's more interesting on the deal is that its location is very near to our home.

I called up and inquired about the deal as well as the services they offer.  The person I talked to told me that I can buy the Metrodeal coupon in their spa and immediately avail the services immediately even if it states there that it can be used starting May 2. Since the deal is only Php 149, I checked also the other services they're offering.  I thought of adding any foot pampering including pedicure.  Sparkle's website describes all the services and packages they offer.  Each of their service has detailed description with estimated time to finish each service.  Although price is not indicated, the description seems inviting.  That's why I decided to visit Sparkle late in the afternoon that day to avail the coupon as well as get a pedicure.  By the way, the person I talked to informed me that I should have reservations first before I avail any of their service but she also told me that I can just drop by later and just tell the receptionist her name, Grace.

When I arrived, the receptionist told me that the coupon can only be availed starting May 2.  Grace was wrong on that aspect.  And she's no owner or manager of the place.  She's one of the staff / personnel who does the services to you.  She was performing foot spa to one client when I arrived.  Maybe its somewhat commission based if I go directly to her that's why she told me to look for her.  Anyway, I thought I can already have my hot oil treatment done.  Nevertheless, I still bought one coupon and availed their pedicure service at Php 175.  I'm not sure if this is cheap or expensive as I have never had pedicure before.  Yes, my feet are still virgin in that aspect.  It's me who does the cleaning of my toenails and putting on nail polish to it.  So this time, I'll try others to do it on my behalf to make my feet cleaner.  I'd like to have a foot spa along with the pedicure but I decided, since I'm not yet familiar with this spa, I'll just try first their pedicure.

I'm kinda ticklish person so when the staff, Jovie (I think), started cleaning my foot, I felt uneasy but I didn't let her notice it.  She cut my toenails, applied cuticle remover and start cleaning my foot.  Her hands were quite light as I didn't experience any discomfort while she's doing my feet.  What I didn't like was when she applied nail polish and some gets out of the nails, she uses her nails directly to my skin to remove it.  I hope she used cotton instead.  But overall, my first time experience in pedicure is somehow nice and not a nightmare.  I would definitely go back there and have my nails done.

Since I wasn't able to have a hot oil treatment, I then decided to trim my hair since the ends are already getting dry.  I visit the David's Salon, just within the area of Sparkle.  I had my hair cut there before and it was ok.  So I thought, since I'll just have it trimmed, it won't be disastrous to my hair.  My second time experience with them in terms of hair cutting and blow drying is ok.  I just didn't like the blow drying of my hair this time.  The staff wasn't too careful in pulling my hair that it seems kinda painful but tolerable.  I'm just worried that it might give too much damage to my hair.  Although the stylist told me that my hair isn't that dry but it lacks shine.  She's offering me to have hair spa at Php 600+  with hair cut already.  Aww.. it was already too late.  I'm willing to get hair spa but she's already cutting my hair when she told me that.  She just advised me to have my hair treated at least every month.  And yes, I plan to do that.  Nevertheless, my overall hair cut experience with them was ok.  Not exceptional though.  Well maybe because I just had my hair trimmed.

It's really nice to have this me time although its not that much done on me today.  Maybe next time I'll try other services in Sparkle (manicure and some of their body and hair treatment and facial) and David's Salon (hot oil or hair spa).  My hair is relaxed but I only entrust Fix Salon to do that.  It's been over a year already since I had my hair relaxed but thank God it isn't all that frizzy at this time.  I just wonder how to get shinier hair.  Any tips?