WHERE do space-age-looking treatment capsules, tasselled drapes and paintings in gilded frames all come under one roof? If you guessed Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch ... well, okay, you wouldn't be wrong. But for a geographically proximate answer, try Clariancy Aesthetic Clinic.
The latest medispa on the scene, Clariancy officially opened in June, and is as old-school plush as it is new tech. Walk into the nearly 2,000-sq-ft Raffles Hotel space - that offers both cutting-edge spa facilities and aesthetic treatments - and one of the first things you notice is that it has eschewed the usual all-white or Bali- style spa decor for a more luxurious look in the form of the aforesaid paintings and drapes, plus cushy sofas, marble floors and ornate lamps.
Says the clinic's Clara Lee, who owns Clariancy together with her doctor husband: "We women need to take care of ourselves, especially when we have busy working lives, because our looks and our figures are our assets. I wanted to create a space where people could do this and feel at home; a space where it's cosy and comfy."
The spa, she adds, also aims to avoid the traditional route in terms of the way it deals with customers. "Most of the spas on the market use hard-sell tactics on their clientele, which doesn't make people feel comfortable. We're not like that - we just want to a be a place where people can relax after a hard day's work."
Ms Lee should know what she's talking about. A former air stewardess with Singapore Airlines - "where the emphasis is on grooming" - the spa enthusiast used to frequent spas all over the island each time she returned from a flight. Unable to find one that met her standards, she set up Clariancy with her husband.
"We thought, why not go into the aesthetic side as well and work together?" she says. "With a doctor endorsing this place, people will have more trust in it too."
At Clariancy, then, clients can partake of the standard medispa stuff: Ms Lee's husband carries out procedures such as Botox, chemical peels and fillers, while three trained beauticians take care of the facials, body wraps and scrubs et cetera using luxe Babor and Casmara products.
What's more unusual though, is the spa's three exclusive, technologically advanced weight management and skin pampering capsules - machines that look like little space rockets and that employ all manner of tech savvy to get the job done.
The Slimline POD 02 Deluxe capsule, for one, purports to get rid of cellulite, tighten the skin and contour the body via infrared waves, LED lighting and various other methods. It's also supposed to stimulate the metabolic rate and reduce weight set points so that fat is burned at a higher rate. But the best thing about it is that everything is done as you're lying down on a massaging flatbed, listening to a music album of your choice.
During a recent treatment, we picked a compilation of Abba hits that started off with People Need Love; seven tracks later, as Bjorn and company were onto Fernando, we'd been lulled into a blissful daze.
To be sure, it was difficult to determine the effectiveness of the treatment after just one session, but even cynics of this sort of stuff would agree that a pleasurable experience, at the very least, is to be gotten out of it.
As Ms Lee says, the focus at Clariancy is on comfort, and there's no doubt about that. To round off every treatment, a cup of hot tea and a gourmet snack - usually cakes and biscuits brought in from Holland - are served in the spa's comfy lounge area. "I love food and I feel that serving something nice is a good service point," shares Ms Lee.
"I want everyone to feel happy and relaxed here."
Clariancy Aesthetic Clinic
#02-15/15 Raffles Hotel Arcade
328 North Bridge Road
6338-2619
www.clariancy.com
This article was first published in The Business Times.
