By the zit and the skin.

Today, after class I headed straight to KLCC to do my facial. It was my first time at the Institut Clarins. I got someone who’s so nice to belanja me. hehe.. Thanks dear! Lav ya loads! Muaxx! ;)

Oh my, the facial...
I think this is the best relaxing treatment of all the facials that I’ve tried so far! And the best part of it, they don’t use any tools or machines on your skin which they said it may cause side effect or harm to your skin. Which I think it’s true!!! I’ve experienced quite a few times already.. I still remember when I was 15, I had my very first facial treatment at Kaj… The therapist knew my whiteheads on my cheeks are not that masak yet, and I already told her to just ignore the whiteheads, but she was so gedik and mengada nak picit jugak the freaking whiteheads of mine! And what happened was she said the whiteheads must be removed so that my pores would not be clogged. And so I let her do her thing la.. And then.. after she tried to squeeze here and there, and still the ‘heads’ won’t come out, she decided to take a needle and start to poke my cheeks and use that sedut2 thing on it!! Darah banyak keluar ok! It’s horrible! My face felt numb for a few hours after that. Oh god, I could still remember how it felt like whenever I look at myself in the mirror and see at the tiny holes on my face! Heesh. Menyesal gile.

Later, I found someone to be my therapist. It was Cindy, I think. And Alhamdullilah, since then my face was back to normal.. No more zits or pimples or break outs or blemishes or whatever y’all call it..hehe.. Just that minor holes larh..haha.. haihh.
But I’m cool with it because it’s just a minor thing and I don’t have pimples after that. Well, at least not for 3 years.

And then, last 2 years (around August 2006, I think), I wanted to start wearing foundation. Because I always thought foundation makes your skin looks glowing. And so I bought a Stila liquid makeup oil free foundation.

After I’ve tried it for a week, to my horror, I had pimples all over my face all at once! tak pernah2 naik jerawat batu, keluar jerawat diamond 4 carat.. eeee.. sakitnye hati!
Okay well, I’m exaggerating. But I looked so busuk and comot ok.. with my jerawats all over my face. Well I think its because the texture of the foundation is thick and it is oil-free..so maybe that’s why it clogs my pores.. and keluar jerawat! erkkk.

At first I didn’t really know it was the foundation that caused my pimples. Because at that time, my sisters had been using foundation for about few years already and nothing really happen pun. In fact, lagi lawa jek muka dorang..huhu. So I continue to use it larh.
Then later, lagi banyak keluar…iskk.. then only I knew it was the stupid foundie.

I’ve tried so many products since then.. but nothing really works! DiorSnow, L’Occitane, Oxy, Clinique, Neutrogena, Biotherm, Body Shop, Olay, Loreal etc, just to name a few.. None of these products could make them disappear. The jerawat is like getting bigger and bigger and nastier.

And at that time, my parents have started to worry about me especially my mum. She thought I was very down and upset and frustrated with someone ke ape.. So comel ok..hehee..

So then, I found an article in a newspaper about DermaGenesis. The ambassador for the company was Anita Sarawak. And y’all know how her skin looks like kan..
So glowing and flawless.

So at that time, I thought if I do the treatments there, my skin would be glowing as Anita’s. hehehe.. The consultant suggested me to sign up for the Acne Management Treatment and Scar Revision Programme. There were sixteen treatments altogether. The treatment was called Clear Peeling (CP). 8 treatments for CP and another treatment were IPL (Intense Pulse Light) & NALA (Non Ablative Laser Abrasion), which is another 8 treatments.The laser treatment for my face was not that painful like the diode laser for hair removal for my legs & underarms. In fact, I didn’t really feel anything. Didn’t know it was laser pun for the first few treatments. But, if I’m not mistaken, I think the CP was something to do with acid. The doctor said it was fruit acid or something. Glycolic acid, I think.The purpose of this acid was to exfoliate dead skin that may be occluding the pores. It restores skin integrity, texture and complexion. And of course, they only use mild intervals. Unfortunately, it does nothing to my skin. Well.. maybe a little. The thing does exfoliate dead skin cells, but it does nothing to my pimples. Then, after the third or fourth treatment, I started to complain about the not-so-much-of-a-difference of my skin because I still have pimples after 3 months of signing up the programme.

Then later, the doctor increased the level of the acid or something.. And oh godd!! It BURNED my skin, I tell u!! It was really really truly horrible! My whole face looked like I was drowned in hot water! Everyone at my campus thought I kena dera or accident or something.. Sumpah, it was that horrible! Redness, inflammation, rashes, my skin felt itchy, and there was a slight change of the color of my skin.. Plus my skin texture became so rough!! It felt like I have a three-day-beard all over my face! Isk.
Semua orang dah start tegur.. ada siap ejek lagi.. iskk.. I cried… so many times whenever I looked at myself in the mirror… I looked like a zombie.


Only my two buddies knew how devastated I was.. selalu takde mood.. selalu sorang2…. Taknak jumpa org langsung… jalan pun tunduk.. My self-esteem was so low! I was extremely down.
Heeshh… ingat lagi mcm mane rase dia… ee… ngeri!! I looked really horrible! Even my sister, Along pun mase 1st time nampak pun terkejut gile… huhuh. Padahal mase tu yang dah last punya treatment. Dia pun kata mcm kena dera.. iskk.. Dah la pedih.. Sakit pulak tu.. Menggelupas kulit hakuu! =(
Pastu semua orang pulak tegur! Lagi la tension!! Hee..


I found this pic on internet and this guy here suffered from laser.And in my case, I looked quite the same, minus the square-shaped scar thing..cuz mine is like smeared all over the face! Eeeek!

I was really really upset about it. I regretted and cursed the day I signed up the programme.. bukan nye jadi lagi elok.. lagi teruk ada la! Iskk. but alhamdullilah, it recovered in 3 weeks time. dia jadi mcm terkopek2..

Then… later…few months after I completed the whole treatment, my face was not back to normal pun.. I still have the pimples.. And the worst part is that my skin has become so sensitive since then. It became so thin. And easily irritate and redness and of course, big fat ugly pimples still there!! And so they wanted me to continue another treatment.. Arghh.. Never in a million years!! heh.

I still have the picture of my nasty pimples AFTER I completed the whole treatments! Well.. I’m not really supposed to show you guys this pic.. Because I think its nasty.. (and kinda embarrassing..hehe)
And I hated the pic so much. But what the heck.. dah lame pun kan.. hehe.. ;p

This picture was taken few months after I completed the whole treatments ok!
Okay, obviously the after pic was the one that has rocks sprinkled with fire on top of my cheeks..
Eeeeek.
Stupid CP!
Well.. yeah I know it was not that serious like some other people out there. But bear in mind, this was after zillions of treatments and products okay!! Plus, my skin was not the type yang selalu ade jerawat.. sangat jarang ok.. kalau ada pun, satu je skali keluar. itu pun mase period je. Dia sangat segan nak keluar banyak2.. haihh.

Then later, my mum bought for me a Proactiv Solutions skincare set.
And alhamdullilah, my skin has improved day by day.. Then I continued my monthly facial at Kaj sampai skarang.. My therapist did a great job! I love her!! Hehe..


So… that’s about it..heh. Just wanna share my past experience with you guys.. huhu.. Sorry panjang sangat!! =P

So the moral of the story is, do not try new products or treatments if you’re okay with you’re current products/treatments! But if you really do want and need to try new products.. never buy the whole range or package of the products/treatments. Try one first and see whether it does/does not make any differences, in a good way of course.


Ok never mind, back to the Clarins treatment.. hehee
Ok, so they don’t use any machines kan..They only use hands to massage your face. My therapist was really nice. Her name’s May and she treated me so well.. Their service was superb! Well..the best product combined with the best application techniques, makes it the very best treatments! Hehee..

The treatment was not only for face, but it also includes a little body massage, hand massage, shoulder massage and a bit of yoga or something.. It started off with the little yoga thing followed by a simple body massage to de-stress yourself. And for those who wear contact lenses (CL) like me, they also provide the solutions and contact lens case for you to remove your CL before the treatment.. So your eyes won’t be irritated if the products gets into the eyes..

The treatment was truly unique. The method is entirely manual and integrates a variety of specific and subtlety hand movements. They said, these movements are specially adapted to each treatment so that it heightens the delivery and performance of the active botanical ingredients found in the products used. They stimulate exchanges while maintaining the skin’s integrity and health and also help restore the body and mind’s natural balance and energy.

It really was an unforgettable sensorial experience… Ouh, I really feel so much relaxed now.. hehe.
I really enjoyed the facial. Definitely gonna go there again! Hehe.. I bought some stuff and became their member. And hey, I got a free white patent tote bag! But I don’t think I’m going to use it anyway. So who wants this bag??
And I also got a few vouchers for me to try out their other treatments.. Woohoo!
I bought a complete set of Truly Matte range because my current product (L’occitane & Proactive Solutions) is about to finish. Plus, I’ve tried mum’s Truly Matte lotion and serum and so far okay jer.. And I also bought some White Plus HP products. But I forgot to buy toner.. nvm..next time la…

And hey,there’s also treatments for a new mum to be and even for pregnant ladies.. How cool is that? I mean, usually pregnant ladies are not allowed to do facials, massages, etc, rite? Hmm… I’m not so sure why. But I think it’s because some beauty salon uses some chemicals and some sort of machine that has urm… waves maybe? Or something.
Which would cause harm to your body and skin and is not healthy for the baby, I think.

Anyways, the treatments for mommies are called Beautiful Mother-to-Be for 3-6 Months, Beautiful Mother-to-Be for 6-9 Months and Beautiful New Mother. Each treatment is for 2 hours and it’s for RM 315. Hmm… quite pricey.. tapi kalau skali skala nak indulge in the best pampering experience with Clarins ape salah nye kan…hehee ;p
(And by the way ah-long, when you’re pregnant; I think I wanna give this gift to u larh! Just tell me when kay! We go together2. I can collect my points! Hehe)

I think on my next visit, I’m gonna try the body massage or maybe the Refined Waist treatment. It sounds great! =)

Then after the facial, I watched Step Up 2 with Girl and Naz..

Movie was ohkay laa… I prefer the first one kot.. because the girl in step up 1 was much much cuter! Haha. Cuma the second one ni, I just like the last part where they dance mcm cool giler je with that torched light..heh.. ;)
Hurm… now I feel like going to a dance class... The one yang boleh kurus kan badan.. haha ;p

True Fitness macam best jer… ada latin dance, ada yoga, Pilates, etc. dah laa ada kat Pavillion.hik hik ;p


We had our dinner at CPK.. We ate 4 slices of pizza each!! Ouch! Gemokk nyee!
Oh, I really need to go to a gym or dance class now!

Or maybe I should just control myself and discipline-ly drink my HL shakes like my Ah Long did. Haihh..
Ok la.. The end.. Off to bed. Nite2! ;)



XOXO,
S.