Fun fact: The “smart” sensors of this supercharged skin saviour come courtesy of space-age tech from Nasa, and promise to deliver a carefully calibrated dose of coloured light energy to help your skin with various issues!
The red light is to renew as it’s meant to help repair damaged skin cells while boosting collagen and elastin production, the yellow light is to brighten dull skin, and the blue light is best for treating acne as it soothes and calms the skin.
Even better, the smooth surface of this glossy gadget can also be used to to massage away facial bulging and bloatedness. Pair with a lubricating lotion like the brand’s daily dose serums for the most “slip”, and always glide upwards against the forces of gravity. Top tip: Don’t drag your device downwards – this rookie error is the reason behind the common complaint that these contraptions don’t “work”. (They don’t work because you’re yanking your skin in the wrong direction.) Oh yeah, one more thing: This palm-sized tool is perfect for stashing away in your travel tote for touch-ups on the go – just ask #SingaporeStyle superstars Viola and Velda Tan.
One of the most expensive – if not the most expensive consumer hair dryer available right now – the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer launched this year to much hype. It was quite possibly the first thing to sell out during Sephora Singapore’s recent 20 percent off sale and had to be restocked just hours after the stores opened. Why the hype? For starters, it doesn’t look at all like a typical dryer, instead having a hollow cylindrical head similar to Dyson’s instantly recognisable bladeless fans. It comes with nifty attachments as well, like a smoothing nozzle, a styling nozzle, and a diffuser for a volumising boost.
The Supersonic is also supposed to be a lot quieter than regular hair dryers, and while you might not be able to sleep through the noise, you can actually have a decent conversation while drying your hair – no shouting required. There are four heat settings: 28 deg C, 60 deg C, 80 deg C and 100 deg C. You can also use the hairdryer on “fan” mode, which basically blasts unheated air for the gentlest blow-dry. If your scalp is sensitive to heat, the lowest setting is cool enough while still getting your hair dry. I wouldn’t recommend the highest setting because it can be damaging to your hair unless in the hands of a professional.
This gadget does dry hair a tad faster than regular hair dryers, and the gentle but effective lower heat settings also means you’re less prone to split ends and frizzy flyaways. And of course, no blades means no more hairs getting sucked into the back of the hair dryer! It also is a lot easier to clean than regular hair dryers, which is a bonus.
READ MORE: The best hair care ranges to repair really damaged hair.
Philips is no stranger to face devices, but this year’s Advanced addition to their VisaPure range took it to a whole new level. The VisaPure Advanced is a three-in-one facial care and cleansing device that cleanses that includes two interchangeable massage heads for your face and eyes.
You get to choose between two intensity settings for each attachment, depending on whether you want a more gentle or intensive treatment. The star of the show is surely the Revitalizing Massage attachment. This massage head is rigged with five plastic nubs that roll as it rotates, which promises to mimic the feeling of 750 gentle finger tapping movements per minute on your skin. It was designed by Japanese facial massage and beauty expert Chico Shigeta, who has over 30 years of expertise in facial massage.
It’s a really easy device to use and it can even help slim your jawline and relieve aches you never knew you had in your face, with the aforementioned massage head boasting a variety of benefits like supposedly improving blood circulation, relaxing your face muscles and encouraging lymphatic drainage for a slimmer and more V-shaped face.
READ MORE: How to get a slimmer face with facial massages you can even do yourself.
A new in-salon add-on to your hair colouring service by L’Oréal Professionnel leaves you with healthy-looking shiny hair, and with no extra time spent! If you’ve ever been interested in trying out a hair trend like ombre or rainbow dyed hair, but passed on it because you were worried about damaging your hair with bleaching and colouring, I highly recommend trying it out.
Smartbond is a two-step in-salon process that is fully integrated with your actual colour treatment, so you don’t have to spend any extra time in the salon chair undergoing additional treatments in order to have manageable hair afterwards.
It’s a quick two-step process, the first of which involves a Smartbond additive being stirred into any bleach or colourant for your hair. The rest of the dyeing process proceeds as normal, and then the last of your colourant is rinsed out along with a pre-shampoo. This pre-shampoo is meant to help get rid of all the residual chemicals in your hair that might further weaken your hair bonds, while also locking in the colour of your new hair!
Lastly, a take-home conditioner will allow you to prolong the effects of the Smartbond treatment so your hair stays as vibrant and healthy as possible! After trying it out, my hair was so soft and smooth I could hardly believe I’d just dyed and coloured it.
READ MORE: Similar to Smartbond, the new Olaplex system works much the same way to rebuild the bonds in your hair that are broken during chemical treatments.
While traditional IPL treatments typically involve a device that delivers an intense and somewhat painful pulse of light to damage unwanted hair follicles, EstheClinic uses something called a MacPeel No Pain System (NPS) that “combines high average power, low fluency, and a high repetition rate”.
In other words, what the machine does is treat the area with lower doses of power repeatedly, so that it gradually raises the heat of the dermis to the temperature required to effectively damage the hair follicle. You don’t experience one strong zap, but rather a less painful series of zaps that build up the heat to “kill” the hairs at the root.
A handheld IPL device is swept across your skin in a back-and-forth motion, and while this allows the heat from the lower IPL pulses to increase gradually, it also gives the surface of your skin a second to cool down between repetitions, which is why there’s virtually no burning or pain.
Your therapist will also adjust the settings on the machine to a heat level suited to your skin tone (the darker your skin, the lower the heat needs to be for pain management). Admittedly, this will hurt a little if you have darker skin, but it’s quite tolerable and you can ask the therapist to turn the intensity down if you’re in discomfort. Overall, the somewhat comfortable IPL experience was extremely effective – you’ll notice the hairs on your leg will take longer and longer to grow back over time.
READ MORE: 5 reasons to choose IPL instead of waxing or shaving.