Facially not-neutral
(a lawyer joke. and not a good one, either. i'm sorry.)

Just came back from my first facial ever. Wow! Very posh.

An associate at Magic Circle Firm had some coupons for a complimentary treatment of a facial or a massage, and though I do love massages, I picked the facial, as I've never had one. So I scheduled myself for this morning at 10 am (partly to get myself out of the apartment, so as not to repeat the sloth of last weekend), and found the place pretty easily, and entered the world of poshiness.

I was offered some tea, led upstairs and shown the facilities, and given a locker and a robe to change into. I was then ushered into a dimly lit room with a towel- and blanket-covered table, asked to lie down, and covered completely -- swaddled, almost -- except for my face, which was: washed, given some sort of treatment involving a mask and steam, washed again, given the "extraction" treatment (a fancy word for "picking out blackheads with some sort of tool), washed again, covered completely with a heavy, mud-textured "hydration" mask, and delicately moisturized. Oh, and in the middle somewhere, I received a neck and shoulder massage, a scalp massage, and a face massage. All for free (equivalent value: US$50)! Oh, plus the $15 extra I paid for shaping my eyebrows.

All through this, my eyes were covered with some sort of moistened pads, and soft new age music with birds chirping played in the background. It was cool and dark. Quite interesting to experience everything through sounds and textures rather than sight.

For those of you who've had facials or have ever visited a spa, none of this will seem particularly noteworthy, but for me, it was a new experience. I enjoyed it, but also felt very conscious of lying there as someone ministered to me. I couldn't quite relax. And I'm not convinced that my skin looks any better (though my eyebrows look sharp). But it was still very, very nice. Who knows - I might go back next weekend!