Bonnie & Clyde

I have been patronising a beauty saloon for some years now. And believe me, at my age, skin care is an investment.

Needless to say, the marketing department have been coming up with endless new breakthroughs in facial care; anti-aging, anti-pigmentation, anti-blemish, anti-acne, de-stress, re-hydrate and not to mention some kinda laser light being projected onto your skin to trigger cell renewal. You name it, they’ve got it. But recently they’ve claimed the “1st in Malaysia 24K Gold Masque.”

Gold? You kidding me? Isn’t that toxic? Isn’t that kinda like some Malay kampung “susuk" hoodoo thingy? That’s where pontianaks come from right?

I digress... the original pontianak story involves a certain vain Malay woman who wanted to look beautiful. A bomoh advised her to put gold or precious stones beneath her facial skin. Like all fairy tales, he warned her that although she will look breathtaking, her beauty will fade if she ever looks into a mirror, and she will be hideous for all eternity. And guess what she did?

(of course, as with all myths, there are various versions)

Anyways.

The Cost:
Being a sucker for a good bargain, I was offered a special discount of RM100 per gold facial if I bring a friend along. Mind you, the original price is RM540 ok. And so we went, hand in hand with my friend Chris, with hopes of looking like the next Maya Karin, who incidentally, played the role of the pontianak in “Pontianak Sundal Malam.” Hehe.

The Task:
The facial started off like any other facial but with lots of fingertip massage and mist to ‘tenderise’ the skin. I think most of the mist went up my nostrils. Heh. Finally came the gold foil. It was laid most gently on my face in 4 main pieces. I was told not to move after the gold foil was applied but all I wanted to do was to scratch my nose, sneeze, cough and pee.

After letting the gold absorb for 20 mins, it was rubbed off. I could still see remnants of the gold on my nose, which gave me an impression that my skin could not absorb the gold the way a normal masque could be absorbed.

The Verdict:
1 1/2 hours later, neither of us could see any difference. Sure, we look fairer like we always do post facial.

The Reaction:
Clyde was having a good time laughing his ass off and asking if it would make any difference if I used a chocolate foil wrapper instead. Chris’ hubby, Lee was also having a good time with smart ass remarks. I dunno about Chris, but I always have a good time being pampered.

:P