Salon Archives - Rupert Approves

{Win!} A Pampering Treatment At YouBar Salon

I was at the Doctor a few weeks back, and after the initial diagnosis (Bronchitis) he pulled me into a separate room and quietly said “but what you really need, Kate, are under eye fillers” while making me gaze at my haggard, sleep deprived reflection in the mirror.

So when YouBar salon recently contacted me to review and giveaway an anti-ageing facial, my immediate response was “yes please!”.

Confession time: I haven’t had a facial in over 10 years. In fact, when my son was born, every little luxury flew out the window. My beauty routine now consists of a monthly mass Veet (I pretty much cover three-quarters of my body in hair removal and hope for the best), borrowing my baby’s aqueous cream as a moisturizer and a manicure comes in the form of spilled beetroot juice that’s stained my talons. So, in my Doctors defense, I’m looking like shit, and in desperate need of some pamper time.

I’m also terrified of dead air, which means 90 minutes on a salon bed with just me and the therapist to shoot the breeze leaves me feeling nauseously nervous. Except, Floyd, the angel-sent-from-earth-therapist was just too amazing. She was confident, knowledgeable and completely put me at ease. She didn’t even judge me when I told her what products I was currently using (Vaseline, spit, Johnsons).

I had a !QMS Winter Anti-Ageing Treatment which was an hour and a half of pure bliss. I remember at the time trying to memorise the product names, but in all honestly all I can compare it to is ‘the most relaxed hour and a half of my life’. The !QMS range is incredible, and the treatments, combined with Floyds application, the head feet and hand massage and the warm room left me feeling amazing. And I’m not just saying that. I genuinely don’t know why I have waited this long to go for a facial, and if I can squeeze this into my budget I will definitely be making this a monthly thing (My kid doesn’t really need nappies every day, does he?).

Once the treatment was up and my skin felt as if a Unicorn had farted on it, Floyd walked me back downstairs to the salon side of YouBar (The treatment rooms are all located upstairs).There I encountered Utopia. Ladies sat side by side sipping on wine and having their nails done, products and bespoke jewelry pieces adorned the raw wood shelves, and the entire ambience was one of ‘come, sit stressed lady, drink and be pretty with us’. I was hooked.

The next day at work 3 people commented on my glow (and not in a “you‘re so pregnant way” in a “you actually look less hellish than yesterday”, way).

The good news is that YouBar are giving one Rupert Approves reader the same !QMS anti-ageing treatment that I had. The even better news is that YouBar knows that being a mom (or dad) a woman (or man) and a career person are not mutually exclusive, so they (unlike our friends at every other retail store) are open in the evenings , which makes it the perfect place for a post work pamper.

As an added bonus, YouBar is giving every Rupert Approves reader 10% off any full sized retail product when booking a facial. Simply quote ‘Rupert Approves’ and then give them the mystery handshake and door knock. I jest.

It’s so easy to enter:

Comment on this blog and tell me why you need this treatment – you can also motivate on behalf of someone to win it
Make sure you like the Rupert Approves Facebook page

The Tees and The Cees

Winner will be drawn randomly
Prize must be redeemed and used by 1 September 2016
Winner must be based in Joburg or be able to get to YouBar in Joburg on their own
Competition ends on Monday 13 June 2016

You can find YouBar online, on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. tell them I sent you (because I REALLY want to be invited back).

Good Luck!

To Thai For – Win One Of Two Experiences with Enmasse Massage!

September 2, 2015 33 Comments

Guys, I hardly ever do the spa scene. I am truly the most awkward spa-goer there is. Firstly, I always wear the wrong things, I feel completely lame in front of the therapist and I generally lie there as stiff as a rod wondering if my feet smell from the pumps I was wearing that day. Don’t even get me started on bikini waxes – when suddenly my cellphone becomes the most important thing in the world while the therapist pulls and yanks things that not even my husband has seen. So, it was with slight hesitation that I agreed to accompany some friends for a Thai massage this week.

I’m so glad I said yes though – because Enmasse is absolutely amazing. It’s not your typical spa – all burning incense and humming dolphins. It’s beautiful; dark, stark and minimalistic – with modern music, a tea bar and extraordinarily friendly staff.

Assuming this would be the typical spa experience – where one emerges as oiled up as a Brakpan mechanic, I arrived suitably prepared with 3 day old unwashed hair. Awkies. One remains clothed and un-oiled the entire time. (Because, according to Enmasse, it’s not that kind of party). The massage process, for want of a better word, is neat and clean, there are no standing beds with head cutouts, instead the massage areas are partitioned off by white linen walls and patrons lie on the floor on fancy feeling duvets and pillows.

My masseuse, Thandi, was lovely – she didn’t even snort when I apologized for being fat. She simply made me feel totally at ease while she bent and manipulated every part of my body. I didn’t even worry about sweaty feet. Alas, the loser in me reared her awkward head at the end of the massage when Thandi left me lying on the ground. Do I wait here I wondered? Ya, I’m sure I wait here. So waited I did, as still as a plank. After 5 minutes with no return of the Thandi I started hissing for my friends. ‘Lauren!?” “Jasmine??”. “Guys?”. Eventually I stood up, only to find all the massage areas completely empty and made up. No sign of human life remaining. I skulked into the main parlour and found them giggling (not at me, they promised) on the couches drinking herbal tea, or ‘betrayal beverages’ as I now call them.

Check out their website for their offerings. They even do pre-natal massage which is something I desperately needed when I was preggers. Sadly, asking my husband for a foot rub didn’t quite do the trick.

So, even though I may have overstayed my welcome a tad, no-one made me feel uneasy. Not even when I dropped an earring under a chair and had half the staff on hands and knees looking for it. I am not kidding when I say I’m that person.

The fabulous owners at Enmasse would now like you to experience what I went through (minus the sweaty feet and awkwardness, of course). I’m giving away two 60 minute massages valued at R420 each.

Entering is easy:

Like Enmasse on Facebook
Follow Rupert Approves
Leave a comment on this post. Any comment will do, but I will be swayed by bribery of ‘You’re so pretty’ and ‘Gosh you look thin today’.

The Ts and The Cs and the thank you pareese.

Enmasse is located on Corlett Drive, Sandton. Winners must make their way to and from the venue
The competition closes at 5 pm on Friday
The prize is not transferrable
Competition mechanics must be followed in order to stand in line to win
I was only kidding about nice comments. Kinda.

As an added bonus. Enmasse is offering R100 off a massage for every Rupert Approves reader. Simply use the top secret code word ‘Rupert Approves’ when claiming and booking.