Traders’ Hotel Spa Revamps; Strip Tatts; Osim’s Trial Pod

The last thing I need right now is to have to compete for workout space so I was relieved when Traders Hotel launched its newly refurbished Health Club & Spa (4/F Traders Hotel, 1A Cuscaden Rd., 6831-4350), which is an integrated fitness centre equipped with everything to fulfil your holistic lifestyle needs. It also has something your regular gym doesn’t: A spa. This one features some extravagant treatments, including the Ready Set Gold body, face and scalp treatment using highly prized argan oil. Year-long memberships are open to the public and can be had for $1800. Register from now till Nov 30 for a 15% early bird reduction.
I’ve always liked Strip; they really are the global “waxpert.” Now that they’ve got a spanking new space at their City Hall (#B1-19 Raffles City Shopping Centre, 252 North Bridge Rd., 6837-0070) outlet, they’re diversifying beyond hair removal. I tried out their Strip Tatt ($10 for an ala carte service and $8 if you have a package with Strip) the other day and thought the entire service was just… odd. One of the “Striperellas” sticks a stencil on whichever part of your body you want the tattoo on and smears henna over it to produce a brownish tattoo in your preferred shape. The whole process takes about seven minutes and costs more than a tub of henna. As a complimentary add-on to your customary wax, it may be a cute novelty but on its own, nah.
Despite celebrating its 30th anniversary this year (wow, has it been that long?), lifestyle brand OSIM (#04-15 ION Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn, 6509-1085) has revamped its entire retail concept, to include a spaceship-like fixture called the Trial Pod, which enables you to test out wellness machines like the ukimono Mini, uCrown, uDolly and uMist.