There are weeks in the year where you feel drained, unsatisfied, and for lack of better description, completely dried out. Sometimes you need some sort of reset – something to make you feel alive again. A spa retreat is easily the best way to do this. Doing one alone can help you refocus, re-energize, and feel reconnected to yourself. But there’s something about planning a girl-date around a spa retreat or treatment that triggers joy in your smile and pep in your step. This is exactly what I did with gal pal and fellow blogger, Vic (some of you may know her as my blog-bestie, The Lust Listt).
Vic and I had the pleasure of visiting the Miraj Hammam Spa by Caudalie (located on the 5th floor of the Shangri-La) for our spa retreat. It was heavenly. As soon as we got off on the 5th floor, we felt a wave of relaxation sweep up on us (something about the smell of the spa just makes you leave your stress out the door, y’know?).
The spa is known for their signature treatment, the Hammam & Gommage, which is what we signed ourselves up for. We definitely weren’t disappointed. The treatment is composed of steaming and exfoliation. They bring you into a eucalyptus infused steam room for the half an hour treatment and as soon as you enter it’s almost as if you can already breathe easier. We wanted to bring our cameras in but you literally couldn’t see anything beyond the dreamy steam.
After the Hammam, in which you’ve soaked in the steam room (literally after 5 minutes, you’re soaked – I suggest using their disposable panties and not your own or else you’ll be going commando afterwards 
), a very sweet aesthetician brings you into the exfoliating low-intensity steam area. She uses this eucalyptus infused black Moroccan soap with exfoliating gloves to scrub you down for this portion, called Gommage. It feels like you’re not only being exfoliated to the max, but like you’re also getting a massage. I’ll admit it’s a weird enjoyable feeling to be washed. It kind of makes you feel in between a child again and royalty. It’s incredible.
This treatment originates from authentic Middle East traditions (think Middle Eastern royalty) and is centred around cleansing your body and stimulating your senses. You truly feel like you’re in a dream (and not in the core of financial district), amongst the thick fog, as you lay in the steam room. The room is also adorned with Jerusalem gold marble- very fancy.
After the treatment, your skin feels completely rejuvenated and new – yes, totally like a baby’s bottom. You walk out of that stream room feeling so refreshed, I can’t even describe the feeling to full effect. Although, we learned that you’re not supposed to exfoliate this intensely too often, man, I would do this every day if I could 
I couldn’t stop touching my skin afterwards, it felt like silk.
Vic and I had such a blast together – we lay there, talked about personal goals, feelings (because we’re girls, c’mon), and just let the stress from the real world slip away. For me, there’s something about doing a spa retreat or treatment with a girlfriend that allows me to take down my #girlboss guard and just enjoy the moment.
We spend so much time thinking and planning for what’s next and how to be a step ahead, we forget to take care of ourselves. This spa retreat was not only physically cleansing, but mentally cleansing too.
After the treatment, we got to relax in their lounge full of drapery and rich gold accents. They served us sweet tea with grapes and baklava and it was the perfect ending to this royal treatment.
All the products they used in our treatment was by Caudalíe. The scent of the cleansers, soaps, and body lotion not only in the treatment but in the change room as well just made you want to buy out the entire stock. It didn’t smell like perfume or over-bearing, it smelt like relaxation (if that’s even a way to describe a scent).
The entire girl-date spa retreat experience was honestly exactly what the doctor would’ve prescribed for me. While we’re putting it all on the table, I was having such a horrible week when this came along. As strong as we like to pretend to be all the time, we’re really not; and I’ve learnt that I need to listen to my body when it’s telling me to stop and take care of it. And TBH, neither me nor Vic have ever actually had a spa treatment (beside waxing, manis, pedis, and the alike). Experiencing it for the first time together was just the cherry on top!
