Nestled above the Shilla Duty Free store in the Changi Airport Terminal 3 Departure Transit area, the Chanel Beauty Lounge is a boutique space offering pre-flight pampering sessions and sales of exclusive products. Access to this lounge is by appointment or invitation only.
I received a Mastercard Concierge email offering a complimentary pre-departure treatment here for myself and a partner. Upon successful registration, an email with a PDF ticket was sent to me. An additional step was required: I needed to email the Chanel Lounge concierge directly to make a reservation too. My husband and I had the pleasure of visiting the lounge twice – once before our trip to Vietnam and another before our trip to Maldives a few months after.
On our first visit, our flight was scheduled to depart from Terminal 1. As such, my husband and I had to complete immigration at Terminal 1 first before taking the free-to-ride Skytrain over to Terminal 3. The lounge is situated right after the Terminal 3 immigration. Heading up the spiral staircase in the middle of the Shilla Duty Free store, we made a left and arrived at the entrance.
The ambience here was hushed and serene, like we were in our own little bubble away from the airport bustle below. Eileen, the sole lounge staff in sight, offered us a drink from options of coffee, tea and water. I opted for jasmine green tea while my husband had a small carton of water. On our second visit, he tried the coffee.
We were asked to sign up for a Chanel membership (no fees involved) while she prepared the treatment room. As there was only one treatment room, we had to take turns going in. She then explained the treatment options available, all of which take about 20 minutes:
– Relaxing Before Boarding (shoulder and hand massage)
– Travel In Comfort (facial and face massage with optional makeup application after)
– Anti Jet Lag Eye Treatment (facial with eye contour treatment)
– Break For Men (facial with shoulder and neck massage)
During our first visit, my husband and I went for the Break For Men and Travel In Comfort options respectively. He went first and reported a pretty decent experience. His massage portion included the upper arms as well.
My session started with Eileen asking a few questions about my usual skincare routine and the products I use. She then pulled out a range of Chanel products she felt would be suitable and introduced their benefits, many of them with red camellia as the active ingredient (these were used during my facial). The lights were dimmed and a soundtrack of rustling forest sounds began to play.
The treatment comprised a brief cleansing with micellar water, followed by a toner, serum and moisturizer application. Next was a tension-relieving facial massage – this was really comfortable initially as the moisturizer acted as a lubricant. However, as it started to dry, the massage felt more like frictional pulling and tugging at my skin, which wasn’t very pleasant. Finally, a quick spritz of an aerosol-based moisturizer, sunscreen application and a touch of natural-shade lipstick that apparently can also be used as rouge.
Throughout the process, she was liberal in sharing skincare tips, such as the importance of getting a repairing type of serum for night use as that’s when our skin is most effective in regeneration. I liked how most of the products felt and smelled, especially the smooth toner and natural-looking lipstick, but the sunscreen was the sort that would leave white blotchy patches.
On our second visit (Eileen surprisingly remembered us), my husband decided to try the Relaxing Before Boarding while I opted for the Anti Jet Lag Eye Treatment. He went in first again and described it to be a simple shoulder, arm and hand massage with products applied on his arms and hands.
When it came my turn, Eileen jumped right in to the treatment portion since we’d already gone through the introductory motion the last time. First, she used micellar water for a brief cleansing and applied eye cream after. Then, she gave me a neck and eye massage, specifically using a tool on the pressure points around my eyes. The treatment concluded with the application of serum, cream and light lipstick, as well as a couple of spritzes of the aerosol-based moisturizer.
Before we left the lounge, she presented us with a Chanel sticker set and samples for us to bring back – a really nice touch! Mine was a revitalizing serum while my husband got a Bleu fragrance and 3-in-1 moisturizer. The second time round, I got serum and cream samples of the ones she used on me earlier while my husband received yet another Bleu fragrance.
My overall rating of the experience: 4 out of 5 stars. For a complimentary treatment and lounge experience, I thought it was wonderful. The sleek space was inviting and provided a welcome respite from the bustling airport atmosphere. Inside the treatment room was like a tranquil cocoon that allowed me to just disconnect and properly relax. Most of the Chanel products felt and smelled good, though my facial massage on our first visit was a tad unpleasant given all the skin-tugging that went down. One thing that I thought could’ve elevated the experience would be to include a wider range of beverage options and offer some light bites to go along with them. Anyway, I was genuinely glad there was no hard-selling to contend with, and we were even handed complimentary samples and stickers to take home after!
If this post helped you in some way and you’d like to buy me a coffee, I’d be incredibly grateful (:
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