4 mobile beauty services perfect for busy S'pore women

Mobile spa service

The Outcall Spa

Founded by two busy mummies, The Outcall Spa is pretty much a spa on wheels because what the homegrown company provides are beauty and wellness services.

Ms Chong Li Yuen, 36, and her business partner, Ms Stella Tan, 35, came up with this idea after realising that Singapore lacks housecall massage therapy services. The two co-founders themselves are huge fans of massages and selected their team of four massage therapists after interviewing over 200 applicants.

This mobile spa is probably every massage enthusiast's dream come true. It is especially desirable for those of us who would much rather get a massage from the comforts of our own abodes and are way too busy (or lazy) to step out during the weekends.

After booking an appointment with The Outcall Spa, your therapist will come bearing a portable bed (yes, you read that right) as well as a selection of special massage oils. You'll get to choose your preferred aromatherapy scent, too. And get this -- the therapist will even come bearing a portable music player to set the mood as you enjoy your massage.

We tried out their ear candling service as well. Did you know? Ear candling therapy could help you achieve that coveted V-shaped face. It was an interesting experience for us, especially since we had never tried out such a treatment before. Though it was a little daunting at first, we could feel that the area under our earlobes had become less "fleshy" post-treatment. The therapists had skillfully massaged that specific area as part of the ear candling service.

The Outcall Spa opened in April this year, a mere six months after the idea was conceptualised. And we hear that the founders are already finding it tough to cope with overwhelming demand from customers. All this without any form of advertisement done. Pretty impressive, huh?

For bookings and enquiries, visit www.theoutcallspa.com.

Mobile make-up service

Gin Chia Make-Up

If you are still riding the K-beauty wave and would like to have a Hallyu-inspired makeover for a special occasion -- this local make-up artist could help you with just that.

Ms Gin Chia, 34, who is a former airline stewardess, also specialises in doing bridal make-up and has even been booked her make-up services as early as a year in advance.

She primarily uses cosmetics from Korean brands such as Etude House, Tony Moly, 3CE and also well-known brands like Urban Decay as well as Make Up For Ever.

To complete one full Korean make-up look, Ms Chia said she only requires about one hour. This includes prepping clients' skin accordingly and finishing off their desired looks with false eyelashes. She strongly encourages clients to put on false eyelashes because it helps to "open their eyes and show off more of the eye make-up".

With her skills, we think Ms Chia's make-up style would appeal to locals as she has had an extensive experience working on Singaporean faces. After all, she chooses to create her make-up looks with cosmetics from Japan and Korea as she believes these products are more suitable for Asian skin.

Ms Chia previously held a corporate job but decided to turn in the towel once she had kids. However in order to still provide some support for her family and feed her passion, Ms Chia decided to take on being a part-time make-up artist and beauty professional.

Besides doing makeover, Ms Chia also does hair and make-up tutorials for women who are interested in learning more about how to apply make-up on a daily basis.

"My favourite look is the smokey eye, I think it looks great against Asian skin and I play around with it on my clients," Ms Chia said.

Her biggest make-up inspiration? YouTube make-up vlogger and Korean personality, Pony.

It's no wonder Ms Chia is high on trying to replicate Korean beauty looks for her customers - what's more, it seems brides these days are in love with following Korean make-up trends for their natural and not-so-bold look, according to Ms Chia.

For bookings and enquiries, visit www.ginchiamakeup.com or email ginchiamakeup@gmail.com.

Mobile nails service

Tenth Nails

Do you need someone who can take care of your nails anytime, anywhere? If you do, this local nail technician might be the fairy godmother you've always wanted.

For eight years now, Ms Cindy Chia, 31, has been providing mobile nail services for people in the comfort of their own homes as well as at uncommon venues like hospitals.

Having loved manicures and pedicures from a young age, Ms Chia admits that it was her ex-boyfriend who encouraged her to take the first step towards a career in doing nails.

With courses completed at The Pink Room International Nail Academy, Ms Chia is an accomplished nail technician who is her own boss.

And with her years of experience in the niche industry of mobile beauty services, it is no wonder why Ms Chia's clients have remained her loyal customers for the last eight years.

"I've watched my client's children grow up, that's how long they've been my customers," she said in an interview with AsiaOne.

We also had the chance to try out Ms Chia's services. She treated us to a gel manicure right here in our office and it's safe to say the results were just as great as a manicure you would get at a proper nail salon - only this time, we got to experience it while at work. How cool is that?

Ms Chia says she tries to cater to each client's needs by not imposing restrictions like standard operating hours.

She said: "I follow a case-by-case basis and try to accommodate to the customer's needs. As long as she informs me ahead of time, I'll be able to make it anywhere, anytime."

"I've even had customers at 4am and 5am."

And if you're not keen about someone coming over to your home, you can still try out Ms Chia's services at her home in Yishun as she has a room dedicated to doing nails.

"I have over 300 shades of nail polish. I use brands like Angel Pro Nail and OPI," she said.

With over 80 clients under her wing, Ms Chia recommends that appointments be made three days prior to the desired date.

For bookings and enquiries, visit Tenth Nails' Facebook page or call Ms Chia at 90044605.

Mobile hair service

Prince Hair Obsession

It's quite rare for a person to say they got their hair done at home. But you should, especially if you're too busy or too tired to head out to your hair salon.

From haircuts to blow-dries and hair colouring too, local hair stylist Prince Bryan Tan, 21 is one such person who provides mobile hair services in Singapore.

Since completing his National Service in March this year, Mr Tan decided to pursue what he had put on hold after graduating from ITE - a career in hair-styling and design. However, he wanted to do things at his own pace and so decided to try providing mobile hair services.

On average, he gets about 30 clients per month which is something he is happy with, seeing how he's only depended on word-of-mouth and Carousell to spread the word about his services.

Mr Tan says the products he uses are the same brands that brick-and-mortar hair salons use as well.

There are no shortcuts to his work just because he caters to clients at their homes but he did admit that he is unable to provide services like perming as certain equipment is required.

"In such cases, they can come over to my house to get their treatment done as I have the necessary tools there," Mr Tan told AsiaOne.

One unfortunate thing about having hair treatments done at home however, is that washing will have to be done on your own.

However, Mr Tan said that this rarely poses a problem to his clients. He added that one of his best clients are parents, because they love to have him cut their kids' hair as it saves them the embarrassment of watching their child throw a tantrum in a salon.

We had the pleasure of having Mr Tan style one of our own AsiaOne colleagues at the office - which he managed to do with a curling tong, blow-dryer and some nifty hair-clips to secure the look.

The resulting look appeared effortless yet perfect for a casual date and took just 30 minutes to complete.

Mr Tan takes in clients 24/7 but he encourages customers to book appointments with him at least two days in advance to secure a place.

For enquiries and bookings, call Mr Tan at 83065334.

ssandrea@sph.com.sg

mldas@sph.com.sg