Blissed Out: Bliss Spa at The W Hong Kong

I have to confess, I have a HUGE soft spot for the Bliss concept – any spa that serves up brownies as part of their spa menu has automatically won a place in my heart, as for me, going to a spa is all about treating oneself and indulging, rather than being saintly and healthy. Though I’ve experienced Bliss before in New York (book one of their Triple Oxygen facials after a long haul flight and no jet-lagged pale, grey skin), I’m ashamed to admit that I hadn’t yet tried out the Bliss Spa here in our very own Hong Kong based on the top floor of The W. Arriving at The W for my treatment, I wished I had planned a bit better to take advantage of the fab facilities, or even arranged to meet up with my husband for drinks afterwards by the pool. The W is totally over-the-top fabulous, and has really grown into itself over the past 18 months or so since it opened. There’s a real buzz about this place, even in the afternoon, and I loved walking through the super-cool lobby areas before heading straight for the very top floor! Bliss has a clean, fresh feel with plenty of blues and greens and fun music playing which instantly perks up your mood.

I was recommended to try the Fully Loaded Facial, which is a totally luxurious 90 minute treatment including a deep cleansing, fruit acid wash, oxygen wrap, extractions, facial massage, an age-fighting collagen ampoule, seaweed mask, head, neck, shoulder, hand and foot massage, a hydrating hair dew treatment and finally an O2 blast. Phew! I was a little concerned that the whole thing might give me that feeling of treatment overkill, where you’re lying there thinking, “how can they possibly put anything else on my face?”, but in fact the flow through the processes felt very smooth and at each step the therapist explained what she was doing and checked that I was OK. There are a couple of moments where you can feel a little claustrophobic (the seaweed mask goes over your eyes, and I chickened out of having it put over my lips too), so make sure you tell your therapist if you’ve got a stuffy nose at all. I was a bit of a high maintenance client, needing to be very upright during the treatment because I’m too heavily pregnant to lie on my back, and needing to stop a couple of times to ask for water, change of temperature, and just to freak out a little as I had a couple of contractions. My therapist couldn’t have been nicer though, and really made me feel as though nothing was too much trouble.

The real proof of the pudding with a facial of course is how you emerge looking and feeling. Well, apart from a little bit of redness on the areas where I’d had the extractions my skin felt smooth, plump and without any shine or oiliness that can accompany facials. I just applied a little YSL Touche Eclat under my eyes, and was happy to walk out otherwise makeup-free. I felt able to put on makeup later that evening to go out, and loved how soft and smooth my skin felt. The glowing look stayed with me about three or four days, and I was impressed that I didn’t get a single break-out post-treatment.

I really think that if you’re looking for a facial in Hong Kong, Bliss is absolutely the way to go, for the very simple reason that their treatments always do exactly what they promise: make your skin look fabulous. If you’re tired, stressed out and have lost your oomph, Bliss can make you look the very opposite. For this reason, Bliss is a total Sassy favourite and we’ll definitely be back for more!

Bliss Spa, W Hong Kong, 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon Station, Kowloon, 3717 2222.