A few months ago, we wrote about nostalgia. Then, we’d said that just by looking at the many changes Porcelain had been through, it felt like nothing is ever taken for granted here. Fast forward five months and we’re looking at Porcelain’s latest baby, Porcelain Origins — otherwise known as Singapore’s first smart spa. Do things ever stop moving?
Nope.
Last week, we threw a party like we do it every day. It’s not every day, though, that a smart spa is launched. Suddenly, the pride factor in working for one of Singapore’s boutique cult spa brands shot to the stratosphere. “Hi, I’m Kelly. I do XYZ at Porcelain, Singapore’s first smart spa.” I sound 1000x cooler, already.
Here, try it: “Hi, I’m Lana. I visit Porcelain for my facial treatments — you know, Singapore’s first smart spa?”
Super sexy, no?
“But really, the real kicker here is the boutique spa’s seamless utilisation of digital technology to give you a no BS, super functional luxury experience.”
| Buro 24/7
How About A Tour Around Singapore’s First Smart Spa?
We love how Buro 24/7 has put it so succinctly. Now let’s take it from the top.
Product Discovery Bar
What we’ve gathered from years of experience (of being human) is… most of us don’t have much love for hovering salespeople. That wasn’t really the most crucial reason we spent so much time visualizing this bar into reality, but it’s an important one.
Welcome to our official product playground. The product discovery bar’s camera intuitively senses your presence, greets you, then helps you explore Porcelain’s products in a pretty fun way. Pick up any one of the four products in the center of the bar — they each stand for different common skin concerns. You’ll soon find yourself being told (by our smart screen, no less) to pick up the products that are relevant for that particular skin woe… in sequence. Done? That’s your skincare regime right there.
Digital Consultation Rooms
Here, get ready for a paperless consultation and a fun (but not fun-sized) interactive tabletop screen that meets and greets you. Watch as our consultant plays with a tablet (cleverly paired with said screen) and takes you through your skin concerns, treatment recommendations and plans.
Your first reaction might be to touch it just to see if it’s — well, a touchscreen. And you can! And it is! Find out more about different treatments and products this way. Though we weren’t too sure if our guests were really reading or just enjoying the animations…
Powder Room: Even Mirrors’ IQs Have ↑ Its Game
A typical spa visit ends with a cup of tea to wind down and wrap up the visit. You leave feeling great and head out anticipating a greater day ahead. But naturally, Murphy’s Law strikes, right? You exit the mall with glowing skin in a good mood — only to hear thunder… rolling, angry thunder.
But what if a mirror in a spa could tell you thatmain ? Ingenious.
That said, it does much more than just that. We are such fans of greeting our guests that even our mirrors do it too — apart from the two screens that you’d already read about. So functional are our mirrors, they even tell you precisely how to care for your skin post-thetreatmentyoujustdid. They also send a compliment your way for a confidence boost. It’s so polite, it even asks you to choose your preferred tea flavor while you’re getting ready for the world.
All you need to do to activate this super personalized butler is scan the little QR code in the corner using our Porcelain app.
A Smart Spa Can’t Do Without An App, Can It?
The aforementioned app is another digital baby we recently launched. The third iteration of our Porcelain app reveals a major visual and functional overhaul in a user-friendly way.
Because we tried really hard to be contactable (we had Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, calls, emails and a live chat as possible platforms to reach us), we might have killed ourselves and clients a little. To make things much easier, this 3rd-generation Porcelain app offers a pocket-friendly way to:
- View upcoming appointments
- Read about and reserve treatments with your favourite therapist(s)
- Read about, shop and review products
- View the treatment plan your therapist customized for you
- Chat with us if you are bored / have questions
- Read our blog and latest entries (like this one)
… and more coming your way.
Want in? Download the Android version here, Apple version here, or just scan this to access our smart playground:
Singapore’s First Smart Spa Is Super Plush
In the main room: Velvet, marble tiles, swathes of bold jewel colours and splashes of gold. Large window mirrors line a wall and an impressive marble-top table occupies the front bit of the café lounge-cum-waiting area.
Inside: What looks like an unassuming space hides a maze of 3 consultation rooms, 14 treatment rooms and leads to a dimly LED-lit hallway. We’ve lovingly dubbed this The Transition Zone because the stark contrast to the vibrancy outside helps acclimatize you to a mental state of relaxation.
The entire spa’s design takes inspiration from our shophouse beginnings and the delicate balance between nature and technology.
Shophouse elements pepper the store, such as traditional window arches and a main entrance that simulates a shophouse’s own. These are contrasted with a liberal use of marble, velvet and gold accents to lend a modern, luxurious touch to the more conventional features. Behind this design inspiration lies Porcelain’s deep roots in our Singaporean heritage, with a sight on growth beyond just the little red dot, beyond skincare.
Then, mood lights cast rippling pools of “water” and all treatment rooms feature murals of air, sea and land that climb up the side walls to the ceilings. Contrast these with the modern, futuristic touches in the Transition Zone, where LED laser lights create dramatic plays of light that cut across the ceilings, walls and floors.
But Origins is really the farthest thing from pretentious.
We apologize if this post came off a tad over-the-top and vain — but we are pretty pleased this years-long project has finally materialized — in Paragon, no less! Excuse us while we pop another bottle of champagne (yes, it’s only Thursday).