Skin Deep: Boot Camp, Great Feet and Men's Moisturizer

Booting Up

The city’s PR representatives have been trying to get me to a bootcamp class for more than a year, and for more than a year I have defiantly resisted. So why did I decide to sign up for a class with Original Bootcamp last week? For one, thanks to twice-weekly (ish) Bodypump classes, I am slightly fitter than I used to be. Second, Original Bootcamp, a Malaysia-based company that launched in 2009 and is now expanding here, was offering media-only trials. I figure that the baseline fitness level of my fellow desk jockeys would probably be pretty low compared to that of your garden variety bootcamp enthusiast, and thus I stood a better chance of not humiliating myself as I trundled disconsolately around Victoria Park. How right I was. We were a sad gaggle indeed as we hopped in and out of cones, jumped over and crawled under obstacles, and threw heavy ropes around—all with the aim of improving our co-ordination and movement skills, and getting a jolly good workout at the same time. My favorite part was when we had to race to flip heavy tires to one point and back, and I beat all the boys!!!! After spending seven years at secondary school being scorned by PE teachers and he-man sports jerks alike, it felt good to win at something—even if it was against a bunch of fellow unco journalists. If you also fancy conquering your fear of public exercise, I suggest you give it a go. It’s fun!
Original Bootcamp is set to launch in April; log on to their website for more details: www.bootcamp.hk.

Great Feet

There’s already been a lot of buzz about Ten Feet Tall, Dragon-i founder Gilbert Yeung’s first foray into the spa and foot massage business, but I’m excited for a whole different reason that has nothing to do with the “Hamptons vibe” (their words, not mine) or the juice bar. Finally, you can get a good massage at a quality place in the middle of Central for a reasonable price! An aromatic oil massage is just $388 for 50 minutes, or $580 for 75 minutes, which falls nicely between the $900 sports massage at Elemis Day Spa and the $180, slightly scary rubdown at that massage place that may or may not be a brothel. Being primarily a foot massage place, I booked in for a 50-minute reflexology treatment one lunchtime, and though it’s on the pricier side at $258 for 50 minutes, it really was a treat. The private room comes with its own hand basin and amenities, there’s a huge flat-screen TV and a selection of magazines to flip through. There’s even an iPod dock so you can load your own tunes. If you prefer, you can just kick back and soak in the atmosphere, which is all about clean lines, white marble and comfy cream cushions. The therapist was also excellent, in case you were wondering. The massive space has several rooms that are suitable for singles, couples and small groups, making it a cool spot for a pamper party.
21/F, L Place, 139 Queen’s Rd. Central, 2971-1010, www.tenfeettall.com.hk.

Moisturizer for Men

Why is it that men hate to moisturize? M, a handsome man (well, I think so anyway), seems quite content to spend the next 10 years abusing his face until it looks like the underside of a handbag. I’ve come pretty close once or twice to applying serum as he sleeps, but that’s probably taking it too far. Lucky for me then that a bottle of Lab Series’ new MAX LS Light moisturizer arrived the other day. The men’s brand has managed to pre-empt what guys hate about moisturizer (greasiness, stickiness, the smell, the fiddling) and created a light, almost watery emulsion that glides on easily and feels weightless once it’s on. It also comes in a pump bottle, so no faffing with lids and jars. The only problem is that I might just steal it for myself.
$520 for 100ml, available from Lane Crawford IFC, L/3 IFC Mall, 8 Finance St., Central, 2118-3388.

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