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Last week, I was cordially invited to try the manicure service of a Japanese hair & nail salon, newly opened in Singapore in March 2015. Branché enjoys popularity in Japan and has several branches all over the country.
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| Branché Team of award-winning stylists and other staff |
Conveniently located near City Hall MRT station, Branché opened its first salon at the revamped Capitol Building, Capitol Piazza. Capitol Piazza has not officially opened yet, hence when I visited, the mall is quiet without much shoppers.
As its name suggests, this salon has two services namely hair services and nail services. What sets them apart from other local salons is, the stylists and nailists
(yes they call themself nailists, not manicurists nor nail techicians) are all native Japanese and uses Japanese techniques and the best Japan's quality products and technology. There is another name for Branché nail section -
Caplus Nail. They are separate entities back in Japan, but here in Singapore they share the same huge space in Capitol Piazza.
Upon reaching Branché, the friendly receptionist, Ms Nazrah, exchanged greetings with me and introduced me to the nailist, Safori. A hospitable Nazrah then verbally introduced me to their drinks menu, out of which I chose a cup of matcha latte - it is the best matcha latte I have ever had in Singapore!
(The best I have tasted prior to this was in Tokyo.) You'd be thrilled to know that they won't hesitate to pour you a glass of champagne or make you great teas such as TWG teas or Japanese tea. You'll be spoiled for choice!
What impressed me the most was the handwritten card by Safori! I love little personal touches like that!
(Sidenote: halfway through the manicure, Nazrah checked in again to see if I need to change to another warm cup of matcha latte. I politely declined since I won't bear to pour away the unfinished cup!)
The cosy nail room was spilt into two sections - one for manicure and
the other for pedicure. Manicure can also be done in the hair salon main
area while hair services are being performed.
I will show you guys
photos of the main salon in another post next month.
Branché prides itself as a up-market salon that utilises the best technology from Japan. I couldn't agree more when I saw the gadget below...
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| Check out the pen-like metal gadget on the top right! Guess what is that use for? |
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| Close up look of the gadget |
Branché has a nail service called
"Repair". They do not literally repair your nails per se, but what they can do is, they avoid damage to nails by opting NOT to file them down but to use this equipment to remove the previous gel nails of the customer. This is a simple, quick and painless process...and best thing of this is, "no nails would be harmed"! I have to admit that when I first heard the faint drilling sounds it emits, my heart went thumping...as the pen tip touched my nail bed, I felt slightly "electrocuted". Of course I wasn't, but I was just imagining the worst in my head as I was kind of scared. Safori chatted with me while drilling my nail surface away, and strangely, that calms me down and I forgot my initial nervousness immediately. Haha!
Have a look at these high quality nail products offered by the salon.
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| Rajunina products were jointly developed by a Kyoto University professor and Branché. They were said to be very effective. |
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| The only UV/LED lamp for nails that I feel is totally clean, non-sticky from previous customers' use; and doesn't hurt my sensitive nail beds |
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| Professional Safori prepping to serve me my best manicure experience ever! |
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| She's really skilled and despite our slight language barrier, she delivers exactly what I want! |
Do you know that Branché offers real diamonds? Yes, you heard right. They can stick on real diamonds as part of your nail art. But in my featured manicure, no diamonds, only Swarovski crystals (those of good shiny quality ones)
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| TA-DAH! Pretty beach theme gel nails done! Safori calls it The Mermaid style. |
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| Can you see the shell inlay? |
