DestinationSkin Cardiff 2.0 7 reviews

I booked my Oxy Brightening Facial as soon as I bought the voucher on Wahanda. I was told that nothing was available for at least three weeks so I duly booked for a convenient date and waited with excited anticipation for the day to arrive.

I am a big fan of facials and have had a few in my time, so I know what I am expecting from a facial, a salon and it's therapists. This experience fell seriously short on all counts.

I arrived and was greeted by a friendly enough receptionist who gave me a looooooong form to fill in - at least three A4 pages of questions. Fair enough, I thought and filled it in. I was then taken through to the treatment room which was brightly lit, clean and tidy but very clinical, although I guess this is the look they are going for.

The therapist then proceeded to ask about my skin, where my areas of concern were etc. After around 10 mins of questioning, she proceeded to advise me of numerous, very expensive non surgical procedures which would be, in her opinion beneficial. I tried not to get too offended as she basically tried to sell me every treatment they had - acid peels, microdermabrasion, laser treatment - the lot. And then she said "oh, but your skin is not bad" - I would hate to see what they would "prescribe" for someone with bad skin.

I started to wonder when the actual facial was going to start and the therapist then realised that I had been booked in for completely the wrong thing. She thought I was just there for a chat about my skin! Somewhat begrudgingly she then told me to lay on the bed, dimmed the lights a bit and proceeded to plaster layer after layer of products on my skin. She left me "to relax" for five minutes, wiped it all off and shoved a mirror in my face - asking if I was happy with the results. I looked exactly the same as I always do with no makeup on (not that I was expecting miracles - I just don't really know what she expected me to say at this point). She then handed me a sheet of paper with my personalised recommendations for my skin - treatments and products totalling around £700!!! Bear in mind she had told me that my skin was "not bad"...

I put my shoes and coat on and walked back through to reception where the therapist and the receptionist were sat together having a chat - I had to ask them if that was it, they just looked at me strangely and said "yes, you can go now"

I left feeling upset, stressed and my skin felt dry and tight for the rest of the day. I felt patronised for having used a voucher and they made me feel like I had wasted their time.

All in all, awful - I will never go here again and would urge others to avoid as well.

Very knowledgable therapist, reassuring she was training specialist - although she was a bit patronising when I didn't understand her explanation for frequency of visits for hair removal. Better if toilet closer. Good that company is registered with HCC or whatever it is called now. Good to have notes to take away from prescription mini facial, consultation on treatments and the the advanced electrolysis. The latter is a bit pricey at full price £49 when can get same elsewhrere in Cardiff for £25.

Had CACI which was offered at a discounted price. I have had similar treatment in other salons and always found them very good with pretty much instant results. At this salon I distinctly felt that their aim is 'less is more', ie, carry out the treatment in a flimsy way and then persuade the client to dig deeper into their pocket to pay for more expensive treaments. Felt frustrated and annoyed at the hard sell approach!

My expectations of the facial were high because the clinic specialises in skin but i was so disappointed. A £50 facial that was discounted down to £25, it was not even worth the £25, i came home and gave myself a facial straight after. It was not a relaxing experience and it was a very quick treatment. I would not recommend this to a friend or visit again.

I really enjoyed the consultation regarding laser hair removal, it was very informative and put in an easy to understand terms. I had also a patch test which was conducted in a professional way. The therapist was very friendly and advised me how to take care of my skin. It was great!

The therapist was very pleasant and professional. I did not particularly like the vitamin C peel, in a few minutes of leaving the salon my face felt really dry and uncomfortable. The salon itself is a bit out of the way in the shop.

I was very impressed with my treatment at Destination Skin. The therapist was very thorough and explained each step very carefully. I would definitely go back there again for more treatments.