Donna Beauty - Clementi — Local services in Singapore

TLDR:Your experience FULLY depends on who you get for your service. (Warning: My personal experience and not saying I'm completely in the right here either but my 2 cents!)

Overall: Although some of the staff like Lynn and Fan are really good at what they do and are very pleasant to have, unfortunately their great service does not compensate for the rest of the unpleasant experience I had here.

I had first visited Donna Beauty from an ad on instagram promoting their Guasha back massage for $28 in June for first time customers trial. (although technically promoted from La Vida account)

Initially I had went there just for the trial as I thought it was affordable + my back was really aching. The session itself was quite relaxing, you get a room to yourself and the massage was not bad. Until the hardselling starts. Winnie came in to promote their other packages that were wayyy out of my budget as a student because she came in to point out how bad my back was. Initially I did refuse, but she continued to push for it after bringing me into the consulting room. She might convince you by giving you a "special package" that she should not be selling because she's giving it at an affordable price and will give you mathematical breakdowns of how affordable it is. So, I took the deal since I had abit extra from my internship. I probably should have read the terms abit more clearly or at least clarified with Winnie since I thought there shouldn't be a problem. She said she would handle it for me and that it would be okay. So I had signed it under a different number and name , per her instructions.

And that is the last of where I hear from her or see her at the store.

The first time I come in from my package, I was assigned to Jenny who clearly had 0 idea what she was suppose to do for me. She first guessed I was there for the stomach treatment and when I told her I was here for my Guasha back she gave me a very confused look. She then proceeds to not only butcher my back with the Guasha and hardsells me for the next tortuous 20 minutes I have ever had. Maybe I should have told her not to do it so hard but my tolerance to Guashas before were always okay. WRONG my back has never felt that kind of nerve sharp pain for the next few days. Jenny also forgets to key in my next appointment despite confirming with her.

When I called to make an appointment, they were so confused about who I was. (I could hear them in the background asking who I was) So the mistake here is probably that Winnie might not have had me in the books or Jenny forgot to key in.

I came down for my second appointment asking why was there such mix ups and wondering if I could just refund or combine my sessions (really DID NOT want to come back) but luckily the kind lady at the front was nice enough to arrange all my appointments in advance and made a proper card to track down my sessions. At this point I was wondering, why was this not done at the beginning? Why assign me to someone who did not know what she was doing?

Okay, here comes why I would give 3 stars. Amazing Lynn. Never really hardsell to me except once or twice and was sooooooo good at her skills (if you want to come here please request for her she is great!!!) Lovely lady who would help me. Fan was also very good at the back massage (even though she also did not know what service I was getting initially).

Speaking from personal experience, as someone who gets better service from the beauty shop opposite my house, I had expected more from an established store compared to the very disappointing service I was given up until I had expressed my displeasure.

If you intend on patronizing this store, I would avoid Winnie if you don't want to get hard sell, and Jenny for Back Guasha or if you want a quiet relaxing session. (Not saying hardselling is wrong since this is their livelihood but it's just not for me) Winnie really did not assist me in tending to this package despite the fact that I had signed it with her and I would truly not go back...

Congratulations to me, the “lucky” winner of a complimentary facial courtesy of a local radio station (thanks for nothing, anonymous FM). I waltzed into Donna Beauty expecting zen vibes and maybe a polite “Congratulations!” Instead, I was greeted by Winnie, a one‑woman upsell tornado who apparently moonlights as an amateur dermatologist specializing in the devastating science of You‑Have‑the‑Oiliest‑Skin‑Ever™.

Within seconds she delivered her opening masterpiece:

“Wow, your face is so oily. The normal treatment just won’t cut it—let me show you a special (read: pricey) package!”

I politely declined, which evidently translated into “Please keep trying.” Winnie then invoked her colleague Cindy (“If you can’t afford it now, maybe tell Cindy later?”) as though slipping another name into the pitch would magically unlock my wallet. Spoiler: it didn’t.

Fast‑forward to me lying on the treatment bed, eyes closed, trying to relax. Enter Round Two: the fabled Grandmother Story. Cindy regaled me—unprompted—about another customer who did half‑a‑face magic treatment yesterday and walked out looking like a split‑screen skincare commercial. I’m thrilled for that mystery model, but I came for a facial, not a bedtime story scored by credit‑card violins.

At this point I firmly—again—said “No upgrades, please.” Cue the dramatic mood shift:

“Oh, I completely respect your decision!” Sure, after the third refusal and a minor volcanic eruption of my patience. Which part of no was written in invisible ink the first two times?

Quality‑control highlight: the actual facial felt like it was slapped together in fast‑forward—because nothing says “customer care” like giving up once the upsell fails. Any lingering doubts were rubbed away (pun intended) when, after wiping off the last trace of product, Cindy still managed one final package pitch at checkout. Persistence? Olympic‑level. Tact? Somewhere under the treatment bed.

Final verdict: If you’re itching to test your endurance for saying “no” on loop, Donna Beauty is essentially a boot camp. Expect relentless upselling, backhanded skincare commentary, and a facial so forgettable you’ll remember it only for the sales script.

And to the owner typing up a copy‑and‑paste “Please email us so we can ‘better understand’ your experience” response—save your energy. You have my details; feel free to reach out. I’ll be busy blotting my allegedly oil‑slick face and practicing my next...

I’m embarrassed to say, but I think of myself as a bit of a facial guru. Due to my tough work demands, I do facial on an average of at least twice a month, not just to maintain but also to relieve stress. I’ve probably visited 50-100 facial places the past 12 years and have 30 facial packages over the many years.

Anyway after some time of contemplation, I’ve decided to write this review. This facial place probably rank the bottom 2 of my facial packages I’ve signed up over the years. The other place that I absolutely regretted was in esplanade link mall, but they’ve closed down many years ago.

Anyway back to this place. The initial reason I’ve signed up for this place was cause it’s near my place and it’s rather new, so the environment is nice and clean. They manage to maintain the cleanliness through the years and that’s applaudable.

The very bad part abt this place is that their therapist skills is very bad. There were a couple of visits where the therapist skills was downright atrocious and I could tell that their heart was either completely not in it, or they just simply lack skill. Out of the 12 sessions I’ve had there, there were abt 2-3 times where I did get a decent facial therapist. However when I called back subsequently to book them, they always had already left the place.

Then the next unfortunate thing for me is the product they use. They use this marine product, that I suspect is comedogenic on me. Cause it became a very consistent pattern that after each facial, I’ll have a tiny outbreak of 2-3 acnes at different places. It was a bit frustrating to have to plan facial on days where afterwards I don’t have event, cause I have to be prepared for an mini acne outbreak, imagine that.

Anyway lastly, was the pricing. The business of selling facial packages in this industry is always a secretive process. I suspect mine was sold to me at a high price. Interestingly, after 2-3 sessions, one therapist tried to sell me another facial package, that apparently used “better products”. But I was quite shocked when the price she tried to sell to me was lower than the price I had paid for my current package. This incident happened 2 years ago during the initial period I signed up for the package, but it left a deep impression.

Needless to say, it was a torture to finish the 12 sessions over the last 2 years. But I’m glad I finally did....