Asian Secrets of Health Beauty and Relaxation
July 7, 2009 by Look Younger · Leave a Comment
Asian Secrets of Health Beauty and Relaxation
For centuries, Asian women have relaxed and beautified themselves with exotic therapies derived from the materials of nature-plants, herbs, minerals, clays, and flowers. Until now, Western women could only experience these pleasures by taking expensive trips to professional spas. In Asian Secrets of Health, Beauty, and Relaxation, Sophie Benge, an Asian beauty expert, supplies all the tools for experiencing luxurious Asian beauty treatments at home, including inexpensive, easy-to-follow recipes for soothing facials, relaxing aromatherapy baths, invigorating body scrubs, healthy food and drink recipes, remedies for specific ailments, and more. Now readers can spend a lavish day at the spa without leaving their house.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars A breath of fresh air!
I really love this book and all it has to offer! The world class photography combined with never seen before Spa techniques make this a 5 star publication. I never in a million years would’ve thought of mixing together the ingredients listed in this book. It is a cookbook for lasting youth and beauty. It’s now obvious how so many Asian women attain a lifelong glow!
3 Stars Same content as Tropical Spa
I was disappointed that this book was the exact same replica of the Tropical Spa book by Sophie Benge, minus the Tropical Spas coverage. I say if you are going to buy it, might as well get the whole thing and get the beautiful and inspiring pictures of the tropical asian spas. It is the same EXACT content from the second half of the Tropical Spa, but their tips are great. Just don’t buy if you have Tropical Spa and you think this is any different, because it is not. (As I sadly discovered)
4 Stars A touch of Bali in your home
I enjoyed this book more than Benge’s other title, The Asian Spa, because it contains beauty and health remedies that can be enjoyed in one’s home as opposed to in a Balinese spa. This book is considerate in that it does not assume one has unlimited funds available to spend on treatments. Instead it focuses on delightful and affordable beauty and health remedies. I tried the honey and cucumber facial and must agree that my skin looked radiant afterward. I also love that it explains the Asian philosophy of true beauty only being possible when one is serene. Because Benge is British, some of her words sound a bit odd to an American but it doesn’t pose a great problem. The only problem I had with this book is that she doesn’t list any sources where readers can buy some of the treatment ingredients. Many of the ingredients are extremely exotic (mud from Thailand, for example) and are impossible to find in the United States. It would have been helpful to list stores or websites where you can order some of the more rare ingredients. Overall, an enjoyable and inspirational book.
The Tropical Spa Asian Secrets of Health Beauty and Relaxation
June 10, 2009 by Look Younger · Leave a Comment
The Tropical Spa Asian Secrets of Health Beauty and Relaxation
True to our understanding of the word spa, this is a lush, extravagant book that nourishes the spirit as well as the senses. Unlike the curative focus of European spas with technicians in white lab coats slathering chemical creams on aging faces, Asian spas offer sanctuaries of spiritual harmony, natural treatments, and an emphasis on creating beauty from the inside out. Author Sophie Benge (Private Hong Kong) does an excellent job of explaining how the ancient Asian spa rituals, such aromatherapy, herbal treatments, energy-based massage work, meditation, yoga, and qi gong lead to inner health and balance, which ultimately translates into outer beauty. Her smooth, elegant writing style works well alongside the generous full-color photography by Luca Invernizzi Tettoni (Tropical Asian Style). Tettoni has outdone himself with the splendor, vividness, and composure of his photographs–true works of art that are as restful and restorative as a floral foot soak in Bali.
Although this could easily be a display book, stacked among the coffee-table elite, this is a far more ambitious and utilitarian project. Benge offers a thorough profile of the best Asian spas, all of which are brought to life through Tettoni’s stellar photography. The final third of this book is devoted to home treatments, such as instructions for giving a traditional Indonesian massage, recipes for specific hair and body ailments, suggestions for meditation exercises, herbal tonics, and even some spa food recipes such as Thai Seafood Salad and Lentil Wonton Soup. –Gail Hudson
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Teaser
I really like this book and some of the recipes are really simple and very easy to do.
However, for things like masks, some of the ingredients are so hard to find and there is no list of where to find it or even what the ingredients look like. So it is frustrating and somewhat a teaser to be able to see the product and want to make it but can’t !
5 Stars Love it, love it, love it!!!
Ok, I don’t know how good it is as an “asian spa recipe” book - I didn’t buy it for that. But for a coffee table book, its the best I have come across on Asian spa, surroundings, architecture etc… the closest that comes to it is Bali Modern, also by the same photographer - Luca Invernizzi.
The pictures are just so well taken, you feel like you want to go there. There are tons of coffee table books out there that have pictures of exotic spots, like Tropical Asian Style etc, but they just don’t capture it the way this book does.. oh! so mesmerizing!
2 Stars Tour guide — not an instruction book
This book was not what I expected. I thought it would be full of recipies and practices of Asian spas, and it is instead mostly devoted to describing various popular Asian spas. There are some recipies, but not very many. However, it is a beautifully photographed book — and if you are studying spas themselves (or are planning a trip to Asia and are wondering which spa would suit you best), this would definitely be a book to have.
5 Stars Been there, done that, bought the book!
I actully bought this book in Bogor (Java, Indonesia) at the Novotel gift shop while on vacation recently. I stayed at the Chedi during this trip, and the Mandara spa facilities and food are as portrayed in the book, fabulous! We went to the San Gria Spa and Resort in Lembang for our spa experience, as well as the Dharmawangsa in Jakarta. Having had spa treatments in both the U.S. and Indonesia, I have to say that Asia can do it the best! The treatment recipes offered in the book that I have actually tried in the spas (the Balinese Boreh, the Bali Kopi Scrub, and the Creme Bath Hair Treatment) were all heavenly, leaving me feel soft all over, rejuvinated, and at peace. This book goes up on my shelf next to Bali Style by Rod Helmi and Barbara Walker. I love this life!
5 Stars Absolutely Delightful!
Being Asian and proud of my heritage, I grew up watching my late grandmother prepared her own home-made facial products with natural herbs found in the forest. This book provide a good introduction to some of the best Asian Spas and an insight into the traditional indonesian and malay concoction of spa treatment, some I believe passed from generation to generation. The resorts featured offers travellers an incomparable and convenient setting for discovering the Asian secret to the ultimate relaxation and indulgence for the senses. A must have for all Spa lovers!
