Trust the OSIM uLove to understand your pain (points)

All ye weary souls, here’s an idea for a relaxing evening: Have a warm shower, pop on a facial mask and slide into a plush leather massage chair. Feel the day’s tensions melt away as you immerse in your favourite tunes playing from an immersive audio system in your chair. Before you know it, you’re already asleep.

Really? You wonder. You’ve been disappointed by many a massage chair. The pressure is not right, it doesn’t know where you’re hurting, and no matter how you adjust your position, it seems that its roller balls can never reach all your contours, especially where it matters most – usually the shoulders, lumbar and butt areas.

OSIM’s latest luxury offering, the uLove, is a cut above the rest. For S$5,999 (preview price $4,999), you get a gorgeous massage chair which is as beautiful as it is intelligent. At its launch at the OSIM headquarters in Ubi last Wednesday, Alvinology.com got to try it, along with other invited members of the press.

These stunning beauties were lined out in the legendary Experience Zone, which was completely darkened so each of us could enjoy our 30-minute (two programmes back-to-back) massage in privacy. Professionally crafted by Japanese chiropractic expert Sato Tsuyoshi, the uLove aims to deliver full-body relief, with emphasis on the shoulders, lumbar and butt. We tried two massage programmes: Neck & Butt, which works on the head, nape, neck and butt areas; and Butt Cuddle, which targets the back and butt for those who are confined to a sitting position for most of the day.

The first thing that I noticed about the uLove is that it knows exactly where your shoulder is! A shoulder detection feature assesses the user’s unique physical build so that the rollers hit the right spots and deliver the maximum curative effects of a personalised massage. And the extendable foot massage unit stays put once you’ve extended it to your height. (Unlike some others I’ve tried.)

As the massage commenced, I felt a warm sensation come over – the uLove is self-heating to loosen stiff muscles and joints. The 720 degree roller balls, which were earlier highlighted to us by the hosts of the event, didn’t disappoint as they worked the odd contours around my shoulders, shoulder blades and the stiff muscles lining my lumbar. It’s thus named because the roller balls can rotate 360 degrees in both horizontal and vertical directions. It really managed to hit all my most sore spots!

Currently, there are four signature massages and five Head-to-Toe Pampering massages, but as the suite of massage programmes increase, you can always download the latest ones with a Bluetooth connection to a smartphone.

Luxuriously designed, the uLove is real easy on the eyes. You’ll see it in Dreamy White in most of the advertisements, but seeing the uLove in three other colourways in the Lifestyle Zone will make you feel spoilt for choice. Gorgeous Teal is calming and soothing, Handsome Brown is perfect for warm-coloured interiors, and Dashing Copper adds a dash to vivacity to any room.

For those of us who want the specifications, here they are:
Power consumption – 210W
Auto timer – 15 minutes
Reclining angle – 123 to 155 degrees
Dimensions – 125 (L) x 72 (W) x 116 (H) cm when upright; 170 (L) x 72 (W) x 89 (H) cm when reclined
Net weight – Approximately 82 kg