The Transformative Buccal Lift and Sculpt Facial

Not at all as rough as it looks online.

There’s something deeply special about a treatment that surprises you, moves you, and leaves you floating out the door. The Vanessa Megan Buccal Sculpt and Lift facial at Spa by JW Gold Coast does exactly that, and more.

I’d seen many buccal massage or lymphatic treatments online and drawing on my lymphatic learnings from being a dermal, wondered is it worth the hype? Often I watched TikTok’s or reels thinking it looked rough, not relaxing or didn’t actually do anything to move lymph. How wrong I was.

The treatment is 120 minutes and is designed to sculpt, lift, and redefine facial contours.

As I settled in for my treatment, Miyuki my therapist placed a heat bag on my belly and wrapped me in a warm cocoon, a small but thoughtful detail that made me feel grounded and deeply relaxed before the facial even began.

The treatment began with a gentle cleanse, an eye treatment, and a light scrub to prepare my skin. Each product smelled incredible, sweet, fruity, and instantly uplifting. Next came a 20% lactic peel to brighten and refine, followed by a luxurious Vanessa Megan mask, which was infused deeply into the skin using a gentle vibrating tool. As the mask worked its magic, I enjoyed a soothing arm and foot massage, adding to the overall sense of calm and indulgence.

Next came the signature face and décolleté massage. This isn’t your typical facial massage, it’s slow, gentle, and lymphatic-focused. Each movement, from the neck and jawline to the crown of the head, was thoughtfully designed to encourage drainage and release built-up tension. My therapist used slow, acupressure points to release tension around the scalp and crown, with delicate downward pressure that left me feeling like I was sinking blissfully into the treatment bed.

The area around the ears and jaw received special attention, creating a deep sense of openness and release. From there, the experience shifted into a more focused facial massage that gently warmed up the buccal muscles and helped sweep away tension around the eyes, with simultaneous massage movements above and below the eye.

When it was time for the much-anticipated buccal massage, I expected an intense, deep-tissue approach, as we often see online. Instead, it was surprisingly gentle, using the inside of the mouth more as an anchor point to access hard-to-reach facial muscles and ligaments that often go untouched during a regular facial. Rather than aggressively kneading, the therapist gently stretched and released these deeper layers, melting away months of tension held quietly in the jaw and lower face.

To finish, my skin was treated to a peptide amino acid serum, cell repair oil, and a nourishing day cream. The final touches left my skin deeply hydrated, plump, and radiating with a sculpted glow.

Afterward, I felt an unexpected wave of emotion, a gentle reminder that we hold so much stress and feeling in our facial muscles, often without realising it. As they say at Spa by JW, “the issues are in the tissues,” and this treatment truly helps release them.

Afterwards, I examined my face and was pleasantly surprised by the visible lift and sculpting, especially around the TMJ area, which looked smoother and more refined than I expected. The fascia release truly helped soften areas I would usually consider addressing with cosmetic treatments.

This experience is far more than skin deep, it offers both an emotional and physical release. It supports TMJ relief, encourages healthy energy flow, and leaves your skin luminous, plump, and sculpted from the inside out. If you’re looking for a treatment that is as therapeutic as it is transformative, the Buccal Lift and Sculpt facial is the ultimate reset you didn’t know you needed.