I love cake. There is no bad involved in cake. So, entering the spa at the Ritz-Carlton, promises of being turned into a human cupcake danced in my head. Walking towards the treatment room, I could smell the soft aroma of vanilla and sugar.

The treatment started with a coffee scrub, to exfoliate and tighten my skin. A mixture of sticky sugars and abrasive beans, it made me feel as if I was coated in aromatic molasses and sloughed off my winter-flaky skin with brutal efficiency. It helped that my therapist was a no-nonsense Bulgarian who took the mantra ‘beauty is pain’ cheerfully seriously.

Then came a moisturising wrap made of melted chocolate. Really. My therapist grinned as she stirred the bowl, enjoying the smell as much as I did, then began to frost me like a cake, using a large brush to apply a thick layer of warm chocolate. It was a little surreal: with most wraps and masks you know what’s expected, but chocolate? Should I be asking to lick the spoon, rather than having it spread over my flesh? When I was fully coated, my therapist wrapped me in cling film and lay warm towels over me to allow me to ‘cook’.

And here’s where this treatment really set itself apart from others: instead of leaving me to loiter in my sweaty, if nice-smelling, cocoon, with the choice of either napping or agonising over every unscratchable itch, I was distracted by the world’s longest facial while the chocolate did its thing. Coat after coat and smear after smear of product and clarifier and tonic and goodness knows what was smoothed over my face and neck. Normally my skin is pretty sensitive, and the more layers of gunk the worse it gets – but not this time. I could feel it getting smoother, and when the final layer was removed, I was surprised to feel my cheeks tighter and softer than before, with none of the post-facial sensitivity I’m often left with.

After a shower to remove the chocolate (which made me feel as if I was swimming in a chocolate milkshake as it was washed down the drain) it was time for a sweet, custard-smelling moisturiser and a tough massage (I’d brought it on myself: my therapist, although kind about my eeks and shrieks, told me it was that or leave the knots in my back and shoulders).

Afterwards, I distracted my dinner companion with the sweet smell wafting from my skin: for hours I smelt like dessert. My skin did indeed feel softer and tighter, especially my face, which glowed in smooth perfection. This would be a great treatment before a special evening: lovely skin and I smell good too? Sounds like a happy Valentine’s Day to me.

The Sweet Soufflé treatment is available at the Ritz-Carlton Spa (4484 8000) during February. The two-hour treatment costs QR1,000.