I have a thing for masks especially hydrating masks and the few masks I’ve tried coming out of Taiwan have all been sheet masks. They’re practical and easy to use and don’t cost very much. Usually, when I slather a cream mask on my face, its a purifying mask. So, when I was recently offered a chance to try a gel type hydrating mask out of Taiwan, I was quite intrigued.
The brand was Bonanza and the mask was the Active-Moisture Membrane KUM which to be honest with you, meant nothing to me. It probably tells you a lot more if you read the Chinese words and somehow, knowing the translation services employed, perhaps it doesn’t quite mean what the English words say either 😛 Bonanza is a brand out of Taiwan and I’m told, one of the hottest, fastest selling hydrating masks in the market, endorsed by their local celebrities and bloggers. Ooh! Good thing to try yes?
It came in a serviceable industrial looking purple tub as you see in the picture, with a spatula. Instructions came in a leaflet written in Mandarin. Not being able to read it, I looked around online, asked the distributor, and then took a stab at it.
What this product is is a thick clear gel in a sealed tub.
It feels a little like konnyaku jelly, if you know the texture I mean. Its bouncy and thick and clear and the spatula supplied (a thick solid plastic piece) is the perfect tool to pick up the gel from the tub. It also comes sealed, as you see in the picture. There is no scent.
This gel is supposed to help hydrate your skin, help your skin retain moisture and elasticity and whiten. I’ve been using this quite often in the past 2 months and I’ll say skip the whitening. I don’t quite get the Asian obsession with whitening and I’m Asian living in Asia so I can talk 😛 You see, when the skin is soothed and cooled, and cleaned, it will naturally look brighter. But as your dead cells pile up, it can then get dull again and can sometimes look “dark” so it doesn’t “whiten” but it does help skin look immediately “brighter”. Now I’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk instead about hydrating 🙂
Because this gel mask does a pretty good job at hydration!
You do have to use quite a lot of it. Instructions given to me was to slather on a thick layer of the gel, at least 0.5cm thick. You know how thick that is? That’s thicker than an iPad! Don’t believe me? Measure and see 😛 I don’t measure it though. I just make sure I apply a thick layer.
I’ve shown you above just how I do it. I use the spatula to scoop out the gel and then apply it to my face rather like applying cement screed 😛 Splat on a large dollop of gel and then use the spatula to smoothen. Repeat until whole face is covered. I was also told I can use this after all my skincare as it helps to hold in all the goodness of your skincare and help it penetrate into your skin better.
I usually apply this after cleansing, toning and a serum.
Then leave it on for at least 40 minutes. Yep! You look a bit like an unfinished clay figurine for about 40 minutes. In this time, the gel will dry out a little on your skin but you aren’t supposed to wait till it fully dries. I forgot once and it was torture to remove.
When it comes to removal, employ the spatula once again. Use the side of the spatula to scrape the gel off your skin. Do not think you can easily rinse it off. No siree! I tried, and it took much longer than I liked. So use the spatula, scrape away all the gel as best you can and then rinse your face until you don’t feel anymore gel on it. Then, follow up with your moisturizer.
I found that when going on your skin, the gel cools down your skin and it feels very comfortable. If you apply it from the fridge, its very refreshing. Immediately from the first use, you will notice that your skin looks brighter and more hydrated and feels cool and smooth to the touch. But as I have noted, this has a lot to do with your skin being clean and hydrated and your dead cells sloughed off. The cooling effects of the mask help to cool down your skin and makes pores look smaller.
I’ve used this for about 2 months, about 3 times a week, and it is nice. But I cannot say if the effects will be there for the long term, if you don’t take care of your skin at the same time. I do think its a nice mask to use and it does make skin look better almost immediately and the effects last 2-3 days for me so all in all, I do think it worth a repurchase (and I will!)
In a nutshell
Bonanza Active Moisture Membrane KUM is a popular gel mask from Taiwan. You have to use a thick layer on your skin and leave it on for about 40 minutes. Immediate results that can be expected are cool skin that looks brighter with smaller pores. For me, results last about 2-3 days and it is quite fuss free. Slather it on and read a book or watch telly and then wash it off and follow up with your skincare.
Pros: Gel cools skin down almost immediately, Skin feels hydrated and looks brighter with smaller pores after use
Cons: Initial purchase is a little pricey, A bit messy
I quite like using this after a touch of sun. I had a few long car rides in the past 2 months and coming home to this cooling mask is very comforting.
I’m told that each original Bonanza Cosmetics product comes with a serial number, a lot number and an expiry date. So if a customer buys a product from a shop and has doubts about its authenticity, they can go to an authorized Bonanza Cosmetics distributor and they can check if the number is valid. There are counterfeits out there (already!) so it would be wise to buy from an authorized source.
In Malaysia you can purchase it from IYoungDream, an online store which also has a retail outlet at Sungei Wang Plaza.
This gel mask doesn’t have the convenience of a sheet mask but I do think it delivers better results than a normal sheet mask. The results last longer for me anyway 🙂 I have the 550g tub and after 2 months with regular use, I’m about halfway through. Can’t say its that pricey but the initial cost can hurt your wallet some.
Have you tried this Bonanza gel moisture mask? Or have you come across it in any Taiwanese blogs or magazines? I wasn’t aware of it until now but I’m quite happy with it. Would you try it? 🙂
Paris B
Bonanza Active Moisture Membrane KUM gel mask retails at RM109.90/250g and RM179.90/550g and is available online at IYoungDream or their retail store Comian at Sungei Wang Plaza, Kuala Lumpur.
wow…havent heard about it…but it does seem a little more inconvenient n all…but if it works..ok. Currently using Naruko products which are also from Taiwan and quite liking the effects. My skin’s a lot better, and they’re mostly gel-based…so yay! Maybe you can check them out one day…thanks for the reviews
It does get a little messy, that’s true. But what I do is on a Sunday night when I’m winding down, slather it on and watch telly or read and before I know it, its time to remove and go to bed! 😀 I recently got a tub of Naruko rose jelly from Watson’s 😀 Haven’t tried it yet but have read lots of good reviews on the brand
Wow! That is so over-priced! You can get it from sasa.com for much much much cheaper price! =)
Thanks for the heads up Sylvia! I checked Sasa.com and for the smaller tub with shipping included, there is little to no saving. However, the big tub does offer a better price 😀
Hmmm, I would like to try this!!
Its fun – i get to pretend I’m having a facial at home because during some facials I go to, they slather on this thick gel on my face too! 😀
Hmm.. I love the thought of a cooling gel mask with summer rearing its really ugly head. You’ve piqued my interest enough to hit their website. Unfortunately they don’t ship out of Malaysia – pooey. And another thing, if they’re reading this, the FAQ link does not exist. Not a biggie but tiny things like these on a website gets to me because I’m mildly-OCD. I mean, if the FAQ page is not ready, it’s not a bad idea to still have a page and place a couple of words to indicate it is coming – rather than just the words FAQ with no link.
Sorry, rant over. Promise to shut up and no more ranting. 😛
Its not just you, broken links on a website, especially an online store, gets me all the time. Will drop them a line and let them know 😉 But you can get this off Sasa.com too
Never heard about the brand but WOW! Seriously? Serial number? Must be a lot of fakes out there!
Haha *coughChinacough*
Interesting! But sounds messy and I don’t think I could stand to have it on for 40 minutes. 😛
Well if its any consolation it doesn’t drip 😉 I sometimes lie in bed reading with it on my face and in an air conditioned room its lovely 😀
Have been trying on this — KUM & KFM since Mar 2011, I like it !!! Unfortunately, I’m too lazy to use them as often as it should be (short expiration period)….In btw, I like KFM more,hehe~
Yay! Someone who has tried it! 😀 Is KFM the one in the blue tub? What’s the difference? 😀
yes, exactly. the one in blue tub and slightly cheaper (if not mistaken). It cleans my skin better which just work in the same theory with mud mask. I take less efforts in getting rid of my whiteheads (nose) right after this mask. They recommend to reapply this KFM or KUM after cleansing the whiteheads or blackheads in order to reduce the redness. I can feel the instant radiance after using this mask and I like to use it when I need something to soothe my skin too. But the trick is I need to apply it extremely generous in order to achieve the effect.
Thanks for the info! 😀 I do also find that the best results are achieved when I apply a thick layer of this gel as recommended. It just seems to work a lot better then and I also find that it soothes irritated skin too.
In btw, you can get them much more cheaper in yfink66.com. I got my 550g KFM from Taiwan around RM60+, so I think the markup in yfink66.com is acceptable.
Looks like industrial glue! With 2 active toddlers running around, 40 mins sound like a lifetime! If I apply it after they fell asleep, that mask will surely be left on the whole night. I’d have passed out before the 40 mins up. Lol!
Ah well the perils of having young kids around 🙂
i have read about it on this taiwanese blog. she was raving about it on how it brightens and moisturise her skin. anyway, what leaves me a deep impression is this comment on that post. one reader states that its a wonder how that blogger can raved about it so well when the effects are quite average to her. haha. im glad you didnt try to present this as some miraculous product that is a must try like some bloggers out there. 😉
Hi Wendy 🙂 No I don’t think this very miraculous although I do like it. My skin feels lovely and cool and smooth after use so its pleasing. Who knows, perhaps other bloggers did experience a miracle? 😉
Actually, i LOVE masks! ive seen a mask like this before too but my fav is the Antioxidant Berry Masque from LadySoma….it is AMAZE!
Thanks for sharing. I’ve never heard of LadySoma before though. Where is it from and is it a cream or gel mask like this one?
did u taste it? or tempted to? :p
Erm… no and no. I’ll let you have the honour 😛
Darn it I wish I have 40 minutes to wind down like that. Last night, just after I double cleansed my skin, scrubbed my face, picit jerawat and removed some blackheads, by the time I had just layered on my clay mask, the baby cried to be fed. Imagine the looks on his face when he saw a figure with white face looking down on him… he screamed awhile until he smelt the scent of milk *sigh* then I had to wipe some traces of mask on his hands as he struggled when I lifted him from the cot. By the time I finished feeding him, my mask had dried up and some areas of my face wasn’t covered with mask from all that struggle… Hehe. Am happy, though.
Haha… mommies just don’t have that luxury I guess but hey! you’re happy despite that so that’s still alright 😉 psst! and there’s facials where no one can disturb you! 😉
wao, is so expensive in malaysia, is only about rm120+ in taiwan,hmmmm..
Well most products are cheaper in their country of origin so I would expect that its cheaper in Taiwan 🙂
Thanks for the review. I think I’ll go for it. 😀
Wanna ask where I can buy it in Australia? Thanks!