Today's review features Bonaquin's Gold Mask, a one-of-a-kind mask that I've never tried before - it's made from collagen and hear me out, GOLD. Zetafera has been kind enough to send me a sample of the mask for reviewing last week, which admittedly I have not gotten to as I've been down with the flu. Curse the weather!
Anyways getting back to the mask, here is what it looks like:
The packaging is large and can fit into a typical A4 letter envelope, and this packaging reminds me very much of the silicone-like eye masks that typically come in a thin plastic packaging to retain its form.
Here's what the mask looks like (flip the packet to reveal its shape):
As I mentioned earlier, it reminds me very much of the silicone-like eye masks that feel like cool jelly to your skin. And because of that, I suggest that those with long nails be careful when applying it over your face, as your nails may poke a hole in it... like me.
How is it supposed to work? Well the mask claims to be made from natural ingredients and collagen. which offers up to 10 times higher absorption rate compared to regular tissue-type masks. The ingredients contain collagen, seaweed extracts, vitamin-C (good for skin whitening), rose oil (well-known to aid in tightening pores, calm sensitive skin and reduce acne, among many other things), hyaluronic acid (good for hydration), coenzyme-Q10 (best for reducing wrinkles) and gold powder.
Why gold you ask? Gold is one of the most expensive treatments used today to combat signs of ageing, as pure 24-karat gold sheets are believed to be antioxidant in nature and when absorbed by the skin, also renews the skin's elasticity and promotes good blood circulation. And no, you won't turn yellow.
Here's what it claims to do on the Zetafera website:
Effects:
Gentle, but highly effective, the Gold Mask penetrates quickly & deeply into the skin layers and boosts rejuvenation on the cellular level. The Gold Mask delivers its nutrients deep below the skin, thereby fighting the underlying causes of facial wrinkles and ageing skin.
Not only does it help reduce the appearance of existing signs of ageing, but also helps prevent future wrinkles from forming and restores a healthy, radiant complexion.
Not only does it help reduce the appearance of existing signs of ageing, but also helps prevent future wrinkles from forming and restores a healthy, radiant complexion.
To benefit you guys, I took a before and after picture after cleansing my face. You have to excuse the silly looking smile, I realised I wasn't smiling after I took a few pictures, and this was the only one where I looked somewhat awake. For your reference, I have OC20 sensitive skin and a slightly uneven skin tone, with some redness around my nose. I do not have prominent eye bags but I do have dark circles. Here are some pics:
Yep, now I'm almost ready for Halloween. Freddy Krueger watch out.
Size-wise, the mask does not completely cover my face as well as the Beauty Diary ones do, leaving space uncovered around my nose area. As you can probably see, the slits for the mouth and eye areas are also rather small, and because of the silicone-like quality of the mask, I cannot sit or stand upright for long before needing to readjust the mask sliding down my face. And while doing that I accidentally made an obvious tear near my forehead =/
It is recommended that you do not wear the mask for more than 2 hours, and it may seem rather 'dry' compared to regular solution-soaked masks, but the way the Bonaquin Gold Mask works is that it dissolves upon contact with your skin's natural body temperature. I found this really cool! No more drippy masks =)
I left mine on for about an hour and here was the result immediately after removing it:
As you can see, my skin tone is now more even and the redness around my nose has slightly dissipated. Sadly no reduction for my dark circles, but I did notice the vitamin-C's whitening effect. For those of you who didn't know, vitamin-C does not leave a lasting effect and requires periodic infusion to maintain the skin's fairness. So don't feel bad if after a couple of days you notice your skin tone returning back to normal. It only works when you use it consistently.
As for the claims of pore tightening and oil control, I do have rather oily skin so I was anxious to notice changes there. I did notice a slight reduction in my skin's natural oiliness the next day, but no noticeable change to my pores. Perhaps if you used it over time you'd notice something.
So my overall impression of this mask is that it's great for those who have an uneven skin tone and are seeking an early introduction to reducing the signs of ageing (especially those in their early 20s). I'd also recommend it to those who are seeking a good mask which combines whitening, moisturising and anti-ageing effects.
The price of the Bonaquin Gold Mask is not cheap at RM8 per sheet, but it's definitely more affordable than your over-the-counter luxury brand masks like Laneige or SK-II. Definitely worth a try. I got mine from Zetafera.com, and to make things easier I've added the link - you can find it HERE.
