When you think of Finland, what comes to your mind first? Cold, bitter, endless nights of Arctic winter? Tall, fair, blonde-haired, blue-eyed Nordic beauties? Black metal bands? Santa Claus and his reindeer?
Well, all of those are reasonable images to be associated with Finland, but their noteworthy exports are not simply rock music, Father Christmas and the iconic sauna experience. Perhaps still enjoying just cult-success in the United States, Finnish beauty brand, Lumene, offers an outstanding collection of skincare products for women of all ages and with all different skin types. The company, which uses plant ingredients from its homeland, is my skincare brand of choice and for a growing number of American women.
For my needs, I turn to Lumene’s Vitamin C+ line. Enriched with the seed oil from natural arctic cloudberry, a precious (and delicious) berry from Lapland, it delivers nourishment to my 24-year-old skin and visually brightens my complexion through the high concentration of vitamin C that goes in to every one of the products in this collection.
Here are some comments on the products I use regularly from the Lumene Vitamin C+ skin product line.
Vitamin C+ Protecting Day Cream, SPF 15
This is my staple day cream — it goes great under makeup, has a pleasant citrus fragrance (that does not overpower or last once applied) AND provides sun protection. As science has showed, the aging process of skin is significantly influenced by the amount of exposure we have to the sun’s damaging rays. So, using products with SPF is the No. 1 measure you can take to save your skin from early signs of aging, like dark spots and wrinkles. With this day cream, my skin always stays moisturized and protected. I can proudly say that I have not gotten sunburn on my face all summer long thanks to this cream!
Vitamin C+ Nourishing Night Care
After removing my makeup and washing my face at night before bed, I use this night cream to rejuvenate my skin overnight. It is not thick or heavy like many night creams. Rather, it is soft and supple as it melts into my skin. My face feels so pampered without the feeling of greasiness or that I have too much product on my skin. The best part is that in the morning, my skin feels soft and nourished and looks bright and healthy — but there’s no residue left from the previous night’s application.
Vitamin C+ Radiant Beauty Drops
I am nearly through my first jar of this product, and so far I definitely see an improvement in the condition of my skin! Each container has 28 individual drops (they look like little chicken legs) stuffed with serum packed with vitamin C. All one needs to do is twist the end off, squeeze out the product and smooth it over clean skin before layering on day or night cream. The feeling of the product itself is on the greasy side, but it quickly and thoroughly absorbs. After having been using this product for almost three weeks, my skin looks noticeably more radiant and vibrant.
Vitamin C+ Dual Serum
This nifty little two-chambered concoction is an excellent skin-health booster for use underneath regular day and night creams. The day side provides a lightweight serum rich in cloudberry seed oil and the night side contains blueberry seed oil. I have used up one of these and while I was in the habit of applying it morning and night as directed, I got more compliments on how my skin looked than any other time. The dual-pack is convenient and clever, and the serums themselves are lightweight and effective. This is something I will buy again when I’m through with my Beauty Drops.
Vitamin C+ Invigorating Eye Serum
Employing a rollerball-style applicator bottle, this under-eye serum claims to banish puffiness and dark circles. To tell the truth, I have not used this product on a regular basis, so I can’t speak to its effectiveness in the matter of dark circles, but on mornings when I’ve had puffy, tired eyes a little shot of this does provide a needed pick-me-up. I store my bottle in the refrigerator, and the cool serum is very soothing in my delicate under-eye area.
Lumene has much more to offer outside of the Vitamin C+ line, which primarily targets women in their 20s and 30s. Also available in the US is the Time Freeze line, Premium Beauty line, Sensitive Skin line and the new ExCELLent Future serum and cream.
BUT, if you are lucky enough to get to Finland, the full range of Lumene’s product offerings are at your fingertips. I recently visited the lovely land of Finns (my third trip there) and made it to the Lumene outlet store at their headquarters in Espoo. The inside is a wonderland of Lumene, with shelves and boxes overflowing with bounty that American Lumene fans can only admire online.
I ended up spending more than 80€ on a bunch of stuff, so look for reviews of all that in my next entry!
In the meantime, here are some links to places where you can get Lumene in the US: