Now while I met Colleen playing World of Warcraft many years ago, we both have a common love of beauty products. She's a little more wholesome than I am, which is why you'll see her posting all sorts of DIY beauty treatments and tricks, where I'd just rather have someone do it for me and pay for it. I know - totally NOT the thrifty girl my mama tried to teach me to be, right?
But another thing we have in common is the love of swapping! She and I have swapped beauty products and home organizational stuff a few times now and I've even gotten her into one of the swap groups I belong to which is a secret, closed group for established swap junkies like myself. (Check the list below for some non-exclusive ways to get yourself started in the swap kingdom)
So why am I talking about swapping when the title says I'm going to be talking about Lumene? Well because it's through swapping that I discovered this brand! And OHEMGEE do those Fins know what they're doing when it comes to all things beauty!
Lumene is a drugstore company that is based in Finland. It can be found at select CVS stores across the USA, but from what I can tell (correct me if I'm wrong) but only some of the skincare lines are available. And even Paula's Choice has done a review of a good chunk of the products. Most of them are rated Average, which for a drugstore brand is pretty good, in my humblest of humble opinions.
So what exactly is it that I'm saying? Well, I LOVE Lumene products! And I have tried a great selection of them! Now, because I'm completely out of a couple of the products, and because some of the packaging is no longer pretty due to heavy use, I'm going to include a bunch of stock photos found on the Lumene International website.
This CC cream is to die for. Seriously folks, it's just like a moisturizing medium coverage foundation and moisturizer in one. I know on the package it says to apply after moisturizer, but even with my seriously dry skin in the winter, it's too much moisture!The Raspberry Miracle Mascara is pretty fabulous, too. Normally I like a volumizing mascara because I have long lashes naturally, but this one has fibers in it to help lengthen and fatten the lashes. I usually hate fiber mascaras because they always flake. And who wants flaky black mascara chunks all over their cheeks? Well guess what? This DOESN'T FLAKE! And it's also got this really neat spiral-shaped plastic brush that helps to grab the lashes and distribute the fibers over the entire length of the lash.
And can I have a moment for the eye liners!? I have both a liquid liner and a pencil liner and I think they are both gorgeous! The pencil liner I have is a pretty plummy purple colour and wears all day long without fading or smudging. I haven't tried it in my water line because I wear contact lenses and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to NOT wear the liner on my eyeballs. (Anyone have some advice for me here?) But overall it's great. The liquid is the traditional felt-tipped dealio that I normally hate, and I must admit I did this at first too. But with a little practice and determination, I have started to really like it. I really love the long-wearing super dark black colour that it comes in. It's NOT waterproof though, so if you've got watery eyes, stay away or you'll look like a freak in an hour!
I have also tried a couple of the cleansing products - one of which I LOVE and the other that I'm not overly keen about. Let's talk about the one I like least, first. I am not a huge fan of the Gentle Eye Makeup Remover. I will admit that I've only used it a couple of times because it actually hurts my eyes. And as I mentioned, I do wear contacts and I like to wear them most days. They certainly help with makeup application as well, since ya know, I can SEE. But on occasion a girl makes a mistake that can't be fixed by blending - like when the phone rings and scares he Heeeeeeeellll outta me and I smear liquid liner all over my eye and have to start all over (Don't judge, you know you've done it!) So the other issue I have is that even though the bottle says it's suitable for contact-lens wearers, but I disagree. When I use this stuff with my contacts in, it leaves an oily residue all over them and I have to take them out and completely clean them. This paired with the fact that it burns my peepers results in a big thumbs down from me. BUT I'm not saying not to try it - I do have rather sensitive eyes and it's definitely not going to be a major suck for everyone.
The other cleansing product I've tried by them that I LOVE is the cleansing wipes. It could be just that I love cleansing wipes in general and truly feel that every single beauty company in the world should make them (you listening, major conglomerates?) but I love wipes. They are just so easy! You can take them anywhere and use them for anything. I've used wipes for sponge baths when camping and I can't bathe properly (yes, I actually camp - like for realzies - you know no running water, tent, cooking over a fire) I've used them to clean my brushes while I'm out of town and couldn't take brush cleanser with me due to travel or weight restrictions. Heck, I've even used them clean off my sticky hands after eating a cinnamon bun on my way to a meeting when I didn't have time to stop for some real food! I.LOVE.WIPES!
And the very last product I'm going to chat about today (congratulations for making it this far!) Is the Firming Body Lotion. This stuff contains Arctic Cranberry Seed Oil and smells like ... wait for it... wait for it... CRANBERRIES! I really do enjoy the way cranberries smell, and the fact that this smells so good is just one more incentive to use it. It leaves my skin lightly fragranced and keeps my skin smooth for a long time. I don't moisturize every day, mostly because I forget until I'm already dressed, and then I'm just too annoyed to get undressed, moisturize and get redressed again so I skip it. If you can find this stuff, I highly recommend it. I mean, I highly recommend checking out Lumene in general, but this cream is delicious!On a final note, most of Lumene's products contain naturally sourced, northern plants like arctic cranberry, blueberry, wild rose and cloudberry amongst others. They are super eco friendly and a lot of their products are parabens and alcohols. Not all products are fragrance free, but from what I can tell, the majority of fragrance comes from the berries used in the making of the product.
In Geeky Gorgeousness,
Llora
Have you tried anything by Lumene? Is there anything else I need to try out? Want to hear more about other International brands we've tried? Let us know! Comment Below!
Some ways to get started in swapping:
Be A Beauty Correspondent
Beauty Box Swaps
SwapAholicksUk
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