Charlotta Eve

Valo.

That’s a pretty common Finnish word, meaning light. Light has a mind of it’s own here. In summer it feels as if we have all the light in the world – and in winter it’s possible you don’t get any light. Zero. It’s tough. And you can only imagine what that means blogging-wise. Well, I’ve survived other winters and nowadays I do own better lights, so maybe I’ll survive. Maybe.

Be it whatever – light is inspiring and the lack of it makes you appreciate it even more. It’s not a bad choice for Lumene’s Nordic-C -line, which is all about bringing that light to your skin. And whenever we’re talking about brightening products promising a glowy skin, I’m on board!

I got these products as pr-samples. *adlink

Lumene Nordic-C Valo review

Lumene’s Nordic-C Valo line is based on ingredients like arctic cloudberry, vitamin c, hyaluronic acid and arctic spring water. The ingredients are mostly natural. For example the mist is 96% naturally derived, which is quite cool.

Here’s my thoughts on some of the Valo – products. My favorites out of these are definitely the Glow Reveal Peeling mask and the Glow Refresh Hydrating Mist.

Lumene Nordic-C Pure Glow Cleansing Balm

The consistency in this cleansing balm is very nice. It’s a mixture of balm, oil and emulsion. At first, it feels like a balm. But as soon as you put it on your skin, it melts and almost feels like an oil. And when you mix it with water, it turns into an emulsion. When I rinse it off, it leaves my skin feeling fresh and clean – but not oily.

You’re supposed to apply this on wet skin, but I actually prefer to use it on dry skin as a makeup remover. It’s amazing for that. I tried it both ways, but I just really prefer it as a makeup remover. As it’s a balm that melts into an oil, it’s awesome to really get all that makeup off of your face. It’s also great in a sense, that a little goes a long way.

So, here’s a good gentle cleanser, that can also act as a makeup remover.

Lumene Nordic-C Glow Reveal Peeling Mask

This mask became my favorite on the first try. It makes my skin feel and look smooth and glowy. I’ve said it before, but acids are amazing for your skin. They peel your skin gently, without the physical exfoliation and irritation. They minimize the appearance of pores, sebaceous filaments and they help to get rid of acne scars.

The mask feels like a gel cream and it glides nicely onto the skin. I sometimes experience a little tingling sensation, when I’m using this (which happens with acids and is normal). I might not always leave it on for 10 minutes – sometimes 6 or 7 minutes is enough. It has a subtle fresh scent to it, which I don’t mind. This is suitable for all skin types as well.

Lumene Nordic-C Glow Refresh Hydrating Mist

The first thing I noticed about this product was how fine the mist is, when it comes out. It’s so fine – and it feels so nice on my skin. The mist is great to use under lotions to bring some extra hydration, but you can also use it during the day to refresh your face. I know a light mist doesn’t sound like it would bring that much hydration, but actually it does. When you’re treating dry skin, lighter products can work better than heavy lotions. Instead of applying a heavy cream on your face, try using light products and layer them. Light products, like this lovely mist, absorb really nicely into the skin and do their magic that way.

This would also be nice to use during flights. I might just need to get it for my upcoming travels, since I’ve almost ran out of this product.

Lumene Nordic-C Bright Eyes All-in-one Eye Treatment

I have actually used Lumene’s eye products before. Their gel-cream was my first proper eye cream ever and I still to this day sometimes recommend it to friends. This eye cream is nice as well. It’s a cream, but it’s quite lightweight. It doesn’t irritate my eyes and it keeps the skin nicely moisturized. I’ve heard someone say, that Lumene has the best eye creams. So far, having tried two of them, I think that they are a pretty safe choice.

lumene valo review — Lumene Nordic-C BB-Cream, shade Light/Medium swatched.

Lumene Nordic-C Bright Boost BB-Cream

Lumene’s BB and CC -creams are quite popular here and many beauty bloggers recommend them. So, I was quite excited about this one. Especially since I feel like I haven’t had that much luck with Lumene’s makeup products before. Unfortunately the color is a bit off for me though. It’s slightly too light and slightly too pink, but it works when I mix it with some other (more yellow-toned) foundation. The consistency in the BB-cream is nice. It’s medium-coverage, the consistency feels quite hydrating, but not too heavy and it leaves my skin looking glowy. It lasts quite well on my face too and since it’s not that full-coverage, it wears off naturally.

All in all, I’m happy with these products. It was nice to try some Lumene products for a change. It’s actually the first time I properly talk about Lumene here on my blog at all. Lumene is possibly the most known Finnish brand in Finland. It’s a classic. Still – I haven’t used that much of their products before. But now with their new branding, new products and new packaging – I’m finding myself to be quite interested in them. It’s also nice to show you some Finnish brands, made here in Finland. Especially if they’re good.

It’s been intriguing to see Lumene expand and being sold all over the world. So for once, these Finnish products are available internationally as well and I have links for some shops!

*Lumene Valo products on amazon

*Lumene Valo products

*Lumene Valo products on Lookfantastic US
*Lumene Valo products on Lookfantastic UK

Are you familiar with Lumene?

Sponsored collaboration with Zadaa

When it comes to shopping, I try to shop wisely.

For me, it means I don’t buy impulsively. Instead I try to think, if I really need the item or if it really makes me happy. If either is true, it’s worth the purchase (because #konmari). I also want to buy things that last long and feel comfortable.

For the last year or so I’ve tried to buy more pre-used clothes and shoes. I’ve never been good with second hand stores, but I’ve had great success with the Zadaa app. I’ve found so many awesome things from the app that it’s become one of my favorite shopping places. I love the idea that you’re able to find new use for things that someone else is about to abandon. And on the other hand the clothes I’m looking to get rid off can still find new life with someone else.

Nowadays, whenever I’m in need of some new clothing, the first place I go looking for it is Zadaa. I recently needed a raincoat, so I searched for jackets on Zadaa. It took a few tries, but eventually I found my raincoat from the app. And it only cost me 11,50€.

If this is the first time you hear about Zadaa, here’s what it’s all about.

Zadaa is a marketplace, where you can buy and sell clothes, accessories, cosmetics and now even cameras (lucky for me, since I need to sell my older camera). Funnily enough, I was first introduced to Zadaa by Risto. When I opened the app for the very first time, I was a bit overwhelmed. It was a totally new way to think about second hand shopping (which, as I stated earlier, I wasn’t that keen on). But after I got used to the app, I realized it’s pretty awesome.

What makes it awesome is that it connects you with your “fashion twins.” That made it possible to immediately find clothes actually in my size! In addition to that, the app learns your personal style and helps you connect with people who share your taste. Another cool thing about it is, that usually the clothes are photographed on the people who are selling those clothes. So in addition to finding the right size faster, I now also see how it might actually fit me as well.

Shipping is also very easy, since Zadaa takes care of that. I just take my package to my nearest post office and show the shipping code to the cashier. I used to never sell any of my old clothes, so I’m happy that I’ve found an app that works for me.

And recently, the app got even better.

A while back, it became available in Germany. So now you can shop in Finland, Denmark and Germany. Honestly – I can’t wait for it to expand to the whole world! Shopping from different countries has been made easy on the app.

There is a new translation tool, so I don’t need to learn German to buy a shirt from someone in Berlin (or if you’re German, you don’t have to learn Finnish to buy a shirt from Helsinki, which I imagine might be even harder.) You simply press ‘translate’ and it’s translated to your language. That really helps the communication between the seller and the buyer. And it will become handy once Zadaa expands to even more countries. The translator works in the description boxes and in the comments. That is great, because although the pictures tell a lot of the item, sometimes there are some details about the item explained on the description box.

Besides the new translation tool, there’s also a new payment option – Paypal. The categories also got improved and now there are for example sub categories for shoes. You can categorize things by brand and color, and you can choose what countries you want to shop in.

A quick tip on finding some new clothes

If you already know some brands or styles that suit you – try searching for the brand on Zadaa. You might find, for example, your jeans in different colors and styles. I’ve bought most of my jeans this way. All from the same brand and in the same style – Gina tricot Kristen jeans. Buying jeans is hard, so once I find a model that works for me – well, I might end up buying four pairs of it.

I’ve also used the brand searching tip for shoe shopping. I love Vagabond shoes, so I searched for Vagabond in the shoe category and ended up buying a beautiful pair of boots.

One of my latest findings from Zadaa is the beautiful skirt seen on these photos. It’s from River Island, one of my favorite brands. And yes, I found it by using the search tool. This skirt was actually unused – or just tried on once – so buying second hand doesn’t always mean buying something very used.

At the moment my clothing situation is pretty good. The only thing that’s on my not-in-a-hurry-buying-list is a good quality leather jacket. That’s why right now I’m focusing on selling the clothes I no longer use. This means you can find my shop in the Zadaa Showroom this week! It’s open right now and I’m selling some pretty cool things, like that unique handbag next to me on the photo above. There’s also my old camera on sale, and it’s a pretty good deal. The showroom can be found on the app from the eye icon.

You can download Zadaa here: https://zadaa.co/download/ or on App Store or Google Play. For those, who already have the app: remember to update it to get the new features!

Do you shop second hand? Have you tried Zadaa?

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The Finnish light – Lumene Valo