Lumene Vitamin C+ Dry Skin Comfort Radiance Cocktail

1. Lumene Vitamin C Plus Dry Skin Comfort Radiance Cocktail, 1.0 oz for $21.99

Awesome drugstore finds are just plain AWESOME.  I was in a tazorac, salicylic acid treatment induced peeling phase.  I was trying to throw in Obagi’s Professional C Serum 20%, but that was just too much!  But I didn’t want to use up my more expensive oils to moisturize/protect my skin when it wasn’t that raw, and I had given away my Dessert Essence Jojoba Oil to a sister’s friend who was interested in trying it out.  What to do, what to do?

I saw this box in the drugstore and was curious so I picked it up.  Lumene is a finnish brand I had seen often but wasn’t too interested because it just seemed more focused on mature, drier skin.  However, essential oil blend products are not common in drugstores.  Particularily when they are comprised of two different substances that do not easily mix and separate in two different colored substances.  The majority of the serum is water and various essential oils, mostly jojoba oil.  Oil and water, as we know do not mix easily because of the polarity of the molecules.  Although, there is the difference of density, as well. 

This serum is meant for dry skin types.  It has tons of moisturizing, skin plumping ingredients like jojoba oil, avocado oil, sea buckthorn oil, cranberry seed oil, and the key ingredient in this cocktail, Cloudberry seed oil, as well as low amounts of ascorbic acid (vitamin c), ascorbyl palmitate (vitamin c derivative) and cloudberry seed extract, which has radiance enhancing and antioxidant properties.  I also love the fact there is a bit of lactic acid in here.

In order to use this properly you have to shake the bottle so that the ingredients are evenly mixed.  Pump once, or twice – your preference.  Warm it up between your hands and pat – in my case, SLAP – it all around.  My skin feels protected, moisturized, but not greasy.  Due to the low amount of vitamin c and lactic acid, I do not think this will have a strong as brightening effect on the skin.  The vitamin c derivatives are listed 24th and 28th in the list of ingredients!  This is probably a weaker vitamin c serum than even the Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster, which has – at least – TWO vitamin c derivative ingredient as the second and third ingredient. 

I love this stuff so much that I immediately purchased another bottle, as well as the oily skin version to eventually try out because they were on sale.  This isn’t a replacement for my Decleor serums, but when it is not necessary to use those rather expensive vials, why not just use this?

Ingredients: Aqua (Water); Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil; Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride; Hydrogenated Polydecene; Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil; Squalane; Glycerin; Tocopheryl Acetate; Phenoxyethanol; Panthenol; Butylene Glycol, Rubus Chamaemorus Seed Oil; Oxycoccus Palustris Seed Oil; Hydroxyethylcellulose; PEG-8; Hippophae Rhamnoides Oil; Ethylhexylglycerin,  Tocopherol; Sodium Lactate; Lactic Acid; Serine; Sorbitol; TEA-Lactate; Urea;  Ascorbyl Palmitate; Sodium Hydroxide; Sodium Chloride; Rubus Chamaemorus Seed Extract; Ascorbic Acid; Citric Acid; Allantoin; CI 17200 (Red 33), CI 19140 (Yellow 5); Citral; Geraniol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Limonene, Linalool, Butylphenyl Methylpropional; Parfum (Fragrance).