LET'S face it, buying skincare is confusing and hard work. There are thousands of moisturisers out there, all claiming to be game-changers with their organic ingredients, essential oils and CBD infusions.
And that’s before you get onto face washes, eye creams, scrubs and anti-wrinkle lotions. Is it even necessary to have a ‘grooming routine’, and what’s wrong with just a splash of water on your face before bedtime? These are questions that brands like Lumin look to answer.
- Get a free trial of Lumin's personalised skincare routine - here
Specialising in products designed specifically for men, it aims to make things simple, offering either individual products or ‘bundles’, which group together key grooming products at a discounted rate. But is the brand any good, is the investment worth it and does it make a difference to your skin?
Rating: 4.5/5
Pros:
- Skin feels brighter and more even after use
- Each product is light and non-greasy
- No strong scents, just good quality product
Cons:
- Expensive
- Confusing website layout
Lumin review: quick summary
As part of this test, I tried Lumin’s Badass Bundle, which includes Charcoal Face Wash, Charcoal Scrub, Wrinkle Defence Serum, Dark Circle Defence and Daily Moisturiser. I used these products for a month, either daily or bi-weekly as suggested and have noticed a definite improvement in my overall complexion.
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Lumin makes use of a range of natural ingredients, and this, combined with the light, non-greasy texture of each product, makes them a pleasure to use. While they are not exactly cheap - the Daily Face Moisturiser is £28 on its own - they do work.
They’ve evened my skin tone, reduced dark circles and made my skin look brighter and healthier.
Lumin review: full review
- Get a free trial of Lumin's personalised skincare routine - here
First impressions of Lumin start off strong. The brand’s website and branding is suitably modern and clean, but using the website isn’t as easy as it might first appear.
Use the ‘shop’ and it’s quite busy, with numerous drop downs and potential options to click through. You can shop ‘by concern’, which allows you to find products suitable for dry skin, dull skin, irritation or sun damage, and there are sections like ‘Clean’, ‘Hydrate’ and ‘Defend’ which allow you to find products that do each of those things.
Rather than trawl through each of these, we’d advise looking for the bundles, which group together products to form a portion of, or an entire grooming routine. Again, there are one too many bundles on offer, and some of the names (‘Class Act bundle, Smooth Operator bundle, Badass bundle) don’t allude to what they actually do.
Once you settle on a bundle or an individual product, you’ll likely be impressed with the packaging. Nicely designed and with clear instructions on how to use it, each product has a premium feel in the hand.
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What is Lumin?
Lumin is one of many grooming brands that offer a full range of daily and weekly products, from moisturisers to face washes and scrubs.
It produces fairly generalist items like its Charcoal Scrub, but also more specialist products like its Instant Redness Corrector and Instant Dark Circle Corrector, which aim to tackle specific problem areas.
In short, you could buy your entire grooming routine with Lumin, even down to shampoo, conditioner and body wash.
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First impressions
- Get a free trial of Lumin's personalised skincare routine - here
First impressions are great. As mentioned the packing is tastefully designed, with predominantly black and white branding with touches of yellow. The moisturiser and dark circle gel feel particularly premium with the design of their bottles, which you push down on to extract what’s inside.
Each product feels good on the skin also; the brand has managed to make them feel light but also substantial.
Performance: does Lumin work?
Let’s start with the Daily Face Moisturiser. Lumin also produces an Extra Strength or a Super Light version, but I opted for the Daily as it’s recommended for normal or combination skin. Like other Lumin products, it makes use of natural products including meadowfoam seed oil (balances oil production), niacinamide (a form of vitamin B3 which improves dullness), and ginger extract (evens skin tones).
You don’t need to use much for it to go far, it’s light yet also dense enough and doesn’t make your skin shiny. Simply rub in a pea-sized amount and your skin feels hydrated all day long. I used this in combination with the Wrinkle Defence Serum and the Dark Circle Defence Balm daily for a month, and noticed genuine improvements.
The Wrinkle Defence Serum is more gel-like in consistency, and again, you don’t need much to go a long way. It’s made with Vitamin C (protects from pollution and UV), hyaluronic acid (smooths appearance of fine lines) and ferulic acid (fights wrinkles), and is supposed to be applied on top of the moisturiser.
The third and finishing touch is the Dark Circle Defence Balm. Lumin describes it as ‘an espresso shot for your eyes’, and they’re not far off. It’s made with caffeine after all (reduces puffiness), as well as lemon extract (evens skin tone) and niacinamide again, and is designed to be used over both the serum and the moisturiser.
A light, cooling gel, you rub it gently under your eyes and it gives this particularly delicate section of skin all the moisture it needs. After a month’s use it has reduced dark circles and made the skin much more even in tone as well as healthier to look at.
As part of this bundle, I’ve also been using the Charcoal Face Wash and Charcoal Scrub. Both are made with black stuff, which absorbs dirt and helps tackle breakouts and spots while also being anti-ageing. The wash is very light, lathering up into a foam that gently works into your skin, while the scrub is slightly more intensive, and is advised to be used 2-4 times a week.
It doesn’t have exfoliating beads like other scrubs, so it doesn’t feel as harsh, but it helps remove dead skin cells and smoothes texture in much the same way.
Is Lumin only for men?
- Get a free trial of Lumin's personalised skincare routine - here
Lumin is marketed specifically at men’s skin. All of its products are branded as ‘for men’, so it’s likely that they would perform best when used on men’s skin.
That doesn’t mean that anyone else can’t buy from the brand, however. Some of Lumen’s more generalist products like its Daily Face Moisturiser and Charcoal Scrub would work on any skin, so it’s really down to personal preference.
How much is Lumin?
The bundle tried for this test costs £84 as a one-off payment, or £75.60 on a subscription, which would be delivered every two months.
Going for bundles is the cheapest way to buy Lumin products, as they are discounted versus buying each product individually.
Lumin alternatives
Lumin has a number of competitors, ranging from Boots’ No 7 brand, to The Ordinary, Bulldog, FaceGym and Aesop. Each brand offers a range of bundles at lower and higher price points and for different uses.
The verdict: Is Lumin good?
- Get a free trial of Lumin's personalised skincare routine - here
Having used Lumin for a month, my skin feels less dry, looks brighter and more even, and my dark circles have lessened. I haven’t had any breakouts in this time and skin redness has also decreased.
On this basis alone I would definitely recommend Lumin. I have combination skin, which can be dry after showering, and oily at the end of the day, and this specific ‘Badass Bundle’ has helped with that.
It might be fairly expensive at £84 for the bundle, which equates to roughly £17 per product on average, but I have seen improvements in my skin, which has led to me feeling better and more confident.
Can you put a price on that? Perhaps, but given that it’s not extortionately expensive like some grooming brands, I would say it’s worth it.
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