Vitamin C | Beauty and Fashion Tech

Review: Vita Amazonia Gels, Nutri Complex C, Hydra Complex C, Eye Gel, and Linden Plus Gel

Vita Amazonia has a wide variety of skin and hair care products. Something they do that many other companies don't is offer various products in a gel form. I like the idea of using gel to deliver active ingredients such a vitamin C. People with oily skin often wish to avoid creams, and while serums can be nice, it is often easier to apply a gel product. I recently tried three Vita Amazonia gel products and generally was happy with all of them.Vita Amazonia Nutri Complex Vita C is a light gel that contains vitamin C and Beta Hydroxy Acid (BHA). This acts as an antioxidant and exfoliating combination and works well as a light night treatment. I found that the gel was soothing and non-irritating, and if I didn't have a bit of dry skin a the moment, I would happily use it in place of my regular night cream. I think it would be a good product for anyone with oily skin who would like to try a combination product such as this without having to put a heavy cream on. Because it is a gel, it does have a factor that frankly all gel products tend to have - it is a bit sticky until it dries completely. Fortunately that does not take long.

Vita Amazonia Hydra Complex Vita C, SPF 10 is a day version of the vitamin C gel. Vita Amazonia described its Hydra C Complex in their literature to me as follows: "Containing a silcon form of Vitamin C and Moist 24, a synthetic substance from the cactus 'Imerata Cilindrica,' this unique product will deeply hydrate the skin, helping to fight the action of free radicals and restoring radiance and vitality to skin."

I found that the Hydra Complex gel was indeed a bit moisturizing, but I wouldn't describe it a feeling like a "deep" moisture. Instead, I would recommend this product to those with oily to normal skin who are looking for a gel based product. For some serious moisture from Vita Amazonia for those with dry skin (and perhaps for those with normal and combination skin as well), I recommend Vita Amazonia DMAE and Matrixyl Creams.A product I just loved was Vita Amazonia Gel for the Eye Area. I have noted before that I am a sucker for cooling eye gels and Vita Amazonia's gel fits right in with that. My bias toward such thing aside, this is a quality product for a couple of reasons. First, it feels great, and for a gel product it dries quickly with less stickiness than often seen with this type of product. Second, it contains isoflavones and extracts of Iris Florentina and Licorice, which helps the product moisturize and lighten with some antioxidant protection. It is a nice combination of ingredients. I have been using this product often.

Finally, Vita Amazonia Linden Plus Gel is a great gel for irritated skin. It is formulated to soothe and is perfect for after shaving, waxing, or irritating procedures. I used it on an area that got a bit irritated from my use of Renova (Retin-A) and found that it felt great. It also would be wonderful for treating sunburn, but you aren't going to get sunburned and need it for that are you?! I am going to preach this all summer, and am managing to do so twice today: Please wear your sunscreen!

I have previously reviewed Vita Amazonia DMAE and Matrixyl Creams, and some Vita Amazonia hair products. I have a couple of more products that I tried and I will post about those next week.

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Review of Lumene Skin Care Products

Lumene Day cream

Over the past week I tried a number of Lumene skin care products with great enjoyment. I also tried a foundation, which I will rave about in its own separate post (update, that review is here: Lumene Foundation). Lumene skin care products originate in Finland and are available in the United States at some CVS stores, Target, and at ULTA Beauty and Drugstore.com. They also sell some of their products in small trial sizes, so if you have a store near you that carries the brand, it is worth checking there in person for trial sizes and various local sales.

First up are the Lumene Sensitive Touch Cleansing Wipes. These worked quite well at removing dirt, oil, and makeup, including eye makeup. The wipes contain oat milk, which helps keep the cleanser from drying the skin. I liked the cleansing pads and will likely purchase more. I had been using Garnier Nutritioniste Cleansing Wipes (link is to previous review), but those tend to be a bit dry. I like the Lumene better because they are not too soapy, yet have a bit more moisture than the Garnier wipes. They also come is great travel size packs.

I also really liked a pair of products from the Lumene Time Freeze line. Lumene puts age ranges on their lines, with age 40 plus listed for the time freeze line. Although it might be good for the company's marketing, I don't find the age ranges particularly useful or necessary, because in many cases the products may be very appropriate for people outside of the provided age range. The day and night creams that I tried from the Lumene Time Freeze line are perfect examples. These products would be useful for anyone with somewhat dry skin and/or fine lines or wrinkles.

Lumene Premium Beauty Rejuvenating Day Cream is a medium weight moisturizer that provides a decent amount of moisture combined with SPF protection. I liked it just as well as a number of other good day creams, yet it is a bit cheaper than some of the equivalent higher end products.

What really shined for me though was Lumene Premium Beauty Rejuvenating Night Cream. I found this creme to be particularly pleasant to use and a great value as well. The cream is fairly thick and provides enough moisture for dry skin without being too heavy for skin that is only a bit on the dry side. It absorbs quickly and provides moisture for the entire night. So, it does a pretty bang up job for its price. At around $29 for a decent size jar, this is a good value general use night cream.

Lumene Vitamin C Serum

Another product I tried and liked was the Lumene Vitamin C+ Line. The Vitamin C day cream contains multiple forms of vitamin C and felt great when I put it on. It also smells quite nice with its light citrus scent. I could feel the tingle that comes with the use of vitamin C, so it must have a decent concentration. It also absorbed well and my skin was looking quite good after a week of use (although I do use other products). With a decent price at around $15-20, this is another good value product. I also loved the Lumene energy cocktail serum from the line. So if you are looking for an affordable vitamin C cream or other vitamin c products, this line one is worth a look.

Another of my favorite of the products overall was the Lumene Premium Beauty Rejuvenating Lip Care Lotion. This product has an interesting mix of ingredients. From the description:

"The products’ precious natural sea buckthorn oil contains omega fatty acids, antioxidants and vitamins that strengthen and renew skin. The Tri-peptides™–compound helps restore the skin’s elasticity and youthful glow. A-and E-vitamines stimulates cellular renovation."

Adding peptides to a lip product greatly interested me since there is a decent amount of ancedotal evidence about the anti-aging, particularly anti-wrinkle, benefits of various types and combinations of peptides. However, whether the combination in this product comes from one of the better documented combinations is unknown (Update: I found that Lumene uses two documented combinations, see my comment). The lip care lotion is a light treatment balm/lotion. It has a nice moisturizing quality and it keeps the lips moist for some time. It has quickly become my favorite lip product for use at night when I want long lasting moisture, but don't need SPF added. The treatment elements of the product also make it very attractive for night use. It has bit of a taste that is not unpleasant, but not pleasant either. But I would like to see it either entirely devoid of flavor or with something a bit more pleasing. Aside form that, I highly recommend this product.

Overall, I was impressed with everything I tried from Lumene. The company makes numerous products aimed at a wide range of skin types and treatment needs, so I really just got to scratch the surface. If you have a store nearby that carries them, stop in and take a look!

Below are shopping boxes for a few of my favorite Lumene items. I couldn't find them all online, so do check stores for them!