Do you find that in these Covid times, that wearing a mask makes your skin more prone to spots and irritation? At The Amazing Blog, we do! And have been looking at stepping-up our skincare routine with Nume-Lab a new Swiss biotech beauty brand that offers at-home professional style skincare.
The Nume-Lab idea all began when Paulina Kostrzycka and her co-founder, reviewed their bulging bathroom beauty stash. What they feared became a reality: Most of their skincare products were redundant and gathering dust… some were from well-known brands others had ingredients that overlapped in terms of their use or potency. All generating waste! This was that light bulb moment when she and her co-founder decided to create a clean, simple, functional, sustainable skincare brand - offering long-lasting results. While growing her new brand, Kostrzycka realised that although sustainability is essential, it is not the only factor; why not completely push the boundaries and offer products that are efficient and with an ethical approach. This meant a skincare that would not only promote respect for the environment, different cultures and lifestyles, but also empower people, especially women. “Giving freedom of choice to women and men who follow different lifestyles and have different needs was important to me. NUME-Lab goes beyond skincare. It is a bridge between different cultures and a promotion of diversity”, stated Kostrzycka. Working on her new company while still working her day job, she finally launched Nume-Lab last year in Switzerland. The brand is Halal certified, where all products have the highest ethical manufacturing process required, including being cruelty-free no animal testing, using sustainably sourced ingredients, and banning alcohol, other toxic chemicals and mineral oils from formulas. Nume-Lab is made with innovative Swiss biotechnology and high efficacy ingredients. The key ingredient that the brand uses is snail mucus, which as we know from previous reviews on K-beauty, is an ingredient that Korean brands have used for centuries. It swiftly regenerates, protects and nourishes the skin effectively naturally rich in glycolic acid, hyaluronic acid, peptides and antioxidants. This miracle ingredient was used in ancient times to cure wounds, burns, inflammation and other skin issues. Of course, the mucus production is highly regulated and conforms to the cruelty-free standards set by the Halal certification. The snails are kept in the good conditions and are put in a bumpy environment that helps them produce the filtrate. There are three products in the range Resurfacing Night Peel, Deep Exfoliating Cleanser and Advanced Renewal Face Cream. Today we cover the Cleaner and Face Cream – the Night Peel will be featured at a later date.
The first product we’re featuring about today is their Deep Exfoliating Cleanser. This cleanser is the first step towards a spot-free and glowing complexion. Inside the formula, the ground walnut shells, apricot kernel, and almond microbeads help unclog the pores and remove the dirt and dead skin cells. Enriched in glycolic acid, this formula efficiently exfoliates the skin and help treats pigmentation issues. The presence of snail mucus, aloe vera, allantoin and kaolin also helps to rehydrate the skin cells and offers protection from potential irritations, aggressions and inflammation. This slightly floral-scented cleanser, which they suggest using daily as your face cleansing step, should be mixed with water and massaged in circular motions for a whole minute. However, we’d advise that if you have a sensitive skin (which some of us do), it’s better as a weekly cleansing/exfoliating treatment. We found it too strong for a daily cleanse and too abrasive with the microbeads for using around the eye area. That said, it is an essential step for cleansing and preparing the skin for the Face Cream or Night Peel.
Next, we tried the Advanced Renewal Face Cream with its anti-ageing, moisturising and healing ingredients. This is formulated using not only their hero ingredient the snail extract mucus; but also, hyaluronic acid and vitamins A, C and E. This Face Cream is for use both day and night, tit’s a rich cream is especially good as night treatment for sensitive or damaged skin that needs extra attention. The ingredients easily penetrate the dermis, boosting collagen production plus treating any blemishes and dark spots, and restoring the skin’s elasticity. As an antioxidant, the vitamin E here also ensures that the skin is well protected against free radicals and premature ageing. We used the Face Cream daily, both in the morning and in the evening massaging in circular movements for 1-2 minutes. Again, this has a slight floral fragrance and didn’t conflict with any other serums or make up that we applied. It feels cooling and absorbs well leaving skin soft and hydrated. However, because the consistency is so rich, those with combination to oily skin might prefer to use it only at night-time. We think these are both ideal for use for those with #lockdown maskne. The snail secretion filtrate is nothing to be afraid of; in fact, it should be embraced as a gift from nature that soothes and repairs, in particular acne and rosacea. You can purchase the 120ml Deep Exfoliating Cleanser on Nume-Lab’s here for CHF39 (approx. £32.30), and 50ml Advanced Renewal Face Cream available for CHF 69.00 (approx. £57) here .