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Last Updated: July 29, 2020
An increasing number of men are starting to care more about their skin. While it may have seen as faux pas for men to spend time grooming in the morning, it’s now encouraged. In fact, according to Allied Market Research, the men’s personal care industry is predicted to hit a whopping $166 billion by the year 2022.
Because of this exploding growth, many brands are trying to capitalize. This includes brands that seemingly only targeted women in the past.
For men who are seeking the best skincare products made for them, two brands stand out. There is Curology which offers custom formulas based on your skin’s unique needs and there is Lumin which touts itself as a curated premium skincare line for the premium man. While you can find incredible and high-quality products with both brands, picking the right one comes down to figuring out which one meets your skin’s needs the best and your budget.
By the end of this article, you should be able to choose the right brand to purchase to improve your skin.
Features Comparison: What Lumin and Curology Bring to the Table
Contents
Lumin Features
Lumin offers a wide range of products that should cover your basis no matter what type of skin you have. With Lumin, you are asked what type of skin you have and the products are tailored for your specific skin type. You can choose to get a subscription based on your skincare goals including; age management, classic maintenance, or skin correction. You can also opt to purchase the complete collection.
With Lumin, you have the ability to purchase individual products separately.
- Premium Grade Moisturizing Balm
This is one of Lumin’s best selling products. The moisturizing balm is tailored to those who have dry and flaky skin. This balm can help to brighten skin tones and reinvigorate the skin.
It effectively repairs the skin from sun damage and it locks in moisture for dehydrated skin. This product is formulated with several key ingredients including meadowfoam seed oil, apple extract, and ginger extract.
Each of these ingredients helps to protect the skin’s barrier, reverses signs of aging, and helps to fight against the formation of free radicals.
- No-Nonsense Charcoal Cleanser
This is really the product that put Lumin on the map. This charcoal cleanser is gentle enough to safely remove excess sebum oil and other impurities on the skin that can cause pore blockages.
Likewise, it is formulated to cleanse the skin without upsetting the skin’s natural pH balance which is a consequence of using a lot of the off-the-shelf soaps and facial cleansers that are readily available.
This product is curated for those with oily skin or acne and it’s ingredient profile features some key ingredients that make it so incredibly effective including charcoal for suctioning out impurities, rose flower oil for balancing the pH levels and offering anti-inflammatory properties, and Centella Asiatica which helps to repair the skin.
Curology Features
With Curology, they take a much more customized approach. You fill out a questionnaire and a medical history about various (if any) skin conditions that you have had. The questionnaire asks you about your skin to come up with a skin profile and it will ask about any skincare goals you have. From there, you will get a custom routine with a custom formula that will target your specific skincare goals.
However, you are not able to purchase individual products without a specific subscription.
- Custom Products
With Curology, you are getting a complete custom formula that is customized to your skin profile based on the questions asked. Along with this, you are asked to submit photos of your skin. They will assign you to a personal provider and you will receive a fully customized formula based on their recommendation. Therefore, you will not have to shoehorn a specific product that may or may not be tailored to your skin. The complete Curology routine comes with 3-steps to skincare including a cleanser, your custom formula, and one of two moisturizers.
- Gentle Cleansers
The Curology Cleanser is a gentle one that promises not to clog pores and not to strip away essential oil protecting the skin’s barrier. The cleanser features oat leaf extract for a calming effect.
- Your Custom Formula
The second step is the custom formula that is customized specifically to address your skincare needs. This is formulated based on the questions you answer and the photo you submit. You won’t be able to see the ingredients until you fill out the customized profile. Once you do, you can see the curated ingredients including the active ingredients in the formula chosen for you.
- Moisturizers
The moisturizer comes in two different formulas. There is a basic moisturizer for those with normal to oily skin. This moisturizer contains hyaluronic acid and glycerin as its active ingredients. The rich moisturizer is meant for dry or aging skin and it packs in a lot more hydrating ingredients including hyaluronic acid, aloe, glycerin, Shea butter, squalane, and allantoin.
Before and After Comparison
As far as reviews are concerned, both Lumin and Curology have a lot of positive feedback on their website. Curology has a lot more before and after photos on their website. As far as third-party review websites, each brand has the following:
- Lumin has a 4.3 out of 5 on Trustpilot with nearly 5,000 reviews [1].
- Curology has a 4.3 out of 5 on Facebook with over 3,400 reviews. They also have a 4.6 out of 5 on Reviews.io with over 1,000 reviews. They also have a 4.1 out of 5 on Influenster with over 6,500 reviews. Curology has a 3.0 out of 5 on Trustpilot with only around 180 reviews [2]
Price Comparison: Is Lumin or Curology Cheaper?
Lumin Pricing
For Lumin, the pricing is rather straightforward. They offer a free trial starting at $4.95. If you don’t cancel within 30 days, you will be billed for a larger subscription box for $48 which is 20% off of MSRP. This subscription set will last a total of 2 months making it $24 per month.
You also have the choice to purchase products individually either on a subscription/reoccurring basis or as a one-time purchase.
Curology Pricing
With Curology, you also have the option to choose a free trial that costs $4.95. This will include trial sized products. After the trial, you will be able to get full-size products and you can choose from a small or large custom formula.
From there, you can add different sets to your shipment. The smaller custom formula costs $19.95 per month and an additional $4.95 for shipping. Whereas, the large custom formula costs $39.90 per shipment with free shipping. The large formula lasts a full 2 months making it essentially $19.95 per month.
However, to add-on the cleanser and moisturizer set, acne body wash, and the spot patches, you will need to have the large custom formula subscription. These cannot be purchased separately.
Summary: How to Pick the Right Option for Your Skin
As with any skincare product, the key is finding the one that works the best for you. While both of these skincare subscriptions offer a lot, Lumin is strictly curated for men.
As a result, it is the better of the two for most men. Unless you have a specific acne condition that you need to address, Lumin offers the better-curated package for most men. You have the ability to choose from (3) unique sets that can be tailored to your specific skin type. These sets are meant to address the specific skincare issues that are specific to men.
While Curology certainly has its fair share of pros including a specially formulated product that is tailored to your skin by experts, it’s much more tailored to those experiencing specific skin conditions and it is not strictly curated for men alone.
Thus, it doesn’t address the skincare needs of men as direct as Lumin.
You should choose Lumin if…
- You are looking for skincare purposefully curated for men’s skin.
- You want straightforward products and pricing.
You should choose Curology if…
- You are looking to address a specific skin issue.
