Lumipeau is a prominent acne skincare brand with science-backed skincare solutions designed specifically for tropical climates. Their acne-fighting products are made with safe and clinically proven ingredients to successfully cure breakouts for clean, blemish-free skin.

Diana began her journey to building Lumipeau through her struggles as someone who dealt with acne herself. She felt self-conscious about the look of her red and blemished complexion throughout her teens and adulthood. She felt alone and powerless since others who did not have acne-prone skin could not understand her physical and mental challenges. As a result, Diana spent a significant amount of time studying and testing numerous remedies on her own.

It was an honour for us at Beauty Insider to learn from Diana and her experience with building a brand and dealing with acne herself. Hop down below to read our interview with the inspiring founder of Lumipeau.

Diana Yow

Who is Diana?
In two words: striving Philomath. I love learning! I think learning new topics helps in every aspect of life and pushes boundaries, at least for me. I believe that everything is connected and whatever topic learnt can be applied to many different situations.

How did your love for skincare begin?
I think it was always in me when I was younger, buried beneath until I was able to actually buy my skincare products and experience treatments. It started with watching my mom putting on makeup, that then led me to discover skincare and the rest is history!

Having done an abundance of research on skincare, what is the most shocking thing you’ve learnt?
There are many conflicting opinions on varied topics for example the use of facial oil on acne skin. Some suggest it benefits the skin and some condemn it.
In this era where information is abundant and readily available, too much information can be a bad thing. With too much information, it confuses and downplays certain ingredients that are truly beneficial. With this, we focus a lot more on ingredients that are clinically proven or have scientific journals to back their claims.

“When it comes to skincare, less is more.” What do you think about this statement?

Couldn’t agree more! This is a belief that we uphold very strongly. With skincare products that have clinically proven and targeted ingredients, it works best with a lesser product mix.

Also, having too many products in a skincare regime not only increases the risks of allergies but also increases the risk of incompatibility of ingredients among the different product mix. Focus on a few key products that will help your skin in the long run!

Lumipeau

What inspired you to begin your own skincare brand?
Throughout the years of unsuccessful battle with acne, I had held the thought of creating my own products because I was too tired of trying too many skincare products and treatments that did not help my skin in the long run. The products that claimed to heal acne overnight made my skin too dry afterwards from the harsh ingredients.
I also started seeing some side effects like hair loss from certain medications which I had never encountered before. These encounters inspired me and I needed a more sustainable approach to skincare that can help the acne whilst helping to strengthen the skin for the long run.

What is the story behind the name of your brand, Lumipeau?
The word Lumipeau stems from Luminous and Peau, which means skin in French. The brand hopes to help each user to achieve the dawn of new skin, through our acne-fighting formulations. The logo is also very meaningful! The symbol mark in the logo depicts a plant seedling growing towards the sun. The plant seedling bears the meaning of life, while the sun is a symbol of illumination. The symbol resonates the meaning of giving life to one’s skin.

What is the most unique thing about Lumipeau‘s skincare products?
Lumipeau’s products are created with acne battlers in mind with years of trial & error experiences and research that contributed to the development of each product.
For example, most would think that an acne cleanser should be a heavyweight in oil removal. However, it is more important to balance the pH and oil levels in our skin rather than to attempt to remove all oils because a dry skin leads to more sebum production and a vicious cycle repeats.

What is your personal favourite product from your brand? What is the story behind creating that product?
That is a tough question because I love all of them! But if I were to pick, I would say the LumiShield Anti-Bacterial Facial Mist is something unique to Lumipeau created particularly for our lifestyles.
Personally, I tend to have acne for a few reasons and a dirty environment is one of the main reasons. This LumiShield Anti-Bacterial Facial Mist was created mainly with this reason in mind. Also, living in an urban city like ours, the exposure to bacteria and pollutants are much higher and the LumiShield helps to control the outbreak of acne and calms my skin.

During your battle against acne, what did you struggle with the most, and how does that translate into Lumipeau?
Definitely the effect on my mental and emotional being was a major struggle during my battle against acne. Through more than a decade of acne, from mild to the serious cystic acne, I was devastated and always envied others who had clear skin. There were times where I would not want to leave the house to buy food nearby for fear of the constant judgment of my acne.
Even after going through various types of treatments, the acne returned after some time. This was a very demoralising and self-damaging journey that never seemed to end.
Lumipeau is developed to help fellow acne battlers like myself through a seemingly never-ending battle with acne to achieve sustainably healthy skin.

The Future Of Lumipeau

Where do you see Lumipeau being in the next 5 years?
I hope for Lumipeau to help as many acne battlers as possible, not only in Singapore but also globally. Acne is more common than we think and it affects more than 80% of people at some point of their life.
We hope to penetrate into global markets to help every single acne battler and to be there through their journey in acne healing.

Best Parts and Struggles of Being A Founder

What is the best thing about owning your own skincare brand, and what is the biggest struggle you’ve faced so far to build your brand?
I would definitely thank the opportunity to connect with people that had gone through similar struggles and I am so delighted to share more tips to help them with their acne. It is very rewarding when you receive feedback from customers on how the products have helped them on their quest to clear skin.
Also having my own skincare line is amazing as I know consciously everything that goes behind the creation of each product and that gives me a lot of confidence in using my product. I could immediately request for all the nasty ingredients to be struck off from the formulation and to really focus key ingredients. My name and face is on the line!
Without a doubt, uncertainties beyond my control was the biggest struggle. With Covid-19, the supply chain was severely affected when factories shut down. This had led to a much longer than expected delay in the production of each product.