For years, I lived at a pace my body could not sustain.

Sixty-hour weeks became normal. Carrying responsibility for everything, and everyone, felt like strength. I was deeply committed to my work, proud of what I was building, and largely unaware of how little space I was leaving for myself.

Burnout doesn’t always arrive with signs we immediately recognise. Sometimes it whispers long before it shouts.

For me, the first sign came one ordinary day at work, when I suddenly lost my sight for ninety minutes. A month later, after what should have been a simple virus, it became clear just how depleted my body had become. My immune system was no longer able to protect me, and I ended up in hospital.

That moment marked a turning point - not because everything stopped, but because I could no longer ignore what my body had been trying to tell me.

If we don’t make space to care for ourselves, eventually our minds and bodies will ask us to.

What helped me through burnout was not fixing myself, pushing harder, or finding another solution.

It was slowing down.

Creating space. Allowing moments of stillness to exist without justification. Learning to listen - not just with my mind, but with my body.

During this time, I began creating my own fragrances and small well-being rituals. Scent became a way back into the present moment - a gentle anchor when everything else felt overwhelming. These rituals were never about productivity or performance. They were about safety, softness, and returning home to myself.

When you slow down and feel, you begin to heal.
I built this brand because I needed it myself.

From Burnout to Building Lykke & Lumen

I have spent more than three decades in the beauty and wellness industry, beginning as a hands-on therapist and salon owner before moving into commercial leadership roles with global brands such as Estée Lauder Companies and Clarins. I have seen the beauty of this industry up close - its creativity, craftsmanship, and power to uplift - as well as the burnout that often lives quietly behind the scenes.

My turning point came when I experienced burnout myself. It brought me face to face with a quiet truth I believe many of us carry: when we don’t choose to slow down, life eventually chooses it for us.

Growing up in Denmark, I have a deep appreciation for calm  - the kind found in Nordic light, uncluttered spaces, and moments of silence that don’t ask to be filled. Later, through life and love, I came to understand another dimension of beauty: one rooted in sensuality, warmth, texture, and presence. French living taught me that pleasure doesn’t have to be earned - it can be woven into the everyday.

Lykke & Lumen was born quietly at the intersection of those two worlds.

Not as a business idea, but as a personal necessity.

It is my response to that moment - a sanctuary brand grounded in emotional well-being, sensory healing, and the art of slowing down. I wanted to create something that honours the nervous system, something that recognises how overstimulated modern life has become and offers gentle ways to come back into balance.

The Meaning Behind Lykke & Lumen

Lykke means happiness - not the loud, fleeting kind, but the steady sense of well-being that comes from alignment.
Lumen is light  - the kind that doesn’t overwhelm, but softly illuminates.

Together, they represent what I was searching for: calm without austerity, beauty without pressure, wellness without performance.

Beauty should feel like self-love, not self-correction.
Self-care begins when we stop rushing ourselves.

This Journal & Reflections space is an extension of that intention.

It isn’t here to teach, instruct, or optimise your life. It’s here to sit beside you. To explore what it means to live more gently in a world that often asks too much. To speak honestly about burnout, recovery, rest, and the quiet courage it takes to choose yourself.

If you’re here, perhaps you recognise something in these words. A longing for slower mornings. A desire for rituals that ground rather than impress. A need to remember that you don’t have to be constantly striving to be worthy of care.

You are already enough - and rest is not a reward. It’s a necessity.

It’s the smallest rituals that anchor us the most.

I created Lykke & Lumen because I needed it.
Now, I want to share it with others.

This is just the beginning.
And it’s intentionally quiet.

Welcome, I'm so happy you are here.