The Real Story Behind Glow Haven

I’m writing this from my apartment in Helsinki, staring at the website I spent two and a half years obsessing over. Every single detail. Every page. Every word picked apart and rearranged because I’m a perfectionist who physically cannot let things go until they feel exactly right.

And now it’s live.

And I’m sitting here feeling terrified and relieved and so incredibly ready for this all at once.

Let me tell you how a small-town girl who moved to a big city at 15 years old ended up here, building something entirely my own from my living room.

Because honestly? The path here has been anything but linear.

Leaving at 15

I grew up in a small Finnish city where most people were happy with the life they had there. I wasn’t one of those people.

I knew, deep down, that I was meant for more than staying comfortable in a small city and working a regular job. That’s what I was running from. And I was running toward a completely different life.

At 15, I packed my bags and moved to Helsinki to study cosmetology. Alone. My parents somehow trusted and supported me enough to get me a beautiful apartment right in the middle of the city. I mean, I was never really the problem teenager, so I guess that helped with their approval.

Beauty was my ticket to that different life. It wasn’t just about learning techniques or mastering skincare. It was my way out, my path to something bigger. My first real ticket away from small-town life. Growing up, Carrie Bradshaw was my idol. That independent woman who loved beauty, style, and building her own life on her own terms. That’s what I wanted.

One-Way Ticket

After I graduated as a cosmetologist, I bounced around different jobs. Nothing ever stuck. I didn’t fit anywhere, and I couldn’t figure out why.

Then at 19, I watched a YouTube video of someone backpacking through Asia.

The week after, I bought a backpack with my dad’s credit card and announced to my horrified parents that I was going to Thailand. Alone. For two weeks. I got time off from my job.

This was not a thing people really did back then. No one really understood, and I couldn’t explain the need I felt to do it. My parents were absolutely freaking out. And to be honest, I was also freaking out. But not before I was already on the plane, on my way to the other side of the world, alone.

I landed in Bangkok with no real plan. And my two-week trip turned into two months.

For the next few years, I kept doing this. Traveling. Working various jobs. Never quite settling. In 2017, I spent half of the year in Bali and later that year started my bachelor’s in business administration in Finland with marketing as my focus. I did my exchange year in Bali because of course I did.

During my studies, I worked now and then, mostly weekends on the cruise ship that runs between Helsinki and Stockholm. I was in the perfumery, selling beauty and cosmetics to happy travelers. The pay was gold, the work was fun, and I loved every single thing about it.

But there was still this restless voice in my head saying you’re meant to build something of your own.

When I was 14, I had an idea for a beauty product I’d never seen anywhere. It felt so obvious, so needed. Ten years later, I actually contacted a laboratory to see if I could make it happen. And now, 16 years after that first idea? I see that exact product selling online.

Someone else built what I imagined.

That’s the thing about me. I’ve always had these visions. Ideas that no one else seems to understand and that I can’t quite explain. These ideas feel too big and too specific to hand over to someone else. I just needed to figure out what I was actually supposed to be building.

Two Years of Chaos

In March 2023, I started working as a Brand and Training Manager at a cosmetic distribution company. On paper, it was perfect. I loved my customers. I loved my colleagues. I genuinely enjoyed the work.

One month later, I found out I’d been accepted to study my Master’s degree in Marketing in Stockholm.

I had applied the year before and been rejected. So naturally, I assumed I wouldn’t get in this time either. But there it was. The acceptance letter. The program started in August.

Most people would have quit the job or declined the program.

I decided to do both.

Listen, I’m the kind of person who genuinely believes that if I set my mind to something completely and fully, I can make it happen. No matter what. So I stayed at my full-time job in Helsinki and enrolled full-time in my Master’s program in Stockholm.

For two years, I flew to Sweden multiple times a week. Early morning flights to class. Evening flights back. I’d work on assignments during my train ride to the airport, at the gate, on the plane, wherever I could grab 20 minutes. The next day I’d show up at the office in Helsinki like everything was normal. Then do it all over again.

Looking back now, I genuinely have no idea how I survived that.

No wonder I burned out.

When Everything Started Falling Apart

Somewhere in the middle of all this chaos, things at work started feeling off. Decisions were being made that didn’t align with my own values and didn’t feel right to me. I had ideas and visions I wanted to contribute, but they weren’t landing the way I hoped.

And as my workload grew, I started feeling like I was pouring more energy into the role than what I was getting back.

I think it took me longer than it should have to realize how drained I was because I was so consumed by school and work. I was just pushing through, convinced I could handle it.

Until I couldn’t.

By the end, I was so exhausted that even small things felt impossible. Going to the grocery store was overwhelming. I cried a lot. My skin was a mess because my barrier was completely destroyed from stress. I wasn’t sleeping. I was procrastinating everything because I genuinely had nothing left to give. And nothing really felt aligned.

I was probably burned out in every possible way.

The Idea That Wouldn’t Leave Me Alone

During one of my marketing courses in 2023, we had an assignment on branding. And somewhere in the middle of working on it, this thought popped into my head: what if I created a beauty blog?

Beauty has always been my thing. So has writing. I even talk to myself when I’m alone. I journal constantly. I write things down. It’s what I’m good at. It’s what I love.

But starting a blog in 2023 (not to mention it didn’t go live until 2026) felt kind of ridiculous. Blogs weren’t exactly trendy anymore.

But I couldn’t shake the idea.

I started working on it. Slowly. Quietly. Behind the scenes.

For two and a half years, I built this website. I worked on it late at night when my motivation flowed and had energy. Some weeks I did absolutely nothing because I was too drained from everything else and, honestly, I even doubted the whole idea. But I kept coming back to it.

I’m a perfectionist, so every detail had to be exactly right. Every page. Every word. Every tiny thing.

And here’s the thing that felt like validation. About a week after I published Glowhaven in 2026, I read an article saying that blogs are actually coming back. That we’re already seeing that shift with platforms like Substack. It gave me so much confidence that maybe my instinct wasn’t completely off. That maybe staying true to my vision was exactly the right move.

And then I realized something.

As I mentioned before, I felt that my values and visions weren’t aligning where I was. If I really wanted to build Glowhaven the way I envisioned it, I needed to make a change and stay true to my values. And more than that? At that time, I felt I had more to give to my own vision than to someone else’s at that point in my life.

So I made the decision to quit my full-time job and focus on myself. A month later I also graduated.

Quitting

The day I left, I felt about seventeen different emotions at once.

Relief. Terror. Freedom. Uncertainty.

I knew it was a risk. The smart, safe thing would have been to line up another position first. And I did explore other opportunities for a bit. I went through some interviews, considered different paths.

But every time I got closer to accepting something, I felt this tightness in my chest. And every time I didn’t continue in a recruitment process, I felt relieved. I didn’t want to commit to a new corporate role when what I actually wanted was to focus on building Glowhaven. It just didn’t feel right. At least not right then.

The last interview I had was my breaking point. I reached out to the company and kindly told them I was no longer interested in moving forward. I realized I couldn’t be fully present building my own thing while simultaneously searching for another corporate position. I had to choose.

So I reached back out to the cruise ship. Told them if they ever needed extra help, I was available.

And they kept calling me back.

Now I work flexible shifts on the cruise ship. I loved this work back in 2017, and I’m grateful they brought me back. The flexibility allows me to focus on building Glowhaven while doing work I genuinely enjoy.

What Glowhaven Actually Is

Here’s the thing I need you to understand about Glowhaven.

When I talk about building something of my own, it doesn’t necessarily end with this blog. This blog is my starting point. The foundation for a bigger vision I have. Whether that vision becomes reality or not, I don’t know yet. But this is where I’m starting, and I’m proud of it.

I have a vision of what this becomes. A space where people actually want to be. Where they feel seen and inspired and like they’re learning something valuable. Where I get to collaborate with brands I genuinely love and create content that actually helps people.

I dream of the freedom to eventually be able to work from anywhere, anytime, and wherever I feel inspired. To work with something I’m passionate about and to build something I’m proud of. But it’s also bigger than that. I want to help people feel good in their own skin. To glow from the inside out.

Why Glowhaven

The name came to me while I was on holiday in Turkey, sailing on a boat.

I was looking out at the ocean, watching the way the sun hit the water, and everything was just glowing. I remember I had my journal in front of me and the first thing I wrote down was “glow sea.” It doesn’t make any sense, but it’s kind of typical for me to just write everything down whenever I get an idea. It was so beautiful. So calming. So perfect.

When we pulled into the harbor, the name just appeared in my head fully formed.

Glowhaven.

A safe haven.

Because here’s what I realized. Glowing isn’t just about your skin. It’s about the way you light up when you’re genuinely happy. When you feel good about yourself. When you’re taking care of yourself in a way that actually feels right for you.

That’s what I want this space to be.

My Promise to You

In fact, being an influencer isn’t what I’m aiming for. I’m aiming for creating the life I promised myself back when I was young and leaving that small city. And I’m aiming to be your beauty bestie.

The friend you can message with questions, knowing I’ll actually reply. Someone who has the expertise as a licensed cosmetologist and the knowledge from studying marketing for years, but who talks to you like a real person, not like I’m lecturing you.

I’m going to be honest with you. Transparent. Real.

That’s why I’m writing these ”Behind Glowhaven” posts. So you can see the whole journey. The wins and the messy parts and the moments where I have no idea what I’m doing. Because you know what? There are a lot of days when I’m questioning everything and genuinely have no clue what I’m doing. But I guess that’s part of it. I just have to trust my gut feeling, and if that gut feeling turns out to be wrong, then what’s the worst thing that could happen? I’d rather risk failing than wonder what could have been.

I want you to feel inspired when you’re here. Educated. Safe. Seen. And I promise to give my all to making this space what I envision it to be.

I would never want Glowhaven to be a place where you feel bad about yourself or like you need to compare yourself to anyone else. I’m here to help you figure out what might work for you, and remember that what works for someone might be completely wrong for you, and that’s okay.

Skincare isn’t one size fits all. Neither is anything else.

The Beginning

Right now, I’m terrified and excited in equal measure.

I’ve spent years planning. Perfecting. Waiting for the right time.

But how cliche it might sound, I noticed there is no right time. There’s just now.

So here we are.

Glowhaven is live. My starting point for the unknown. I don’t know exactly where this leads yet, but I know it’s the right first step. And I’m showing up for it even when it’s scary and I don’t feel ready.

Ever felt like you were meant for something more, even when you don’t know exactly where it will lead? That’s where I am right now. Let me know if you relate. Maybe we can brainstorm together, and if I can help in any way, I’d love to.

I’m posting on Instagram. I’m writing blog posts. I’m building in public. And honestly? None of it feels perfect. I hope that in a couple of years I’ll look back at what I’m creating now and think “what was I even doing?” Because that would mean I’ve grown.

I’m inviting you to come with me. Welcome to Glow Haven. Let’s glow together.

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