The luck of the Irish is upon us! Or at least upon my skin. One of the latest additions to my skincare cabinet was the VOYA Dream Cream Restorative Night Cream*, brought in to fill the void left when I scraped the last bit out of my previous nighttime sweetie, the Antipodes Avocado Pear Nourishing Night Cream.

VOYA though probably not new to you beauty afficionada’s, is new to me (shame on me!). The core DNA of this Irish brand is  is organic seaweed, combined with the best botanical ingredients. In 2000, the Walton family re-opened the once renowed Strandhill therapeutic seaweed baths on Sligo’s rugged Atlantic shores, and after a few years, they started growing, harvesting and using organic seaweed to create their first own beauty product, the VOYA Lazy Days Seaweed Bath Soak. Fast forward a decade, and Voya has grown it’s range to well over a 100 products and a strong presence in spa’s and institutes all over the globe. If it’s good enough for the Walfdorf Astoria, is it good enough for me?

The Dream Cream, as are all VOYA products, has been formulated without mineral oils, parabens, genetically modified ingredients, artificial fragrances , synthetic colouring or preservatives. If these nasties are not in it, what does make up the cream then? Filled to the brim with algae extract and almond oil, this thick, creamy, somewhat sticky cream aims to nourish, rejuvenate and replenish your skin at night. The higher concentrate of active ingredients* and the lack of daytime UV (which sometimes renders daycream ingredients pretty much useless) make that the almond oil, algae extract, sunflower seed oil and shea butter can go to town on your skin, lapping it up big time. On my dry and tired skin, it has a restorative and nourishing effect. It doesn’t magically zap away wrinkles or make me look 21 again, but the almond oil lightly smoothes out those fine lines caused by dryness, and the algae extract evens out my red patches, and adds a light glow and plumpness to my cheeks that is enough for me to forego the heavy coverage foundation. It might be a tad too much for normal skin types or for summer nights, but my dry skin sure loves the TLC this cream offers this winter season.

The one downside I can think of is the thick- and stickyness of the cream. This is not a quick application and fall asleep kind of texture, I apply it at least 30 minutes before going to bed, and, as a little treat to myself, I layer an oil underneath it and massage it in for a few minutes. Aaaaaahhhh the decadence….

VOYA Dream Cream Restorative Night Cream – 50 ml – €64,00
Voya Skincare is exclusively available via PHILVERT  (as is Antipodes :-)).

*Ingredients:

Aqua, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil*, Glycerin**, Cetearyl Alcohol, Coco Glucoside, Selaginella Lepidophylla (Resurrection Plant) Extract, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter*, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Oil*, Sucrose Cocoate, Coconut Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Gluconolactone, Borago Officinalis (Borage) Seed Oil*, Glycine Soja (Soya) Oil*, Argania Spinosa (Argan) Kernel Oil*, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil* Laminaria Digitata (Seaweed) Extract*, Symphytum Officinale (Comfrey) Leaf Extract*, Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract*, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe) Leaf Juice Powder*, Cystoseira Amentacea / Capritosa Brachycapa (Sea Heather) Extract, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Almond) Oil*, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil*, Eugenia Caryophyllus (Clove) Bud Oil*, Coriandrum Sativum (Coriander) Seed Oil*, Pelargonium Graveolens (Geranium) Flower Oil*, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Herb Oil*, Cymbopogon Martinii (Palmarosa) Oil*, Vanilla Planifolia (Vanilla) Extract*, Vetiveria Zizanoides (Vetivert) Root Oil*, Cananga Odorata (Ylang Ylang) Flower Oil*, Lactobacillus Ferment, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopherol, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Sodium Benzoate, Calcium Gluconate, Phytic Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Eugenol+, Geraniol+, Citronellol+, Limonene+, Linalool+.
*Organic, **Organic Origin, +Naturally Occurs In Essential Oils.