Review: Voya Love a Scrub

Reviewed by: Smiley Spy
Age: 36
Skin type: Normal/Dry

We reviewed Voya Love a Scrub (£27 for 125ml).

First impressions:

This “anti-aging facial scrub” is packaged in a clear plastic tube in a white box. As with all Voya products, the box has one image of a seaweed strand on it to illustrate the main ingredient. There’s nothing glamourous about how the scrub looked; however, when you delve more into Voya’s ethics, this is part of their ethos – to provide natural products, made from natural ingredients, so flash packaging wouldn’t really work.

The product has virtually no smell at all. There is a very subtle herb-like scent you find with homeopathy products, but only slightly. The scrub has quite a gloopy glutinous texture and is quite thick, now I’m near the end of the tube you need quite a lot of pressure to squeeze it out.

What’s in it:

Voya carries the Soil Association certification for organic ingredients. Some of their products are nearly entirely organic, this scrub promised 70% of the ingredients were organic.

The ingredients – organic or otherwise – weren’t detailed on the tube, but it does say it is made from “hand-harvested seaweed”. 

When you look closer at the ingredients list there is a lot in there in addition to the seaweed, so not feeling quite so natural! There are actually 33 ingredients listed, including Xanthan Gum, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Powder and Benzyl Alcohol.

Usage:

The guidance is to use the product two to three times a week after cleansing. It also said to apply it in circular motions for one minute all over your face (except eyes). I used about three times a week at first, but then used less often.

I’ve had the product for several months, and you need so little it really does last. I still have a quarter of the tube left, which has been very impressive – especially as the product is the high end of the market, so you wouldn’t want to be purchasing regularly. 

Effects:

Voya say the scrub “gently exfoliates, giving skin a fresh revitalized look.” I would say gently is the wrong word – it is an intense scrub. The writing on the packaging goes on to say “We use bamboo to gently non-aggressively exfoliate, allowing your skin to breathe and gently removes dead cells.” Again far too timid for how the product actually works – it is the most intense exfoliator I have used. The bamboo grains feel like sand on your skin. Personally I really liked this, and don’t like it when a scrub feels oaty.

My skin reacted well to this product and I would say it was definitely brighter and clearer. It also felt smoother after I’d used it (and then used a moisturiser).

Value:

The product is a little pricey, but I loved the powerful exfoliation. The product has lasted for months, so I would say it was definitely value for money.

Final verdict:

For me, this scrub was a hit. No strong scent, natural ingredients and it did what it said on the tin. In answer to the label – yes, I do Love a Scrub. Although I’m often a low-end product girl, I shall be investing in this again.