Votary Skincare is a luxurious British brand that caters to sensitive skin and uses super seed oils at the heart of each of its products. If you have oily, combo or sensitive/reactive skin, Votary is a line to put on your radar. From its beautiful deep green bottles to clean aesthetic, Votary has come a long way from founder and beauty editor Arabella Preston’s kitchen. What started off as a cleansing oil that suited Arabella’s needs has now grown into a full range of cleansing oils, facial oils, deeply nourishing creams, masks and powerful serums.

I’ve tried the Votary Super Seed Serum, Super Seed Facial Oil, Super Seed Nutrient Cream, Intense Overnight Mask, and Brightening Hyaluronic Serum. While all were lovely, the product that stood out instantly to me (and to others) was the Super Seed Nutrient Cream. The prices for these products are very steep, but if I could splurge I would 100% purchase the Super Seed Nutrient Cream.

Votary Super Seed Nutrient Cream

The Votary Super Seed Nutrient Cream stood out instantly to me out of all the moisturizers I’ve tested because it was thick, fragrance free, left a matte finish and, most importantly, instantly transformed the texture of skin to velvety soft and smooth. This cream is truly unique (and personally obsession-worthy).

The Votary cream is enriched with 21 richly nourishing super seed oils, including chia, rosehip and poppy seed, and hyaluronic acid for extra hydration. It has no added essential oils and has absolutely zero scent to it. I love the rich and creamy texture that seems to absorb and dry instantly. I don’t understand what magic their chemists did in the lab to have it provide a matte finish. I know dewy is all the rage, but I have and always will be a matte girl. Did I mention my skin feels like velvet after?

Ingredients: Aqua (Water), Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Glycerin, Cetearyl Glucoside, Rosa Canina (Rosehip) Fruit Oil, Sodium Phytate Hyaluronate, Cucurbita Pepo (Pumpkin) Seed Oil, Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Seed Oil, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Salvia Hispanica (Chia) Seed Oil, Camellia Oleifera (Camellia) Seed Oil, Fragaria Ananassa (Strawberry) Seed Oil, Nigella Sativa (Black Cumin) Seed Oil, Papaver Orientale (Poppy) Seed Oil, Solanum Lycopersicum (Tomato) Seed Oil, Linum Usitatissimum (Flax) Seed Oil, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Seed Oil, Vaccinium Myrtillus (Blueberry) Seed Oil, Borago Officinalis (Borage) Seed Oil, Brassica Oleracea Italica (Broccoli) Seed Oil, Citrullus Lanatus (Watermelon) Seed Oil, Prunus Avium (Sweet Cherry) Seed Oil, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Seed Oil, Calendula Officinalis (Marigold) Flower Oil, Passiflora Edulis (Passion Fruit) Seed Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Citric Acid, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Glyceryl Caprylate, Sodium Phytate, Sorbic Acid, Hydroxyacetophenone, Benzyl Alcohol, Salicylic Acid, Xanthan Gum.

Votary Super Seed Facial Oil

Also made with 21 super seed oils, the Votary Super Seed Facial Oil is lightweight and perfect for dry, sensitive and hormonal skin. Like the rest of the Super Seed range, this oil is fragrance-free with no added essential oils. I simply get a slight nutty scent from the natural oils. I wasn’t as taken with this as the Super Seed Nutrient Cream, but it is a beautiful blend of high quality oils if you don’t mind the price tag.

Ingredients: Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Cucurbita Pepo (Pumpkin) Seed Oil*, Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Seed Oil, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Salvia Hispanica (Chia) Seed Oil, Camellia Oleifera (Camellia) Seed Oil, Fragaria Ananassa (Strawberry) Seed Oil, Nigella Sativa (Black Cumin) Seed Oil*, Papaver Somniferum (Poppy) Seed Oil, Solanum Lycopersicum (Tomato) Seed Oil, Linum Usitatissimum (Flax) Seed Oil*, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Seed Oil, Vaccinium Corymbosum (Blueberry) Seed Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Borago Officinalis (Borage) Seed Oil, Brassica Oleracea Italica (Broccoli) Seed Oil, Citrullus Lanatus (Melon) Seed Oil, Prunus Cerasus ( Sour Cherry) Seed Oil, Rosa Canina (Rosehip) Fruit Oil, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Calendula Officinalis (Marigold) Flower Extract, Passiflora Edulis (Passion Fruit) Seed Oil

Votary Super Seed Serum

“Super Seed Serum tackles all the issues sensitive skin faces and feeds it back to glowing health. Formulated with powerful peptides, it helps to boost and support the skin’s microbiome. Over time, skin is normalised and made more resilient.” Arabella Preston, Votary Co-founder

The Votary Super Seed Serum with Broccoli and Peptides is formulated for skin dealing with redness, irritation, sensitivity or a compromised skin barrier. It has a lightweight, almost creamy texture (thanks to the Oat Kernel flour high up in the ingredients list?) and absorbs instantly into the skin.

Broccoli seed and rosehip oil help provide a natural lipid boost, hyaluronic acid plumps skin, and bio-engineered peptides support lipid function and microbial balance. It has a couple of interesting ingredients I don’t see too often in products such as Cloudberry Oil and Oat Kernel Oil. Oat oil helps reduce blemishes and blackheads, reinforces the skin barrier, keeps skin supple and prevents clogged pores. Cloudberry oil which comes from a rare Nordic berry is great because it’s high in Vitamin E and cartenoids, which are powerful antioxidants that protect against sun damage and pollution, two things our skin deals with every day of our lives.

Aqua (Water), Glycerin, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Flour, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Brassica Oleracea Italica (Broccoli) Seed Oil, Rubus Chamaemorus (Cloudberry) Seed Oil, Sodium Hyaluronate, Carnosine, Plukenetia Volubilis (Inca Peanut) Seed Oil, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Seed Oil, Rosa Canina (Rosehip) Fruit Oil, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Oil, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Seed Oil, Salvia Hispanica (Chia) Seed Oil, Camellia Sinensis (Tea Plant) Leaf Extract, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Salicylic Acid, Xanthan Gum, Tocopherol, Sorbic Acid, Sodium Phytate, Benzyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Hydroxyacetophenone.

Votary Brightening Hyaluronic Serum

The Votary Brightening Hyaluronic Serum Narcissus and AHA is a highly sophisticated hyaluronic acid serum with Narcissus/Daffodil to brighten skin, even out the skin tone by preventing & reduce brown spots. It also contains two types of glycolic acid (Sugar Maple Extract and synthetic glycolic acid) as well as lactic acid.

The Votary Brightening Hyaluronic Serum remains a gentle product that’s suitable for sensitive skin as it contains only between 1-2% of glycolic acid. The serum also contains Bilberry fruit extract, a natural source of lactic acid that gently stimulates cell turnover & improves skin texture.

The consistency is thick and instantly makes my skin feel super hydrated. It also smells like a jasmine garden with the most intoxicating (but in a good way) jasmine scent.

Votary Intense Overnight Mask

The Votary Intense Overnight Mask, like the rest of the Votary line, is impossibly luxurious and works as a nightly moisturizer for me and not just a mask. It has a perfectly silky texture and feels rich but not overly heavy on my skin. In a base of aloe vera leaf juice, the Intense Overnight Mask features amazing skincare ingredients like extracts of Daffodil, Camu Camu Fruit, Lucuma Fruit, and Quinoa Fruit and oils of Buriti Fruit, Rosehip Fruit, Chia Seed, Black Cumin, Avocado and more.