Obiqo Smoothing Eye Cream and Intensive Facial Serum: review + Giveaway!

CONTEST IS CLOSED. WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY.

*Update: Contest end date extended to Monday, March 17th!*

Natural New Zealand brand Obiqo has launched in the US, and anyone who has a complexion in serious need of hydration or a good perking-up will want to take notice. Obiqo boasts ingredients like local sea kelp combined with French sea lavender, proprietary blends of sweet herbs and other natural flora extracts and essential oils.

I highly recommend their Smoothing Eye Cream to anyone who has struggled to find products appropriate for sensitive eyes, allergies, dryness and slack skin around the eyes. It's got a firming effect (but not tight-feeling), and its hydrating anti-aging marine nutrients along with cucumber, chamomile and kiwi really address the parched, often reddened, delicate skin around my eyes. Fragrance-free Smoothing Eye Cream's extremely silky texture makes it versatile for day and indispensable by night. It simply feels incredible, and is also gentle enough to use as a lash conditioner-- I have put this product through every test imaginable and it won't ever irritate or sting my eyes, no matter what. It won't pill, cake, get gloppy or interfere with makeup, either.

I've used a dab of this eye cream blended with a dab of my foundation and concealer to get a glowier, more sheer finish for my makeup. Anything that allows me to wear less makeup with fewer products and look more gorgeous at the end is worth the extra minute to blend a little custom potion. The jar is huge and the price is small comparatively, so you've got some wiggle room to get creative with it! I use it on my cuticles and hands before I go to bed. Sometimes, I also use it on my entire face at night, or during the day blended with a cream highlighter or cream blush. The soft, satiny natural sheen of this cream is undeniably sweet, and it's never, ever greasy, which makes it a perfect playmate for those who really like to marry their skin care and makeup. Once you get a taste of life with this gentle giant among eye creams, you'll feel naked without it. And I don't mean naked in a good way, but in a dry, dull way.

Obiqo's Intensive Facial Serum is a perfect light hydrating and toning serum for any skin type, but it's especially suited to my sensitive, dry skin. It contains anti-aging, regenerating Marine peptides, Hyadisine (their proprietary hydrating complex), and extracts from New Zealand's coastal flora (pohutukawa, kowhai, and mamaku). Its elegant texture spreads easily over the skin thanks to the seaweed extracts, and it takes about 30 seconds to dry, so you have time to work it into your trouble spots extra well before it dries. That may sound like a very small thing to mention, but anyone who has been endlessly annoyed by quick-drying, easily-pilling or heavy, dimethicone-laden facial serums that feels like a mask of product just sitting on the face will find comfort in this texture. It's not going to clog your pores or cause breakouts. This is a soothing, cooling concoction that provides relief to the redness-prone-- I can attest to that. I can't wait to give it a summertime test-drive after being chilled in the fridge.

And now, for the Giveaway!  Obiqo has generously offered a giveaway prize of one bottle of Intensive Facial Serum (1 oz) and one jar of Smoothing Eye Cream (1 oz) to one lucky winner. All you have to do is sign up for Obiqo's newsletter on their website HERE. Then, leave a comment here telling me about your current biggest skin care annoyance. The contest will close on Monday, March 17th at 7pm Central time, and a winner will be chosen randomly, via Random.Org directly afterwards. I will then announce the winner in a new, separate post. Products will be shipped by the manufacturer, and the winner must contact me via email with their mailing address within 48 hours of the close of the draw, otherwise a new winner will be chosen at that time. Draw is open to US readers only.

Gotta have it now? You're in luck, because the prices are very friendly to the wallet, and you can order Obiqo on Amazon as well as their website. You get massive bang for your buck with this brand, so it really feels like you're getting away with something major. I don't know about you, but that's a feeling I'd like to have more of in my life!

[samples provided by Obiqo for my consideration]