It happens every year without fail…

I neglect my skin all winter as I shield myself in a cocoon of thick sweaters and opaque tights. Before I know it, spring suddenly emerges out of nowhere, leaving me on a mad woman’s mission to exfoliate, pamper, and smooth my skin before shedding my protective layers and showing some leg.

This year, I’ve decided to do a little preemptive work with the help of my friends over at Obiqo who were kind enough to send over a couple of skincare products for me to test drive. When it comes to lotions and creams, I have pretty exacting standards, but Obiqo Silky Body Butter more than delivers.  I like to apply it as soon as I get out of the shower to lock in the moisture (after exfoliating with my shower gloves, of course). It glides on nice and smooth, and leaves my skin feeling like satin and not at all sticky or greasy.  You never know when you’re going to encounter hard water in hotel showers, so having a heavy-duty moisturizer like this on hand is a life saver.

Another essential that I’ve added to my beauty routine over the past couple of years is an under-eye cream.  My skin can be very sensitive, and some eye creams are too heavy for me and lead to breakouts. I’ve been using Obiqo Smoothing Eye Cream for close to a month now, and  it’s become a staple in my daily skincare routine.  Sleepless nights in a foreign city can be brutal, so my tired eyes definitely appreciate waking up to the cooling touch of cucumber, camomile and kiwi in the morning.

Obiqo combines nutrient-rich sea kelp from New Zealand with the very finest European marine anti-ageing extracts and French organic sea lavender. Here are two coupon codes you can use if you’d like to try them out for yourself:

Coupon code OBZT2RHI
Buy 2 or more Obiqo skincare items and save an additional 5%.

Coupon code OBIDKUCG
Buy 3 or more Obiqo skincare items and save an additional 10%.

Obiqo has also offered to do a special giveaway for you guys.  One lucky reader will receive a gift package of Obiqo products.  Just login to Rafflecopter below to enter.  The contest closes Tuesday, April 29th @ 12am EST, and a randomly selected winner will be announced later on that week.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Full Disclosure: The products reviewed in this post were given to me by Obiqo, but the views and opinions expressed are my own.

When it comes to my hair routine, I’m a no-fuss, no-muss kinda gal. And that goes double when I’m traveling! When there’s a whole wide world out there to see, the last thing I want to do is spend precious time in the bathroom fiddling with my hair. My mane can be a little unpredictable at times, but I’ve traveled often enough to have a few tricks up my sleeve to help tame my tresses when I’m on the road:

1. Never rely on hotel shampoo.  If your hair is dry like mine, than you know how much havoc the wrong shampoo can wreak upon your thirsty tresses.  For this trip, I used Parnevu T-Tree Shampoo which is specially formulated with Australian Tea Tree Oil to help eliminate itching and flaking.  Tea tree oil tends to have a strong, medicinal scent, so I was pleasantly surprised by this product’s light fragrance.  It produced a nice lather, but didn’t leave my hair feeling dry and stripped of moisture.
2. Conditioner is a different story. While I hate relying on hotel shampoo, I have found that the free conditioner can serve as a nice backup hair moisturizer in a pitch.  You can also use it as a shave cream and save room in your carry-on!
3. Speaking of moisturizer… I always like to use some type of oil on my hair after I wash it to help seal in the moisture.  For me, a little goes a long way. This time around, I applied Parnevu T-Tree Herbal Grow pomade to the ends of my hair to keep them from getting frizzy and tangled.  The instructions say to apply it directly to the scalp to stimulate healthy growth while treating dandruff and eliminating flaky, dry, and itchy scalp.  However, I try not to apply oils directly to my scalp if I can help it. To each her own, but for me, the product worked much better as a sealant for my ends.
4. Bring your own shower cap. Ok, maybe I just have a big head, but… those flimsy little hotel numbers never seem to do it for me! I usually wind up having to wear two just to cover my whole head.
5. Have one or two quick updo styles on the ready. My go-to style when I was too lazy to do my hair used to be the sock bun, but I’ve been rocking two loose side twists for the past month and loving it.  It looks elegant, takes 3 minutes to do, and withstands even the most miserable weather conditions.  I usually part my hair straight down the middle for this ‘do, but I decided to all fancy and do a side part for this post. I think I love it even more this way!

So these are pretty much the hair rules of the road that I stick to when traveling.  And if all else fails, I also have a nice hat (or two) ready to get me out of a hair emergency!

Full Disclosure: The products used in this post were given to me by Parnevu for review, but all views and opinions expressed are my own. For more information about Parnevu and their products, feel free to check them out on Facebook and Twitter.