Orico London skincare products

Left to right: Orico London Streetwise Gentle Antioxidant Face Wash, Rush Hour Vibrant Dry Body Oil, and Superico Vitamin Rich Face Oil

Orico is a relatively new London-based brand, created by founder Shirin Valipour, who boasts more than 20 years of skincare experience. With Orico London, a certified organic skincare brand, Valipour wanted to create products that, according to the brand’s website, have been specifically “designed for the everyday demands urban living places on our skin—pollution, air-conditioning, heating and stress.”

The brand has a wide range of face and body products, and I was provided with three items to try out: Streetwise Gentle Antioxidant Face Wash, Rush Hour Vibrant Dry Body Oil, and Superico Vitamin Rich Face Oil. All the products use natural ingredients, including wheatgerm, tangerine oil, and sunflower seed oil, among other things.

I haven’t used these products extensively yet, but put them in my rotation on Saturday and definitely have elements I already like. Streetwise is definitely my favorite so far: It has a light herbal odor; is a clear, lightweight face wash; and leaves my skin looking brighter and feeling invigorated. And the ingredients’ list—aloe, tangerine and sweet orange oil, ginkgo biloba extract—is certainly reassuring, as is the brand’s willingness to note that 13 percent of the total ingredients are from organic farming and identify them specifically. I can appreciate that honesty.

I’m also enjoying the Superico Vitamin Rich Face Oil, which includes rosehip, jojoba, and lavender and patchouli oils, among other things. Although the scent is far, far more fragrant than Streetwise (and therefore may be off-putting for some, since patchouli certainly isn’t for everyone), I like the feel of the oil itself, which doesn’t feel too greasy. It moisturized into my skin quickly—perhaps because of what the brand claims to be “ultra fine molecules”—and didn’t leave a glaring sheen afterward. I’ve grown warmer to face oils over the past year as they have become more prevalent, and Superico is a good example of what I’m looking for in this product: rapid absorption, good consistency, not too oily. That may sound like a weird requirement for an oil—how can it not be too much of itself?—but you’ll understand it if you’ve come across a bad face oil.

And lastly there’s Rush Hour Vibrant Dry Body Oil, which … I honestly don’t know what to do with. An all-over body oil with sunflower seed oil, anise, rosemary extract, and macadamia seed oil, the product comes with a pump applicator and is about the same texture as Superico, but with a fruitier, less herbal smell (no patchouli this time). But as much as I’ve become more comfortable with using face oil on a regular basis, I still think of body oil as only a summer product, more appropriate for the beach than normal life. Nevertheless, I’ve used Rush Hour a couple of times this week, and it seems to do the same for my body as what Superico does for my face. I just wonder how often I’ll reach for it, and if it’s a practical product for the wintertime.

Maybe I’ll put Rush Hour on standby until spring, when I’ll be baring more of my body again and needing to protect it, but for now I’m growing to really enjoy Streetwise and Superico. I like their natural ingredients and how effective they already feel; initially, I was a little surprised at their prices—$21 and $47, respectively—but in reality, that’s fairly comparable with other middle-range skincare brands. If I were to recommend only one, though, I would go with Streetwise: It worked well without stripping my face, I liked the fragrance, and it’s proved gentle enough for both day and night. Definitely a good introduction into Orico London.

VERDICT: A- for Streetwise and Superico; B+ for Rush Hour.

AVAILABILITY: $21 for 4.23 fl. oz. bottle of Streetwise; $47 for 1.01 fl. oz. of Superico; $40 for 3.38 fl. oz. of Rush Hour, all at OricoLondon.com.

EDITORIAL NOTE: The products featured in this post were provided to Chesapeake Family’s About Face blog by the manufacturer or their public relations company for review. Chesapeake Family’s About Face blog posts are inspired by personal experience and opinion, and are not paid for or influenced by the manufacturer, PR company, or any other organization unless mentioned.

Photos by Roxana Hadadi.

In middle school, Roxana Hadadi was a cosmetics-scorning tomboy; in high school, a glitter eye shadow- and black nail polish-loving trend kid; in college, obsessively committed to dying her hair unruly colors that upset her mom. Now a bit older and a bit more mature, she’s trying to figure out what hair, body and cosmetics products will work for her, you and your family in About Face, Chesapeake Family’s new beauty blog — and she’ll leave the sparkle makeup and neon highlights in the past. Roxana also writes movie reviews for Chesapeake Family’s Popcorn Parents blog.