The Ordinary Skincare Review

If I had to choose the most hyped brand this year, it would be The Ordinary. If you’ve been living under a rock, The Ordinary is a brand under the Deciem umbrella, a distributor that specialises in functional skincare and bring a scientific element to their products. The Ordinary’s mission is to produce ‘Clinical formulations with integrity’ offering products that are labelled with their ingredients rather than the effects.

However, the biggest selling point for many consumers is the pricepoint. The Ordinary’s products are all sold for under £10. Yes, you read that right – £10! Beauty journalists across the board were singing this brand’s praises so I knew I had to do my research and try some of these products for myself.

Where To Begin

If you’re not a skincare junkie and ingredients like Niacinamide and Hyaluronic Acid sound completely alien to you, then it is definitely worth going to the website, reading product descriptions, and doing your own outside research. Personally, I am a skincare fiend, but there were still ingredients I had never really come across or ever thought that they were right for my skin. I found their Regimen Guide useful to explain where the products can easily slot into your current skincare regime.

What I Bought

Before going into the products that I chose in the line, let me give you a little background on my skin. The general skin type is normal; not too oily and not too dry. I have some issues with dehydration, and can experience dehydration lines on my forehead. My main concerns, however, are breakouts and the scars they leave behind. From the age of 15-21 my skin has been incredibly blemish prone. It is nowhere near the extent it was in my late teens, but I would say I usually have 2-3 active blemishes. My skin (and my body in general) also reacts really badly to dairy products and I always get a little more spotty if I’ve given into a chocolate or cheese craving.

Disclaimer: I have trialled these products over a number of months and introduced them into my routine separately to see the most benefits.

The first product that went straight into my basket was The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5. Hyaluronic acid is an ingredient I am very comfortable with, and I know that my skin really agrees with it. It is a hydrating serum, and this formula’s use of three different forms of HA allows it to penetrate the skin at different levels. This serum leaves your skin feeling a little tacky after application but other products, such as moisturisers or oils,  apply beautifully on top. I have noticed an improvement in the dehydration lines on my forward since using this, and am already on my second bottle.

After reading through the product descriptions, I decided to then pick up the Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%. The Ordinary describe this as a ‘High-Strength Vitamin and Mineral Blemish Formula’. Niacinamide is an ingredient that helps reduce congestion and the appearance of skin blemishes. The consistency is thin and sinks into the skin really easily. From using this product for a couple of months, I feel happy to say that the occurrence of blemishes has definitely reduced (except for self-inflicted dairy spots – put down the chocolate, Rachel!!). It also helps to calm down any symptoms of stress (redness, blemishes etc) and I have only seen positive effects on my skin from using this.

After using the Niacinamide product for a while, I decided to look into The Ordinary’s other offerings for blemishes. I stumbled upon Azelaic Acid Supsension 10% which is a ‘Multifunctional Brightening Formula’. When I first used this, I applied it all over my skin and to my horror I woke up with bumps under the skin around my eyes. This would have put me off using it if it hadn’t caused such a quick reduction in the active blemishes on my skin. After reading into the product, I’ve discovered it’s best used topically, so I now tend to only use on where I can get breakouts: the forehead, outer cheeks, chin and upper lip. The formula of this product is unlike anything else I’ve tried. On first application, it feels thick like a heavy night cream. Yet as soon as you start to rub the product in, it seems to disappear almost to nothing, and feels incredibly smooth on the skin.

The final product I want to touch on in this post is the 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil. I have always been a fan of using oils on my skin at night, so I knew I had to try one from the range. I chose the Rose Hip Seed Oil as this is marketed for all skin types. This is a gorgeously-formulated oil that leaves your skin feeling nourished. I use this every night as the last step of my skincare routine, and I have found it a really effective source of hydration.

I hope that this rather long post was useful for those of you who haven’t yet delved into The Ordinary. All the products I have tried so far have been really impressive, and if I can find skincare that is effective at this low price-point, consider me hooked. Stay tuned for a review of the highly anticipated The Ordinary Coverage Foundation coming soon…