The Ordinary has to be the most talked about skin care brand right now - and rightly so!
With low prices, averaging around £5, yet amazing ingredients, The Ordinary is anything but ordinary and is standing out for all the right reasons.
Without going into too much depth, The Ordinary comes from the clever people at DECIEM, a company with an umbrella of unique skin care brands (from NIOD to Hand Chemistry), all focusing on one thing - ingredients!
With their love of effective chemicals, you can expect to find solid products that deliver results throughout all their brands.
This all sounds amazing but there is a but coming! But for that reason, it can be confusing to know what will suit your skin type and what everything does!
This does attract skincare enthusiasts that have a love of geeking out over retinol's and AHA's, but for the most part, I think we're all stood here scratching our heads wondering which products to go for!
This really is the only downfall of The Ordinary in my opinion, which hopefully won't be a biggie once more bloggers and skincare gurus give coverage to all products within the brand.
So I thought I'd help any fellow budget skincare lovers out there by sharing three amazing products from The Ordinary, including the skin types they best suit and how they fit into your skin care routine.
The Ordinary High-Adherence Silicone Primer £4.00
Although tagged in with The Ordinary's skincare range this is purely a primer for keeping makeup on the skin longer and couldn't be used in place of moisturiser - although it does feel more hydrating than other silicone primers, due to being water based.
On application, the white cream-like primer smooths over the skin with ease with a slight silicone/waxy feel that is quite comfortable and only slightly tacky. Although this only slightly diffuses pores it mainly creates a smooth feeling base for foundation to be applied onto and adhere to.
This without a doubt extends foundation/makeup wear time and lessens oil secretion in the t-zone, should that be an issue for you. It also prevents foundation from wearing off and going patchy in areas. Although Max Factor Facefinity All Day Primer is still my firm favourite (see my full review) for extending foundation wear time, this is a good budget contender that feels comfortable on the skin. I also like that it's water based, none pore clogging and fragrance-free.
Best suited to: All skin types especially oily. Except dry or dehydrated skin (High Spreadability Primer also available)
Best used: After moisturiser, prior to makeup application.
The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution £7.00
ASOS, The Ordinary, Look Fantastic
Instantly dubbed the budget version to Pixi Glow Tonic I knew I had to try out this exfoliating toner for myself! Ideally applied on a cotton pad at night before bed this mild feeling lotion with a slight tackiness soaks into the skin giving an exfoliating effect to reveal smoother, brighter skin on waking.
With daily use, this acid toner also helps with clogged pores and keeping blemishes at bay. The effects are exactly the same as Pixi Glow Tonic and I'll be honest, I was pretty surprised!
The only downside is the exfoliant contains a high amount of fragrant rosewater, which does give a pleasant nice scent to the toner and offers some skin benefits, but it's also a known skin irritant, so some may find it's not for them. This is a shame as most products from The Ordinary are fragrance-free!
Other than that this is probably the most budget well-formulated AHA toner on the market today that does the job it states! Due to its popularity you may find it goes out of stock often but it does always come back in and is currently available at ASOS here or in the above link.
Best suited to: All skin types except extremely sensitive or with skin complaints. Anyone wanting to improve skin texture!
Best used: PM before serums & moisturisers
The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% £4.00
As I have to deal with hormonal spots come my time of the month I rely on Origins Super Spot Remover which works a treat but costs £10 for a teeny 10ml (although it does last!). So I was eager to put something new and cheaper to the test!
At a mere £4.00 for 15ml this is a serious bargain when used solely as a spot treatment and not all over the face, as it can also be used. Although I wasn't too sure about the formula, as it felt strangely sticky and almost foamy on my first application, I went with it, dabbing a small amount onto a not so lovely under skin spot that was looking angry, developing it's a bump and feeling sore to the touch!
As I always apply spot treatments at night so they can get to work (and on non-makeup days) I woke up with maybe unrealistic hopes of said spot being gone. It wasn't. But it was at least less red, less sore and slightly less bump-looking under the skin. For me, spots like this can last up to 5-6 days but with continuous daily application of the spot treatment over 3 days I found it actually went away and never developed into an actual surface spot - whoop!
Although this isn't as effective as my wonderful Origins spot treatment it does do quite a lot for the small price - it exfoliates yet doesn't dry out the skin around the spot, it helps clogged pores, it reduces redness and of course tackles the spot over a few days.
As for using the treatment all over the face, I think the texture of it wouldn't be pleasant to sit with it on, plus I'm sure the 15ml would be used up quickly that way and you wouldn't get your monies worth. However, dabbing this over areas where you have clogged pores wouldn't use up much product and would be quite effective I think - that's if you can stand the odd texture!
Best suited to: Blemish-prone skin (sensitive skin types to avoid)
Best used: Anytime as a spot treatment. PM when used as a thin layer over entire face.
Use in conjunction with: AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution ( a weekly exfoliating mask)
I will admit The Ordinary Glycolic Acid Toning Solution is the star of the show here. But the other two products along with AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution, which I've just started using and totally love, are very much worth checking out!
Have you tried anything from The Ordinary?
Fee xo.
