I found out about the skincare brand The Ordinary last year but I only got around to buying my first product earlier this year and I’ve been hooked! Since then I have grown my collection by 4 more products and there is still 2 more products that are on my wish list. I have loved all the products I have used so far, I love that they’re not gimmicky, they stick to the necessary ingredients and the price is so affordable. I have normal to oily skin, uneven skin tone and hyperpigmentation so the products I am using are catering for those issues.
There are a number of different ways to buy products from The Ordinary in South Africa, I have used BayOne (their prices are good but they are usually out of stock of some products so you have to pre-order), MuseBeauty (you can buy either online or directly from their store in Durban, some of the prices are too high but they stock a wide variety of the products) and lastly, my friends who travel overseas have brought me back some products (this is the most cost effective option).
Overall I have seen improvements in my skin since in the last several months that I have been building my current skincare routine. I can’t pinpoint it to one specific product because I believe that all the products I use play a role and complement each other. So in this post I won’t be dealing with the specific improvements that I have seen on my skin from using each product.
The Ordinary Lactic Acid 5% + HA 2%
This is the first product that I bought earlier this year because at that time my skincare routine lacked an exfoliation step. I decided to start off with the 5% formulation because this was my first foray into acids and I didn’t want to burn off my skin :). However I do think that I am ready to move up to the 10% formulation as my skin is used to acids now. I currently use this product every other night after my toning and hydration steps. This product is watery, applies easily to the skin and it doesn’t have a particular smell. It is said to help with uneven skin tone and texture irregularities. I also like that it has some hyaluronic acid for that added hydration.
The Ordinary Marine Hyaluronics
I’ve only started using this product in the past week or so, I use it after my toner. One of the things I’ve fallen in love with is that it doesn’t leave my skin feeling sticky/tacky like most hydrators, that is a definite plus. The consistency is watery so it absorbs quickly into the skin, I’ve found that applying it while my skin is still damp gives me the best application results. One negative thing about this product is the smell, it is not pleasant at all, the packaging claims that the product i fragrance free so I’m guessing that it’s the natural smell of the marine products, because wow, it’s not cute.
The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
I bought this product because Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) is known to help fade hyperpigmentation, the product also claims to regulate sebum and minimise pores. Unlike all the other products I’ve mentioned in this post, this product has a thicker consistency, leaning on sticky. When applying it on the skin I’ve found that patting motions work much better than rubbing the product in, when I rub it in it forms a white film on my skin. I use this product every other morning after my hydration steps.
*Now we’re moving on to the products that I haven’t used yet… I thought to just add them here because they’re part of my collection.
The Ordinary Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate Solution 10%
I’m excited to try this Vitamin C product! It claims to visibly target dullness, uneven tone and signs of ageing -yay! I haven’t used this yet because I have a Vitamin C serum that I’m currently using. I’ll come back to update this post once I’ve used this product.
The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution
I looove salicylic acid! I plan to use this product as a spot treatment – I haven’t had a bit spot since getting this (touch wood my life stays this way!), I’ll also report on this once I’ve used it.
Those are all the products that I own from The Ordinary and I still have more on my wish list, I have just fallen in love with this brand.
