The Ordinary Review & My Must Have Products | Skincare In Your 30s
I’ve been really into skincare for a long time, but just recently I’ve decided to kick things up a notch by creating a solid routine.
My favorite brand for skincare is The Ordinary. It’s extremely affordable (most products are under $10), and it works. Because it works so well at such a great price point, The Ordinary has a huge cult following. I recently joined a Facebook group called “The Ordinary & Deciem Chat Room”, which has over 191K members. Deciem is the umbrella company that The Ordinary falls under.
The Ordinary products can be bought from Sephora, and also the Deciem website. At Sephora they carry a limited number of The Ordinary products in store, so I tend to order online when Sephora does their free shipping promotions.
Along with The Ordinary products, I also use a daily cleanser, moisturizer and sunblock. I’m still working on finding my ride or die daily moisturizer & sunblock, so I’ll create another post with my entire routine once I do! In my opinion, adding daily sunblock to your routine if you don’t already use it, is the MOST important thing to use, all year long! I also use a daily lip product to prevent chapped lips. My current most-used is just the Vaseline lip therapy. I also like the coconut lip butter from The Body Shop, and the coconut lip balm and scrub from Sephora. I use these products several times a day, and right before bed. I also sometimes use a lip conditioner or overnight mask before bed. I’ll switch to one with an SPF soon for Spring & Summer.
I also am working on incorporating a gua shua and jade roller into my routine, so I’ll keep you updated on that.
Here are the products I’ve tried so far:
Retinol 0.5% in Squalane: Every skincare guru I follow says that Retinol is one of the #1 things everyone should include in their skincare routine, so I had to try it. They advise to start with a low percentage and work your way up. This is because Retinol can make your skin worse before it gets better. Many people deal with the “Retinol Uglies” after first trying it, but I didn’t have any issues. The Ordinary Retinol comes in 0.2% and 1%. My skin tends to react well to skincare products, so I started with the 0.5%, and use it 1-2 times a week at night. Retinol helps with fine lines and wrinkles, uneven texture, photo damage, and general signs of aging, and is good for any skin type. I’ve only been consistently using it for a few weeks now, and I’m already noticing a difference in my skin’s texture. I don’t really have any wrinkles yet, but I do have a couple of fine lines on my forehead, and I’m noticing a difference in those too. I can’t wait to continue using it to see how my skin improves over time.
Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%- I didn’t know this before buying it, but this is one of those products people either love or hate. It’s meant to reduce the appearance of blemishes and help with acne. I don’t have acne, but I do sometimes get blemishes, so I’ve been using this as a spot treatment for those. I probably wouldn’t repurchase because I don’t really need it, but if you do struggle with acne, I would check it out.
Ascorbic Acid 8% + Alpha Arbutin 2%- This was the first product I’ve ever tried from The Ordinary. It’s meant to help with brightening, dark spots and signs of aging. I LOVED this product and noticed a difference immediately. My pores looked smaller, and my skin looked smoother and brighter after one use. My ONLY issue, is that after a couple weeks of using it, I noticed it was causing some blackheads along the side of my cheek, and I’ve never had blackheads there before. I stopped using it, BUT I would like to give it another try now that I have other products incorporated into my routine. Many products also make your skin worse before it gets better, so I feel I didn’t give it a fair shot. It has great reviews, and I would recommend trying it!
Hyaluronic Acid 2% +B5- This is definitely one of the products I’ll continue to purchase, as it’s now a part of my regular skincare routine. I have normal/dry skin, and Hyaluronic acid attaches to moisture to lock it in. The main thing to remember about this product, is it needs moisture to lock onto- so you have to apply it when your skin is damp, otherwise it can have the opposite effect you want and suck the moisture out of your skin. I like to apply this directly out of the shower on damp skin, and then add my daily moisturizer over top to help seal in the moisture. You can also use a nice face water mist first before applying.
Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG- I personally haven’t tried this, BUT my mom has, so after speaking with her I felt like I can give a decent review. She LOVES this product. She uses it under her eyes, and says it has a nice firming effect.
Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2%- This is another one I haven’t tried yet- BUT I just ordered it, so I can give a proper review once it arrives. Vitamin C is another products a lot of skincare gurus recommend as something that MUST be in your daily routine. It’s great for all skin types, and helps reduce signs of aging and brightens your skin. Ascorbic Acid like I mentioned above, is also Vitamin C, so I’m interested to see if this version of it works without causing blackheads like the version I tried before. If this works better, I wont bother bringing the other one back into my routine. This version also includes Hyaluronic acid, so it may be a great all in one option for adding additional moisture to my skin.
There are a lot of other products I want to try from The Ordinary, so I’ll update this post once I try them! If you go onto the Deciem website, you can use their routine builder to figure out the perfect skincare routine for your needs. They also give amazing tips on what order to apply your products, what products to use in the am vs pm, etc.
What are your favourite products from The Ordinary?