Is The Ordinary Extraordinary?

The Ordinary has been in the news a lot lately, specifically its parent company Deciem and former CEO Brandon Truaxe. The Ordinary was immediately a super buzzy line because of its shockingly low prices for seemingly quality skin care. I was one of the people to jump on the bandwagon early because I am all. about. a good. deal. Read: cheap. The first thing I got was a retinol product because it can get pricy and if I could find a quality product for under $15…well, sign me up.

The Ordinary is pretty helpful, specifically when trying to find the perfect retinol product. They break down the options and give you some insight on which might be best for you. For instance, I don’t really have sensitive skin, but I had never tried a retinol before so I wanted to ease in. Therefore, I chose the Granactive Retinoid 5% in Squalane ($14), which is high strength and has “no to low irritation.” This is because Granactive Retinoid (an advanced retinoid active complex, according to the site) “has been shown to offer better results against multiple signs of aging than retinol without any of the irritation and drawbacks common with retinol.” However, I saw no changes in my skin. I’m willing to give The Ordinary one more chance, when it comes to retinol, and try the Retinol 0.5% in Squalane ($6, yep, $6), which has moderate strength and high irritation, or jump right to the Retinol 1% in Squalane ($7), high strength and very high irritation. I know, I know, I should be paying more attention to the irritation factor, but, as I mentioned, I don’t really have sensitive skin and no pain, no gain, am I right? (Just kidding, don’t listen to that, but some sloughing off skin is to be expected with retinol, hence the irritation) So, read the breakdown and choose the one you think is best for you. You may have to try a couple to find your match, but at $6 to $14, it won’t be a huge dent in your bank account.

Next, I got the Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 ($7), which is a hydrating serum. And, god, I love this product. You’ll notice the bottle in the photo is far and away the most…loved. It feels amazing while smoothing over your skin, really cooling and glossy, and a little goes a really long way. I just finished my bottle and purchased it months ago. I can’t even remember exactly when because it’s been so long. My skin actually felt plumper and softer after using this and I will definitely be adding this to my cart again.

My next purchases were the Salicylic Acid 2% Solution ($6) and the Vitamin C Suspension 30% in Silicone ($7), both of which I give two stars out of five. The salicylic acid, which is supposed to help dry up pimples, simply doesn’t seem to do anything. I will say, like the hyaluronic acid, a little goes a long way. I literally use a drop at a time and that covers any spots on my face and neck. Usually I have product left over actually, so I just double up on the previously tapped spots. So if this works for you, great, you’ll get months of use out of one bottle, but I’m not going to bother getting again. As for the vitamin C product, I chose the suspension because, like the retinols, The Ordinary breaks down their “portfolio” for you and I decided I would rather try the 30% in Silicone over the Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2% because the latter supposedly feels a little gritty. To start, I don’t love the packaging. It’s tough to squeeze the product out after only a few uses and I feel there was still a bit left when I gave up and tossed it. Even if the product had better packaging, the formula was tacky and I felt I had to use a lot in order to properly cover my face. And, even then, I saw no change in the dullness of my face and it simply wasn’t worth the energy spent rolling up the squeeze bottle just to get a smidge of cream.

These are the only products I’ve tried so far, but it’s a good range. I have three products on my short list of what to try next and I will update this article as I take each one for a test drive. First up is the AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution ($8), which is a creepily deep red-tinted exfoliating formula and I feel winter (aka no sunburns in my future) is the best time to try this out. I’m ready for a luminous, refreshed face to emerge and conquer! Next, the 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil ($10), a super moisturizing facial oil. I’m always on the lookout for a good rose hip oil and the cold-pressed detail is intriguing as it supposedly results in better quality. Finally, the Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG ($7). As someone with constant dark circles (Remember that anonymous message board you could add to your Facebook profile circa 2006? Someone told me I always looked tired because of my underage circles…I was 14, how tired could I really be?), I’m always on the lookout for brightening products. This formula contains a 5% concentration of caffeine, which is a apparently really high, and this, plus the EGCG (Epigallocatechin Gallatyl Glucoside) “can help reduce looks of puffiness and of dark circles in the eye contour.” Bring it on.

Keep an eye on this page for more The Ordinary product reviews! And I recently added my blog to Bloglovin’, so follow me there as well!