Argireline Solution 10% by The Ordinary
This is a lightweight serum (watery consistency) for forehead and around the eyes (a few drops in total). Peptide. Usage of this product is important. Try not using this product when applying direct acids or Vitamin C in the same routine - for more information, please visit The Ordinary's website. Pros: price (this bottle costs around $7). I am glad to see a lightweight serum designed to combat lines specifically on the forehead and under eyes. Does it work? I think so. I cannot be 100% sure to attribute the decrease of lines on my forehead, but I am confident that this product plays a part. Cons: results may take time to see, so don't give up. Be consistent. Would recommend? At this price point, what do you really have to lose?
Granactive Retinoid Emulsion 2% (30ml)
The Ordinary: the gift that keeps on giving. Here we are again. The Ordinary says that this "formulation combines two forms of next-generation retinoid actives: a) A 2% concentration of Granactive Retinoid which is a complex of solubilized Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate (HPR). HPR is a highly-advanced form of retinoid which is, in fact, a non-prescription ester of all-trans direct retinoic acid that offers a multi-fold better effect against signs of aging than retinol, retinyl palmitate and nearly all other forms of non-prescription retinoid; b) A sustained-delivery form of pure retinol in a protective capsule system which supports both the delivery and the effect of Granactive Retinoid". Sounds very sciency. Basically, it's an anti-aging serum which should be applied in the PM before a moisturiser. You can thank The Ordinary for making it only for $10! Wear sunscreen the next day.
The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 5%+ B5 (30ml, ca $7)
What is Hyaluronic Acid? Well, it's a liquid that attracts moisture, put simply. Our skin constantly loses water, and this counteracts that fact. This serum also includes Vitamin B5, which also enhances surface hydration. Now, we cannot say that this is the best hyaluronic acid serum. But it is definitely the most value-for-one with it's pure formula. So if you are on the budget, and don't want to get the more advanced NIOD version, this is an absolutely awesome product.
The Ordinary Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2% (30ml)
The Ordinary has a few products with Vitamin C, and we have chosen this one, as this one is of high potency (but can also sting quite a bit). It is a heavy serum. Costs around $6. On us, the product doesn't sting. However, it has a really weird, uncomfortable, feel on the skin. Imagine something oily with grains of powder in it...on your skin. The Ordinary has developed a good guide on which Vitamin C product you should choose, depending on what you are looking for. Bottom line: incorporate Vitamin C into your skincare routine!
The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution (30ml)
This product retails at around $6, and is actually one of the products we would not recommend from The Ordinary. Salicylic acid is an exfoliant, and helps to keep blemishes at bay. However, this particular product did absolutely nothing to our blemishes. Either the formula is too weak or our blemishes don't fear salicylic acid. Either way, if you have blemishes, there are far better, more effective options available.
The Ordinary Matrixyl 10%+ HA (30ml)
This is high-strength peptide formulation with next generation Matrixyl. According to The Ordinary, "this highly-effective composition has been shown to reduce the look of static and dynamic wrinkles. This formula contains two generations of Matrixyl™, Matrixyl™ 3000 and Matrixyl™ synthe'6™, at a combined concentration of 10% by weight in a specialized Hyaluronic Acid delivery system". For $12, you get this great product. It's a must-have!
The Ordinary Alpha Lipoic Acid (30ml)
For $7, you get a bottle of "highly potent antioxidant [which] can restore a renewed skin appearance, improving visible skin texture and tone when applied topically. This formulation uses an exceptionally high 5% concentration of high-purity Alpha Lipoic Acid". Please note this is a rather strong (but good) treatment serum, so you should not use it more than 2 times a week. 2 drops is sufficient.
The Ordinary Serum Foundation (around £6 for 30ml)
Alrighty, here we are. This is our follower-requested review of The Ordinary Serum Foundation (@rhee_iya2 ). At only £6, this foundation is definitely affordable. But at what price? Let's find out. When you shake it, you can definitely hear the high water content of the product. When you pump it out, you definitely see it too. We recommend pumping it directly onto your beauty blender. One coat of it will give you light coverage. Second coat will give you light-medium coverage. If you want a better coverage, this is not the right foundation. It is rather wet and doesn't dry down completely, so you have to set it with powder (this is something we do for most foundations anyway). 20 minutes later, you see the problem. It will look like you only wear powder, and a rather decent amount of it. It does crease in the smile lines after about an hour, and it is movable and transferable even with powder on. Furthermore, it reacted very badly with our under eye loose powder-- giving us dark red "rings" between the eye and cheek area. Our job wife said the following: "it looks like you have too much foundation on. Oh no, wait, it looks like you have a thick layer of powder on". It looks alright from the distance, definitely not as bad as Milani, but the close up tells a different story. After about 5 hours, it starts separating significantly, and creates dry patches on your chin. For these reasons, we will not recommend this foundation.
The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser (50ml for $7.90)
Is it a great product? Is it worth a purchase? All these questions are to answered right about...now. When The Ordinary comes up with a new product, it causes a mini hype. After all, many people love this brand for its affordable yet good quality approach. Before we get into the performance, let's talk about what this product is. It's a gentle face cleanser (applause!). It is an oil based cleanser (Squalane), and should remove makeup. It is especially good for dry skins, and is free from SLS, SLES, parabens and other stuff. Sounds good, right? What could possibly go wrong? Well, as it turns out, a few things can go wrong. When you first open the tube and try to get product out, it feels like 2/3 of the tube is empty. Well, let me remind you-- there is only 50ml of product to start with. 50ml! This is an absolute rip off by The Ordinary standards. Like, you are better off getting Drunk Elephant Slaai-- it will last you a lot longer than even 4 tubes of this product. The performance of this product is average too. First of, you will need quite a lot of it. Second, it performed so poorly on the brush test, that trusting it will remove deeply routed makeup off the face is better left as a "belief" rather than reality. Overall, please do not buy it. This doesn't fit The Ordinary's price nor quality standards.
Product review:
The Ordinary "B" Oil (30ml at around $10)
What happened to the "A" oil? Sorry, I am just confused as to why it is called the "B" Oil. Anyway, let's get into the contents. It is a blend of an array of different oils: marula, argan, baobab, pataua, brazil nut, inca inchi, rosehip and borage. They are combined in a purified form of micro-algae, which gives the oil its dark green/brown colour (imagine a good olive oil-- like that). It has a bit of a smell, but personally I only smell the rosehip oil (or, like I call it "fish oil" smell). I apply it after my moisturiser-- but only at night. It sinks in relatively fast (2 drops is more than enough), but not immediately. I think this is a good oil if you want to benefit from all of the aforementioned oils at once. However, if you do have specific skincare concerns, maybe you will need to find yourself an individual oil for that purpose.