Hello everyone, I am back after a while 🙂 … Sorry for going AWOL but I had to do quite a bit of travelling during last few months. Anyway, now that I am back, let’s talk about some affordable skincare…

Those of you who follow me on Instagram know that I recently bought a few skin care items from The Ordinary line. I have been using them for a little over three weeks now and think I have formed my opinion about them :).

First a little about this abnormal brand:

The brand ‘The Ordinary’ is a part of DECEIM – the abnormal beauty company, a team that is versed in materials chemistry and biochemistry. While the group hosts high-end (I mean high priced and specifically formulated) skincare brands such as Hylamid and NIOD, The Ordinary was formed to present high-quality skincare at an affordable price. the philosophy of the company is to ‘disallow commodity being disguised as ingenuity’. Founders of The Ordinary claim that in the beauty sphere, commonplace technologies and formulations are presented as innovative and advance; the price markups, hence, are insensible. The objective of The Ordinary line is to present high quality, clinical grade skincare formulations with integrity.

Unlike other skincare lines, The Ordinary gives you the liberty to make up your own skincare regime. the products are meant to be used as ‘ingredients’ that you put together to create your preferred concoction, based on your skin type, problems and preference.

Here’s what I got;

Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 

This is a vegan hydrator that can attract water up to 1000 times its weight. According to DECEIM, even though many skincare products offer Hyaluronic acid (HA), they cannot penetrate the skin in naturally. Instead, they sit on the skin and attract from the skin and give an illusion of plumpness. So when you wash off the product, the skin screams for more to keep hydrated. In this version, there are multiple forms of HA used to ensure skin hydration in different layers, not just the surface. Vitamin B5 aids the surface hydration. Probably, for this reason, the first time I used HA I did not see a visible plumpness as I saw when using the Loreal Hydraboost gel. But with continuous use for over a week, I started noticing that my skin looks more hydrated. Because of my travelling schedules, I could not use HA every day over the last three weeks, but that did not take away the hydration it had already delivered to my skin.  I use HA 2% + B5, both in the AM and PM.

Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%

Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) in this product is meant to reduce the appearance of blemishes and congestion. I have oily/combination skin and this has helped to reduce the oiliness to a healthy level (does not make my face look completely matte) without making my dry spots dry. The brand claims, and I agree, that this does not help acne. However, it has reduced the dullness of my face noticeably. This is included only in my morning routine.

Note: The company warns against using Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% in conjunction with Vitamin C suspensions. Please visit The Ordinary website for more details.

Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG

This is meant to reduce the dark circles and puffiness under eyes. The EGCG (I won’t even try pronouncing the longer name of this…) is a derivative from green tea leaves. both the ingredients are highly effective in reducing puffiness around the undereye region. This solution again (among many other eye creams) has failed me in reducing my undereye dark circles. However, as the company claims, this may be due to the born and fat structure of my eyes (I’ve been told that this is genetic, by a doctor in my family too) which cannot be treated with skincare solutions. But the solution definitely reduces puffiness around the eye. I use this in the morning and night.

Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution

Glycolic acid is an exfoliant that offers mild but direct exfoliation to the skin. This product demands careful usage not only because it is an acid (a mild one) but also has an AHA that increases the sun-sensitivity of the skin (no joke!). I use this only at night as instructed and completely forgot about the sun protection warning. I always wear sun protection (a daily SPF of 15) but with this product, it is not sufficient. Even though my skin did not get sunburnt badly, I definitely sensed the increased sensitivity while in the direct sun. so, if you use this, always wear higher SPF and use an umbrella or a hat to keep the direct sun away from your skin, even up to a week after you stopped using this product.

However, this product is wonderful and I love using it every night. My skin feels so much softer and cleaner since I started using this.

These are the products I tried from The Ordinary line. I fell in love with this brand so much that I ordered some more items which are yet to arrive in the mail. Will do another review once I use them too. Look for the next part of this review either on Picon’s hoard or here.

Most importantly, please hang on for more posts in the future. I will try and get to back to normal blog routine once I settle down a bit with the travelling.. Until then.. have a lovely day!

Cheers,