The best international budget skin care brand

The Ordinary first burst on to my radar late last year. Appearing to come out of nowhere, the brand were getting unprecedented genuine and positive reviews from what seemed like the entire beauty community. It was soon getting the skincare awards traditionally reserved for the luxury brands.

In June 2017, makeup giant Estee Lauder announced its investment in The Ordinary’s parent company, Deciem. But just like all the other over hyped products on social media, was this brand worth the hype? I couldn’t help but wonder, does this stuff REALLY work? So naturally I did what I do best… RESEARCH. After reading countless blog reviews, and watching YouTube, I decided to just splurge and get my hands on this Brand to see if my skincare game improves.

” There is nothing ordinary about the Ordinary Skin care, there is a product for every one and every skin issue you have”

For months now I have been using my favorite Bodyography Skincare range which improved the look of my skin, no matter how good the bodyography skin care range is, I still felt like my skin needed something a little extra. So I got my hands on my husbands credit card and and went to town buying everything I felt I needed in The Ordinary range.

Now, I have come to realise that the biggest hurdle to buying skincare that actually works, is that it is super expensive. For example, a cutting edge antioxidant serum or even a spot fighting salicylic acid toner could cost us here in South Africa an arm, leg and maybe a kidney. With skin care products taking us close to bankrupcy its no wonder that South African Bloggers and Influencers are falling head over heels for The Ordinary Skin care brand.

There is nothing ordinary about the Ordinary Skin care, there is a product for every one and every skin issue you have, which got me super excited. While this product range is super amazing, I felt that since everyone has different skin issue that I would break the products down into the specific categories. So here goes.

The Ordinary Skincare for Acne Prone Skin

If you have acne prone skin and use the right The Ordinary products, you could soon be waving your acne BYE BYE for good. Fighting acne is about stopping acne causing bacteria from breeding in your pores. Don’t worry, it doesn’t mean that you’re dirty, all skin types have bacteria and all skin types have a little amount of acne causing bacteria. It’s normal, natural and absolutely okay.

Acne and spots can spring when oily dead skin plugs in your pores make a tasty dinner for propionibacterium acnes – the acne causing bacteria.

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To fight it, choose these best The Ordinary products;

Salicylic Acid 2% Solution – dissolves in oil and can help clean aka exfoliate oily dead skin plugs in your pores.
Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% – helps reduce sebum production/pigmentation caused by acne scars, acts as an anti-inflammatory.
Alpha Arbutin 2% + HA – reduces sebum production and helps your skin heal
100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil – contains linoleic acid which acne prone skin is deficient in, studies show replacing it helps reduce acne.

The Ordinary Skincare for Oily/Combination Skin

Skin an oil slick by midday? Then these The Ordinary Skincare products are for you. Let’s break this down abit, Your skin type is

A) making too much skin oil aka sebum and

B) Making too much of the wrong kind of skin oil.

In a nutshell, your skin is over producing the oils.

You can use the following products in order of necessity.

Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% – both help reduce sebum production while also improving your skin health.
100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil – is a dry oil which can help balance and thin your skin’s oil production.
Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA – identical to what your skin uses to keep hydrated, will help balance skin.

All 3 of these products are fine to be used and mixed into the same AM or PM regimen routines. To layer them up properly start with Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% follow with Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA and end with the 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil. And done.

The Ordinary Skincare for Anti Aging

The first sight of fine lines and wrinkles are always the scariest sight, But with the Ordinary products there are a lot of active skincare ingredients which can help delay, protect and reverse the effects of aging. The important part is making sure you’re using them in concentrations which are effective.

These products from The Ordinary are all great actives in great concentrations helping you resist the first signs of ageing;

Granactive Retinoid 2% in Squalane – vitamin A is what dermatologists and doctors prescribe for anti-ageing, it’s clinically proven to help your skin resist and get rid of wrinkles.
Ascorbyl Glucoside Solution 12% – aka vitamin C – helps skin build collagen to give your skin volume.
Resveratrol 3% + Ferulic Acid 3% – very effective antioxidants to make sure your skin resists ageing.

The Ordinary for Mature Skin

Even if you take greatest care of your skin all your life, there isn’t anything to stop ageing from happening. Collagen levels change, meaning what makes your skin resist wrinkles naturally go down and your skin naturally gets drier. But… this that doesn’t mean that it isn’t reversible. Using the right skincare products can help give back to your skin what it has lost and what it needs the most.

These are The Ordinary skincare products that should help you do it;

Granactive Retinoid 5% in Squalane – it’s the proven anti-ageing ingredient every mature skincare regimen needs, it helps treat fine lines, wrinkles and loss of skin volume.
Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2% mixed with Marine Hyaluronics – to make it less gritty. Your skin needs it to make healthy collagen, helps give back volume and brightness to your skin.
EUK 134 0.1% – a potent self-regenerating antioxidant to resist skin stress and ageing.
Matrixyl 10% + HA – aka peptides – studies show it can reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution – helps build collagen, helps refresh slowed exfoliation rates in mature skin for a brighter, fresher complexion.
100% Plant-Derived Squalane – naturally found in skin, helps lock hydration in, helps condition and moisturize.

The Ordinary Skincare for Sensitive Skin

If you have sensitive skin, you’ll be all too aware of the wide variety of emotional and environmental factors that can affect it – from a change of weather, to household pets, stress and even dust. There are multiple triggers of sensitivity and you can protect your skin from them with The Ordinary Skincare products.

Just because you have sensitive skin, it doesn’t mean that you can’t use skincare with active ingredients. It only means you have to make sure it’s the right skincare. Products which are kind to skin, which help build up your skin’s barrier, which protect it and hydrate it.

These The Ordinary skincare picks are the best products for the job;

Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% – the ingredient used to treat rosacea, it’s an anti-inflammatory, it calms, soothes, helps reduce redness and brightens skin.
Marine Hyaluronics – helps hydrate and plump your skin by magnetising water to itself.
Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA – conditions, protects and nourishes your skin barrier – exactly what your sensitive skin type needs.
EUK 134 0.1% – helps reduce redness and as a self-regenerating antioxidant protects your sensitive skin against environmental stressors and DNA damage.
100% Plant-Derived Squalane – your skin naturally makes it, it’ll help protect you against irritants while also locking in hydration.

I use the Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% (R150), 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil (R250), Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA (R150), for oily skin. And in all honesty it didn’t cost me much, I got mine directly from cult beauty my prices include customs). After using these products for such a long time (3 months) I have to admit that my skin look and feels so much better.

Have you guys used these products? what do you think about it? Let me know.