Thursday, October 24, 2019

Stuff I Like: A Lot of Words About The Ordinary.

At some point in the last few months I hit Peak Skincare. Like, I just couldn't handle trying to figure it all out anymore and I started to get really mad about how crazy expensive everything is. I've been using tiny samples of this and that for a while and wondering why my face wasn't happy. One thing I'd been using consistently, though, is The Ordinary's Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% (reviewed here) which seemed to be helping.


Then I bought the Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2% because someone on the Internet liked it a lot. Then I bought the Lactic Acid 10% + HA 2% as a cheaper alternative to Good Genes. Then I bought the Buffet peptide serum because Kate liked it. Then I started reading up on how to use this stuff together and I wanted TO CRY. So, I did what Kate suggested and I emailed them and asked them to design a regime for me. AND THEY DID. Amazing!


The Ordinary is great in providing simple, active serums at a low cost but, because many of them are single note, you can't just be slapping all this stuff on at the same time - some of it doesn't play well together and, let's be honest, it's A LOT. My face can't handle it.

So, they made some recommendations based on what I already had and suggestions for what to buy (I wanted to try retinol again for the winter) and here's what I'm doing:

🌞 MORNING::
“Buffet”
Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA
Sunscreen

🌜 EVENING:
100% Organic Cold Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil
Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2%
(I add my Sunday Riley moisturizer)

πŸŒ›EVENING 2:
Lactic Acid 10% + HA 2%
Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
100% Organic Cold Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil
(I add my Sunday Riley moisturizer)

🌜 EVENING 3:
“Buffet”
Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion
100% Organic Cold Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil
(I add my Sunday Riley moisturizer and sometimes skip the first two serums)

If I bought all seven of these products at once the total cost would be less than $60. Seriously! Less than the one stupid tub of Sunday Riley** Ice moisturizer I bought last month. (Which I really like, tbh.)


Now, looking at that routine you're probably like, holy shit that's a lot. And it is, but I'm only doing the evening routine every other night, and on the off nights I just use moisturizer and facial oil. So, my face gets Vitamin C, retinol and lactic acid each on one night per week, depending on the rotation. That's it! I might eventually take the retinol up to two nights, but not yet.

The Niacinamide + Zinc and Buffet both get used every day in the morning (and sometimes at night) but I really don't need to be doing all of it every day. I've been following this plan for about a month and my face is looking better than it has in a long time. I still have melasma (anyone try lasers for this?) but my weird little breakouts have mostly stopped and I'm looking smoother and brighter overall*.

This all sounds great right? Well, THERE IS ONE THING. One thing that I do not like about The Ordinary. All the tubes and bottles look exactly the damn same and the writing is SO TINY that I have to squint angrily at each bottle to make sure I've got the right thing. I need to color code them or something.

That's pretty much it! I am by no means an expert but if you have  questions, please ask. The Ordinary website also has a ton of info about each product and a regimen guide but if you contact them they'll tell you what to use and in what order and all that. So nice.

****

*Full disclosure: I have also been getting a facial with dermaplaning every six weeks. Y'all, dermaplaning isn't a life necessity but it does help all those active ingredients sink in better and it's so nice to have a smooooooth face. Plus, it's super relaxing.

**A word on the scandal: It's...not great. But also, it was so unnecessary! Sunday Riley products are quite good and fake reviews help nobody. That said, I think fake reviews are everywhere - Amazon, Sephora, Beautypedia, beauty influencers, you name it. Please remember that the founder of Drunk Elephant (or one of her employees) hounded Marianne for giving a less-than-glowing review of WonderBar on our dinky little blog. It's just ridiculous. I tend to trust the reviews on Makeupalley because it's mostly just folks like us, but who really knows. Just take it all with a grain of salt.

14 comments:

  1. How does the Lactic Acid compare to Good Genes? My deluxe sample is almost gone and I really don’t want to spend that money but my damned skin loves it.

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    1. Honestly, I don't know that it's quite as good (or as elegant a formulation) but the Ordinary version is so inexpensive that I think it's worth trying first.

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  2. I can’t quit Good Genes. It’s the only thing that has made a discernible difference and my skin doesn’t hate. I’m 40 and I’ve been told i look like I’m in my early 30s. This was only after using Good Genes. It doesn’t help any reviews of The Ordinary, but I don’t think I can ever not use Good Genes :(

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    1. Hey, if it works for you, KEEP IT! I love Good Genes but I thought I'd give the cheaper version a shot.

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    2. Sorry, by all-capping KEEP IT it sounds like I'm yelling at you. I just meant, keep and love the products that work for you! You don't have to listen to me. :)

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  3. My skin didn't love the ordinary, but when I was using it I had to get a Sharpie and write on each bottle if it was supposed to be used AM/PM and in what order. Surely they could give their products bougie names for differentiation purposes without jacking up prices, right?

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  4. I've been using the Niacinimide twice a day for a few months and it has helped a lot. I've been thinking of trying their Salicylic Acid in lieu of my Paula's Choice, but I'm always afraid of ending up with jacking my face up. My skin is stooopid.

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    1. I tried their Salicylic Acid in lieu of Paula's Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant and regretted it. The Ordinary's product is thicker and more gel-like, so I felt like I was using more to cover my face. And when I actually calculated the price per mL, the Paula's Choice isn't much more expensive especially since I often get it on sale. (The Ordinary is 17.6 cents per mL, PC is 25 cents per mL when not on sale). Hope that helps you. :)

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  5. How long do you wait in between putting each product on? I basically only slap some moisturizer with sunscreen on in the morning because I don't have the patience or time to wait 5-10 minutes between products. It would cut into my lying in bed hitting snooze repeatedly time.

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    Replies
    1. Oh, I don't wait that long! I'll put one thing on give it a minute to dry a bit, then the next. Ain't nobody got time to wait around for 5-10 minutes.

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    2. Oh excellent. I have a couple of their products, but didn't know about the regime guides. My stuff arrived today, so I'll give it a go tonight. Tomorrow morning is the real test.

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  6. So helpful, thank you. Nothing further to add, just that this blog is really terrific. I learn so much good stuff from you guys!

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  7. My current skincare routine is the niacinamide serum in the morning and the azelic acid cream at night (plus Cerave lotion). I tried the Vitamin C cream but after going through a full tube I didn't really notice a difference so I didn't repurchase. I'm curious about the Rose Hip Seed Oil but I once used from a another brand and broke out in tiny white bumps so I'm worried about trying it again.

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