Talk to me about The Ordinary please

[KittyMcKitty]

I know there’s a lot of people with huge skincare experience here so could I please ask you for your help.

im mid 50’s and have probably quite good skin for my age - not many wrinkles (maybe helped by the fact that I’m about a stone overweight). I’m post menopausal and not in HRT if that’s relevant. I also have mild ish roseacea- I’ve tried antibiotics and all that but they don’t really do anything but would like to combat redness particularly on my nose (it’s big enough without drawing further attention to itself!).

I’ve recently had a bit of an overhaul of my skincare and have returned to using Eve Lom cleanser and TLC cream which I used pre kids and I think I can see a v positive effect from this. I’ve also (a couple of weeks ago) introduced the L’Oreal revitalift retinol - my skin has had no adverse reactions but it’s too early to measure results.

im now thinking I should have taken charge of my skincare years ago but def need to start doing now. I’ve always been intrigued by The Ordinarys products and reading here there are certainly things which may help me with redness BUT there are so many acids I have no idea where to start and ant seem to find anything on their website which talks through all the products.

coukd anyone give me some pointers/ suggestions as to how to improve my skincare system? I want to keep the Eve Lom cleanser, eye cream and TKC cream (I use it at night) as I really rate them.

thanks you 💐

My advice would be don't bother with The Ordinary, it lives up to its name ime.

I have the same skin. Ditch ALL skin care and use CeraVe sensitive wash followed by CeraVe moisturiser , hopefully you'll see a difference in about 3 weeks. Use CeraVe miccelair water to remove eye makeup if you wear it. There's also an eye cream if you need it.

I had exactly the same with redness and I'd say it's 80% improved now, I've never had such good skin.

I love eve lom cleanser and TO products! I have rosacea, as it's tiny thread veins under the skin, skin care can only help to minimise the times when skin might be irritated and therefore get redder, but I'm in a similar position to you re time of life and i do use TO products so i can tell you what helps me.

I'm naturally dry and dehydrated. I start with eve lom cleanser, followed by glycolic acid (pixie glow or TO, everything else is TO), then either The Buffet, Hyaluronic acid and face oil, OR Lactic acid, niacinimide, Hyaluronic acid, face oil. The latter combi is best to do at night as it makes skin sensitive to the sun. This routine keeps my skin moisturised and dewy so it's less prone to irritation.

I like The Ordinary. There are many products and I've tried a few, I wouldn't say it's worth purchasing the majority but there a couple of stand outs.

Look up on YouTube :
Sincerely Miss Ash
Mad About Skin
They both review The Ordinary regularly and will help you work out which you might like to try.

For me, I love Pycnogenol.

Thank you both - really appreciate your time. I’m going to stick with the Eve Lom as I’ve seen huge improvement since I started using it and I love the cleanser so much - everything about it just feels special.

lots to look into here - do either of you use retinol or are some of these things the equivalent etc (sorry to sound dim).

I have a few patches of mild pigmentation and a few noticeable thread veins mainly on the side of my nose.

Off to read up!

I tried a few products from The Ordinary and thought they were massively overhyped. I did the online thing that suggests a regime, bought the 4 recommended products, used them religiously and saw zero benefit. I ended up binning them after 3 months. Nivea cream works way better for me!

I use their squalane oil and it's excellent leaves the skin lovely and soft.

I use the niacinamide and the caffeine eye drops every day, and the acid peel mask twice a week, my skin has never looked better.

I also use their niacinamide and I love it. And their cleanser.

I would use Dermatica and just get a proper Retinol from them. They can also help with the issues you have.

You take a picture of your skin and they send you a custom formula. You can set how often it comes, usually 6 weeks good for me and it's £20. I was spending so much more on Medik8 Retinol previously.

If you do want to try it

www.dermatica.co.uk/referrer/Y2K0NE

Just need a good Spf. The altruist one is very reasonable.
If you have a bit more to spend the Dr Sam with tint is excellent

I do like the ordinary squalene and their rose hip oil too

OP, i forgot a last item of luxury for older drier skin. Elizabeth Arden 8hr nighttime. It's very similar to the traditional eA8hr cream, the stuff that's like vaseline, but this is in a pot, it's easier to spread and soaks in better and makes a great final top coat.

I have their peptides which I mix with moisturiser, the squalane is 👍👍as per PP and I’m using a moisturiser with hyalaneuric acid (so but cba).

Don’t be tempted by the Inkey List as I cannot get on with that at all.

the red chemical peel is ace.
the niaciamide/zinc serum is great so soothe outbreaks.

other companies offer similar but often more expensive.

I agree with pp that it's the most apt named company around.

It's cheap, yes. The ingredients are fine, yes.

There's nowt new under the sun and what TO sell you in 6 different bottles each costing £7, another serum (for example) will have the lot in for £30. Depends what you want to spend and if you've got time to be using 6 different bottles.

I've tried :
TO Vit C- the foulest vit C I've ever tried. Threw it away.
Granactive retinoid (before I educated myself about what that actually means and before TO were gently nudged by beauty writers into being a little more transparent in their labelling)
One of the other retinols.

Won't repurchase any.

DD is 18 and swears by their Niacinamide (she has oily, blemish prone skin so niacinamide is a goodie) and the foundation.

If you want to overhaul your skincare, yet not be taken in by the "you need 48 different products" mantra, then Nadine Baggott is a good place to start. There's a video over on YT where she talks about what skin really needs- and it's:

Cleanser- anything you like, at any price range. It goes down the plughole. No need to spend much. If you use micellar as a makeup remover, remember you need to cleanse afterwards as it leaves a film.

SPF 50

Moisture.

That's all. 3 things.

If you want, take it to 5 with a vit C in the morning for glow and added anti oxidant protection, and a retinol in the evening for anti-ageing.

I agree with several posters on here. TO is very ordinary. Single benefit in each bottle so once you've bundled up what you want it's not as cheap as it seems. I think possibly the Buffer with Copper Peptides is decent but it's over £20 so whilst not expensive, it is pricier for TO and still has limited ingredients.
Eve Lom cleanser....you you mean the balm or oil capsules? The balm is awful. It's vastly overpriced Petroleum in a tub. The natural ingredients are waaaaaay down the ingredients list

I have rosacea.

I would recommend TO azelaic acid which is keeping my rosacea under control very effectively.

Otherwise you need to keep everything else super gentle with rosacea.

Soolantra is another thing mentioned a lot as very effective for rosacea. You can get that from your GP. I can't use it as allergic to one if the other ingredients in it.

So do I! Also the AHA mask (the dark red one) and the plain moisturiser in the tube

I'm mid 50s and tend to keep it simple

I use Clarins mousse cleanser in shower then Garnier vit c serum with a moisturiser with spf

Evening take day off then Olay night serum, Nivea night cream and something specific on my neck

I use eye creams and facial sun screens in day

I don't understand all these other products

I use the niacinamide serum - which I mix with moisturiser as it's quite strong, it is supposed to improve skin texture and help with dark spots and hyperpigmentation.
And the buffet serum, which has a range of peptides. These are amino acids that can help make skin appear smoother.
Also use their lactic acid serum, which is a good gentle exfoliator.

But there's a lot of stuff from the Ordinary that I wouldn't bother with. Yes, it's cheap but only if you know what you are looking for. The problem is that they have so many products it's hard to know what to use. But it's a cheaper alternative than big name brands if you know the ingredients you are looking for.

For example, you can buy a small pot of Olay Regenerist cream, which is about €40 in Boots, and its' main active ingredients are Niacinamide and peptides.
Whereas I just make my own dupe by using both the Ordinary buffet serum (€17.40) and niacinamide serum (€6.80) in my cheap moisturiser (Cerave), and since I only use a few drops of each so they usually last for a year or more.

I have to say my skin is transformed with using The Ordinary. I’m in my mid - 40s, and have had terrible skin since I was 12. Acne and rosacea, and a lot of scarring. I’d never really found something that worked. For my birthday about 6 years ago, a friend bought me a starter kit, as she had been told to try it by a dermatologist, and had noticed a massive difference.

I don’t use their cleanser/makeup remover (micellar water/beautypie face wash), but do use the following:
Niacinimide serum
Buffet (and will move onto the new one when this is finished)
Vitamin C
Eye serum with caffeine
Rosehip oil

It could be a massive coincidence, but it’s made a huge difference to my skin. Less spotty, improved texture, etc. I did try the retinoids, but I ended up with sore skin, and couldn’t persevere with it. But I’m a sensitive soul. 😜
Anyway, just in case that’s of use to you, @KittyMcKitty