So I finally got round to writing a review on the two The Ordinary products I have been using for the past couple of months, I have been banging on about these products right from the beginning but I wanted to have used them for a considerable amount of time to try and get a better idea of their results.

The Ordinary

I had heard of The Ordinary before, but never really paid much attention, and to be honest I assumed it would be another fairly highly priced range that probably wouldn’t massively help my skin anyway, along with the other 1000 that are available. I know I go on about the nightmare I have with my skin a lot, but if you’re not blessed with amazing skin then you’ll know how much it actually does take over your life and how it probably feels like you’ve tried most things but nothing works, so when you find something that you feel is helping, it’s exciting.

I first actually looked at the products because they appeared on ASOS, and I was absolutely shocked by the prices, IT’S SO CHEAP! Prices start at as little as £3.90, and even the more expensive formulas only come in at around £14, so after realising I wasn’t going to have to sacrifice my entire pay check on them, I decided to try a couple out, I also love love love the simple glass bottle packaging and the pipette applicator, so pretty.

Now The Ordinary doesn’t really like to make things easy with working out which products do what, all the products are simply named after the active ingredients they contain and so if you’re not that clued up on the actual chemicals used in skincare like me, you’re going to have to do a bit of research, but once you’ve read about the company a little more it kind of makes sense. The Ordinary essentially tries to single out the active ingredients that you will find in many other products, and uses it either in a more applicable or concentrated form, so that the results can be as effective as possible.

The Products

I eventually decided to try the Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% and the Lactic Acid 10% + HA 2% formulas, as I had read reviews from people with acne-prone skin who had found them effective (I don’t have acne but I do get spots regularly so I went with it). Both of the formulas are water based, you should apply water based products before silicon or oil based products (including moisturisers).

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I started by just using the Niacinamide. I use 3-4 drops morning and night, after exfoliating in the morning and after I’ve taken my makeup off in the evening. It is a very thin, clear liquid that spreads easily and it only slightly stung for the first few days, and it was low key at that, so it’s really nothing to worry about at all and it now only ever stings when it’s in direct contact with a new spot. I did start to notice scars healing a little better, and perhaps my skin tone slightly evening out, but after only two weeks I was slightly unsure as to whether this was just psychological/wishful thinking, but I carried on using the product anyway, and then introduced the Lactic Acid.

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The Lactic Acid is again a thin liquid which spreads even more easily than the Niacinamide, but this one has a slightly orange colour, but once it has been applied you wouldn’t know, your face doesn’t turn orange. This product I just use 3 drops at night after the Niacinamide, it is a fairly strong formula – you can also buy this product at 5% Lactic Acid – and so I wouldn’t advise applying this more than once a day. It is basically a peeling agent to help exfoliate and clear dead skin and dirt and so I would advise exfoliating the next morning to get rid of any excess product and skin, but due to this the product itches ALOT, well it has done for me anyway, it doesn’t sting, doesn’t hurt, but some days it kind of makes you feel like you want to claw your face off to stop the itching, but I promise this does only last a few minutes and then it will stop, and after about 6 weeks of using it every night religiously it has finally stopped itching altogether!!

The Results

This probably doesn’t sound very appealing, but I do actually think that this has helped reduced my breakouts, or the combination of the two products anyway, in the first 10 days after introducing the Lactic Acid on top of the Niacinamide I didn’t get a single spot, and that had to be the first time in years that had happened. Unfortunately the time of the month played a part and the products couldn’t quite stand up to the haywire hormones, and I have had some spots during the time of using these products, but I have had less, and far far less huge, may be here for the rest of my life ones! I hadn’t particularly noticed a huge difference in my skin tone and the brightness of my skin, maybe on the odd day, but family and close friends have commented that my skin does look even and has more colour, so I guess you stop seeing it when you’re looking at your own skin everyday!

I would 100% recommend these products to anyone who has problematic skin, or even just wants to keep their skin refreshed and bright, and I have already re-ordered the Niacinamide (you get through it pretty quickly using it twice a day) and I’ve ordered two more products to try out, which I am now so excited to try out to try and improve my skin further, so watch out for the next review!

Sorry it was a long one and there’s perhaps a few ‘too much information’ moments!

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