It should come as no surprise that I'm a huge fan of The Ordinary! I discovered them about a year ago through the Canadian Beauty Blogger network when a member shared the amazing prices. I was so shocked at how affordable everything was that I put in an order—something I never do without hearing about a brand/products for several months first.
Fast forward a year and I've made three orders and one trip to a Deciem store to buy more The Ordinary products! I'm in love with their skincare and have also tried both foundation formulas. Since The Ordinary is brand of the month, I decided to put together a list of my top 5 favourite items that I own, which was super difficult. I managed to pick out my top 5 and listed the prices (in CAD) so I hope you enjoy!
Skincare
Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 ($6.80)
This is the first product I ever tried from The Ordinary! After reading a few reviews on this product, I decided to make my order, which included the next product on the list as well. Hyaluronic Acid does wonders for the skin, which is why it is added into a few of the other products that are also on this list, but also in so many products from so many other brands as well. I use this at night, though on weekends I use it in the morning as well. This stuff has really helped with moisturizing my skin and making it look more alive. My skin feels more plump (likely because it is more hydrated) and this soaks in so fast that other products layer on top like a dream. My bottle is almost completely empty, but that's ok because I have backups already!
Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA ($5.80)
I've seen mixed reviews of this, but this moisturizer works great on me! I can use this morning and night, but have recently only been using this at night. This works wonders on top of the Hyaluronic Acid. My second order from The Ordinary consisted of two backups of this, and a few other products that aren't mentioned in this post (but I still love them).
This is actually a pretty intense moisturizer, which is perfect for me since I have pretty dehydrated skin. A small amount goes a long way! I saw a few other bloggers saying that this made them break out, but they also mentioned that this was too rich for them. I have very sensitive skin and this has never made me break out, so I guess I was right about needing the extra moisturizing power. I maybe have one more use for this moisturizer before opening one of my backups, but I thought I'd show you the little device I use to squeeze out every last drop!
Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2%($5.80)
I bought this from the Deciem store in Square One mall during an event where if you bought a friend you'd get 20% off. I finished up my old vitamin c serum and loved it so much that I knew I needed to replace it, so The Ordinary was my first choice for trying something new.
I love this stuff, but it scared the crap out of my at first. The spheres actually hurt when I'm applying this to my face! I thought I was having a bad allergic reaction to the product, but I realized that the little spheres just feel like little blades running across my face when I rub this in. I also checked out the product page, and the "tingling" feeling is normal when you're first using and getting used to it. This is correct as this no longer burns or makes my face tingle as long as I am using it frequently.
Wow does this help even out my skin! I feel like my acne scarring has diminished significantly! I learned about a year ago that vitamin C is very important to add to the skin because your body doesn't produce it, so not only do I need to take Vitamin C (and drink orange juice), but I need to keep using this and my skin will continue to look nice!
Salicylic Acid 2% ($5.30)
I don't have much to say about this since it's literally just Salicylic acid, but this works well! I've been using salicylic acid for many years, so it was a no brainer to pick up The Ordinary's version while at the same event at the Deciem store. It's just the clean ingredient, so it works just as well, if not better. The instructions say that you can put this all over your face to help even things out. I've tried this once and I couldn't tell a big difference, but when it comes to targeting acne spots, this stuff is amazing!
Makeup
Serum Foundation ($6.70)
I also picked this foundation up while at the Deciem event that I mentioned previously, but this isn't the first foundation I've tried from the brand. I've also tried their Coverage Foundation, but I bought that during the summer and got a shade that I can only match when I'm at my absolute darkest (and I don't lay out in the sun very often anymore). This foundation is light coverage, but that's what I love so much about it! I rarely wear foundation in the winter because my skin is actually pretty decent. My only concern is evening out my skin tone, so this foundation has been a life saver when I do want to look good on camera or in person. The shade range is surprisingly good for a brand that's fairly new to makeup! They actually have yellow undertones that are yellow! I got overexcited when I saw this shade in person. It is very yellow when I pump it onto my hand, which means it matches my skin perfectly!
I've seen a lot of negative reviews on the serum foundation, which confuses me because I love it so much! I apply this with an oval shaped brush (except mine is a cheap $4 brush from Amazon) and it seems to be the best for the foundation to go on super smooth and not leave streaks behind because it is super watery. I lightly pat on top with a beauty blender to remove any excess product, and my skin looks perfect! I think a big problem for many is how they apply the foundation, or that this is super light coverage, but for what I need this is absolute perfection... and the price makes things even better! I'm definitely going to be picking up more shades so I can wear this all year long (and I might pick up one or two other shades for the Coverage Foundation in case I do want medium to full coverage).
Final Thoughts?
I 100% recommend The Ordinary to everyone! The prices are ridiculously affordable, the products are high quality, the ingredients are pure, and you can find these in a bunch of different places! Most (if not all) of their products are cruelty free and vegan, which makes the brand even better! There are a few products that I haven't tried before that are already on my list, but considering I just received my fourth purchase a week ago (my friend and I ordered together) I thought I'd wait a while since I have a really good skincare routine going on at the moment. I did want to mention my #1 favourite since it may not have been super obvious in this post. My fourth purchase consisted of two backups of the Hyaluronic Acid! This stuff has made the biggest difference in my skin and I can't get enough of it! I have recommended this to pretty much everyone I speak to because it honestly works so well. If you can only buy one thing from The Ordinary, I recommend this 100 times over.
I hope you enjoyed reading my little reviews on my top 5 favourite The Ordinary products! I've never received anything from the brand and they don't even know that I exist (though if you're reading this, I'd love to work with you!). All opinions are 100% my own (as usual).
See you soon!
