The Ordinary Haul

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If you’re into skin care at all, you’ve seen The Ordinary out and about. They’ve managed to take the internet and skin care market by storm with their super affordable and effective product offerings. I’ll skip to the point and let you all know, they hype is real! The products they offer are effective, affordable, and super simple. They don’t beat around the bush, or add unnecessary ingredients into their products. They’ve taken main skin care ingredients, and bottled them separately and created extremely user-friendly instructions that spell out exactly what your skin may need and how to use the particular products.
I placed an order directly from The Deciem (they make The Ordinary products)  website because Beautylish (an amazing online retailer of The Ordinary brand) was out of stock on a foundation color I wanted. They offer free shipping on all orders over $25, which was a major plus for me! My order took almost 10 days to process, and it felt like forever to ship, but it finally got to me 2 and a half weeks later. They are extremely busy, and processing orders takes time, so if you place and order, be patient!!
I grabbed the Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 for the low price of $6.80. I’ve been using this product since I first heard about it, so I’ve already been a fan. This was my 3rd bottle. I use it morning and night before oils and creams. Normally, I’ll slather it on right after my essence in my nighttime routine. I’d honestly pay $20 or more for this product, but I’m glad I don’t because I can buy more things with the money I save!! Hyaluronic Acid is used for adding hydration into the skin and also boasts some plumping properties. The Ordinary developed this particular product a little differently than most Hyaluronic products on the market. They use three forms of Hyaluronic in order to give you the in-depth hydration your skin needs all of which are made up of different molecule sizes that are able to penetrate your skin. Typically, the Hyaluronic molecules are too large to absorb into the skin the way we want them too, thus leaving behind wasted product and no benefit to the user. The Vitamin B5 they throw in this mixture enhances surface hydration which gives you even more bang for your buck in my book.
Ingredients: Aqua (Water), Sodium Hyaluronate, Pentylene Glycol, Propanediol, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Panthenol, Ahnfeltia Concinna Extract, Glycerin, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Citric Acid, Isoceteth-20, Ethoxydiglycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hexylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol.

 
I snagged the Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% for the amazingly low price of $5.90. I still can’t get one their pricing…it’s unreal! Anyways, this product was new to me, but I’ve been eyeing it for a while. Niacinamide is an ingredient in a few of my essences, and I already knew my skin was going to get love drunk on this stuff. I was right, and my skin has been thriving! Niacinamide is known for reducing the appearance of skin blemishes and congestion. I don’t have acne, and only suffer minor breakouts occasionally so this stuff is perfect for me!
Ingredients: Aqua (Water), Niacinamide, Pentylene Glycol, Zinc PCA, Dimethyl Isosorbide, Tamarindus Indica Seed Gum, Xanthan gum, Isoceteth-20, Ethoxydiglycol, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin.

I also grabbed two of their foundations after seeing quite a few positive reviews! The Coverage Foundation cost me $6.90 and the Serum Foundation was $6.70. Both bottles are 30 ml., which is an average size of foundation. I grabbed two different colors because there is no way to get color matched, and I figured if one didn’t work, the other might! I went by the color I typically wear in MAC products (NC25) and picked 2.0P in the Serum Foundation and 2.0N in the Coverage Foundation.

They offer a pretty good range of shades, and I would be opposed to mixing them to get the perfect color since they are so affordable. The Coverage Foundation is exactly that…its coverage! It’s really full coverage to me, and blends smoothly into the skin. I still need to play around with what primer will work best, but I’ve been using a beauty oil before applying and have been super happy with the outcome. It has lasting power and a little goes a really long way. I’ve been loving using a beauty sponge to apply and blend. I like more matte finishes for my foundation and I’ve found that setting it with MACs Studio Fix powder is the way to go. It doesn’t look cakey or feel heavy during the day. I think setting it is really important though, because if you don’t, it tends to slip and slide around on the face. At least, that’s what I experienced with this particular foundation. It sits nicely on the skin, but started to bunch up around my nose and chin area. I need to play with it a bit more to see what I can do to prevent that. Other than that, I’m really loving this foundation!

I’m still testing out the Serum Foundation, but from what I’ve notices so far is that it is super thin and almost watery. You can’t let that fool you because this baby is super pigmented and extremely buildable. I wouldn’t consider it sheer at all, possibly light to medium coverage with the potential of being full if you build it up enough. I’ve been using a damp beauty sponge to apply and blend this one as well and really like the outcome. I’ve used a silicon primer and a beauty oil with it so far and like both results. The Serum Foundation might be my favorite out of the two. It has lasted all day for me, and is really light on the skin. It gives a more dewy finish than I personally like, but by setting with a powder I’ve been able to control the finish and tweak it to my liking.
Would I buy any of these products again?!? You bet! The Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 and the Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% are worth far more than what they retail for and my skin really seems to love them! You can’t really find a good foundation under $15 in my opinion, and I’ve used some pretty good drugstore options. The Serum Foundation and Coverage Foundation are totally worth it in my book. If you like full coverage, obviously go with the Coverage Foundation, but it won’t hurt to pick up both to test out!
 
xoxo, Nikol