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Soooo…. what did you get, how did you integrate it in your routine and what benefits, if any, have you noticed?!?Ciao,LIt seemed like all of a sudden, everyone was talking about these products – and after reading a few comments on a video of my all-time favorite vlogger (Hot & Flashy) I finally gave in and clicked over to the The Ordinaries website to investigate for myself.What I found were amazingly-priced simple clear-cut formulations targeted primarily to ingredient-junkies – those who like to read the label and research what each item does. When I found out that they were shipping to Italy for free, I was all-in and I ordered The Ordinaires Caffiene Eye Serum, The Buffet and Vitamin C 23% suspension.I’m 43 years old with early-onset menopause (hormonal chaos) which has contributed to total loss of volume in my cheeks (they’ve flopped down into jowls and a double chin, yaay) and, now, very acne-prone combination skin. Wrinkles are not particularly deep except for 1 of the 11’s and a bar-code above my top lip. I also have freckles – and I do wish that one could use anti-age products without erasing the interest and camouflage freckles naturally provide to my face.Wrapped-up in the excitement I slathered everything on as soon as it arrived – along with using a new tonic and foundation. Predictably my skin rebelled and I was rewarded with a cherry-red face and a deep case of regret. Now that my skin is back on the mend I can share how the products are working on me.The Caffeine Eye serum seemed to eventually un-puffy my eyes – I still don’t see any action on the “sag” I have above the inner corner of my left eye but I can’t seem to find anything that explains what it is and what could help it. I initially put it on in the mornings and it worked as well as any eye serum. Then I decided to put it on day and night and my eyelids started burning a bit so I’m back to just using it in the morning.I’m using the Vitamin C 23% on cleaned and tonic-ed skin first thing in the morning. It feels very slippery but I really hate the “microspheres”. I rub it on my face and I get these white fringey things stuck to my fingers. Are those the microspheres or my skin peeling off?!? I can’t tell but it’s gross. It’s definitely more potent than any other Vitamin C serum I’ve used before and you feel that in the extra tingle. Two applications almost completely erased the red spots from left-over acne I got all over my neck from eating my kid’s Halloween candy. It initially feels oily, but then it dries so I finish-up with a layer of my day cream and sun-screen.I use The Buffet in my evening routine which is preceded by tonic and Italian Retin-A .05% equivalent. I top it with my night cream. Early results are probably not evident with this serum but I did notice a slightly rosier, more rested looking skin in the morning. It was also a bit dry.I am considering adding Niacinamide, Matrixil to the night-time routine and replacing my night cream with their Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA. I don’t think that I need both the HA+B5 serum AND the Vitamin C+ HA during the day but everyone talks about how they got great IMMEDIATE plumping with that and I am curious to see how it would work with my saggy combination skin.I don’t know what to make of the acids, I currently replace my night-time routine with a 12% Glycolic Acid solution once a week. I don’t really know how the ordinaries Lactic 5 or 10% or Azelic 10% acid formulations would compare to what I’m using now. Would be interested to hearing other’s experience in this realm or some advice about which acid is better for what.And, obviously, I can’t wait to read what everyone else got and how they like them!!! : )Ciao,LVitamin C suspension 23%+HA
+ Best researched form of vitamin C
+ Due to its formulation and form of vitamin C highest strength and most potent vitamin C formula from The Ordinary (also more potent than the Paula’s Choice 25% Spot Treatment, which costs 110 dollars for 30mL, compared to 5 dollars for 30mL)
+ No fragrance or irritants. And it contains hyaluronic acid.
– You can only use it at night, also because its a more heavy texture
– Unfortunately it does contain some BHT (does have allergy, irritant en thyroid hormone disrupting properties). Extremely high concentrations of Ascorbic Acic can be toxic to cells.
– Not compatible with a Niacinamide or NIOD CAIS productMagnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate 10%
+ No irritants or fragrant plant extracts
+ Relative easy application, due to light cream texture
+ Not as shiny as the Vitamin C suspension
+ Also contains Tocopherol and Plukenetia Volubilis Seed Oil
-+ It doesn’t have the highest concentration of Vitamin C compared to the other three products, although in general 10% MAP is still a very potent concentrationAscorbyl Glucoside 12%
+ Definitely the most pleasant texture, spreads very easily and absorbs very quickly
– Contains Propanediol (irritating) and Triethanolamine (toxic contaminations/allergen/skin sensitization).Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate 20%
+ Most stable, oil soluble (so best skin penetrating) Vitamin C derivative
+ Very high concentration
+ Preservative free product
+ Although it’s more shiny than the 10% MAP and 12% Ascorbyl Glucoside (it takes in my opinion more time to absorb than these two), it’s not extremely oily.
– Extremely liquid runny texture, which makes it very difficult to apply
– Contains Solanium Lycopersicum (Tomato) Fruit Extract, which contains fragrance compounds similar to Balsam of Peru. A common phototoxic and irritating compound (link)The Ordinary Buffet 25.1%
+ Very easy application absorbs quickly
+ Many different peptides, amino acids, Hyaluronic Acid, Allantoin, Probiotic complex
+ Low price compared to other companies with peptides, also the concentration is much higher than used by other companies
+ Skin looks more radiant and more hydrated
– It does contain some preservativesThe Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG
+ Very easy application absorbs quicklyCaffeine is also an anti-oxidant and can protect against UV-damage
+ EGCG is a well researched extract from green tea, it also contains sodium Hyaluronate, and vitamin E.
– Propanediol can be irritating and it contains some preservatives. Also EGCG doesn’t stay stable in dropper bottles, it really needs airless packaging.The Ordinary Niacinamide 10%+Zinc 1%
+ Very easy application absorbs quickly+ I’m in love with Niacinamide, so compared to Paula’s Choice 10% Niacinamide a great deal.
+ In general Niacinamide does help me with red spots very well
– It only contains two actives (in the end combining multiple serums of The Ordinary can be quite expensive)In general I really like the products, high effective concentrations of actives at reasonable pricing. Most products are fragrance and irritant free. Many other brand don’t list the percentage of actives or use irritanting plant extracts. It would be nice if the products would be packaged in airless pump packaging and if those few irritating plant extracts are eliminated from the products, also the Ethyl 2,2-Dimethylhydrocinnamal in the Lactic Acid products.Peter, interesting comment about the Vit. C + HA being heavy. At least on my skin it dries quickly enough that I can lather on my day cream and sun creen without problems. Did you find the micro-spheres a little off-putting at all?
Ciao,L@pazzaglia
Well, it’s my personal experience of course. Because I think sunscreen is the most important step during the day, I want to apply enough (2-2.5 mL), and dont want to apply heavy serums and moisturizers underneith. The vitamin c suspension is definitely thicker and heavier than the other vitamin c products. But on the other hand many moisturizers are even more heavy and oily. If I would use it on its own during the day it would be fine. The Ordinary advices to use it at night though.I did have that peeling once. If I let the other serums underneath dry too much, it will peel of indeed, but if those serums haven’t dried the vitamin c suspension glides on perfectly.
Well said Peter !
Sunscreen is the most important step in the day indeed. Prevention is better than cure!Many of the sunscreens I use some oil to suspend the zinc oxide, so i skip any oils/moisturisers when i use sunscreen, i usually use just serums and straight to sunscreen.During the day, i prefer water based Vitamin C eg MAP / AA2G and at night Tetra C.The Ordinary Anhydrous LAA can “pill/peel” for me too depending on what i apply under. Usually if i apply it over an emulsion (with proper emulsifier) it is ok, however, if i apply it over some serums, it peels and the LAA crystals balls up.@pazzaglia So happy to have another bella ragazza to discuss Ordinary with
Staying tuned… i decided to take my own sweet time to open and try the products…. Don’t want to open too many at the time. stayng disciplined, like my friend says. Use up a product before opening another. 
@peter – I’m jealous, you seem to have a very elaborate and sophisticated skincare routine!!! Would you mind sharing some information with us about your skin type and issues?I too, would like to see the individual percentages of some of the actives in “The Buffet” so I can make a more informed decision about upping the existing doses with an additional Matrixyl and HA serum.I can see that as one gets more products in similar packaging it will get confusing to sort-out and read all those droppers – especially first thing in the morning!!!@preciousia – yes, take it S L O W! haha! Have you tried anything from Fitocose?
BTW, I would love to use the Vitamin C at night, but it conflicts with a preservative of the Italian Retin-A equivalent I’ve been using.“Benzoic Acid & Vitamin C – will they make carcinogenic Benzene on my face?”To follow up on THAT post. I eventually gave up the dodgy Thai Retin-A and went with the local formulation. However, I try to avoid applying it the same time as any Vitamin C-containing product and I wash my face really well between routines.So, in the meantime, I’ll have to hope that my alternating chemical/mineral and 100% mineral sunscreens will do their job!Ciao,LMy skintype:After testing for skin type (not applying or washing my face for 5 days), I would say I have normal to slight combination skin, that feels dry very quickly. And the end of the day, without any products, my skin is at most slightly shiny, but certainly not extremely oily. I do have enlarged pores on my nose. Also I have sensitive skin, and some red spots especially on my neck and jaw line. I’m looking for a product that protects against sun damage and is soothing and anti-inflammatory.My routine:Once every three months glycolic acid peel 60%Laser treatment 7x for facial hair (to reduce ingrown hairs)AM:Uncover Cleanser Dry Skin (surfactant free cleansing milk)Dr. van der Hoog Hypo Sensitive Cleansing Milk (I use this for shaving)The Ordinary 10% NiacinamideThe Ordinary BuffetThe Ordinary 5% Caffeine + EGCGThe Ordinary 10% Magnesium Ascorbyl PhosphateDerma Face SPF30 (contains benzoic acid though
, but I don’t think it’s a big issue)PM:The Ordinary 10% NiacinamideThe Ordinary BuffetThe Ordinary 23% Vitamin C / The Ordinary 10% Magnesium Ascorbyl PhosphateUncover Moisturizer (5% Niacinamide, 5% Vitamin C, 2% Licorice Extract, I only use this if I want to, or in stead of The Ordinary Products)Ooo! Ooo! I just came from their website, I pulled the trigger on the other items I wanted to try, and I saw they added at least three additional items to the “coming soon” stack.
They added Alpha Lapoic Acid – which I already take as a nutritional supplement to fend off a family history of heart disease and cancer (it really does do wonders for the skin, too). I wonder how it will differ as a topical. It’s classified under “Acids” while HA, which is an acid in name but not in action, is not. Hmmmmm…Plus there are some other goodies coming from the DECIEM Santa. Can’t wait!!Ciao,LI wish they would make more “buffet” kind of products. If a serum only contains 1 active, you need to apply many different products to get all the beneficial ingredients you want (diluting the final concentration and making your routine quite expensive), and my wish list with ingredients contains at least 20 different actives ingredients.For example if I combine The Ordinary 10% Niacinamide with the 10% MAP, I will end up with 5% of each ingredient. This is exactly the same as the Uncover Moisturizer I use, but then I only have to apply 1 product. If I use 3 of 4 serums, the final concentration of Niacinamide will be 2.5%I wish they would have packaged the Alpha Lipoic Acid in an airless bottle, it is very sensitive to air and light.I think that the The Ordinary is a great up-sell for their other products. You try it, see that it works and are tempted to believe their higher-end products will work “better”. Well, at least I am. I’ve never considered spending €60 on neck cream before. And yet, I’ve already placed two orders for Ordinary products totaling €60 . So, somehow… that €60 NOID NEC cream isn’t looking too far out of reach!!
And the same thing with the combination serums, Peter. I was going to say that combining all the individual Serums from The Ordinary may be the same price as their Hylamide SubQ serum. I’ve read a post or watched a video somewhere saying THAT serum contains pretty much the same ingredients as Buffet.Personally, I can’t tell by looking at a list of ingredients if that’s the case, so I copied the list of ingredients from each, sorted alphabetically and found that SubQ only has 30 ingredients, while Buffet 50. I found that they only have 16 ingredients in common – assuming that they are not calling some of the same ingredients different names (I’m not savvy or knowledgeable enough to figure that out). Of course, in the end it, matters WHICH ingredients are there and having fewer, likely also means more concentration.How does “dilution” really work? Does it apply to serums and creams mixed in the hand or on the face? If, for example, a water-based serum is applied to the skin and left to dry before the next one is added – wouldn’t you still be getting the full concentration of all of the actives without the delivery mechanism? This sounds like a good question to send to the Beauty Brains (I finally figured out how to do audio as I had to do a voice-over for a video) – though they already addressed “boosters” I wonder if layering prodcuts and letting each one absorb would have a different impact in terms of concentration.Ciao,LP.S. In case anyone else in interested in the comparison, here is a list of the ingredients Ordinary Buffet Serum and Hylamide Subq Antiage have in common (in alphabetical order):
Aqua (Water)Caprylyl GlycolChlorphenesin.Citric AcidEthoxydiglycolEthylhexylglycerinGlycerinHydroxypropyl CyclodextrinPalmitoyl Tripeptide-38Pentylene GlycolPhenoxyethanolSodium BenzoateSodium HyaluronateSodium Hyaluronate CrosspolymerSodium HydroxideTrisodium Ethylenediamine DisuccinatePersonally I like The Ordinary more than the Hylamide SubQ, also more than many products from their NIOD line. More expensive doesn’t necessarily mean more effective
Many of the actives used in the ordinary series have much more research on their efficiency. Also the concentrations are high enough to do something. Ingredients like ascorbic acid, niacinamide, retinol, arbutin, azelaic acid, green tea have a good amount of research proving their efficiency. However their are very few studies on peptides, also there is very limited research that copper peptides work. The studies from the manufacturers look promising, but a good amount of independent research on peptides is missing. Also hyaluronic acid may be great for hydration, but I don’t want to spend a huge amount of money only on some hyaluronic acid.The problem with layering multiple products is that their efficiency will be reduced. The products you apply first just reduce the absorption of the actives applied afterwards. So if I apply 4 serums, for example the retinoid, buffet, caffeine and hyaluronic acid, and then I would finish with the 10% niacinamide the niacinamide will be less effective then if you would apply it directly to cleansed skin.
@Peter Hey you know what. you are right about this. I like The Ordinary Buffet better than SubQ Hylamide too. I had a look closer at the ingredients. The Ordinary tend to use the more common, more researched ingredients. The other brands will go with the more exotic ingredients like Ethyl Ascorbic Acid…. I am pretty happy with LAA, MAP, SAP or TA
Ingredients with more research tend to give a little more promise since there is the lack of information, also the ingredients will cost more. Hyaluronic Acid is one of those hydrators that can backfire in low humidity. Insteading of absorbing moisture from the environment, they would draw moisture from the skin. Some of these humectants to avoid are:- Butylene Glycol
- Diethylene Glycol
- Pentylene Glycol
- Glycerine
- Glycerine-26
- Sorbitol Trioleate
I am still really new with Deciem brands, no harm experimenting.From experience, i can tell you copper peptides work. Same with EGF. I use Skin Actives restoration cream to speed my skin’s healing.Actually Hyaluronic Acid isn’t that expensive to DIY, super easy too. I need to see what the fuss is about.@pazzaglia OMG They have Alpha Lapoic Acid? I am not going to apply 20 serums to get 20 ingredients. I am thinking of the DIY route to put together a post dermaroll serum. Been reading about microneedling.
hmmm, i haven’t tried Fitocose nor heard of it.
“Benzoic Acid & Vitamin C – will they make carcinogenic Benzene on my face?”gosh! I didn’t know that. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!LAA is also not compatible with many ingredients
thanks for sharing the ingredients in common! One key difference is that SubQ has copper and Ordinary doesn’t… yet. The Deciem brand also has an extraordinary priced 5% NIOD CAIS. ouch.
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