I got an email this week celebrating the one-year anniversary of The Ordinary skincare, which made me think now might be a good time to share my thoughts on the range. I was very late to the game with The Ordinary hype, but in the relatively short time I’ve been using their skincare, I’ve converted quite a few other people to using it, which I guess is a testament to how effective the products have been!
The biggest selling point of The Ordinary is that it’s a no-nonsense, no-frills, affordable skincare range that lets you create your own bespoke skincare regimen. Each tiny glass bottle begins at an incredibly affordable £7.
The products I purchased from The Ordinary were:
- The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA Peeling Solution
- The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid
- The Ordinary Matrixyl 10% + HA
- The Ordinary Alpha Arbutin
- The Ordinary Argireline Solution 10%
- The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil
I’ll start by saying that ALL the products are good. However, the products that contributed most to the difference in my skin were, without a doubt, The Ordinary Argireline Solution 10%, The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil, and The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution.
The Ordinary skincare routine
The Ordinary Argireline Solution 10%
Argireline is an ingredient touted as Botox in a bottle! So essentially, you apply it to any areas you might consider having Botox. Whilst admittedly I don’t have any noticeable wrinkles, for perhaps the last ten years I have felt a small crease between my brows. A slight baby line. It was so minor, very much in its early stages, but I would often bizarrely stroke it at times of stress, feeling the groove where it dipped in (really odd behaviour, I know). After three months of using The Ordinary Argireline Solution 10% on that area, twice a day, I can no longer feel that groove. The area is plump and smooth. All signs of that baby wrinkle have diminished! I will never stop using this product! I had similar treatments abroad while on holiday in the Cayman Islands as a luxury, spa-like treatment at Aventis.
The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil
My second favourite product is The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil. It’s hard to know exactly how my skin has benefited from this oil compared to their other oils, but I use it after the serums at night before bed, and my skin is smooth and hydrated by morning. It’s a lovely, nourishing treatment for dry, dehydrated skin. Rosehip has calming and healing properties which help reduce inflammation, making this ideal for irritated skin – especially good after use of the product below! Of The Ordinary facial oils, this one targets anti-ageing.
The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution
The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution is a tricky one for me. It’s essentially an incredibly strong chemical peel, and I’m not 100% sure I’m sold on the results, but I like using it once a week and find the slight stinging sensation rather satisfying. I do worry that it’s probably quite dangerous for the skin long term, due to increased sensitivity to sun exposure, but at the moment I’m throwing caution to the wind and continuing with it!
My skin is very bright afterwards, and I think the effects are cumulative, so over time the results will get better and better, but right now I’m not finding them drastically different from any other chemical exfoliator I’ve used. Plus the panic of accidental sun exposure before you had a chance to put on your daily SPF is a constant and frequent worry, which isn’t great. But overall, for the price, I’d recommend.
How to use The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution
The Ordinary Matrixyl 10% + HA
This is the only product I use all over my face and neck, including the eye area. It’s really difficult to try and pinpoint how this has helped my skin, but considering it’s the only serum product I use all over, every day – sometimes twice a day – I have to assume it has contributed to the overall smoothness and tautness of my skin. Lots of people in the last few months have commented on how I don’t appear to have any lines or wrinkles, so I guess this has played a part!
The Ordinary Alpha Arbutin 2% + HA
A product aimed at hyperpigmentation – I’m pretty sure it works; I only use it at night time, but I still have a couple of pigmentation freckles that it hasn’t managed to remove (yet!), so the jury is still out on whether I recommend it.
Would I repurchase?
If I were to make another order, which I am about to do as I have finally emptied one bottle! Now that I understand how each product works and its target area, I would make a few minor changes to what I initially ordered. I would skip purchasing the Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 (which I haven’t gone into detail about here because I haven’t really got an opinion on it) simply because after applying my anti-wrinkle products such as Matrixyl and so on, I felt using this as well was just too much for my skin, leaving it feeling tacky. I find one serum is enough for me; otherwise, my skin feels overloaded.
I would still purchase The Ordinary Argireline Solution 10%, The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil, The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA Peeling Solution, but I would switch the Matrixyl for the Multi-Peptide + HA Serum, formerly known as Buffet – just because I’ve read rave reviews about this product and feel it’s something to be used instead of another anti-ageing serum, not alongside. I would also like to try another oil, perhaps the Marula Oil, just to see if I’m as impressed with it as I was with the Rose Hip Seed Oil.
When I use these products consistently, my skin looks great. And one pesky wrinkle has even disappeared! Which is pretty damn impressive for a budget-priced skincare range for 2026.