Best and Worst of The Ordinary (Part 1)

As Dr. Davin Lim said, the Ordinary absolutely revolutionized skincare. It made amazing ingredients available to the entire world and inspired other brands to do that same. And it gives really good instructions on usage. Even if you don't like the brand's products itself, every skincare user should be grateful to them. Or else we'd be stuck shilling out $80 for a niacinamide serum, lol.

5:30 Acid Exfoliants 5:43 Lactic Acid 10% + HA 6:37 Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution 7:55 AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution 9:46 Retinoids 10:09 Retinol 0.5% in Squalane 12:05 Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion 12:00 Vitamin C 13:03 100% L-Ascorbic Acid Powder 14:24 Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2% 15:43 Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate Solution 20% in Vitamin F 16:05 Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) 16:40 100% Niacinamide Powder 17:15 Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 18:07 Cleanser, Moisturiser, Sunscreen 18:13 Cold-Pressed Plant Oils (100% Cold Pressed Virgin Marula Oil, 100% Organic Cold Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil) 19:25 100% Plant-Derived Squalane 20:17 Squalane Cleanser 21:08 Mineral UV Filters SPF 30 with Antioxidants 21:35 Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA 22:37 Azelaic Acid 22:41 Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%

Id love to see more “best and worst” videos about the ordinary, the inkey list, geek & gorgeous and facetheory!! ☺️

“Like being a kid in a candy store.” She did it, she broke down my obsession with skincare in a single sentence. Would love to see more on this, thanks Michelle! 💕

I haven't tried the AHA+BHA mask, however I think its unfair to judge it as a 'bad' or the 'worst' product solely on the grounds that people use it wrongly, or overuse it. All of your points about using it correctly, and about it being suitable for experienced users of chemical exfoliants are mentioned on the website, and presumably on the product itself. The fact that people use it incorrectly is not a fault of the product.

Girl I've been suffering every night putting that vitamin c suspension straight on my face not knowing I needed to mix it with something. It burns so badly. Thank you.

I was using Glycolic toner for about 6 months and hated it, it broke my skin barrier couple of times. So I decided to switch to the red peel solution, despite having a sensitive skin which clogs quickly. I followed instructions on a bottle to a T, once a week, no more than 10 minutes. Works magic! Instructions are on the package for a reason, people...

Azelaic azid from the ordinary completely obliterates my cystic acne. If i have a cyst in the morning, it has disappeared at the end of the day. Holy grail stuff

Could you make a video about alternatives for the “worst” Ordinary products? 🙏🏻

I would love a video on Inkey List! I want to try their products but don't really know which ones are worth it

I love this video! I didn’t know that The Ordinary doesn’t do stability testing and the retinol products aren’t worth it. I’m glad I learned something new :) my favorite product from The Ordinary is the Buffet

I love the ordinary but I’m one of those people who adhere to all the warnings and directions. I definitely don’t think we need to see laws instituted bc people decide to not perform a patch test, follow directions, or listen to the warnings. I’ve had a lot of success with improving my skin and reducing my rosacea with the ordinary products. Something that I’ve never been able to do before bc of the cost of top shelf brands but also bc , let’s face it, top shelf brands aren’t always trustworthy. Look at mario bedescu and the vitamin c serum. You canNOT find the percentage anywhere on the box or website, which seems very fishy to me.

the Ordinary truly is a hit or miss line for me. their rose hip seed oil works astronomically well for me, and out of the 7+ repurchases, 2 of them were oxidized upon purchase so idk if it’s a warehouse issue or not sourcing from the same supplier every time. their ascorbic acid 8%+ alpha arbutin 2% serum literally never sank into my facial skin, superrrr thick & greasy. their multi-peptide serum for HAIR however, is surprisingly effective!!

OMG, you really hit home when you talked about following the instructions for the Vit C 23%! I consider myself fairly educated in terms of skincare and acid use and my skin is also quite used to stronger actives, but I couldn't get around the fact that the VitC 23% felt so gritty and sometimes stinged a little! I never thought about mixing it with other serums because it wasn't written anywhere. Your explaination was eye-opening, thank you!

I watched a random video a couple of years ago and fell down the skincare rabbit hole. I was determined not to spend a lot when I didn’t know what I was doing so the Ordinary was my savior and it changed my skin so much for the better. I’ve always had problematic, oily skin, and never knew how to take care of it. Lots of videos and products later I’m still a huge fan, I use their products everyday. The 30% solution blew my mind, I couldn’t believe how smooth my skin was. If used once a week or every two weeks it’s a gem. I also like their salicylic acid masque and the NMF moisturizer works great for me. I’ll never have tiny pores or a totally even skin tone but I don’t have constant breakouts anymore and I have much better “skintuition” and for that I’m so grateful 🙌 More please! PS - Side benefit, the skin on my hands that was always rash prone and patchy is much better for all the products that have been used too!

So, I’ll be 30 next month and I’ve been really, really into skincare for the last 10/11 years. I’ve been doing professional acid peels for a few years, and the Peeling Solution initially freaked me out. But I was determined to give it a try, so I approached it (ridiculously) cautiously. I would honestly have never introduced it into my routine if it hadn’t been for lockdown. I looked at my first bottle as a “throw away” bottle. My skin is dry-combination and very sensitive and reactive, so I devised a schedule that I thought would help to introduce it safely into my routine. I do the mask once a week (every Wednesday evening) for seven and a half minutes- but I had to work up to that kind of time. My very first week, I did two minutes. My skin passed the test- no irritation, no chemical burns, so I was good to go for week two. The second week, I did three minutes. Again, my skin handled it well, so I continued. I added one minute to the mask every week until I got to eight minutes, and noticed a slight tingling that told me it had hit its limit. The next week I dropped down to seven and a half minutes, and that was perfect. I had found my “sweet spot”. Those first four weeks, I really noticed no difference in my skin at all (and I didn’t expect to see any difference) I simply viewed it as an exercise to help my skin adjust to the product. It took me about seven weeks in total to figure out exactly what worked for my skin. This was an exercise in patience, for sure. But it worked really well for me. I also moisturize very heavy on mask nights. So it is a really fantastic product and it can be safely used, but please use extreme caution. ❤️

I'd love to see you do a similar range evaluation on Good Molecules! They seem to be getting recommended over the Ordinary nowadays. Great video!

I looooove the retinol in squalane! Just love it so much, has done wonders for my skin!

Lab Muffin is my favorite of all cosmetic vloggers. I appreciate the (dry) detailed science based information presented in a (very enjoyable) sarcastic and slightly comedic format. Michelle, your personality makes learning about skin care fun.

would love to hear more from you about the ordinary!! thanks for the video!