Who doesn’t love a great and affordable skincare products? and not to mention if it has an aesthetically pleasing packaging too? Well, the ordinary definitely fit in those 3 category that it made me purchased their products eventhough I don’t actually need some of them. duh.

Anyway, today I will be reviewing 2 the ordinary products that I’ve been using long enough that I can actually see the difference it does for my skin.

Yesss, I will be reviewing the best selling products of the ordinary and oily-skin girl best friend that is Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%. And the second products I will be reviewing is Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG which is great for reducing your dark circle.

Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%

According to The Ordinary’s website, Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) can reduce the appearance of skin blemishes and congestion and 10% concentration of this vitamin is supported in the formula by zinc salt of pyrrolidone carboxylic acid to balance visible aspects of sebum activity. In my opinion, niacinamide is a must have for people who has a combination to oily skin as it can protect and improve your skin lipid barrier (your skin lipid barrier is very important part of your skin, its your natural skin protector from all those bad guys out there). Which means, if your skin lipid barrier function well, it will also regulate the oil production in your skin = regulated sebum production = less oily skin. And also! niacinamide can brighten your skin too. So, in this serum niacinamide+zinc is like a match made in heaven for people who has a oily-skin (and dehydrated skin).

This serum is an alcohol-free, oil-free, silicone-free, nut-free, vegan, and cruelty-free products. And has a quite few ingredients as it only contains 10 ingredients.

Ingredients: Aqua (Water), Niacinamide, Pentylene Glycol, Zinc PCA, Tamarindus Indica Seed Gum, Xanthan Gum, Isoceteth-20, Ethoxydiglycol, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin.

I wouldn’t talk much about the packaging because I want this review to be short and to the point, so yeah the packaging is the usual the ordinary packaging with the usual pipette. The consistency of this serum is more watery than viscous, but its not too watery as it still a bit viscous. It smells like a medicine but its not something you would hate because the smell will disappear as soon as you apply it into your skin.

The downside of this serum is it didn’t absorbed quickly, I have to wait for 5-10 minutes to make sure this serum has absorbed well. If I don’t leave it for 5-10 minutes it will pilled up as soon as I apply my next product.

I use this serum in my AM and PM routine since 4 weeks ago and I notice it does did something to my face. It does a great job in regulating my skin’s sebum production and reducing my acne scars. The acne scars isn’t completely disappear but it started to fade and I no longer experiencing little bumps that usually appear in my forehead. Unfortunately, it doesn’t minimize the size of my pores, I have an enlarged pores around my T-zone and a bit in my cheek and I didn’t see any differences.

Fair warning, you shouldn’t use this serum (or any products that contains niacinamide) while using a products that contain vitamin C as it will neutralize each other, meaning: your products isn’t going to work.

Ps: do you have any products recommendation for pore minimizing?:(

Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG

Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG is a eye serum(?) (tbh I don’t know what to call this product HAHA) that aim to reduce puffiness and dark circle. It contains 5% concentration of caffeine, and supplemented Epigallocatechin Gallatyl Glucoside (EGCG) which is a purified green tea leaves.

This serum is an alcohol-free, oil-free, silicone-free, nut-free, vegan, and cruelty-free products. I actually a bit confused as it said that this product is alcohol-free, but Benzyl Alcohol is included in its ingredients. As far as I know, according to cosdna Benzyl Alcohol has a function as a fragrance and preservative in this products. And since its listed in almost at the end of the list, I think its not the “bad” alcohol (that will dries out your skin and basically damage your skin lipid barrier). But still, it doesn’t make this products alcohol free, right?

Ingredients

Aqua (Water), Caffeine, Maltodextrin, Glycerin, Propanediol, Epigallocatechin Gallatyl Glucoside, Gallyl Glucoside, Hyaluronic Acid, Oxidized Glutathione, Melanin, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract, Urea, Pentylene Glycol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Xanthan gum, Lactic Acid, Dehydroacetic Acid, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Propyl Gallate, Dimethyl Isosorbide, Ethoxydiglycol, Benzyl Alcohol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol.

The consistency of this products is same like niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%, its kinda watery but also viscous but not too viscous. It surprisingly absorbed way more quicker than niacinamide and it didn’t pill up. I think this whole bottle will last a very long time because we only need a small amount to apply to our both eye contour. This products has a kinda weird smell that I can’t explain (sorry) but its not disturbing, so I think you will be fine.

I don’t use this product regularly (because I always forget to use this, somehow), but when I do I use it in my AM and PM routines. I actually can notice the differences when I use it in my PM routine, I usually have a puffy eyes when I woke up, but when I use this product my eyes is not as puffy as it usually is. And my dark circle appearance is definitely reduced, I have a really bad bad bad dark circle because of my sleeping habits and it reduced so I can say goodbye to my beloved concealer.

Final Thought

Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%

Pros:

• Niacinamide!!!! it great for my skin HAHA
• Reduced my acne scars
• Regulated sebum production
• Really affordable compared to other serum that contains niacinamide

Cons:

• Not easily absorbed
• Didn’t minimize my pores size

Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG

Pros:

• Reduced my dark circle appearance
• Reduced my eyes puffiness
• Affordable
• Absorbed quickly
• 30ml is really a lot of products as we only need a small amount for each application

Cons:

• Smells weird

Well, that’s my thoughts on the ordinary products that I’ve been using in the past 4 weeks+. What about you? What is your favorit products of The Ordinary? Share with me on the comment box bellow!

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Love,

Salsa