The Ordinary launched in 2016 and though it took me a long time to get around to picking up and trying a couple of things I’m so happy I did. I’ve been trying out two products from the range for around a month now and I’m actually really glad I found them.
The brand itself has a simple and stripped back approach in terms of style, very plain and simple packaging which I love. Their products are so affordable with most of their products around £6 or £7, I mean what an amazing price for products that actually work?!
You can buy The Ordinary from Covent Garden in London but as I don’t live in London I decided to buy from Beauty Bay as that was the easiest thing for me to do but I am planning on visiting the store in around a month when I spend a couple of days in London for my birthday so I better start preparing a list..
Coverage Foundation
SO, as I said above I brought two products but the first one I’m going to talk about is the The Ordinary – Coverage Foundation with SPF 15. The Ordinary actually have two foundations out at the moment one is the coverage foundation and the other is a serum foundation which I haven’t tried yet but the reviews I have read look good so I may have to try that one as well.
The coverage foundation comes in 21 different shades and I picked up the lightest (1.0N – very fair, neutral). I absolutely love how many shades they have out although I didn’t know how dark the lightest shade was I still thought that would be the best choice. This was the first time purchasing a foundation online so I really wasn’t sure but when it came I knew I’d picked the right shade.
I absolutely adore the packaging of the foundation, it’s matte and super soft and looks really sleek. The foundation itself comes in a little 30ml plastic bottle so it’s definitely one of the smallest foundations I’ve ever purchased although it would be great for travelling. I paid £5.95 which I thought was a great price but is it too good to be true?
The foundation itself is lightweight but with a creamier feel to it. It’s classed as high coverage which I would agree with although it’s not as full coverage as other foundations I have so I’m not sure. It does cover pigmentation and it doesn’t cling to dry patches.
I put the foundation on at about 10am in the morning and took it off about 7pm. Underneath I put primer and then powder on top with some setting spray and I can honestly say I love this foundation. I always normally go for high coverage and even though I think it’s more medium to high it still lasted well.
It looked really natural on my skin and not cakey. I’m honestly impressed with how the foundation lasted an would definitely purchase again. My only negative would be that’s it’s only 30ml but for the price I can’t really complain.
Caffeine Solution
I have terrible dark circles and puffiness around my eyes and I’d heard the Caffeine Solution was great to get rid of those. I have tried countless products to try to get rid of my dark circles but I just haven’t found the right product and was hoping this would work.
The Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG is supposed to reduce appearance of eye contour pigmentation and of puffiness according to The Ordinary. Again, the packaging is matte but is white instead of black. The price point of this product is £6 which again is what sold it to me. The Solution comes as a 30ml but for the amount you need to put on it’s just enough.
I was sceptical at first to see how much it would really help, I’ve been using it for around a month putting a small amount under each eye every morning and night.
I like that the product comes in a serum form as opposed to a cream, I feel like it absorbs into the skin more. After a few applications using the serum I definitely felt like under my eyes felt softer and less dark than usual. My eyes have looked less puffy and I can’t wait to keep using this to see more results so I would say this definitely works for dark circles, I’m not 100% on it just yet but for the price tag and the effective results I can say it’s worth a try!
There’s so many more products I want to try out from this brand! Have you tried the foundation or any skin care?
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I’ve heard mixed reviews on the foundations from The Ordinary. It sounds like you got on really well with it. I haven’t tried the foundations but their skincare didn’t sit very well with my skin so I was reluctant to try. I might give it a go and see if it can convert me! x
Sophie
http://www.glowsteady.co.uk
Oh really?! I have, it’s been settling really well on my skin recently! Oh that’s a shame that the skincare wasn’t right for you 😩 x
I have this foundation and I love it! Totally agree with the points you made! Great post! X
Ah so happy you love it as well! It’s such a great foundation. Thank you x
Great post! I’ve seen these everywhere obviously and I love their simple packaging too. I’ve tried one product from them before but to be honest, I didn’t really know what I was doing with it so I didn’t give it a proper chance. I’d definitely love to try more 🙂 xxx
Thank you, Jenny! The packaging is so simple but I love it. I definitely want to try some more products but there’s so many to choose from I don’t know what to go for haha. xxx
I’ve been desperate to try the foundation from The Ordinary for a while now but I am nervous about ordering it online as I have no idea what shade I would be. It sounds like you’ve got on quite well with the foundation. I’ve never seen the Caffeine Solution before but now I am intrigued by it. Great post.
That’s what I was afraid of as well, ordering foundation online when you haven’t even tested it in store is a risk! You’ve just got to try and pick which one you think, as I’m so pale I tend to go for the lightest shade. The caffeine solution is something I’d read reviews of online and seen a few bloggers say it worked well for them so I just decided to try it out! x
I loved the Ordinary foundation when I first tried it, but after a year or so of it being sat in my drawer I recently started using it again and don’t like it any more. It’s started to separate on my face for some reason which it never did before! I hope that this doesn’t happen to you too.
Soph – https://sophhearts.com x
Oh that’s such a shame especially when you first got on well with it! I hope it doesn’t as well 🙈 x
The Ordinary is one of my favourite brands, their products are so cheap but so good! The coverage foundation is one of my favourite as well, I really need to pick up a lighter shade though!
Lucy | Forever September
They are beginning to become one of my favourite brands as well! Oh, it’s so difficult to pick the right shade.. x
I’ve heard so much about this company and am really excited to try them out one day. I didn’t realise how cheap their are either. Double winner.
Helen
Their price point is SO good! Definitely look into trying some of their products, they are so worth it! x
I love how simple the packaging looks on the foundation. Big plus that it comes with SPF protection! Love that there are so many different shades – hope it covers a huge variety. For the price you paid, you got a good deal! Glad you enjoyed the products! Thanks for sharing :).
Nancy ♥ exquisitely.me
Yes, I love that it comes with SPF! No other foundation I’ve tried comes with SPF so it’s definitely a plus point. Thank you for your comment, Nancy 💕
I love foundations that are light but have coverage so I must give this a try! Lovely post xx
YAY. Hopefully you’ll love this foundation! Thank you x
I really want to try out this brand but it is just not accessible where I live and if I were to order it would be way to expensive haha! I will definitely be trying out the foundation if I ever do get the chance! Great review! xx
Oh that’s such a shame 😩 Hope you do get to try out the foundation one day! Thank you x
I love how simple the ordinary packaging is! But sounds like the foundation worked well for you!