'The Ordinary' skincare products

Virtually all the big hitters in the word of skincare blogging in the U.K, write very highly of the efficacy of products by The Ordinary, I think your friend has been seduced by huge advertising budgets of the better known skin care brands, even the well known slightly less expensive brands are owned by huge companies who spend loads of dosh on advertising, flooding the blogging world with "free" products and paying "celebrities" to endorse them.

I haven't used The Ordinary, I am of mature years and started using Indeed Labs and NIOD products when they came out (all started by the same guy) and as I have more complex needs at my age I have stuck with them, but as The Ordinary is so affordable I may yet risk a few quid on trying some things out.

(Bloggers whose opinion I generally respect are Caroline Hirons, Nadine Baggott and Sali Hughes). This article by Victoria Health who are stockist explains what most of the products are for.

If you are considering Acids (AHA, BHA, Lactic etc) or Retinols, do start gently and build up gradually and always use an SPF if you spend any time outdoors.

HTH

(You will probably have guessed by now that I am a skin care junkie, I do, however, have really good skin, particularly for an old 'un:D)

I totally agree with emilybc. I use the Buffet, Rosehip oil and the Zinc & Hylauronic acid. No more dry skin and the texture is smoother than ever. I found them on the Victoria Health website which gives an explanation of different products. I am 57 and cannot speak highly enough. They are not tested on animals and I like the prices

I have been using The Ordinary acids along with Retin A for a few months now and I am very, very impressed with the results. You should definitely give them a go imh

I've been using The Ordinary, I'm a big fan, BUT you really do need to put in the time to research and understand what you are using and what to combine and what not to combine (you can render a product useless if you combine the wrong things for example using vitamin C and water based products at the same time or using anti-oxidants at the same time as retinols).

You can find what you need to know by asking staff, on reading blogs or watching vlogs on YouTube but it does take time because there is a lot to learn about. Having said that once you do learn about what does what and why it's important, you feel really well armed to take on the beauty hall and turning down "new and fantastic" type products becomes very easy to do when you find out that all it's offering is a creamier version of a product you already have that was less than a tenth of the price!

I used hyaluronic acid for months and it really helped with my skin which was too dry. I've since moved to another brand I was gifted which is less sticky but once this runs out I'll be moving back because the stickiness doesn't justify the price difference IMO
I've also been using vitamin C some nights and antioxidants mornings (just make sure you cleanse well if you do this because the vitamin C comes in a format which I think makes it difficult for additional products to reach your skin effectively).
And my favorite product has to be the Natural Moisturising Factors. It's just a simple and basic moisturiser, doesn't do anything other than add moisture, but it also doesn't add problems; no spots, no dull skin, no puffiness, it's rare I find a product which does what I want without side effects and for it to be an affordable price. Normally moisturisers which work for me are around £35 a pot, the NMF is far less.

I've tried the foundations and really like them. They don't oxidise (turn yellow after an hour) on me and although could do more to last longer, they do last long enough, having said this, because I've been looking after my skin just lately, it's not such an issue to show my skin rather than feeling I need to hide it all the time!

I'm next building myself up to using the Retinols. I want to use antioxidants for a little while longer to build up my skins natural barrier (so I am less at risk of dryness) but should be ready to go by the end of March I recon.

The only product I didn't get on with was the ferrulic acid (sp?) it just felt uncomfortable on my skin. I didn't have a problem with taking it back to the shop and was given a full refund without issue and not forced into trying anything else. Few places operate like this.
I've been using on-off, the caffeine (for under eyes) but didn't notice any real effects but then puffy eyes was never really an issue for me in the first place so I'm not sure if my sporadic use/results really says anything about the products.