Revolutionising My Skincare: The Ordinary Haul

October is here, and temperatures are getting colder and colder. My body feels it, asking for warmer clothes and double cups of tea, but my skin realised it too. With the temperatures dropping down my skin is becoming dryer, thirstier, it is more prone to redness and asks for more protection.

As I am stepping in my early 30s, I also understand time has come to revolutionise my skincare, and give it some extra nutrients and protections, more suitable to what my age needs.

Thus, an online order from The Ordinary came. I had planned to make one since long time, but the thing with these products is that you need to properly know which ones you really need before buying them, as the choice might be a bit overwhelming (and a bit complicated, if you don't know what those ingredients are needed for). After having planned what I wanted to get from my skincare, and analysed the products and ingredients The Ordinary offers, I made my first little order, and this is what I came up with.

Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5

This is the first product I wanted to buy, and the one I was absolutely sure about since the very beginning. Hyaluronic Acid is normally found in our skin, it helps both its process of hydrating and regeneration. Together with Vitamin B, this product equals to a glass of water for my skin, especially given my job (I am a flight attendant, and hydration is the number one priority for me).

I am using this every morning after my serum, to give it the boost of energy it needs to get throughout the day.

Vitamin C Suspension 23% + HA Spheres 2%

Vitamin C is another product I wanted to include in my skincare and make it more appropriate to its needs, given both the colder weather and my age.

I chose this from The Ordinary because given the amazing product its cost really is undebatable. If our body usually needs Vitamin C to get energised, the same is true for our skin. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant, it brightens the skin tone and targets the first signs of age. This product also contains 2% of L-Ascorbic Acid Powder to maximise the effects of the Vitamin C, with the result that when first applied the products feels “gritty” under my fingers, and takes a few seconds to be absorbed.

I am using this product as part of my morning routine as well, soon after the hyaluronic acid and before my morning cream.

Lactic Acid 5% + HA

Exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate. This is one of the mantra I am going to stick to in order to improve my skin. I do usually use a mild, gentle exfoliator as the last step of my night routine, while removing my makeup. Lactic Acid 5% + HA though is an exfoliant on a completely different level. Its action is the most gentle among the Ordinary range, but still this product doesn't have to be used with too much frequency, or as a result the skin might be subject to inflammation and sensitivity associated with those acids.

I am using this once a week only, in the evening, as the final step of my makeup removing process. When I am using this product I am not using a toner (because the toner I use every second day is Pixi Glow Tonic, which already contains already Glycolic Acid to help exfoliation and skin regeneration). After using it, when I wake up in the morning my skin feels as soft as a baby's.

Retinol 0.2% in Squalane

And here this are getting more serious. Retinol is a substance naturally present in our skin, that helps skin regeneration, sebum control, first lines appearance. Used in massive quantities this substance can be slightly too aggressive for the skin, so it is always so very, very important to use small quantities.

I am using it only overnight (and that is the only time Retinol has to be used, in the evening, because it makes the skin much more sensible to UV radiation), as part of my night routine. I am applying it after my serum and before my night cream, but NOT the same night I used Lactic Acid to exfoliate, and not the same day I used Vitamin C.

This is because the effects of both Retinol and Acid Lactic might cause inflammation the skin. Used in comparison with Vitamin C though, it becomes useless, as those two substances (said in a very simplified way) work on two different levels, and undo each others performance.

And so, those are the new ingredients I decided to include in my skincare routine.

I've been only using them for a week now, so I can't speak about their effects in details yet, but so far they're doing great. Very soon I am writing a post about my AM and PM skincare routine, which has changed so massively over the past year, and list the products I am loving and those I am going to replace when I finish them.

Talk to you very soon, take care

M