The Ordinary & Hylamide Skincare Review

The Ordinary describes their products as 'clinical formulations with integrity' and I think it's an accurate description of their branding and philosophy. They seemed to have named the brand 'The Ordinary' to represent a no frills skincare range that is 'effective...at honourable prices.' The scientific language isn't really user friendly but since the demand for the brand has exploded there are lots of reviews that tell you what a particular product is and how to use it. Like The Ordinary, Hylamide is another brand by Deciem. They have a core essential range as well as serums and primers.

The Ordinary and Hylamide ranges are cruelty free, they do not test on animals and most of their products are vegan. The Ordinary skincare range is free of irritating ingredients such as parabens, sulphates, mineral oil, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, animal oils, benzalkonium chloride, coal tar dyes, formaldehyde, mercury and oxybenzone.

For my dehydrated combination skin I have been using Hylamide Low Molecular HA Multi Depth & Rehydration Booster (serum) and Natural Moisturising Factors + HA (moisturiser) in the morning.
In the evening I've been using Hylamide Low Molecular HA Multi Depth & Rehydration Booster (Serum) and 100% Plant derived Squalane (moisturiser.)

Hylamide Low Molecular HA Multi Depth & Re hydration Booster (Vegan, alcohol & silicone free.)
The Hylamide Low Molecular HA Booster comes in a 30ml frosted glass bottle with a pipette which means you have more control over the serum and won't waste any product. The frosted glass helps somewhat to protect the serum from breaking down under sunlight while still being able to see how much product there is. It also makes it looks very sophisticated!

The Hylamide Low Molecular HA Multi Depth & Re-hydration Booster is basically a serum that claims to give both short and longer term below surface re- hydration and a plump and youthful appearance. They key ingredient is Hyaluronic acid (HA) which is known for it's excellent moisturising properties. This serum contains 5 forms of hyaluronic Acid (HA) compounds that target different layers of skin and each have a different moisturising function. You apply it once or twice a day (AM or AM &PM) before a moisturiser and under any makeup. It's also fragrance free.

My skin is dehydrated and I had dry patches on my forehead which started to flake which looked awful with foundation. I've been applying this to my forehead and bridge of my nose for the last 3 or 4 months. Initially this was amazing I no longer had any flakiness and my forehead felt smooth and hydrated. However I feel like it got rid of the flakes and moisturised my skin but only to a certain extent because I still have dry patches on my forehead so I probably need a chemical exfoliator. Recently I've been using it for my whole face and it does moisturise well and does not irritate my sensitive skin.
£18 Deciem / Beauty Bay/  ASOS/

The Ordinary Natural Moisturising Factors +HA  (Vegan, alcohol free, oil free, silicone free) 
The Ordinary Natural Moisturising Factors + HA comes in a tube which is more hygienic and airtight than jar packaging but the tube was smaller than I expected (30ml.) The 'Natural Moisturising Factors' consists of 11 amino acids, fatty acids, triglycerides, urea, ceramides, phospholipids, glycerin, saccharides, sodium PCA and hyaluronic acid. They all help to keep the outer layer of the skin protected and hydrated.

The Ordinary Natural Moisturising Factors +HA promises non-greasy immediate hydration and lasting results with continued use. I usually use E45 cream which is like a lotion and this is definitely thicker, like a cream and I'd say more creamy rather than greasy. It's not scented and doesn't really smell like anything. It takes about 2-3 minutes to absorb into the skin and dries to a matte finish. It works well under my makeup. It offers a light to medium level of hydration and made my skin feel soft. However I have dry and sore patches skin on either side of my nose and this sometimes makes these areas feel sore and it didn't really hydrate those areas. It's good as a basic moisturiser, but it doesn't offer as much 'immediate hydration' compared to Ren's Vita Mineral Moisturiser which my skin drank up. I don't think that this moisturiser has any long lasting moisturising results with continued use either.
£4.90 Deciem / Beauty Bay

The Ordinary 100% Plant Derived Squalane (Vegan, nut free, oil free, alcohol free)
The Ordinary 100% Plant Derived Squalane is basically a solution that moisturises the skin and prevents ongoing loss of hydration. It contains 100% pure plant-derived Squalane that is ECOCERT approved and is a USDA Certified Bio-based Product.  It is greasy despite claiming to be oil free and it seems to sit on the skin for a long time before it absorbs. However it seems to be working leaving my skin moisturised and plump by morning.  I would recommend using this at night because I think it would leave the skin too oily to apply makeup afterwards.  You do only need a few of drops of this so a little will go along way especially if you use it once a day. The bottle is brown to help prevent UV rays from breaking down the product inside and it has a pipette so you can control how much to use.

The Ordinary recommend using this as the last step in their blemish skincare guide because it offers surface hydration and it is non-comedogenic meaning that it that won't block pores. However recently I have noticed that I have had more spots on and under my chin and a couple of red flat spots on my forehead. I'm not sure if it's due to this but it's been the only changes I've made in my skincare routine. Since then I have been adding just one drop into my moisturiser (The Ordinary's Moisturising Factors/E45) and the spots have decreased. I think you could probably use this under makeup if you had dry skin and just added one drop into your foundation. This is multi purpose as it can be used on the hair to increase heat protection, add shine and reduce breakage. My hair is naturally very shiny but gets greasy quickly so I would just use this as a heat protector.
£5.50 The Ordinary Deciem, ASOS

The Ordinary Rosehip Seed Oil (Vegan, nut free, alcohol free, silicone free.)
I use this to give my moisturiser a boost. I have been adding one drop to my E45 moisturiser for a more nourishing night cream. Rosehip Seed oil does tend to smell very fishy so I'm not sure if I want it all over my face for a night cream or a day cream. I have also used it on my nails after removing nail polish and it made them less dry.
£9 The Ordinary/ ASOS

The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% (Vegan, alcohol free, oil free, silicone free.)
This is a high strength vitamin and mineral blemish formula. Niacinamide is supposed to shrink pores and help fade red blemishes while the Zinc helps to balance oily skin. The ingredient list is fairly short with only 10 ingredients which suggests that only the most essential ingredients have been chosen. This is good because it means that the product isn't bulked up by irritating fragrance, colour or unnecessary ingredients. The Ordinary says not to use this at the same time as using vitamin C because it will reduce it's effectiveness. You apply this over the entire face morning and evening before heavier creams such as a rich night cream. This works more like spot cream/serum or a short term solution rather than a treatment for acne (there aren't any acids in the formula which help to treat acne.)

I have been using this on my forehead where I have big pores and to the blemish on my right cheek which has been there for a month and nothing seems to get rid of it. My skin usually reacts well with Niacinamide so I was surprised that this didn't have any effect on my skin. It didn't shrink any of the pores on my forehead and the blemish went with the help of tea tree oil. I think it can work on blemishes but very slowly. I also noticed that if you don't follow up with moisturiser it leaves a sticky film on the skin. To be honest I won't be buying this again.
£5 Deciem / Beauty Bay ASOS 

The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution (contains witch hazel) (Vegan, Alcohol free, oil free)
I was choosing between this and Paula's Choice Salicylic acid and chose this because it was cheaper.  However when I applied this to my spots I expected it to have got rid of them or for them to reduce in size in 24 hours and they looked the same. I know that expecting results in 24 hours may be setting the bar too high but I have used other products where I have seen dramatic results within 24 hours. I found this very slow to work it took around 10-14 days to eliminate any spots. However when I used this in conjunction with The Body Shop Himalayan Charcoal Mask and Simple Cleansing Oil it did decrease some of the blackheads around my nose so i'll keep it around.
£4.25 The Ordinary/ Beauty Bay 

In my opinion I feel that The Ordinary Moisturising Factors + HA is a basic moisturiser and nothing special, it will do the job but because of the inclusion of Hyaluronic acid (HA) I expected it to be more moisturising than it is. I think there are more nourishing moisturisers out there so I wouldn't repurchase. I will probably buy the Hylamide Low Molecular HA Multi-depth re-hydration Booster again because I could tell it was working and it's fairly affordable for a serum. I might repurchase The Ordinary Rosehip Seed Oil, it's good value for money being one of the cheapest rosehip seed oils around while being of good quality. For me the rosehip seed oil and The Ordinary 100% Plant Derived Squalane seemed interchangeable so I would probably just buy one of them. I have a bottle of Paula's Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant which I want to compare to The Ordinary's as they both have the same percentage of salicylic acid. If they work exactly the same then I would buy The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution because it's much cheaper. Finally I won't be buying The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + zinc 1% as it didn't seem to do anything for me.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Zest Beauty

I feel that the buzz around The Ordinary is how affordable their oils, AHAs, BHAs and retinol products are compared to other brands. As well as being affordable their oils are also pure and 100% cold pressed. The Ordinary is a no frills brand that is very knowledgeable about skin care but I think some of their products are just average (like their Natural Moisturising Factors +HA) which is fine because The Ordinary doesn't pretend to be a luxury brand but a brand that provides the basics. It's a good brand to start with if you're just getting into skincare (like me) and you can try out products such as serums, oils, retinoids and AHA's which tend to be expensive, without losing much money. The Ordinary does have a large range of skincare products to choose from and you can mix and match according to your skincare needs. The hype around The Ordinary has introduced me to Deciem and their other brand ranges such as Hylamide and I also can't wait to try NIOD's Non Acid Precursor. Although Deciem and Hylamide are more expensive I have a feeling that they would produce quicker and better results. I chose to buy the Hylamide Low Molecular HA Multi Depth Hydration Booster serum over The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% +B5  because I read reviews that said it worked quicker. However I am eagerly anticipating the launch of The Ordinary's Invisible UV Filters SPF 35 with Antioxidants which I want to try out next.

So which Ordinary & Hylamide Products do you recommend trying?