How I Implement My New Skincare Products Into My Routine

Recently I have been reviewing a ton of skincare products by a popular brand called The Ordinary. These products contain ingredients that have great benefits for the skin and nothing more than that. Because The Ordinary is all about just doing great things for your skin without too much fuzz they don’t give us much information regarding what their products are supposed to do and that can make using them difficult. Because lot’s of people (including myself when I just bought them) are struggling with how to use these products and when, I decided to dedicate an article to that. So, if you’re interested in finding out how I implemented these products into my skincare routine, make sure you continue reading!

I bought a total of four products: the Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%, the Lactic Acid 10% + HA 2%, the Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 and the Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG. Three of them are actual skincare products and one of them is a primer. I have reviewed all three products separately so if you want to get more information on the products, the ingredients and the results you might want to check those articles out, but if you just want to know how to use them you’re at the right place!

So, let’s start off by saying that The Ordinary does provide a simple list on when to use these products. Because this is very simple and minimalistic it doesn’t really help you out that much, but if you want to check it out click here.

Onto the first product. The first product I want to discuss is actually the first product I use in the morning. It’s the Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5. This is a hydrator and it works great underneath your moisturiser. You can apply this in the morning as well as before you go to bed. I personally just use it in the morning.

Before I apply this I use a bit of Bioderma to get rid of excess oil because I just like to start out on a clean, excess-oil-free canvas, but that step isn’t necessary. After that I apply about 5 drops of this: one on my forehead, one on each cheek, one on my nose and one on my chin, and I massage that into the skin. I let it sit for about a minute or two and then I move on to my next step.

Next up I use the Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%. There isn’t a very specific reason why I use the hyaluronic acid before, it’s just something I decided to do once and I kept doing it like that. It doesn’t make that big of a difference which one of the two you use first since both have to be applied before creams (or oils) and that is the case whether you apply this one first or the hyaluronic acid.

Just like the hyaluronic acid and most products by The Ordinary, you can use it both in the morning and at night. I personally use this one in the morning only, but if you have more severe acne scarring you might want to use this twice a day.

Once the niacinamide is applied, I move on to the next product. This is the Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG. This is the only product you’re not supposed to apply all over your face, this is meant to be applied around the eye area. It’s a solution that will make the area underneath the eyes less dark and it will make your eyes appear more awake.

For the best results you can use this both in the morning and at night, but I, again, only use this in the morning. I just put a drop of product under each eye, massage is around the entire area, let it sit for a few minutes and then I’ll move on to the next product.

Once all of that is applied I usually go in with my moisturiser, the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturising Gel, and then I’m ready for makeup. The first step in my makeup routine will be primer and I’ll either use this High-Spreadability one by The Ordinary or the Adherence primer. Both are great primers and keep your makeup in place all day.

This one I recommend using if you really want your makeup to stay in place all day. If you really want to lock it in place. If you do want it to stay in place but you want it to be very smooth as well I’d recommend te adherence primer.

The last product I want to discuss is the Lactic Acid 10% + HA 2%. This one is the only product I have that you aren’t supposed to be applying in the morning. It’s also very important to note that you might be more sensitive to getting sunburned when you use this product, so beware of wearing enough SPF when you’re using it!

I apply this product at night. I apply 5 drops all over my face and I’ll make sure I’ll avoid putting it on the eye area. Even though it’s quite a mild exfoliator and it doesn’t feel like it’s burning my skin I just don’t think it’s a good idea to put it there. I let it sink in for a couple of minutes and after that I go in with a moisturiser to reduce the smell a bit and to add a bit extra moisture to the skin.

So, in short this is what I do:

1. Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5
2. Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%
3. Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG
4. Moisturiser
5. Primer:
   1. High-Spreadability Fluid Primer
   2. Adherence Silicone Primer
6. Lactic Acid 10% + HA 2% (at night)
7. Moisturiser

And that’s basically it for today’s post. I hope this information was helpful in any way and be sure to let me know if you have any experience with the products from The Ordinary, and if so let me know how you like them!

XOXO, Nicole.