No Ordinary Skincare
My skincare ‘regime’ isn’t much of a regime at all. It consists of Soap & Glory 3-in-1 Daily Vitamin C Facial Wash twice a day with Simple UV 25 moisturiser and twice a week I use a St Ives apricot facial scrub. That’s it. No eye creams, no night creams, no face masks.
However, recently I decided to give me skin some extra love and attention and bought some potions from The Ordinary. The Ordinary create skincare using familiar, effective clinical technologies. The brand are, more importantly, very ethical from their no testing on animals policy to their pricing.
“The Ordinary exists to communicate with integrity and bring to market effective, more familiar technologies at honourable prices.”
I have slight milia under my eyes and I was hoping that some Retinol or Salicylic Acid products might help reduce that, as well as generally brighten and freshen up my skin. So I opted to try the Granactive Retinoid 5% in Squalane and Salicylic Acid 2% Solution.
This is an rich, oily serum to be used at night under you other creams, such as night cream or moisturiser. It takes a little while to fully absorb into your skin but it does eventually. I use it sparingly, putting a little under my eyes where the milia is, then a few drops on the rest of my face. I’ve been using this for over a week now and my skin feels much softer and Prince B even commented that in the morning my skin looks fresh and bright. I have strong, healthy skin not prone to irritation, so this doesn’t cause me any irritation at all but Retinol products can cause dryness on some people.
WHAT THEY SAY
This water-free solution contains a 5% concentration of an advanced retinoid active complex called Granactive Retinoid that has been shown to offer better results against multiple signs of aging than retinol without any of the irritation and drawbacks common with retinol. Granactive Retinoid, an active technology from Grant Industries, is a solubilized system of Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate, a highly-advanced form of retinoid which is, in fact, a non-prescription ester of all-trans direct retinoic acid that offers a multi-fold better effect against signs of aging than retinol, retinyl palmitate and nearly all other forms of non-prescription retinoid.
I use the Salicylic Acid on my skin just in the morning after I’ve washed my face and before I use my SPF moisturiser. This absorbs really well into the skin and actually provides an amazing base for makeup. Salicylic Acid is usually for skin that is prone to blemishes and spots, and so is used in acne treatments, and whilst my skin is not prone to blemishes or spots I do still feel it’s had a gently positive effect on my skin. Overall my skin is just nicer.
what they say
Salicylic Acid is a beta hydroxy acid that exfoliates the skin. This 2% treatment solution helps exfoliate the inside walls of pores to fight the appearance of blemishes and for better visible skin clarity with continued use.
I have already ordered 3 more products - Alpha Lipoic Acid 5%, 100% L-Ascorbic Acid Powder and the Amino Acids + B5 - and will of course report back on their effectiveness.
