Science Backed, Budget Body Care by The Ordinary. Full Review, Swatches & More
Image description: A person wearing an off-the-shoulder beige and white striped dress, is holding three skincare bottles from "The Ordinary" in their arms. The products are labelled "Natural Moisturising Factors," "Salicylic Acid 2% Body Serum," and "Niacinamide 5% + HA Body Serum." The person is looking off to the side, and they are wearing glasses with gold frames.
Even though most of our skin is on our bodies, not our faces, body care for many of us, feels like an after-thought.
Innovative skincare brand The Ordinary recently launched a 3-product body care range to target common skincare concerns.
The range [currently] consists of a Salicylic Acid 0.5% Body Serum, Niacinamide 5% Face and Body Emulsion, and Natural Moisturising Factors + Inulin Body Lotion.
As per usual for the brand, all 3 products are under $25 each making them relatively affordable depending on your personal budget.
I am currently trying to manage some hyperpigmentation and keratosis pilaris [mainly on my back and arms] so everything in this range is genuinely perfect for my skin concerns.
I trialled all the products whilst I was away visiting family, and I have written all my thoughts down below.
Salicylic Acid 0.5% Body Serum
Image description: Close-up of a person holding a bottle of "The Ordinary" Salicylic Acid 2% Body Serum near their shoulder. The bottle is white with blue and black text. The person has dark skin, and their hand is partially visible.
Size: 240mL Price: $24.20 AUD from Sephora
For something referred to as a serum, I was expecting a thicker texture, to my surprise, this feels like their cult-favourite Glycolic Acid Toning Solution.
It’s super lightweight, almost watery and absorbs super easily into the skin. I would personally have referred to this as a toner.
A little bit goes a long way with this product because of how lightweight it is so a bottle will last you at least a couple of months with daily use.
They recommend letting this dry before applying on top so typically I would get out of the shower, apply this first and then do my face skincare before coming back to body care.
At 0.5% this is a formulation created to exfoliate, target blemishes and congestion without running the risk of irritation or dryness.
This is a perfect product for anyone dealing with body acne or hyperpigmentation or keratosis pilaris.
Niacinamide 5% Face and Body Emulsion
Image description: A person is applying a white cream from a bottle of "The Ordinary" Niacinamide 5% + HA Body Serum onto their wrist. The hand is holding the bottle, and a small amount of the serum is swatched on the back of the wrist.
Size: 100mL Price: $22.20 AUD on Sephora
This is an almost perfect product; my only qualm is I wish there was a jumbo size available.
Niacinamide is one of my favourite ingredients, it doesn’t irritate me and it helps with everything from oil control to hyperpigmentation to dryness.
This feels to me a like a true serum texture, it’s a creamy, watery lotion that absorbs into the skin quickly and without feeling sticky or tacky.
An emulsion is a mixture of liquids that don’t normally mix well into each other e.g. oil into water.
Emulsion formulations typically lightly moisturise the skin without weighing it down which this product certainly does.
I love a multi-use product so I appreciate that it can be used on both the face and body, reducing the number of steps in my daily skincare routines and helping save me a bit of money and space.
On my body I would apply this after the salicylic acid serum had completely dried down and on my face, this was my final step before either my nighttime moisturiser or my daytime sunscreen.
Face serums can be hit or miss depending on how well they play with other products but this was amazing, it didn’t pill or separate and it wasn’t too heavy for my skin.
Natural Moisturising Factors + Inulin Body Lotion
Image description: A swatch of white cream has been applied to a person's shoulder. The person is wearing an off-the-shoulder beige and white striped dress, and the cream stands out against their skin.
Size: 240mL Price: $23.90 from Sephora
Anyone raised in an ethnic household would, like me, be something of a body lotion connoisseur. I have been moisturising my body at least once daily since I came out of the womb. Believe me when I say, this is one of the lightest, most easily absorbed body lotions out there.
I don’t usually mind a super thick moisturiser but it was nice to not be rubbing a product into my skin for 5 minutes.
This is non-greasy, easily absorbed and more hydrating than you would expect from the texture.
It contains some powerhouse ingredients such as amino acids, PCA, inulin and urea.
Amino acids maintain the skin’s hydration, texture and resilience.
PCA (pyrrolidone carboxylic acid), is an amino acid derivative of sodium PCA, which naturally occurs in part of the skin’s natural moisturising factors.
Inulin helps support the skin’s microbiome and it acts as a powerful humectant in the skin. It’s not new necessarily, but it’s having more of a moment in the spotlight nowadays.
Last but not least, urea is one of my most talked about skincare ingredients in my day-to-day work as a pharmacist.
It’s another important component of your skin’s natural moisturising factor. It’s incredibly unique because it has both humectant and keratolytic [exfoliating] qualities depending on
the concentration it’s being used in. It helps to not only moisturise, but also reduce dead skin build-up, allowing your moisturisers to be more effective.
I am okay with the size that this comes in, but I would like a jumbo size of this product also because I am 5’6” with very long legs.
Image description: Three bottles of skincare products from "The Ordinary" are placed on the floor next to a person's feet. The products include "Niacinamide 5% + HA Body Serum," "Natural Moisturising Factors," and "Salicylic Acid 2% Body Serum." The person’s legs and feet are visible, and they are barefoot on a tiled floor.
I genuinely believe this is a range worth checking out for everyone, but especially anyone who wants to take a little more care of their body, without being overwhelmed with a lot of steps.
This range is available online from the brand, as well as in store at Sephora and Priceline Pharmacies making it super accessible.
The products in The Ordinary’s new body care range are all unscented, incredibly lightweight and definitely worth a look.
Like your favourite pair of jeans, they’re basics done incredibly well.
*Note; this isn’t detailed on the packaging but their trial results for all the products are based on twice daily use for 4 weeks, most people shower only once daily so keep that in mind