I’ve talked about The Ordinary a couple of times on the blog over the years, mostly while reviewing their foundations, but today’s post is solely focused on their skincare. I picked up The Ordinary Sulfur 10% Powder-to-Cream Concentrate ($13CAD) as well as The Ordinary PHA 5% Exfoliating Lip Serum ($12.10CAD) during the Sephora Holiday Savings Sale and have been testing them out ever since. Spoiler alert: one of these products I hated and have since returned, while the other I love and is now a staple in my skincare routine. Can you guess which one is which?
Okay, I will just tell you. Sadly, it’s The Ordinary PHA 5% Exfoliating Lip Serum sadly. I was really intrigued by and hopeful for this product. It seemed to solve the exact problem I face every winter. I’m sure you’ve heard me complain about it on ze blog at some point, but my lips get so dry in the winter. And no amount of lip balm seems to help. So, an exfoliating lip serum seemed to be the perfect solution to keep the dryness at bay. It’s described as a gentle, chemical-based lip exfoliator with 5% polyhydroxy acid (gluconolactone) to smooth and hydrate lips. The PHA works to dissolve any dead skin cells and is super gentle and suitable for sensitive skin, as it only works on the surface of the skin. The formulation also includes glycerin to improve hydration and retain moisture as well as ectoin to support the skin barrier and offer long-term hydration. It sounds great in theory, but I didn’t notice a significant difference in either exfoliation or hydration. My lips were still dry, still flaking, and still cracked. I applied a thin layer on alternate evenings, as instructed, for about two weeks and very little improvement was ever noticed. So back to Sephora it went.
I’m glad we got that product out of the way because I’m actually very excited to now discuss The Ordinary Sulfur 10% Powder-to-Cream Concentrate. This was also an extremely intriguing product to me. Essentially, it’s a pimple spot treatment, but it starts out as a powder and then, as you rub it into the breakout, it turns into a cream that blends into your skin. It’s main active ingredient is 10% sulfur that helps to visibly reduce blemish size as well as redness in under one hour. And let me tell you- this actually works. I find it’s an extremely effective spot treatment. I apply this whenever I feel a pimple start to pop up and I do notice that it helps reduce the severity and longevity of the breakout. And that’s enough to make me love this product. It doesn’t help keep my acne away long-term, but it does help treat active acne. There were some reviews of this powder-to-cream formulation being messy to apply or the sulfur smelling too strong, but I haven’t had an issue with either! I find it quite convenient to apply (and travel-friendly as it’s a powder!) and the smell doesn’t bother me at all. It also pairs really nicely with pimple patches as it doesn’t affect the adhesive sticking to the skin like some spot treatments might.
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