Many of you have tried at least one product from The Ordinary; they are cheap, basic products that haven’t generally sparked much joy for me. They are special, though, because the whole point of the line was to show that active ingredients don’t have to be so expensive and inaccessible by the average person. The problem is, they’re pretty boring.
I have been mixing some these basic and lackluster products in my stash (not just from The Ordinary) to create beauty products that work for me and give me joy.
The Ultimate Beauty Oil
What it is:
I would consider this concoction an anti-aging moisturizer. It is a mixture of:
The Ordinary Squalane used as a base: I love this oil, but I can admit that it’s pretty boring. Also check out my comparison review with Biossance’s Squalane. The Ultimate Beauty Oil is about 50% of this squalane. I used this bottle to house the entire mixture.
The Ordinary Alpha Lipoic Acid: this acid was too strong for me on its own and I wanted to find a way to incorporate it into my regimen regularly, since I believe the studies saying its great. I used the rest of what I had in the mixture, which I would say is about 20%.
Prickly Pear Seed Oil (Cactus Oil): I purchased this from Amazon a while back and used it as a moisturizer and oil to help acne scars for a while but I never got impressed with it; nothing seemed to be happening. Another product that didn’t bring me joy seemed to make a great addition to this mixture. This oil made up the second most ingredient in the mixture, about 25-30%.
Tea Tree Oil: man… this stuff I have a love-hate relationship with. I am aware of all the benefits of it, but it needs to be diluted and to me it smells like Pine Sol. If you don’t know what that is, I’ll say to me it smells like a freshly cleaned bathroom. I read before I used it that it needed to be diluted, one would say even warned. I tried using this by itself once; it did not end well for me. I ended up diluting it with water in a spray bottle. It still brought me no joy at all. Memories of a burning face didn’t help either. I used three full dropper squeezes of this (~5%).
Unfortunately, what the Ultimate Beauty Oil smells like the tea tree oil; it’s so strong! I used the least amount of tea tree oil than anything and it just overpowered the other oils in scent (three droplets full). To be fair, none of the other oils have much of a scent to begin with, but this experience certainly has me understanding the purpose of adding fragrance to beauty products.
My skin type
Oily, acne scars on cheeks and chin, fine lines forming on forehead, crows feet when I smile.
What it’s supposed to do
I combined these ingredients to create an anti-aging moisturizer: the alpha lipoic acid for texture and tone, the prickly pear seed oil for acne scars, the squalane as a moisturizer, and the tea tree oil for acne prevention.
Ingredients
The Ordinary Squalane (100% Plant-Derived Squalane), The Ordinary Alpha Lipoic Acid, 100% Prickly Pear Seed Oil, 100% Tea Tree Oil
How I use it
I use this oil as the last step in my regimen. I rarely use a sleeping mask after it at night.
How long I used it
I have been using this oil since the middle of June.
What I like about it
I think it’s working! My mottled acne scars are disappearing! The squalane makes this a great moisturizer and I often massage the oil into my skin for a prolonged period. In addition, I only got two hormonal zits since have been using it. I haven’t noticed a difference in the fine lines in my forehead, but that may just be a matter of time.
Another thing I like about this oil is that it contains no water. All of the ingredients were either water-free or 100% pure of whatever ingredient it is. For that reason, I always wait 15-20 min before I put this on because the serum stage of my routine usually involves a product with water.
What could be better
Well first and foremost, the smell! perhaps I will replace the tea tree oil with something else next time, that prevents acne. Problem is, I still have so much of it!
While each individual product was really inexpensive, in the end, The Ultimate Beauty Oil turns out to be a relatively expensive oil, which kind of defeats the purpose of The Ordinary. The jar is a 30ml jar, or 1 fl. oz.
Tea Tree Oil – $9.99; Prickly Pear Seed Oil – $9.99; The Ordinary Alpha Lipoic Acid – $6.80; The Ordinary Squalane – $7.90. Total: $34.68.
Joy Factor
On a scale of 1-10, this oil is a 10! I use it everyday, morning and night, and I need to repurchase the Alpha Lipoic Acid already because I’m nearly out of it.
Where to indulge
-XX
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does this help with pore size