My Mom Is 73 and Loves Expensive Skincare—Here's Her Review of The Ordinary

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(Image credit: @erin_jahns)

By now you all might know my mom. She's fabulous, 73, and knows her way around beauty. In fact, she might own more makeup and skincare products than I do—which is equal parts impressive and terrifying. So you can see why she's the ultimate guinea pig when it comes to trying out the latest, greatest, or buzziest products in the biz. I love that we both represent different generations, have different skincare needs and goals (me: breakouts and dark circles; her: fine lines and pigmentation), and I firmly believe bringing in other age demographics for product reviews really ups the ante when it comes to fishing for efficacy. After all, how the heck will someone like me with 26-year-old skin know if an age-pegged serum is helping? Right? Right.

Enter The Ordinary, the affordable skincare baby of megabrand Deciem, that has launched to a very high, covetable status within the skincare-and-beauty industry. Not only are the products priced right around $10 and under, but the brand also boasts potent concentrations, top-notch quality, and consistent, exciting new launches (like its Salicylic Acid Masque, $12). People (largely, millennials) understandably flip over the brand, which ultimately marries all of our most pressing product wants. 

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(Image credit: @erin_jahns)

"The Ordinary is an evolving collection of treatments offering familiar, effective clinical technologies positioned to raise pricing and communication integrity in skincare," the brand states on its website. "It was created to celebrate integrity in its most humble and true form. Its offering is pioneering, not in the familiar technologies it uses, but in its honesty and integrity. The Ordinary was born to disallow commodity to be disguised as ingenuity. The Ordinary is 'Clinical formulations with integrity."'

So when we were discussing the brand and five of its top-selling formulas during a recent editorial meeting, I couldn't help wondering what my 73-year-old mom would think. Even though she loves a good bargain and does swear by certain drugstore brands and formulas, for the most part, she's extremely picky with skincare and uses an impressively expensive product spread. To put The Ordinary to the ultimate, non-millennial test, I asked my mom to use six beloved products from the brand for about a week when I was home visiting recently. While you definitely need to give skincare a good chunk of time to work its magic, it's also safe to say many of us know quite quickly whether or not we're going to like a product or incorporate it into our regular routine. Therefore, I knew my mom would either love The Ordinary or hate it after day one. 

Ahead, a brief synopsis of my mom's skincare routine and concerns in addition to her honest thoughts and feelings about The Ordinary. Keep scrolling!

My Mom's Normal A.M. Skincare Routine

"Before I go walking in the morning, I use Bioderma's Sensibio H2O ($15) on a cotton pad to wipe off my face, and then I apply Australian Gold's Botanical SPF Tinted Face Lotion SPF 50 ($14).

"When I return (and am sweaty!), I wash my face with Avalon Organics Cleansing Gel With Vitamin C ($15), do another sweep of Bioderma, and then wash my face again in the shower with Jason's Aloe Vera Body Wash ($9). (The mineral SPF is very hard to get off, and the body wash has great ingredients that are gentle enough for my face!) If I don't go walking, I just use the cleanser from Avalon Organics to cleanse my face."

"Then, I usually alternate between using several different skincare items: La Prairie Skin Caviar Essence-in-Lotion ($290) or RéVive Intensité Complete Anti-Aging Serum ($485). I also sometimes use these three products: SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic ($166) or Timeless CoEnzyme Q10 ($17) and Matrixyl Synthe'6 ($20). I follow with Essentiel by Adele Essentiel Moisture ($39) to moisturize my face."

My Mom's Normal P.M. Skincare Routine

"I cleanse with Avalon Organics Cleansing Gel (above) if I haven’t worn makeup. If I've worn makeup, I first use one of Simple's Facial Cleansing Wipes ($7), followed by cleansing with Avalon Organics. If I feel like I need it, I'll do a double cleanse, but the second time around, I'll use my Clarisonic Brush to make sure every last stitch of my makeup is removed."

"Next, I use either the La Prairie Skin Caviar again, the RéVive serum, or the three Timeless products mentioned above. Two or three times a week, I'll cleanse my face and only use SkinCeuticals Glycolic 10 Renew Overnight ($80), which helps promote cellular turnover. No matter what, I always complete my nighttime routine with the Essentiel by Adele moisturizer."

Enter The Ordinary

"Even before Erin asked me if I'd try some of the products, I'd definitely heard of The Ordinary, but I'd never tried anything from the brand. I knew it was a very popular, very affordable brand but wasn’t knowledgeable about specific products in its line. To be quite honest, I was a little skeptical about a brand titled The Ordinary. Why would a brand bill itself as basic? Because of the brand name, and the cheaper prices, I also assumed its products were more geared toward skincare concerns of younger women rather than my age demographic."

The new a.m. routine: "After cleansing (as indicated above for my previous a.m. skincare routine), each morning I've been applying the brand's Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 ($7) followed by the Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% ($6). I follow this with Essentiel by Adele, sunscreen, and then makeup."

The new p.m. routine: "After cleansing, I apply the Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution ($9) to a clean, dry face. (I know this is one of Erin's favorites!) Next, I apply the Granactive Retinol 2% Emulsion ($10) before applying the 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil ($10)."

The twice-per-week add-on: "The AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution ($7) used after cleansing at night and before serums."

The Reviews

Some Parting Thoughts

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(Image credit: @erin_jahns)

"I think using only products from one skincare line will help me make the use of all these products a more ingrained habit. On the other hand, I can't help but wonder if my skin benefits from the use of a wide variety of different products, and I do like having the freedom to swap in new things and stray from a monogamous brand relationship. I need to do more research!

"That said, I do really appreciate the fact that these are all fragrance-free products, and I love that the oil is organic and cold-pressed. However, I do wish the directions on each bottle would indicate the amount of product to use. It's so good at explaining everything else! As it stands, it becomes a bit of a trial-and-error process to determine how much to use, and I'd prefer to have some guidance—especially when it comes to skincare products."

Next up: People Don't Believe My Mom Is 71—Here Are 8 Anti-Aging Serums She Uses

This article was originally published at an earlier date and has been updated.

Beauty Director

Erin has been writing a mix of beauty and wellness content for Who What Wear for over four years. Prior to that, she spent two and half years writing for Byrdie. She now calls Santa Monica home but grew up in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and studied writing, rhetoric, and communication at University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. She studied abroad in Galway, Ireland, and spent a summer in L.A. interning with the Byrdie and Who What Wear family. After graduating from UW, she spent one year in San Francisco, where she worked as a writer for Pottery Barn Kids and PBteen before moving down to L.A. to begin her career as a beauty editor. She considers her day-to-day beauty aesthetic very low-maintenance and relies on staples like clear brow serum (from Kimiko!), Lawless's Lip Plumping Mask in Cherry Vanilla, and an eyelash curler. For special occasions or days when she's taking more meetings or has an event, she'll wear anything and everything from Charlotte Tilbury (the foundations are game-changing), some shimmer on her lids (Stila and Róen do it best), and a few coats of the best mascara-type product on earth, Surratt's Noir Lash Tint.