Hello my lovely people ! Long time no see ! 🙂

Sorry for not being quite active with the blog in the past few months, but I’m getting back to it at full speed ! I’ll be also changing some things regarding the posts and their format, just to spice things up. Writing solely product reviews is a bit boring and too plain for my taste, so keep an eye on some new and exciting changes ! 🙂 Reviews are still of course the core of this blog, so with that being said, here comes a product review from the long-awaited The Ordinary round #2 haul and the  ” Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA ” cream . Of course, skippity skip whatever section you want ! 🙂

 

 

Packaging

 

When it comes to The Ordinary creams, most of them come in a standard, plastic, grayish-off white squeeze tube packaging. Nothing fancy schmancy. Description in 4 words – basic,simple,efficient and clean. The flip top is also pretty sturdy. The cardboard box is again the same as with all of their products. (I’m pretty much repeating myself in this section of the review each time xD ). As usual, you get 30 ml of product, made in Canada, with a shelf life of 12 months after opening. On a side note – You can also get a bigger tube, containing 100 ml of product.

 

 

About the product & the ingredients

 

 

Ok, so, when I first saw this product, like most people I thought that this long ass title was just that – a long ass title. But, boy was I mistaken. ” Natural Moisturizing factors ” a.k.a NMF is an actual thing. You’re probably thinking now, so – What the hell is that ? In short – Something that our skin already has and will receive with wide open arms when applied topically. Once again, some of you will be like : ” Huh? “. Well, no worries, I’ll break it down for you. 🙂

When we’re young, our skin is smooth and supple. Why ? Because, our skin has all these components that help her from the inside, to look and feel like that. Now, water has a huge impact on that, especially in the top horny layer (a.k.a stratum corneum) of the skin’s epidermis. In plain English – the surface of our skin. Unfortunately, water can evaporate very easily ( somethin’ called transepidermal water loss a.k.a TEWL) . To prevent that from happening, we need something that will fixate water in that horny layer. This way, our skin won’t end up looking dry, dehydrated or scaly.

Imagine an event and a celebrity walking down the aisle. You know those crowds of ecstatic, yelling fans? And the bodyguards that form a living wall around the carpet, to prevent the fans from getting too close? Well, NMF would be that group of guards, keeping the fans (water) to stay back behind the rope ( inside the horny layer).

 

 

So, “Natural moisturizing Factors” a.k.a NMF gives a protective barrier against surface hydration loss. What does NMF contain? – a mixed complex of water-soluble low molecular weight substances, present in our skin. So what does this product do? It contains those same components we already have in our skin and tries to help reconstructing the skins’ own NMF.

The components in this product are:  Amino acids,triglycerides, urea, ceramides, phospholipids, glycerin, saccharides, sodium PCA and hyaluronic acid. Most of these ingredients are used in products especially designed for dry skin or in products that are supposed to be used in places that are environmentally very dry.

Ingredients like Urea, Amino acids, sodium salts of PCA, are very hygroscopic – like sponge, they capture water. This way they can prevent or heal dryness, dehydration and scalling by moisturizing.

 *The product is silicone, alcohol, nut & oil free. It’s also vegan and cruelty-free.*

Application and impressions

 

 

So, this is a medium-thick cream, with no scent, like all of the other Ordinary products. Since it’s a bit thicker in consistency, you do need to rub it in a bit more. When it comes to the product itself, I have no complaints. Sinks in quickly, no greasy residue. It didn’t break me out, nor did I have any issues with applying it beneath my makeup. Everything runs smoothly over it.

As you know, my skin is combo, can get dehydrated in winter and it’s more on the oily side in summer. The way I used it in winter was as a sealer, meaning, as the last layer in my routine after my serums or oils at night, and my skin loved it that way.

In my opinion, this isn’t a cream strong enough to use on its own. As a sealer, it’s great for all skin types, but on its own – Only for really oily skin. Reason why I say this, is because a lot of people still don’t layer their skin care, so I’m giving them a heads up. For really dry skin I would probably recommend it after an oil, like the Squalane one. Deciem also recommends this product mainly as a form of a sealer, so I definitely agree with them on that.

Do I recommend ?

 

Yep :). If you’re in need of a gentle, every day moisturizer to use as a sealer, you have sensitive skin and avoid fragrance, you have really oily skin and don’t need a lot, go for it. Also a good thing about this product is that you can get the smaller tube for a tryout and if you like it, you can get the bigger tube, since you’ll probably go through the smaller tube quite fast, if you use it day & night. It’s also pretty inexpensive, coming at around 5.80 € for a 30 ml tube and at 7.70 € for the 100 ml tube, and I bought it via BeautyBay. I would personally go for the bigger tube, since the price difference isn’t that big, compared to the amount of product you get at that price difference.

 

Hope my review was informative enough!

Enjoy your week guys! 😊

X

BelgradePixie

¡ En mi blog, pueden preguntarme sobre los productos tambien en español, en la sección de comentarios – Voy a responder con mucho gusto ! 😊

Disclaimer : I bought this product with my own money, all opinions are solely my own. I’m not affiliated with the mentioned brands or companies. Keep in mind I’m not a dermatologist, chemist or pharmacist. Also, what worked for my skin, won’t necessary work for yours.

For further disclaimer information, please visit my Terms & Conditions   page.

 

 

References :

• Medical booklet by Provital Group  . The information they provided is based on the following materials (some of them are available online ) :
• Soler C. Protección de la piel frente al frío. Acófar 2005; nº438.
• Carbajo Espejo JM, Ruiz manso R, del Tío Moreno R. Hidratación cutánea (y II). AULAdelafarmacia,
  2004 p: 62-72.
• Codina A. Hidratación cutánea y sustancias hidratantes. OFFARM, 2001; p: 93-96.
• Challoner NI. et al. Cosmetic Proteins for Skin Care. Cosmetics & Toiletries 1997, 112 (12):51-63
  (ref.2453).
• Tavera Zafra M. ¿Qué hay de nuevo en hidratación cutánea? Dermatol Pediatr Lat, 2005; 3(3):256-   260.
• Pons Ll. Estrato córneo. OFFARM, 2004; 23(2): 166-168.
• The Ordinary product page  .