How to figure out if your The Ordinary product is real or fake. Counterfeit The Ordinary products are all over the internet. Have you got yourself a dud? Here are some pointers to help you find out.
Head to the Deciem- Find Us page for approved sellers and to check if they deliver direct to your country, click the map in the top right corner of the screen.
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Does Deciem Ship to My Country?
Deciem itself ships to many destinations, 258 at the moment of writing-
Genuine The Ordinary Sellers
These are the ones on Deciem’s site (this page doesn’t open on all devices, so I’ve put the list here)-
Canada– Well.ca, Curlique Beauty, Socialite, Sephora, Hudson’s Bay
UK– Boots, Face the Future, ASOS, Cult Beauty, Beauty Bay, Grooming Clinic, QVC, Fenwick, Harvey Nichols, Oxygen Boutique, Pretty Little Thing, Look Fantastic, FeelUnique
USA– Look Fantastic, Sephora, Pretty Little Thing, New-London-Chelsea, Skin Store
AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution– a dark red viscous liquid. The legendary red peel (aka AHA 30% BHA 2% Peeling Solution) is often copied as it is one of The Ordinary’s most popular products. I think some of the counterfeit products have a red dye added to give it that red colour, which can stain the skin. The Ordinary’s peel will not stain your skin, your face may be a little pink after use but that is from the inflammation it causes (it’s a strong product). It has a true red tone as opposed to pink- Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%– has a white colour and silicone feel
NMF + HA– white cream, all the tubes I’ve had have had a bit of a lumpy texture, there is some variability to this lumpiness, sometimes you’ll get a tube that comes out smoother 100% Squalane– clear runny oil, UV bottle
Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%– a clear water based gel serum, clear bottle, comes in 30 and 60mls, you might get some white crust residue at the neck of the bottle where it dries- Buffet– a slightly cloudy water/gel serum with a tacky texture on application
Is Your The Ordinary a Fake? How to Tell From the Packaging
I’ll say it again, the only way to know if your product is safe is if you buy it from a reputable source. Over on my The Ordinary subreddit we have a lot of posts asking if this or that dropper looks right or whether the batch number should match. If you want a second opinion about your product, head to our Fake To? thread.
The box– The card box should have a sort of velvety feel to it rather than shiny and glossy.
The text– Deciem has some variations to it’s packaging, so your genuine product may well not match a photo you find on the net. There are subtle differences in wording, units of volume and positioning of the text. Below is an example- these boxes are both real Deciem, you can see differences in the boldness of the text and font. Sometimes it says U.S. after the fl oz. If you see this on your product, it’s not necessarily a copy. This is why it’s so difficult to spot.