Deciem The Ordinary Buffet

This is one of those "YouTube Made Me Buy It" items and is the first and only serum I've tried thus far. I'm in my early thirties and although I have minimal signs of aging, I wanted to start testing the skincare waters a bit more.

With that laundry list of ingredients and purported benefits, I expected more from this product, or just, SOMETHING. I've been using it regularly for about ten months, and honestly don't notice a difference. Granted, I may not be the target demographic and preventative measures are invisible, but still. Even worse, this isn't pleasurable to use, leaves a sticky film on the skin, pills, and doesn't agree with other skin care products. I've also been experiencing little red bumps on my skin over the past several months, and recently noticed that my skin has been particularly sensitive and itchy, with a slight burning sensation. Out of all my skincare, I'm pretty sure this is what's causing it, and it makes sense, as others have experienced the same effects. I got my partner to start using it and I wonder if this is what's been causing their cystic acne breakouts.

I would be careful with this product, and monitor your skin very closely. I don't know, maybe this is just too much in one serum? Like another member said in their review, I wouldn't try to "get it all" from one product, and perhaps invest in better skincare, a few products that are specifically tailored to your needs. And yes, please, if a product isn't making a difference in your skin, it doesn't matter if it's inexpensive, try something else.

I'm sad, I really wanted to love this serum and The Ordinary, but haven't been impressed with the products I've tried. If you want quality, affordable skincare, Korean and Japanese brands are a good place to dabble. Websites like YesStyle sell so many products, even those that are sold on American websites with hefty markups.

Broke me out in two hard lumps. I'm not overly impressed with the ordinary products tbh. Think there's a bit of a placebo effect going on.

Every time i used it i broke out the next day.

I’m on my fourth bottle of this and I love it. Plumps my skin and softens my fine lines. I’ve used skincare products that were 10 times the price and like this better. Several of my friends use it and they love it too!

This doesn’t work. Plain and simple.
My derm said that this is the example of too much cancelling each other out.
The person who said peptides sit on your skin and your skin knows it so it makes more... no. That’s not correct and it makes no sense.
This will break out sensitive or acne prone skin and it has nothing to do with purging because this product DOES NOT cause purging, it isn’t a peeling agent.
This honestly will just act like a light gel moisturiser and nothing more.
You are better targeting your main skin concerns with one or two great products.
The ordinary seems to be appropriately named because the results you get are very ordinary and if you read all the reviews here and elsewhere even people who rate it 5 stars say they can’t tell if it’s actually doing anything... which means it’s not working for you and is a waste of money.
I think it’s better to buy a good vitamin c, a good matrxyl 300, a glycolic and a retinol and a decent superfood facial oil for winter and at night and just stick with that.

I've rounded up to 4 stars. I'd like to give it 3.5 though to be honest. I have nothing against this product. I'm just not sure whether it is actually doing anything to my skin. I use it every morning under a moisturiser and I haven't noticed any major difference in my skin for better or worse. I have dry skin and I'd be inclined to try a more hydrating serum from the range next time.

I am loving all of the skincare I'm using from The Ordinary. In fact I just uploaded a review of them on YouTube.

I'm using the Lactic Acid, Retinoid and the Buffet. My skin has never looked better. Its glowing, smoother and fine lines are less noticeable.

Ive been asked multiple times over the past few weeks if Ive had a facial, or work done, or gotten botox and fillers. NOPE! Its all due to The Ordinary Skincare.

I did find with The Buffet that I broke out a bit for the first two days I was using it. Ive read other reviews that this "purging" happens and is to be expected. It went away quickly and my skin looks amazing.

A SERIOUSLY POTENT COCKTAIL

BUFFET was my introduction to The Ordinary and, straight up, it’s been the start of an interesting journey.

A clear liquid gel, a little bit goes a long way. It smooths easily into skin but takes a few minutes to fully absorb. Somewhat tacky until it dries, it doesn’t burn, itch, sting or irritate my sensitive skin. However, I got a big surprise the first time I used it. Those little lines that tell the story of my life? Within seconds, I watched them almost disappear, and by the time my face dried they were gone. No one warned me that was going to happen and I was dead shocked. I remember side-eyeing the bottle. A wrinkle eraser for wrinkles I didn’t even know I had wasn’t what I was after but curiosity got the better of me: What else, if anything, this product could do?

Weeks later, I can tell you that it does quite a lot. If you’re after that seemingly elusive ‘magical glow’ of healthy skin, this is it. Simply put, BUFFET is a short cut to looking like you eat red apples for breakfast every day during long walks in the fresh country air, and I can’t argue with the results: It balances and brightens my complexion, soothes and smooths the skin, reduces ruddiness, plays nicely with other treatments and products, layers well, doesn’t pill, works under cosmetics and there’s zero irritation with prolonged, recommended use.

The healthy glow is so addictive that while I’m still not keen on that eraser effect, I’ll keep this in my routine for what BUFFET actually does best – producing the look of truly healthy and well-behaved skin that everybody’s after. Just know you’ll sacrifice all those endearing little lines that tell the story of how you grew into your face to get it.

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Above is my review for BUFFET (by EL on 25 May 2018) from The Ordinary website. I order all my DECIEM products directly from their site, so I've posted my reviews of their products there. My reviews are listed under EL (although I am not the only EL listed there) but all my reviews follow this format and style, so I'm not hard to find there. As I was not a member of Makeup Alley until today, I'll repost the review here. It's worth noting that, months later, I am still using this product; however, I do not use it daily. It's now part of a weekly routine and, while I agree with everything I've written in this review, I've replaced daily use with Matrixyl 10% + HA to better target my personal needs .

This product worked well for my mature skin. I use it twice per day after washing my face and applying toner. It has given me a healthy glow and softened my wrinkles. I'm halfway through my first bottle and will definitely purchase again.

I have now tried a few products from The Ordinary at this point and they run the gamut from amazing to meh. This is a nice solid serum. It contains peptides for plumping, firming and treating wrinkles and it is very moisturizing and absorbs rather quickly. I like to use this serum after at-home peels and retinol serums. It has a nice texture and lasted quite some time. I will repurchase but I want to try the Unwrinkle Toner by Peter Thomas Roth first.