The Ordinary

 Resveratrol 3% + Ferulic Acid 3% Antioxidant Serum for Brightening

Most Helpful Positive Review

Okay it actually seems to work?!

For reference: My skin type is oily combination, prone to dehydration, dealing with hormonal cystic and nodular acne for ~10 years. I don't really leave reviews but I'm putting one here for this product because I am so taken aback by the fact it has ACTUALLY HAD A VISIBLE IMPROVEMENT. I bought th...is a while ago on a whim out of curiosity, but didn't give it more than a couple of uses of and on as -although it did seem to 'wake my skin up' - I found the initial oily finish off-putting and having had some unpleasant breakouts from other oil-based The Ordinary products I was kind of wary of having similar breakouts from this. HOWEVER - 2 weeks ago I put it on on the weekend because my skin was looking and feeling dehydrated and generally 'bleh' after some heavy cystic break-outs, and kept applying it each day (AM and PM) as the final step in my routine and its really made a noticeable difference - although not in the way I was expecting. Since applying it regularly, my skin has been less oily throughout the day (we're talking maybe blotting once at midday instead of having to blot 3-4 times), and my makeup has stayed in place the whole day (pre-resveratrol my skin has usually shed most of my makeup by mid-morning). The oiliness of the product sinks in after a couple of minutes and my skin just feels hydrated and balanced - like its shifted from 'Oily-Combination' towards 'Normal'. As well as the reduced oil, my skin has generally had more of a lit-from-within glow and translucency that I have never really had before. (Don't get me wrong, my PIH, acne scarring are still present, but I now feel like my skin looks like it does on the models you see used for spot treatment adverts, where they have acne scarring but their skin looks Glowy and Good - anyone who has had cystic acne will know this feels like a Big Deal). I've also noticed a reduction on the amount of redness/ uneven skin tone, and it feels good to come home from work and have my skin looking as fresh as it did when I first did my skincare that morning. I'm still trying to figure out how/ why it is introducing this product in particular that has reduced my oiliness - whether it prevents the other products I apply from oxidising, meaning they're effective for longer (?), or whether the antioxidants just help my skin function better in general, meaning less sebum is needed to try and compensate for moisture loss throughout the day (?). This is quite a long review for a small bottle, but having had a proper dedicated skincare routine for 5 years now, it feels like a pretty big deal to be seeing effects this early on into trying a product I had put in the 'Waste of Money' pile. The only reason I haven't given this product 5 stars is because I haven't used it for a particularly long time) (AM skincare - TO Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%, TO 'Buffet' , Cerave Dry skin Moisturiser, Resveratrol + Ferulic Acid mixed with a generic SPF 50 from Boots. ) (PM skincare - Nip+Fab AHA toner every other day, TO Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%, TO 'Buffet' , Cerave Dry skin Moisturiser, Resveratrol + Ferulic Acid)