The Most Hyped Foundation Ever? The Ordinary Coverage Review

The Ordinary foundations, of which there are two versions: one a serum with lighter coverage and the other is full coverage, must be one of the most hyped foundations I have ever seen. There was a huge waiting list and the products took ages to deliver because of high demand. In fact, there’s a statement on the website saying due to high demand they have no stock left. I can really see why, The Ordinary are doing something very different with their products and as well as their branding and it’s exciting. Take note brands! We in the UK want exciting, revolutionary products! The Ordinary, part of Deciem, offer high performing, high tech products at minimal price. Most of the products I’ve tried have been brilliant. What I like most is that it allows people to access a whole range of skincare at an affordable cost, which we’re often priced out of. So, there’s a huge buzz around The Ordinary in the industry and people are rightly (I think) keen to try foundations that are just shy of £6 a bottle.

I picked up three shades of The Ordinary Coverage foundation but didn’t bother with the serum, as I knew it wouldn’t be for me. I think the serum foundation would be more suited to dry/normal skin types who like a light coverage. I, however, prefer more coverage but if I want a lighter finish I can easily blend the foundation out with moisturiser or highlighter. What I didn’t notice when I initially purchased The Ordinary foundation was that the formulation includes silicones. While this isn’t a huge problem in itself for me it’s more problematic in a foundation especially since my oily t-zone finds them hard to keep in place (but, more on that later!).

Back to the colour selection. There is quite a good colour selection available but there’s still more available for lighter skin tones than those with darker skin tones, which is slightly disappointing. The colours are then further broken down into undertones. I picked up 1.0P which is very fair with pink undertones, 1.0N very fair neutral, and 1.1P fair with pink undertones. You can look at the shade guide here. I found the pink undertones just too pink for me but 1.0N is perfect. It’s actually the same shade as Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation in 1C0 Shell which is the foundation I wear all the time. So I was very hopeful that this would have the coverage and staying power that ELDW has but at a fraction of the price.

Initially, I was really impressed with this. It applies and blends easily, gives a nice medium coverage (I wouldn’t call it full coverage). The finish is semi-matte that adds a nice healthy glow and dimension to the skin. However, after a couple of hours I could feel the slip on my nose. It had also settled into the creases under my eyes. But other than that it still looked pretty good. I powdered up but after a couple of hours again the foundation just hadn’t lasted. Perhaps if I had used a finishing spray or different primer it would have lasted longer but I did my usual routine. And here’s what I think the problem is: it’s the silicone! (I should be a thriller writer). There is just too much slip in this foundation. If you look at the ingredient list here you can see all the different kinds of silicone this contains.

The Ordinary Coverage Foundation has so much potential but its wear time is just too low for me. I do think it’s worth a shot though especially with it only costing £5.90 a bottle. The Ordinary Coverage Foundation is also cruelty-free and vegan friendly. It does look good and I love the packaging but unfortunately it won’t be replacing my Estee Lauder Double Wear anytime soon.

Have you tried any of the new The Ordinary Foundations yet?