There is no denying that I love my luxury skincare and I’m sure I always will. But I do keep trying affordable stuff on the side: partly because of the blog, partly because I think in some categories there isn’t much point in spending outrageous amounts and partly because it feels great to find a bargain. There are some very good reasonably priced products out there that are comparable to potions many times more expensive. There are even some cheapies that don’t really have a high-end alternative.

The Ordinary has been the great democratiser of the skincare world, making cheap but effective products accessible to the masses. It’s the IKEA of skincare, if you will. Sure, everyone else has it and it’s maybe not that luxurious, but it works and you can afford it. It has taken a while, but the competition is emerging, aided by The Ordinary’s management struggles. The Ordinary is still the most comprehensive and science-driven of them all, but this is also the brand’s weakness. That’s another parallel with IKEA: if you have ever tried to find the right thing among the 50+ The Ordinary products with names like EUK 134 0.1%* and to figure out where it should go in your routine, you may have been reminded of that one time you tried to assemble IKEA furniture. It is not straightforward.

The Inkey List is clearly inspired by The Ordinary, but where they are doing better is communicating what the products are and what they do (and there are fewer of them). Their prices are similar to The Ordinary, ranging from 5 to 10 pounds. The packaging is stylishly black and white and they don’t use droppers (although the squeeze bottle they use for serums and oils isn’t ideal either). There are 15 products altogether with, I’m sure, more to come.

I bought six things to try out, enough to have a feel for the brand and to share my initial thoughts on what works and what doesn’t (I’ve been using them for a month or so). And turns out most of it works rather well. I got the retinol, hyaluronic acid, lactic acid, vitamin C and collagen serums and the moisturiser with SPF. Only the vitamin C wasn’t right for me, of which more later.

The hyaluronic acid, lactic acid and collagen serums are rather alike – not surprising, considering their similar, hydration-focused bases. They are relatively liquid-y in texture (like a runny gel, but not as runny as Hada Labo, for example). The finish is slightly tacky, which isn’t a problem for me, as you would always put other products on top anyway. The hyaluronic serum isn’t the most hydrating I’ve ever tried, but it works. If your skin is a bit more mature, like mine, I would go for the collagen serum that adds some plumping and elasticity-improving action. The lactic acid serum is, as the name indicates, both hydrating and lightly exfoliating. It’s also very gentle, although it claims 10% of acid content.

Not surprisingly, I do enjoy the retinol serum very much. I can feel the action on my skin, but there has been no irritation nor dryness (keep in mind, as always, that my skin is not sensitive). I really like the almost balmy (but light) texture, which feels rather luxurious to me. I admit I find the information about the exact content of retinoids a bit confusing, I cannot reconcile the description with the ingredients list. However, there clearly is a significant amount of active ingredients in there, I can testify to that.

Much more surprisingly, I found that my favourite product may actually be the moisturiser with SPF – the Zinc Oxide Cream Moisturiser. And it’s not even the type of sunscreen I usually like! My favourites tend to be the very light Asian SPF products, while this reminds me a little bit of the much-loved Zelens sunscreen. It is moisturising and very soft and for most people, would be enough on top of a serum. Again, like with the retinol, I think the texture is lovely and not at all cheap.

Now, to the only fail. I have only tried it twice, but I can state that despite the impressive vitamin C concentration (30%) which I appreciate, this is not for me. I really dislike the texture, which is heavy and very silicone-y. I am not against silicones in products and I understand why they are present in this formula, but it really doesn’t work for me. I am also pretty sure that this serum broke me out and that doesn’t happen to me often. I would not draw too many conclusions from this one product, however. Formulating a serum or cream (I would definitely call it a cream rather than a serum) with so much vitamin C is notoriously difficult. My beloved DCL isn’t necessarily a pleasure to use either.

All-in-all, I think this line is well worth trying if you are looking for an alternative to The Ordinary or just decent skincare that doesn’t cost the earth. I find these products especially useful when travelling or going to the gym, as bottles are small and light and don’t break. If you have already tried something, I’d be very interested to hear what you think.

*And the description of the product starts like this: EUK-134™ is a mimetic of superoxide dismutase and catalase, forming an exceptionally rare self-regenerating molecule that scavenges superoxide free radicals, eliminates hydrogen peroxide and converts reactive oxygen species into water and oxygen.