April Haul - Deciem & The Ordinary

12:02:00 AM mandy 0 Comments

I must be one of the few remaining self-proclaimed beauty junkies to have only recently found out about the Canadian beauty brand Deciem's The Ordinary line. My Instagram and YouTube feed has been filled with posts dedicated to the brand lately. It is touted as a no-frills, targeted, and super affordable skincare line for those who know exactly what skin troubles need fixing and what ingredient is best at fixing it.

A skincare expert, I am definitely not. But the prices of their serums and oils had me researching niacinamides, AHA & BHA's, azelaic acids, and tons of other highly scientific names their products are made of. Even though I felt like everything The Ordinary offers could target something on my face, I chose to tread carefully and not be too impulsive with my first purchase.

Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%, Lactic Acid 5% + HA 2%, and 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil were the final 3 that made my list. I mainly wanted to target acne, acne scarring, exfoliation, flakes, and dry skin. The best part was each bottle of 30ml fluid cost under USD $10!

Shopping Cart

My order only consisted of The Ordinary's products but Deciem more than welcomes "cherry picking" from all their brands. It makes shopping for multiple skin concerns and across price points extremely easy. It would have been more helpful to see the Free Shipping minimum requirement on the Shopping Cart page first rather than on following Check Out page, but it is neither here nor there—a quick Googling can usually give the same information.

Check Out Process

Everything is very straightforward. Like their products, the site and check out procedure is fairly barebone yet effective at doing what it needs to do. There aren't any unnecessary distracting texts or photos. Each text box has a purpose and the areas that need attention are appropriately called out. Design-love! Although, I do wish the text was a tad larger by default.

Shipping Options

There isn't much of an option, it is either Free after spending $25 or Standard shipping for an extra $4.99. Considering how affordable everything by The Ordinary is, filling the cart shouldn't be difficult at all.

I assumed they would choose USPS since their free shipping minimum is so low and the specific carrier is never mentioned. It was a nice surprise to see UPS as their delivery choice.

I believe Deciem ships to most cities internationally. But don't quote me on that.

Payment

The US site accepts only Credit Cards issued by Visa and Mastercard and PayPal. This is standard enough, but I could see it might be problematic for other credit card holders.

Account

Orders could be placed via accounts or anonymously. I chose to create an account for orderly sake and in case I end up repurchasing from Deciem in the future. I love how detailed their Order History page is; there is information breakdown for everything! The company also sends e-mails with the same information as the order progresses.

Delivery

Scaringly fast. I placed my order on 4/3 and received the package in my hands 4/6. The website had a note which said they were supposedly experiencing a high volume of orders so the speedy delivery was 100% a surprising. I guess since their USA, or at least East coast, distribution center is in New Jersey, it makes sense for the transport time to be relatively fast. I just didn't expect the whole process to be so quick.

Packaging

The padding inside the packaging is very minimal. Don't let the simplicity fool anyone. Even though the boxes of serums are placed in a single layer bubble pouch, the cardboard box which encases everything is extremely sturdy. It, of course, won't be able to handle all my body weight if I really pushed down; thrashes and throws won't stand a chance though. Deciem and The Ordinary definitely does the whole minimalism thing well.

Returns

I probably won't be making any returns. But...I thought it would be interesting to share since Bestie pointed out to me recently that Deciem offers returns up to 1 year after purchase. They definitely keep true to their abnormalness.