I'm the sort of woman who will try anything - anything - if it will improve my skin. I've stayed away from injectables and plastic surgery for now, but at 42, the lure is getting strong, so when I saw that there's a skincare hack that claims to give a similar effect as pricey injectables, I snapped those products up quicker than you could say happy birthday.
The products in question? They're from The Ordinary, the affordable beauty brand that seems to get nothing but rave reviews for actually working. People have gone wild for two of their skincare products; The Ordinary’s Argireline Solution 10% and The Ordinary’s Matrixyl 10%, which when used together, are said to give a similar look to injectables.
I've worked in the beauty industry long enough to be sceptical of skincare that gets such high praise. I've used enough serums, moisturisers, masks and miracle product to know that there's very few that really do make your skin look like you've been under the knife, or at least under an injectable.
Plus the price of these serums, around £10/$12 each, doesn't compute with the big claims. So there was only one thing for it - I had to try them for myself. I put in the order and here's what happened...
The Ordinary TikTok claims - the lowdown
Beauty TikTokkers claim that combining The Ordinary’s Argireline Solution 10% and The Ordinary’s Matrixyl 10% daily gives a ‘notox’ effect; The Ordinary’s Argireline Solution 10% claims to “prevent the muscle movement that leads to wrinkle formation” and is a "non-injective" solution while the Matrixyl 10% is described as a “high performance solution that works to visibly combat signs of ageing.”
The buzz follows the hashtag #botoxinabottle, garnering over 16 million views with TikTokkers making the genius discovery of mixing these two skincare ingredients.
TikTok beauty enthusiasts have applauded the discovery, with @sarahpalmyra telling her 810k+ followers that she is “blown away by the results” after trying the products for four weeks.
She said she was most impressed with their ability to lessen the ‘11’ frown lines between her eyebrows, with others noticing a difference in their smile lines and forehead wrinkles. Another TikTokker even claimed the bargain beauty buys have made her reconsider getting anti-wrinkle injections.
"Before you go booking that appointment, I think I've found the product that can literally change all of our lives. When I tell you that I went to bed and had a little bit of a smile line, put this on and I woke up the next day with nothing..." @sieraalexis explained in a video.
Does TikTok’s #beautyinabottle work? Here’s my honest review
Never one to shy away from trying something in the name of beauty, I – a 42-year-old mum of one gave The Ordinary’s buzzed about duo a go.
The product description for both products explain that they can be used morning and evening, and I started with evening – the matrixyl carries a warning to test the product out on a small area first, and I wanted to make sure it didn’t cause a flare up. I have quite reactive skin but found no problem, so persevered.
Both serums are clear, and watery in texture, but The Ordinary’s signature apothecary style dropper bottles made them easy to apply. I cleansed and toned before layering the two; The Ordinary says to apply a few drops of each product around the eyes and forehead area, but I followed the TikTokker advice and slathered onto my smile lines and quite honestly, around my entire face. It’s recommended to follow up with a light moisturiser (which I forgot).
The texture isn’t sticky and absorbed quickly into the skin. After the first evening of trying, I woke up with slightly better hydrated skin but nothing noteworthy. Following the same routine over the next few evenings, my skin’s hydration levels kept getting better. After a week of evening-only use, my forehead lines had softened slightly and my ‘11s’ (the frown lines between the brows) were less prominent.
Generally, my skin looked to have a tiny bit more of a glow. After two weeks, the glow kept brightening and while my lines and wrinkles are still there, they’re not quite as obvious.
The products didn’t freeze my face, or have me waking up with filter-worthy skin, but their radiant-inducing work has earned a place in my beauty routine. Instant results they might not give, but with continued use, I’m seeing such an improvement that I’m bulk-buying before they sell out.
