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The Ordinary vs Principia

Rated by Lovi · Unbiased, science-based skincare AI trained on real user outcomes · How the Fit score works

The Ordinary and Principia are two skincare brands offering targeted solutions for diverse complexions. The Ordinary, a Canadian brand founded in 2016 and owned by The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. since 2021, provides serums, moisturizers, cleansers, toners, and more, built around hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and squalane. Meanwhile, Principia is widely loved for its thoughtful cleansers and precise formulas. The former brand fits dry skin and dry sensitive skin best, while the latter suits balanced to oily skin best, helping maintain a healthy, balanced complexion.

The Ordinary is a Canadian skincare brand founded in 2016 and owned by The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. since 2021.

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This page compares some of the most popular The Ordinary and Principia products; for every product of both brands, with a fit score for your own skin, use the Lovi app.

Popular The Ordinary vs Principia products

Questions and answers

The Ordinary or Principia: which is better?

The Ordinary offers a much wider range of fragrance-free products that fit dry, combination, and sensitive skin well, whereas Principia lists only a single cleanser on this page.

What is the difference between The Ordinary and Principia?

The products on this page for The Ordinary offer a wide selection across multiple categories with several skin types fitting best, whereas Principia features only a single cleanser on this page.

The Ordinary or Principia: which cleanser is better?

The Ordinary offers multiple cleansers with high fit levels across various skin types, such as the Glucoside Foaming Cleanser and Glycolipid Cream Cleanser, whereas Principia features only one cleanser with lower fit ratings. This makes the cleansers from The Ordinary a better choice for most shoppers.

Which is more affordable, The Ordinary or Principia?

The products on this page for The Ordinary are often mentioned by reviewers as affordable and great value serums, while the page contains no pricing data to compare affordability with Principia.

When were The Ordinary and Principia founded and who owns them?

The Ordinary was founded in Canada in 2016 and is owned by The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. Principia was founded in 2020 and is owned by Viziera Participações Ltda.

Do products from The Ordinary and Principia contain fragrance?

Every product on the The Ordinary and Principia pages lists no fragrance in its ingredients.

What key ingredients are found across products from The Ordinary?

The products on this page from The Ordinary commonly feature hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and squalane as their key ingredients. These ingredients help provide hydration and support the skin barrier.

Drug Delivery, 2017Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

Research behind their key ingredients

Behind this comparison

Lovi compares products by their fit scores, calculated from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.

  • Nadia Kapleva, MS

    Nadia Kapleva, MS

    Co-founder, Medical Director

    Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer

  • Alexey Shagraev, PhD

    Alexey Shagraev, PhD

    Co-founder, CEO and CTO

    PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex

  • Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc

    Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc

    Medical Board

    Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine

  • Aishani Shah, MD

    Aishani Shah, MD

    Medical Board

    Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD

  • Asya Zubkova, MS

    Asya Zubkova, MS

    Medical Board

    Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member

  • Hanna Kurets, MD

    Hanna Kurets, MD

    Medical Board, Medical Advisor

    Dermatology MD

  • Elina Nazarenko, MD

    Elina Nazarenko, MD

    Medical Board

    Dermatology and diagnostic consultant

  • Victoria Derkova, MS

    Victoria Derkova, MS

    Medical Board

    Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist

How does it fit your skin?

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