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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 products on this page than Principia, with options that fit dry, sensitive, and dry sensitive skin best. Reviewers often praise its affordable and great value serums, acne-clearing serums, and dark spot fading serums.

What is the difference between The Ordinary and Principia?

The products on this page for The Ordinary offer a wide selection with multiple options fitting dry, dry sensitive, and sensitive skin well, while Principia includes only a single cleanser option listed.

The Ordinary or Principia: which cleanser is better?

The Ordinary Glycolipid Cream Cleanser is a better fit for dry skin, where Lovi rates it as Superior, compared to Principia Gel de Limpeza GL-01 which gets a Caution for dry skin.

Which is more affordable, The Ordinary or Principia?

The products on this page for The Ordinary are often noted by reviewers as affordable and great value serums. The page facts do not provide pricing details for Principia to make a direct comparison.

Which causes fewer breakouts, The Ordinary or Principia?

The products on this page for The Ordinary offer High Lovi fit levels for acne-prone skin in several options, whereas Principia shows a Low fit for acne-prone skin, meaning The Ordinary helps manage breakouts better.

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

The Ordinary was founded in 2016 in Canada and is owned by The Est3 Lauder Companies Inc., while Principia was founded in 2020 and is owned by Viziera Participa3 es Ltda.

How do the Lovi fit levels for dry skin compare between The Ordinary's Glycolipid Cream Cleanser and Principia's Gel de Limpeza GL-01?

For dry skin, Lovi rates The Ordinary's Glycolipid Cream Cleanser as having a Superior fit level. In contrast, Principia's Gel de Limpeza GL-01 is rated with a Caution fit level for dry skin.

Do products from The Ordinary and Principia contain added fragrance?

Every product on this page from The Ordinary and Principia lists no fragrance in its ingredients.

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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