🇳🇱Netherlands

The Ordinary vs Pair

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

The Ordinary and Pair are distinct skincare brands offering targeted formulations for varying complexions. The Canadian brand centers its diverse serums, moisturizers, cleansers, and toners around hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and squalane, making it particularly well-suited for dry and dry sensitive skin. Meanwhile, the Japanese brand is beloved for meticulously crafted formulas and targeted serums like the Acne Cream W that address stubborn blemishes effectively. While both maintain a commitment to clarity, the former excels in multi-concern hydration and renewal, whereas the latter focuses primarily on restoring balance to acne-prone skin.

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

glossy.coen.wikipedia.org

Pair is a Japanese skincare brand founded in 2000 and owned by Lion Corporation since 2004.

ja.wikipedia.orgbeautymatter.com

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

Popular The Ordinary vs Pair products

The Ordinary vs Pair serums and treatments

Questions and answers

The Ordinary or Pair: which is better?

The Ordinary provides a much wider selection of products on this page across multiple categories like cleansers, toners, serums, and moisturizers, whereas Pair offers only a single acne cream. For shoppers looking for extensive routines tailored to specific skin types, The Ordinary fits dry, sensitive, and oily skin best.

What is the difference between The Ordinary and Pair?

The Ordinary offers a large range of fragrance-free skincare products on this page that fit dry skin, dry sensitive skin, and oily skin best, whereas Pair features only one acne cream. Reviewers praise The Ordinary for texture-smoothing and acne-clearing serums, though some note sticky finishes or pilling issues.

Which is more affordable, The Ordinary or Pair?

The products on this page from The Ordinary are often mentioned by reviewers as affordable and great value serums, while Pair features only a single acne cream without affordability reviews on this page.

Which brand has been on the market longer, The Ordinary or Pair?

Pair has been on the market longer, having been founded in Japan in 2000, while The Ordinary was founded in Canada in 2016.

Do either The Ordinary or Pair products contain fragrance?

The products on this page for both The Ordinary and Pair list no fragrance in their ingredients.

What skin types does The Ordinary fit best according to its routines?

According to its brand-focused routines, dry sensitive skin, dry skin, and oily skin are the skin types that The Ordinary fits best.

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?

Scan your face, then any product: Lovi shows how well it fits you and what fits even better.

QR code: get the Lovi app
Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play