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Medicube vs The Ordinary

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

Medicube and The Ordinary are distinct skincare brands founded in 2016, with the former hailing from South Korea and the latter from Canada. The Korean brand is known for its moisturizers, serums, toners, and masks featuring niacinamide, collagen, and hyaluronic acid, which suit oily acne-prone skin and oily skin best by balancing excess sebum and hydration. Conversely, the Canadian brand offers serums, moisturizers, cleansers, toners, and more, built around hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and squalane, which fit sensitive skin and dry sensitive skin best. While both incorporate powerhouse ingredients like hyaluronic acid to enhance skincare results, they differ notably in their core formulations and targeted skin types.

Medicube is a Korean skincare brand founded in 2016 and owned by APR Corp..

medicubereviews.co.ukglossy.co

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

glossy.coen.wikipedia.org

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

Popular Medicube vs The Ordinary products

People Say

MedicubeThe Ordinary
  • Hydration and Moisture Mostly MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “skin feels bouncier and hydrated — Medicube PDRN Pink Peptide Serum”
    • “glass skin — Medicube PDRN Pink Collagen Gel Mask”
    • “woke up with baby soft skin — Medicube Collagen Jelly Cream”
    • “skin feels immediately hydrated — The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5”
  • Skin Texture and Smoothing Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “glass skin effect — The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution”
    • “skin feels baby butt smooth — The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution”
    • “skin looks smoother and brighter — The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%”
    • “gives my skin a smooth, glass-like finish — Medicube Zero Pore Pad”
  • Value and Pricing Not notedMostly Mentioned
    • “lasts forever — The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution”
    • “can't beat the price — The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution”
    • “extremely affordable — The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%”
  • Acne and Blemish Control Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “pimples disappear within a day — The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution”
    • “scars and hormonal acne faded — The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%”
    • “faded dark spots — The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution”
    • “active breakouts look less inflamed — Medicube Red Succinic Acid Peeling Pad”
  • Glow and Radiance Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “gave me instant glass skin — Medicube Collagen Jelly Cream”
    • “woke up with glowing skin — Medicube Collagen Night Wrapping Mask”
    • “healthy, dewy glow — Medicube PDRN Pink Peptide Serum”
    • “glass skin effect — The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution”
  • Pore Care and Cleansing Often MentionedRarely Noted
    • “Pores drastically reduced — Medicube Zero Foam Cleanser”
    • “Mochi-like foam — Medicube Zero Foam Cleanser”
    • “Removes every trace of oil — Medicube Red Foam Cleanser”
    • “pores look significantly smaller — The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%”
  • Sticky and Tacky Finish Often MentionedOften Mentioned
    • “hair sticks to my face — Medicube Collagen Jelly Cream”
    • “feels way too sticky and tacky — Medicube DEEP VITA-C CAPSULE CREAM”
    • “feels very sticky — The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5”
    • “feels very sticky — The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution”
  • Irritation and Breakouts Often MentionedSometimes Noted
    • “broke me out in cysts — The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%”
    • “broke me out in cysts — The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5”
    • “gave me cystic acne — The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution”
    • “caused redness and sensitivity — Medicube Zero Pore Pad”
  • Drying and Stinging Effects Sometimes NotedSometimes Noted
    • “Skin feels very tight — Medicube Zero Foam Cleanser”
    • “skin felt very tight — Medicube Zero Pore Blackhead Mud Mask”
    • “Skin feels quite dry after washing — Medicube Red Foam Cleanser”
    • “stings a little but worth it — The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution”
  • Packaging and Quantity Concerns Often MentionedRarely Noted
    • “The 50ml tube runs out way too fast. — The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser”
    • “Wish it came in a pump — The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA”
    • “Expensive for Ordinary — The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1% Serum”
    • “tube is tiny for the price — Medicube Collagen Night Wrapping Mask”

Medicube vs The Ordinary routines for dry skin

Buy The Ordinary routine · SAR 814.57 · 90% fitBuy Medicube routine · SAR 698.98 · 86% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

Medicube vs The Ordinary routines for oily skin

Buy The Ordinary routine · SAR 867.55 · 92% fitBuy Medicube routine · SAR 806.40 · 88% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Medicube vs The Ordinary routines for combination skin

Buy The Ordinary routine · SAR 981.41 · 92% fitBuy Medicube routine · SAR 806.40 · 88% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Questions and answers

Medicube or The Ordinary: which is better?

The Ordinary offers better value, acne control, and texture-smoothing serums, while Medicube excels at deep hydration, pore care, and glow. For routine fit across nearly all skin types, The Ordinary is rated Superior and Medicube is rated High. Niacinamide helps reduce skin pigmentation and melanosome transfer, which supports the effectiveness of brightening products from both brands.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

What is the difference between Medicube and The Ordinary?

Medicube is best for deep hydration, pore care, and radiance, while The Ordinary offers better value and specializes in smoothing texture and clearing acne. Lovi rates The Ordinary superior for dry, oily, combination, sensitive, acne-prone, mature, and dark spot skin routines.

Medicube or The Ordinary for dry skin?

Both brands offer a Superior routine fit for dry skin, with The Ordinary also providing high-value texture-smoothing serums and Medicube delivering deep hydration moisturizers.

Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

Medicube or The Ordinary: which cleanser is better?

Medicube offers superior cleansing options for dry skin with its Zero Foam Cleanser, while The Ordinary provides a wider range of high-performing cleansers suitable for various skin types, including the Glucoside Foaming Cleanser and Glycolipid Cream Cleanser.

Which is more affordable, Medicube or The Ordinary?

The Ordinary is more affordable than Medicube and is often praised by reviewers for offering great value serums.

Between Medicube and The Ordinary, which brand is better for targeting dark spots and glow?

Medicube is better for glow and radiance, while The Ordinary does better for dark spot fading and features affordable texture-smoothing serums. Niacinamide helps reduce skin pigmentation, and vitamin C derivative supports photoaged skin.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002Antioxidants, 2021

How do Medicube and The Ordinary compare regarding sticky finishes and product texture complaints?

Medicube and The Ordinary are considered equal on this page regarding sticky and tacky finishes, as both brands receive complaints about a sticky residue from shoppers. Reviewers often mention sticky finishes for Medicube and sometimes note them for The Ordinary, while texture complaints are also common across the products on this page.

Which brand performs better for skin texture, smoothing, and pore care?

The Ordinary performs better for skin texture and smoothing, whereas Medicube takes the lead in pore care and cleansing. Both brands offer targeted products that help improve overall skin surface quality.

Medicube or The Ordinary for oily skin?

For oily skin, The Ordinary offers a Superior routine fit compared to Medicube's High fit on this page. Reviewers report that The Ordinary is better for texture-smoothing serums and acne-clearing serums.

Medicube or The Ordinary: which moisturizer is better?

Medicube offers superior moisturizers for mature skin and dry sensitive skin with products like the Collagen Jelly Cream and AGE-R Booster Gel. Meanwhile, The Ordinary features moisturizers like Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA that provide high to superior fit levels across a wide variety of skin types.

Medicube or The Ordinary for sensitive skin?

Both Medicube and The Ordinary fit sensitive skin well, with Lovi fit levels rated High for Medicube and Superior for The Ordinary. The Ordinary provides affordable, gentle, and non-irritating serums, whereas Medicube focuses on deep hydration and soothing care.

Medicube or The Ordinary for acne-prone skin?

Both brands are a strong fit for acne-prone skin, with Lovi fit levels reaching High for Medicube and Superior for The Ordinary products on this page. The Ordinary offers specialized blemish control and texture-smoothing serums that shoppers often praise, while Medicube provides effective deep hydration and pore care.

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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