🇸🇬Singapore

The Ordinary vs La Prairie

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

The Ordinary and La Prairie are two distinct skincare lines that serve very different daily rituals. The Canadian brand offers serums, moisturizers, cleansers, and toners built around hyaluronic acid, glycerin, and squalane, which suit dry skin and oily acne-prone skin best. Meanwhile, the Swiss brand is beloved for its luxurious eye products, nourishing moisturizers, targeted serums, and refreshing toners that suit mature skin and dry skin best with deep comfort. Ultimately, the two differ through their targeted active formulations and their approach to supporting the complexion with enduring grace.

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

glossy.coen.wikipedia.org

La Prairie is a Swiss skincare brand founded in 1978 and owned by maxingvest GmbH & Co. KGaA since 2003.

en.wikipedia.orgreports.beiersdorf.combeiersdorf.com

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

Popular The Ordinary vs La Prairie products

People Say

The OrdinaryLa Prairie
  • Hydration and Plumping Sometimes NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “gentle yet effective moisturizing — La Prairie Cellular Softening and Balancing Lotion”
    • “erased my dry patches — La Prairie Skin Caviar Luxe Cream”
    • “skin feels plump — La Prairie Skin Caviar Liquid Lift”
    • “skin feels immediately hydrated — The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5”
  • Lightweight Absorption Often MentionedMostly Mentioned
    • “absorbs instantly — La Prairie Skin Caviar Liquid Lift”
    • “absorbs instantly — La Prairie Skin Caviar Eye Lift”
    • “Sinks in immediately — The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA”
  • Firming and Lifting Sometimes NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “felt skin tighten immediately — La Prairie Skin Caviar Liquid Lift”
    • “opened my eyes — La Prairie Skin Caviar Eye Lift”
    • “jawline genuinely looks lifted — La Prairie Skin Caviar Luxe Cream”
    • “deflates morning bags — The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG”
  • Value and Affordability Mostly MentionedNot noted
    • “lasts forever — The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution”
    • “eliminated armpit odor — The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution”
    • “can't beat the price — The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution”
  • Texture and Pores Mostly MentionedNot noted
    • “glass skin effect — The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution”
    • “pores look significantly smaller — The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1%”
    • “never had any reaction to it with my sensitive skin — The Ordinary Mandelic Acid 10% + HA”
  • Glow and Radiance Rarely NotedOften Mentioned
    • “gave my face a soft glow — La Prairie Skin Caviar Luxe Cream”
    • “skin looks radiant — La Prairie Skin Caviar Liquid Lift”
    • “tight, bright and shiny — The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution”
  • High Price Rarely NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “Expensive for Ordinary — The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1% Serum”
    • “eye-wateringly expensive — La Prairie Skin Caviar Luxe Cream”
  • Unpleasant Scent Rarely NotedMostly Mentioned
    • “Smells like vinegar — The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1% Serum”
    • “smell is unbearable — The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%”
    • “has a slight chemical smell — The Ordinary Mandelic Acid 10% + HA”
    • “smells like a rich grandma — La Prairie Skin Caviar Luxe Cream”
  • Slow or Ineffective Results Sometimes NotedOften Mentioned
    • “no change in pigment — The Ordinary Caffeine Solution 5% + EGCG”
    • “not a miracle worker overnight — The Ordinary Mandelic Acid 10% + HA”
    • “Didn't do anything special — The Ordinary Alpha Arbutin 2% + HA”
    • “just a good moisturizer — La Prairie Skin Caviar Luxe Cream”
  • Texture Issues and Pilling Often MentionedRarely Noted
    • “caused pilling — La Prairie Cellular Softening and Balancing Lotion”
    • “foams up like soap — The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution”

The Ordinary vs La Prairie routines for dry skin

Buy La Prairie routine · S$189.84 · 93% fitBuy The Ordinary routine · S$164.78 · 92% fitSee multi-brand routine · 99% fit

The Ordinary vs La Prairie routines for oily skin

Buy The Ordinary routine · S$393.06 · 89% fitBuy La Prairie routine · S$423.46 · 84% fitSee multi-brand routine · 96% fit

The Ordinary vs La Prairie routines for combination skin

Buy The Ordinary routine · S$289.36 · 88% fitBuy La Prairie routine · S$319.36 · 87% fitSee multi-brand routine · 97% fit

Questions and answers

The Ordinary or La Prairie: which is better?

The Ordinary and La Prairie both achieve a Superior routine fit for mature skin, but they serve very different budgets and preferences. The Ordinary is widely praised for offering affordable and effective targeted serums, whereas La Prairie delivers luxurious textures and firming benefits at a much higher price point.

What is the difference between The Ordinary and La Prairie?

The Ordinary offers more affordable, fragrance-free products focused on texture, pores, and value, whereas La Prairie provides luxury anti-aging formulas with lifting and firming benefits, though many of its products feature strong fragrance. Both brands achieve equal routine fit levels for mature and dry skin, but La Prairie is rated higher for dry sensitive skin and skin with dark spots.

The Ordinary or La Prairie for oily skin?

Both The Ordinary and La Prairie provide a High fit for oily skin. The products on this page help deliver effective skincare options for this skin type without compromising results.

The Ordinary or La Prairie: which moisturizer is better?

Both brands offer moisturizers that help deliver great results, with The Ordinary featuring fragrance-free options like Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA and La Prairie offering luxurious choices like Skin Caviar Luxe Cream. Reviewers note that The Ordinary provides exceptional value, while La Prairie helps deliver deep hydration and smoothing.

Which is more affordable, The Ordinary or La Prairie?

The Ordinary offers much greater affordability, featuring budget-friendly individual serums and whole skincare lines that reviewers frequently praise for exceptional value. In contrast, La Prairie features luxury pricing with exorbitant costs for its products on this page.

Which brand has fragrance-free products, The Ordinary or La Prairie?

The Ordinary provides fragrance-free choices across all the products on this page, whereas only 1 of 5 La Prairie items is fragrance-free. This helps shoppers with sensitive skin avoid potential irritation.

The Ordinary or La Prairie for sensitive skin?

Both The Ordinary and La Prairie offer a High fit level for sensitive skin. The Ordinary helps with fragrance-free formulations across the products on this page, whereas La Prairie features strong fragrance in 4 of 5 products on this page.

The Ordinary or La Prairie for mature skin?

Both The Ordinary and La Prairie fit mature skin well, offering a Superior routine level on this page. The Ordinary provides affordable serums with ingredients like retinol that help smooth texture, while La Prairie offers luxurious creams that may provide deep hydration and firming effects.

The Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2000Archives of Dermatology, 2007

The Ordinary or La Prairie for skin with dark spots?

La Prairie fits skin with dark spots at a Superior level, while The Ordinary offers a High fit level for this skin type. Niacinamide may help reduce cutaneous pigmentation.

The British Journal of Dermatology, 2002

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