The Ordinary

100% Organic Cold Pressed Borage Seed Oil.

Serums

About this product

A cold-pressed facial oil made from borage seed, designed to hydrate and moisturize the skin.

Full ingredients

Borago Officinalis Seed Oil, [more]

Guru Score

77%

Yay

3 experts · Moderate agreement

3Gurus

2Yay

1Mixed

0Nay

What they liked

Hydrating oil for winter layering
Cold-pressed, budget-friendly price
Absorbs in time for morning routine

What they flagged

Strong, distinctive scent many find off-putting
Fewer benefits than comparable oils

What the gurus are saying

The distinctive hurdle here is scent: borage oil has a naturally pungent smell that can read as rancid to many people, though the brand confirms it is not. Beyond that, it hydrates well and works as a straightforward facial oil, though gurus found it offers fewer active benefits than some competing oils. At its low price point, those who can get past the scent may want to mix a couple of drops into their moisturizer or use it solo in winter for hydration.

Synthesized from 3 expert reviews · most recent take November 2025

Best for

Dry skin Sensitive skin

Type

SerumsOil

Formula notes

Fragrance-freeNo drying alcohol

Where to buy

Amazon → Google →

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What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored

No BS Beauty

89k subs

✓Yay

"This one's their borage seed oil, which I like. In the winter, I'll use it as a good oil just to hydrate and moisturize everything at the end of my routine or sometimes just in the morning to keep things hydrated. I'll wake up at like 5 in the morning, put some oil on and it'll kind of soak in before I start to get ready like 8 or 9. So it's nice for that."

Sincerely Miss Ash

195k subs

✓Yay

"This is great for all skin types and you can use this both morning and evening. If you're going to use a facial oil, use it on top of your moisturizer, and if you just want to use the oil by itself you can also do that as well. You can layer with this oil also if you choose to do that, and you can even incorporate it into your body care routine as well. [...] This was quite lightweight in my opinion, it wasn't too oily on the skin, but it did the job really well to keep that skin nice and moisturized and feeling comfortable. [...] If you are looking for a good oil for dryness and irritation and you want to stock up on this, it's $5.50 for 30ml, so it's quite affordable so even if you pick up a few bottles of this it's still pretty cheap."

Mad About Skin

727k subs

✓Mixed

"It's fine as an oil, it works, but it didn't have as many benefits as some of the other oils on the market. It had a really unique scent which a lot of people do actually write in and say is this rancid because it smells like that, and they actually put a disclaimer on their website saying just because it smells rancid doesn't mean it is, that's its natural scent. It's a lovely facial oil if you don't mind the scent, really inexpensive. I would say drop it, buy it while you can, add a couple of drops of it into your moisturizer, great for hydration. I just don't think many people could get over the scent of it, which is why it never caught on. But for £5, if you can get over the scent, this is a real budget-friendly facial oil that is beautifully cold pressed and such a great find."

Frequently asked.

What is The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold Pressed Borage Seed Oil?

A cold-pressed facial oil made from borage seed, designed to hydrate and moisturize the skin.

Is The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold Pressed Borage Seed Oil worth it?

Mostly yes. 2 of the 3 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 77%.

What is The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold Pressed Borage Seed Oil's Guru Score?

The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold Pressed Borage Seed Oil holds a Guru Score of 77%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 3 expert reviewers we have collected.