The Ordinary Pink Serum (Niacinamide 5% Face and Body Emulsion)

What the experts use it for.

The concerns the experts tie this product to, in their own words. Paid and founder takes don't count.

Dark spots and post-acne marks1 expert

“For what it promises, to help fade the look of dark spots and give more even-looking skin tone, it'll help a little bit, as much as niacinamide as a main ingredient can help.”

No BS Beauty, watch at 5:52

Dull skin1 expert

“It really does give a brighter complexion the more often you use it.”

Sincerely Miss Ash, watch at 9:13

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

Mad About Skin

734k subs

~Yay

"You can use this actually mil for mill far cheaper than the 10%. Far better formulated. It's in a beautiful rich emulsion which [...] just glides onto the skin and sinks in. It gives you added hydration. It gives you the benefits of that niacinamide and again in a 5% strength, same concentration as the [azelaic] acid product. Genuinely works. I absolutely love this. [...] You can use it all over the body for that brightening and the benefits of niacinamide head to toe."

All 7 takes from Mad About Skin

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"You can walk into stores and buy it, and The Ordinary will ship it to you wherever you live. I don't think it's necessarily as potent when it comes to reducing redness and inflammation as some of the other products I mentioned today. [...] However, it has a nice blend of different ingredients that gives an all-round calming and soothing effect on the skin. I think where it works best is post-shave."

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"This is great. You can use it on the face, and you can use it on the body. It's really inexpensive. That 5% is perfect, and it's an emulsion, so I actually think the [...] base formulation is better than the original niacinamide. If you're still using the niacinamide 10%, switch to this. You will get far greater results, less irritation, and it just feels nicer on the skin."

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"I think I paid £11 for this, so it really doesn't need to break the bank. [...] Look how beautifully that applies. This is a firm favorite for me. My skin doesn't like a lot of niacinamide, so I could never go for the 10%. Whether you use this on the body or the face is up to you, but you get a lot more product for a lot lower price point per ml than with the 10% in a better strength. Let this be your niacinamide fix if you like it as an ingredient."

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"But The Ordinary got ahead of the game and actually launched this. This is The Ordinary Niacinamide 5% Face and Body Emulsion. This is a better product. It has a nicer texture, you get more product, and it costs less. So it's just a really affordable dupe for itself, almost, and it's got 5%. I would say to anyone that's using this, ditch it and use this. You will get the exact same results with fewer side effects and less irritation, and it's cheaper. I think this is a no-brainer."

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"I think this is almost future proofing against those regulations in the coming years, to bring the strength down. [...] I love this on the body, and it's great on the face, amazing. If you like niacinamide but you like it in a lower dose and a nicer application, I'd give it 10 out of 10. Absolutely phenomenal."

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"That's too high, which is why a lot of people get sensitivity and irritation. 5% is the sweet spot with this one. You also get three times the amount of product, 100 ml, for less. I think it's like 20% cheaper. It's amazing for a fraction of the cost, with more product and 5% strength. It's a really rich, creamy emulsion, which I love. Look at that, and it just disappears. So amazing formula. [...] This is my go-to niacinamide when my skin wants a fix of that ingredient, and it's so, so good."

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"You can use this actually mil for mill far cheaper than the 10%. Far better formulated. It's in a beautiful rich emulsion which [...] just glides onto the skin and sinks in. It gives you added hydration. It gives you the benefits of that niacinamide and again in a 5% strength, same concentration as the [azelaic] acid product. Genuinely works. I absolutely love this. [...] You can use it all over the body for that brightening and the benefits of niacinamide head to toe."

No BS Beauty

89k subs

~Mixed

"It'll probably help brighten dark spots for some people, but my hyperpigmentation, especially on my face from melasma, is very stubborn, and this didn't do anything other than moisturize the skin, which is nice. For what it promises, to help fade the look of dark spots and give more even-looking skin tone, it'll help a little bit, as much as niacinamide as a main ingredient can help. You'll probably get better results with a product that has more brightening ingredients."

Sincerely Miss Ash

196k subs

~Yay

"It's way more hydrating on the skin and way more gentle. It doesn't peel with skincare, and it's a great way to introduce niacinamide into your face skincare products, or if you want to start using it on your body. If you were to strictly use this for your face, you're getting 100 mLs of product. [...] You can also use this on the body, and that's why they gave a [...] larger amount of product, so it will last you forever if you're going to strictly use it for your face."

All 3 takes from Sincerely Miss Ash

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"It's way more hydrating on the skin and way more gentle. It doesn't peel with skincare, and it's a great way to introduce niacinamide into your face skincare products, or if you want to start using it on your body. If you were to strictly use this for your face, you're getting 100 mLs of product. [...] You can also use this on the body, and that's why they gave a [...] larger amount of product, so it will last you forever if you're going to strictly use it for your face."

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"Then of course this would be a great product to start incorporating to even everything out, but it's also a great product just to use for added hydration. I think they did a really good job here. I love that this is at a 5% concentration. I also quite enjoy that milky texture, so it's perfect for all skin types, and it's fragrance-free."

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"I did pick up The Ordinary Pink Serum, the Niacinamide 5%. It's their antioxidant serum that is great for signs of aging, but it's also great for adding additional hydration to your skin. I mix one to two drops into my moisturizer and apply it to my face like that. You can use it every day, twice a day, and it really is great for that nice glow to the skin. It really does give a brighter complexion the more often you use it."

Abbey Yung

887k subs

~Mixed

"It's a very liquidy, lightweight lotion [...] that goes super thin as you rub it in, which I like in a product like this, but I just don't personally have a need for something with just niacinamide, since that ingredient is in just about everything these days and there are other products that offer it plus other beneficial ingredients, so you get more bang for your buck. I [...] think it's not necessary, but that's just my own opinion."

Nipun Kapur

413k subs

~Yay

"The Ordinary actually has a 5% niacinamide in a face and body emulsion. It's a [...] creamy formula, and it's non-irritating. Because it's at 5%, it can be used on the face. I've tried it out and it's really, really nice. It's for face and body. I've been using it on my arms to brighten them, but then I went back to using a different 10% serum, so this one is kind of untouched, primarily."

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Niacinamide

Niacinamide has evidence behind it for redness, uneven tone and supporting the skin barrier, and it is usually well tolerated even by skin that reacts to most things.

Source: DermNet

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an antioxidant, and it is often in a formula to keep the other ingredients stable rather than as the active itself. It pairs well with vitamin C, though on its own the evidence for visible change is limited.

Source: NIH, National Library of Medicine

Frequently asked.

What is The Ordinary Pink Serum (Niacinamide 5% Face and Body Emulsion)?

A lightweight niacinamide 5% emulsion from The Ordinary, designed for both face and body, that aims to hydrate the skin and help even the look of skin tone and dark spots.

Is The Ordinary Pink Serum (Niacinamide 5% Face and Body Emulsion) worth it?

The gurus mostly approve it, but with enough reservations to keep it in the middle at a Guru Score of 71%.

What is The Ordinary Pink Serum (Niacinamide 5% Face and Body Emulsion)'s Guru Score?

The Ordinary Pink Serum (Niacinamide 5% Face and Body Emulsion) holds a Guru Score of 71%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 5 expert reviewers we have collected.

What is The Ordinary Pink Serum (Niacinamide 5% Face and Body Emulsion) good for, according to the experts?

In their reviews, experts say The Ordinary Pink Serum (Niacinamide 5% Face and Body Emulsion) is good for dark spots and post-acne marks (1 expert) and dull skin (1 expert).