The Ordinary Reviews 740

The monkey are working at their Customer Happiness team, DO NOT ORDER anything from this website, vote with your money and let them feel the pain.

I have emailed them four times with a complaint and heard nothing. A couple of products are good. But for me it’s the customer service every time. So back to Elmis I go.

A loyal customer with a history of pretty large orders for gifting along with myself but my recent order that said a gift would be included was not and then needed to speak to customer service regarding a change to the next order and it’s been a month. Still no response, the chat bot never works and call times are not as listed. Be cautious. I have liked most of the products but they don’t seem as strong as previously and would be curious to have them 3rd party tested for my website. Unfortunately without a response from the company it wouldn’t be a company I continue with. Customer service is needed and so easy to set up with AI these days even if they can’t afford to hire human support. 😞

I'm discontinuing my purchases from The Ordinary (online or in-store) for two key reasons.

First, the delivery experience with DHL in Spain has been consistently terrible. Across multiple orders, they've repeatedly claimed my address is "incorrect" and forced me to travel to the nearest city (1-hour round-trip) to collect packages from a DHL point. My address is always supplied 100% accurately – and DHL has successfully delivered dozens of orders from other companies to this same address over the past decade (as have countless other delivery companies). This is clearly a service issue specific to The Ordinary's logistics arrangement.

Second – and more importantly to me in light of the world we're now living in – I'm uncomfortable with the brand's ownership structure. The Ordinary is owned by Estée Lauder Group, and until recently, Ronald Lauder (founder's son) served on the board and donated $5 million to Trump's MAGA Inc. super PAC. He's also credited with originally suggesting to Trump the idea of purchasing/invading Greenland. While he retired from the board in January 2025, the family maintains significant influence over the company.

Between the delivery nightmares and ethical concerns about the parent company's icky political connections, I'll be taking my business elsewhere.

In the meantime, my The Ordinary stuff will be going in the bin – they’re actually good beauty products on the surface, it’s just a shame they come with such ugly baggage attached.

The Ordinary’s poor packaging and unresponsive customer service made a simple order unnecessarily stressful, ignoring my key concerns entirely.

My Experience
I ordered three serums and a balm, but they arrived in an oversized 460x400x280 mm box that created excessive waste and disposal hassle. One serum was missing upon receipt (the box had been left in a communal area and arrived tampered with), and while they eventually agreed to replace it, the massive packaging overwhelmed my recycling and added unfair disposal costs on my end.

Company Response

Their reply focused solely on the missing item, offering no acknowledgement of the broader packaging issues or the frustration it caused. The initial email I sent bounced back, forcing me to retype my full concerns into their restrictive web form that didn’t allow copy-paste, making the process even more tedious and stressful. No meaningful action followed, just a generic feedback note and a choice between refund or replacement, disregarding everything else I raised.

Key Issues
• Excessive Packaging: Unnecessarily large box for small items shows lack of environmental responsibility.

• Customer Service Barriers: Bouncing emails and non-copy-paste forms hinder proper communication.

• No Accountability: Empathy was expressed, but zero resolution for my actual concerns or added burdens.

A extremely disappointing experience overall. Seek brands with better packaging and accessible support.

Update: January 20 2026
The Ordinary’s reply admits they “did not receive the initial message,” yet my summary, submitted through your restrictive form on January 14, explicitly stated the excessive packaging overwhelmed my recycling and caused disposal hassle. They ignored it entirely then, and now vaguely promise to “pass feedback” without addressing the environmental waste or my burdens.
Follow-up email reply with photos of the tampered box and missing serum bounced initially, forcing retyping due to no copy-paste, PLUS a resend via copy and paste in italics of my original detailed email. Still ignored. Pure frustration. Replacement is coming, but no accountability for core issues. Stop excuses; act on packaging now. Still 1 star.

UPDATE: The Ordinary reached out and after a few discussions, we came to an agreement to resolve the issue. So I'm upping my rate from 1 to 3 to highlight their efforts. ORIGINAL : I like the products. But the customer service is non-existent. The FAQ didn't answer my question. The chat bot stated that no one was available to answer my questions and ended the conversation. I called the number that put me on hold with a message that said they were receiving a lot of calls... and then hung up. So I filled in the form asking if I could modify my order. I received an automated reply that didn't answer my question either. My question was very simple: can I modify my order to add a product I forgot to include? I got a silly automated reply that gave me their return policy, followed by an email saying my order had shipped. I guess it's too late to add anything... This followed a situation a few months back where I was supposed to pick up my order in store. But the order was sent to the wrong city (my browser messed up). The teenage Kim K at the store said I had to get in touch with customer service, and refused to put the order together. When I read the policy online, it stated that orders not picked up would be reimbursed after a few days. Couldn't Kim K say that instead of directing me to a non-existent customer service and leaving me infuriated?

I was a loyal customer of The Ordinary for a long time, until I placed an order specifically because of their well-advertised gift-with-purchase promotion lasting a whole week. I ordered right on the day the promo started and the gift was simply not included. When I reached out, customer service replied with a disappointing “while supplies last” explanation asking me to watch for future opportunities. It made the promotion feel misleading and the response careless. I would honestly caution others to manage their expectations when it comes to these promotions.

The website shows that it ships to Cyprus, it includes the country in their official delivery places, yet when you put an address, the website freezes and doesn't allow to proceed with payment. Changed my delivery address to Greece, it took them 2 weeks to ship the products, then UPs made attempts to deliver without contacting us, and before they actually tried or made any contact to arrange delivery, they proceeded with return to sender. THIS IS HORRIBLE.
ORDER 22767542
Order Date: 12/7/2025

I have used various products (toner, moisturiser and serum) from the Ordinary for the last six months or so and my skin has never looked better. I also had an issue with one product recently which was quickly resolved by Samantha in customer services, despite it being the Christmas holiday season, and I was offered full refund or replacement product.

Do not buy from this site!! I ordered few things for Christmas and they never arrived and when I contacted them they said the carrier couldn't deliver and they will not be returning it to them, so they will not provide me a refund or replacement. When I pushed more they offered me a partial refund or to charge me more for the same items since they had a loss from the previous order. Which makes no sense at all since they are punishing the customer for the order that wasn't delivered by some third party carrier.

I ordered a package to Sweden two weeks ago, and since then UPS has lost the package and caused a lot of issues.
It is impossible to get in contact with The Ordinary, so I am getting no help from any side. I just want my items delivered now or a full refund.
I will never dare to order from you again 😔

I’ve been buying from them for years. Today I open my tiny package and it’s strange already ; I figure out why, The copper peptides (most expensive product) is missing. Only the retinal was shipped. I’m so sad.

I have always had deliveries relatively on time due to region they are delivered to, however my last delivery still seems to be sorted in Belgium with unclear updates on tracking link. It has been 16 days since order was dispatched and tracking link is stuck for 6 days. I have reached out on Instagram multiple times and filled out the contact form with no response. Please advise me further. Order 22553372. Case ID’s: 02305470, 02304316, 02305923, 02303522.

UPDATE:

I have contacted b-post international to check on my parcel as it is going through Belgium network and they said they do not even have it and may be lost so that explains the last update on 10th that parcel is somehow in Feltham again. Please RESEND my parcel, with additional free item (as free cosmetic bag is probably not available anymore but is part of my original order). Thanks.

Further update:
They finally responded to me on 22nd of Dec advising me that they’ll contact shipping partner and get back to me. However, since it was holidays, I heard nothing back but luckily in the meantime tracking link updated after 15 days of being stuck.

Well I can’t believe that I was fooled jet again thee product are totally rubbish. And the company knows they are selling rubbish because I send them to email expressing my disappointment and no reply. I wounding how much money there are paying people to mislead consumers this come under false advertising do not waste you money guys. And it seems I am not the only one disappointed I do not recommend

I would continue to give this company a zero if it was allowed. I rated them zero last year as well. The customer service is non existent. I was supposed to receive a package Dec. 4th and here it is the 14th and still no package. UPS claims we have had 10 days of "severe weather". I'm quite sure the package is lost and i contacted The Ordinary, on Dec. 5, asking them to contact the courier. Not til Dec 14 did they tell me they have contacted the courier but basically its out of their control. I am amazed how easily they just wash their hands of a problem and think they are delivering "happy customer service". Especially when the customer has no control over the courier that is used. Good customer service would have been contacting the courier Dec. 8, as 6&7 was the weekend, and then sending me a new package with a reliable courier and have the other shipped back to them. I could have at least had it for Christmas. Sending me an email telling me its out of their control, 10 days later and suggesting I look at their FAQ is just offensive. I didn't learn last year, but I will not make this mistake again. I'm done with this company.

I don’t recommend this product if you have problematic skin.Made my skin worse .I started having breakouts.

I am a long-time customer, but I just had an order cancelled without reason, and a week after I paid, etc. They seem to have no European customer service, as the "chat" system they mention on the website has no link or no response (I've waited for hours) and there is no email. (A paid international phone call is the only option.)

On August 29, I placed Order #21597501 for two bottles of The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1% Serum (30ml), but I only received one bottle.

I didn’t open the package right away and initially thought I had ordered only one, so I did not keep the package, as I didn’t think there was an issue with the order. After reviewing my order, I saw that I was charged for two bottles, yet only one was delivered.
On August 29, I placed Order #21597501 for two bottles of The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1% Serum (30ml), but I only received one bottle.

I didn’t open the package right away and initially thought I had ordered only one, so I did not keep the package, as I didn’t think there was an issue with the order. After reviewing my order, I saw that I was charged for two bottles, yet only one was delivered.
I want my refund!

Payment of €30.73 was deducted (via PayPal), but my order was never created. I have been attempting to reach customer service, but the chat assistant does not forward my request to an actual representative. The “Contact Us” option is also unhelpful, as there is no section for payment disputes other than the chatbot. Additionally, no customer service email is provided anywhere.

After endlessly searching online, I found an address and sent an email, hoping it would reach the right team. The entire process has been extremely frustrating and time-consuming. I sincerely hope that someone from customer support will see this message and contact me to resolve the issue.

Horrible company, customer service never reply to any message. My first and last order 22461517 lost by ups who delivered my parcel to another Town!! Inacceptable !!Refund me!! Avoid to order !! Let me remind you, that for charge my bank account this was made immediately, but for thé moment I did not received any refund ! Hope it is not a lie!