Now and After Niacinamide Ampoule & The Ordinary Niacinamide Serum Review and Comparison

DEAR DREAMERS

With both products containing 10% Niacinamide which is known for its skin brightening properties, these two Korean skincare products will be compared and reviewed in this blog post. I’ll be sharing my analysis of the Now and After Niacinamide 10% with Astaxanthin Skin Boosting Ampoule and The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% Serum.

Now and After Niacinamide Ampoule & The Ordinary Niacinamide Serum Comparison
I have been using the two products on my face every day for a week on both my morning routine and nighttime skincare routine. I've consistently used each serum to each side of my face, Now and After for the left side and The Ordinary for the right side. I've also used different fingers to apply the serums. Both serums did a great job of brightening my skin, my skin had a better complexion and I noticed my acne scars lightening up a bit. Since I couldn't find the differences in terms of brightening, I focused on comparing the subtle differences between the two products.

Appearance & Scent
The major difference between the two serums is the appearance and scent, the Now and After Niacinamide Serum has a light orange liquid appearance with orange particles/capsules floating while The Ordinary Niacinamide Serum has a clear liquid.

Now and After Niacinamide 10% with Astaxanthin Skin Boosting Ampoule
Key Ingredients: Niacinamide 10%, Glutathione, Centella Asiatica Extract, Eclipta Prostrata Extract, Madecassoside, Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, Asiaticoside, Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil, Bitter Almond Kernel Oil, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Apple Leaf Extract, Jasmine Flower/Leaf Extract, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract, Hyaluronic Acid, Astaxanthin, Adenosine, and Tocopherol.

Functions: Improves skin textures and appearance of pores, moisturizes, hydrates, calms, improves skin elasticity, and builds up the skin barrier.

Now and After Review: The scent is comparatively more pleasant and it leaves the skin feeling cool, unlike The Ordinary's version. It doesn't feel sticky but there is a hint of stickiness there and it is slightly stickier than the ordinary by only a margin. It seems to leave a thicker layer of the product on top of my skin (a slightly thicker moisture barrier). I find that this would be suitable for my oily skin but it seems to be a great choice for those with dry skin.

The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% Serum 
Key Ingredients: Niacinamide and Zinc PCA.
Functions: Minimizes pores, controls sebum

The Ordinary Review: The chemical-like scent of The Ordinary's Serum is a bit overpowering but I don't really mind it since I'm used to using skincare products without fragrance. It appears to be less viscous than the Now and After's ampoule. The Ordinary's serum also seems to be slightly more moisturizing than the Now and After's ampoule. Recently, I have had rough patches of skin on both sides of my nose and the side with The Ordinary's serum appears to have slightly better results. The Ordinary’s serum is definitely the better choice for oily skin since it has sebum control.

Ingredients comparison
With only 11 ingredients, The Ordinary is perfect for those who like to keep their ingredients list simple. As for the Now and After, it contains 41 ingredients which is a lot compared to The Ordinary serum. Despite containing 41 ingredients, the Now and After ampoule doesn’t contain harmful ingredients. Even though I like that The Ordinary Niacinamide serum has only 11 ingredients, I don’t like that it contains Phenoxyethanol, Phenoxyethanol is not suitable for pregnant and lactating women so it’s best to avoid it if you’re expecting a child or breastfeeding.

PR
I received both the Now and After ampoule and The Ordinary serum from Celeb Asia to review and compare. You can use my code CELEBPREL to get 10% from their Shopee store.

Watch me unbox, try on and compare the two Niacinamide products.