The Ordinary Has A Sister Body Care Brand — & It’s Incredible

Unless you’ve been living under a particularly beauty-starved rock, The Ordinary is a brand you know well. It’s probably in your bathroom cabinet right now! But insiders know that The Ordinary’s parent company, Deciem, is a treasure trove of creative brands that are something of a best-kept secret, despite The Ordinary’s fame.

Last year, Deciem unveiled LOoPHA, a modern fragrance brand to scent your life. Think sensorial hand and body washes, plus forthcoming body serums and scented hand and body mists with elevated fragrances. Think Oud + Amber (a smoky blend of sweet oud, warm amber, citrusy bergamot and vanilla-esque tonka bean), Broadleaf Forest (like the name suggests, a crisp combination of cedar, dry patchouli and zingy vetiver) and Chalk, a nostalgic, specific scent concept brought to life via mint, fresh saffron, sugared anise and powdered musk. 

For our beauty director Jacqueline Kilikita, the body washes have quickly stolen the spotlight: “Not just because they're stylish and affordable,” she says — the washes are £12, by the way — “but because the scents rival those of niche fragrance brands, in my opinion.” Oud + Amber is her fragrance of choice: “It smells like a sweet, smoky eau de parfum that lingers on the skin. One pump on a loofah is enough to cleanse my whole body, it’s that good, and it also doubles as a hand wash.”

What makes LOoPHA's body washes really special is that they're gentle enough for Kilikita's dermatitis-prone skin without exacerbating dryness or irritation — and it's all thanks to the ingredients.

Like The Ordinary, LOoPHA is all about innovative, effective ingredients (an emphasis on transparency is a well-known Deciem calling card) and minimal packaging. While the scents take centre stage, the formula remains gentle and non-irritating, thanks to moisturising jojoba esters (derived from the plant oil of the same name) and glycerin (a powerful humectant to help your skin retain moisture). Most notably, it uses apple- and babassu-derived surfactants for a rich, plant-based, sulphate-free lather — great if harsh surfactants make your skin dry.

As Refinery29's senior writer and lifelong lover of all things beauty, Broadleaf Forest is my go-to; I’ve gone through two bottles already — one by my bathroom sink and another in the shower — and I'm nowhere near tired of it.

I work out a lot (hot yoga being my class of choice), so I demand a lot from my body wash: It has to whisk away buckets of sweat but not strip my skin. Other sulphate-free body cleansers don't always create the rich lather that makes me feel clean, but this one delivers. In fact, I don't think I'd have ever guessed it was sulphate-free in a 'blind' test — that's how well it works. Plus, it creates a spa-like ambiance in my bathroom every time I use it.

Where Oud + Amber is warm and sensual, Broadleaf Forest is crisp and clean, but not so herbal that it takes a turn for the medicinal. While £12 is slightly more than typical high street prices, the formulas are on par with what you’d expect from a luxury brand. Kilikita agrees: “I finished my last bottle a month ago, and honestly? I’m still thinking about it.”