Versus

Beauty Pie Happy Face 10% Azelaic Acid Skin-Clearing Gel-Cream Versus The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10%

Facial Treatment
Serum
American Brand United States
Canadian Brand Canada

Updated on June 07, 2024

Overview

What they are

These products are both vegan, cruelty-free, and reef safe . They have a total of 7 ingredients in common

Cool Features

They both contain Vitamin E

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for fighting acne, anti aging, dry skin, sensitive skin, reducing pores, scar healing, dark spots and better texture

Free From

They both do not contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, fragrances, oils, parabens or sulfates

What's Inside

They both contain silicones

We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that needs an update? Let us know.

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and see relevant ingredients

About this product

About this product

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

found in both products

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

Skin Conditioning, Solvent

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water
Emollient, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting

Dimethicone is a type of synthetic silicone created from natural materials such as quartz.

What it does:

Dimethicone comes in different viscosities:

Depending on the viscosity, dimethicone has different properties.

Ingredients lists don't always show which type is used, so we recommend reaching out to the brand if you have questions about the viscosity.

This ingredient is unlikely to cause irritation because it does not get absorbed into skin. However, people with silicone allergies should be careful about using this ingredient.

Note: Dimethicone may contribute to pilling. This is because it is not oil or water soluble, so pilling may occur when layered with products. When mixed with heavy oils in a formula, the outcome is also quite greasy.

Learn more about Dimethicone
Buffering, Masking

Azelaic acid is a naturally occurring acid derived from grains. This ingredient is effective in treating acne, rosacea, and other skin conditions.

It has been shown to reduce the growth of acne-causing bacteria and helps reduce inflammation. On top of that, it helps reduce the production of sebum and unclog pores.

Azelaic Acid also has antioxidant properties. Antioxidants protect our skin cells from free-radical damage.

One of the main benefits of azelaic acid is that it is gentle and well-tolerated by most people.

Fun fact: The lab-created form of azelaic acid is typically used within cosmetic products for its shelf-stability.

Learn more about Azelaic Acid

This is a synthetic polymer. It helps improve the texture of products by adding thickness and gel-like feel.

It is also an emulsifer, meaning it prevents ingredients such as oil and water from separating. It also helps evenly disperse other ingredients.

Emulsifying

Polysorbate 60 is used to help stabilize products. It is a surfactant and emulsifier. These properties help keep ingredients together in a product. Surfactants help reduce surface tension between ingredients with different states, such as liquids and solids. Emulsifiers help prevent oils and waters from separating.

Polysorbate 60 is sorbitol-based and created from the ethoxylation of sorbitan. Ethoxylation is a chemical reaction used to add ethylene oxide. Sorbitan is a the dehydrated version of sorbitol, a sugar found in fruits.

In this case, the 60 comes from reacting 60 units of ethylene oxide with sorbitan.

Polysorbates are commonly used in medicine and foods.

Learn more about Polysorbate 60
Preservative

Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.

It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.

Antioxidant, Masking, Skin Conditioning

Tocopherol (also known as Vitamin E) is a common antioxidant used to help protect the skin from free-radicals and strengthen the skin barrier. It's also fat soluble - this means our skin is great at absorbing it.

Vitamin E also helps keep your natural skin lipids healthy. Your lipid skin barrier naturally consists of lipids, ceramides, and fatty acids. Vitamin E offers extra protection for your skin’s lipid barrier, keeping your skin healthy and nourished.

Another benefit is a bit of UV protection. Vitamin E helps reduce the damage caused by UVB rays. (It should not replace your sunscreen). Combining it with Vitamin C can decrease sunburned cells and hyperpigmentation after UV exposure.

You might have noticed Vitamin E + C often paired together. This is because it is great at stabilizing Vitamin C. Using the two together helps increase the effectiveness of both ingredients.

There are often claims that Vitamin E can reduce/prevent scarring, but these claims haven't been confirmed by scientific research.

Learn more about Tocopherol

When to use

7 Routines
29% use in am
71% use in pm
86% use every day
2,890 Routines
42% use in am
58% use in pm
86% use every day
When to use See routines that use it ->

Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

Beauty Pie Happy Face 10% Azelaic Acid Skin-Clearing Gel-Cream 25 ingredients

Happy Face 10% Azelaic Acid Skin-Clearing Gel-Cream hasn't been rated yet.
Rate it now

The Ordinary Azelaic Acid Suspension 10% 17 ingredients

2.9 /5
from 36 ratings
Pilling (16) Great Value (14) Works Well (12)
Elapidae's avatar

Ela

3 months ago
Review

It’s a great starter product with azelic acid.
The price is relatively cheap, the tube will last you long time and it delivers what it should - azelic acid.
However, despite people’s suggestions here I personally would not use it as last step. It does not say it on their homepage but azelic acid has usually low ph. Thus adding it as last step might cause damaged skin barrier on a long run! Show more

#great value
#drying
#works well
anniec's avatar

anniec

1 year ago
Review

Hate
I have rosacea and perioral dermatitis so I thought this would heal my skin but I HATE it. It’s silicone based so it dries matte and you can’t apply sunscreen or any makeup on top. You also can’t reapply because it’ll start pilling. Don’t even think about touching your face after putting this on because it’ll pill. It also stings really bad which is the opposite of what you need for rosacea Show more

#irritating
#heavy
#pilling