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Last Updated on August 12, 2026 by Giorgia Guazzarotti

the best the inkey list products

What are the best The Inkey List products? This super affordable brand made its debut in the skincare world with the intention of taking over The Ordinary… and if you asked me, they got a bit too much inspiration from their main rival brand.

With their simple black and white packaging, one active per product formula, and incredibly low prices, The Inkey List looks a lot like The Ordinary. The main difference? The Inkey List has a tendency to use the odd fad ingredient and prioritise marketing over science. *sighs*

It’s still a wonderful brand for anyone on a budget. But, you need to know what to look for in a skincare product, so you can invest your pennies wisely and get only what’s proven to work. Getting it wrong may not break the bank, but why waste £10 if you don’t have to. So, what’s worth getting? Here are the best The Inkey List products for every skin type and concern:

About The Brand: The Inkey List

Founded by Colette Laxton and Mark Curry, The Inkey List is on a mission to take the complexity away from the skincare world. I’m not sure they achieved that. Like The Ordinary and other drugstore brands, The Inkey List gives you one (maximum two) active per product to deliver the promised benefits. On the one hand, The Inkey List explains exactly what each product does. On the other, with so many one product actives available, consumers are bound to be confused about which one is best for them.

This one active philosophy is what gave the brand its name. The Inkey List is a wordplay on the INCI List (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) – the long and incomprehensible list of ingredients you find at the back of skincare products. The Inkey List INCI lists are still mostly incomprehensible, but they’re must shorter, so it’s easy to identify what makes the product work.

What sets it apart from The Ordinary and similar brands is the trendy factor. The Inkey List has a tendency to use the latest IT ingredients in skincare – even when there’s not much research (apart from that provided by the manufacturer) to support their efficacy claims.

What Are The Best The Inkey List Products?

The Inkey List Hyaluronic Acid Serum(£9.00)

Moisture is the foundation of good skin. That makes Hyaluronic acid one of those ingredients that works for everyone, no matter what your skin type or concerns are. Hyaluronic Acid attracts and binds to the skin up to 1000 times its weight in water. It’s a great way to give dry skin that extra boost of moisture it badly craves and keep oily skin hydrated without adding more oil to it. The Inkey List Hyaluronic Acid has a whooping 2% hyaluronic acid at different molecular weights to hydrate every layer of your skin. Result? Softer, plumper, brighter skin – even in winter!

Related: Why You Should Add Hyaluronic Acid To Your Skincare Routine

The Inkey List Advanced Retinal Serum (£15.00)

If you’re serious about antiaging, you need some form of vitamin A in your skincare routine. Vitamin A is a multitasker that fights wrinkles on 3 fronts: it destroys free radicals, boosts collagen production and speeds up cellular turnover (the skin’s natural exfoliating process). The Inkey List Advanced Retinal Serum uses 0.2% retinal, a derivative that works better than standard retinol in a formula packed with natural butters and soothing extracts to counteract any potential dryness. It makes your skin look brighter, improves texture, and the lightweight consistency is a pleasure to use. FYI, like all retinoid products, start by using it a couple of times a week and slowly build frequency to every other day.

Related: What Strength Of Retinol Is Right For YOU?

The Inkey List Ectoin Hydro-Barrier Serum ($15.00)

The texture is lightweight and milky, with no added fragrance, and it leaves skin soft, hydrated and slightly dewy without feeling greasy. The formula fits the name: 2% ectoin is backed by research for improving hydration and supporting the skin barrier, while glycerin, hyaluronic acid and panthenol pull in and retain moisture, and ceramides, cholesterol and phytosphingosine help reinforce the skin’s lipid barrier. It’s particularly nice when your skin feels tight, dry or irritated, and the effect you can realistically expect is more comfortable, plumper-looking, better-hydrated skin, rather than any dramatic change to pigmentation, wrinkles or acne. My main gripe is the tendency to pill, so be careful what you use it with.

Related: 9 Ingredients That Soothe Sensitive, Irritated Skin

The Inkey List Tranexemic Acid Serum (£16.00)

If you’re dealing with dark spots, this is the best offering from the brand. It has a lightweight, slightly gel-like texture that leaves skin hydrated and gives it a smooth, brighter-looking finish. The formula contains 2% tranexamic acid, plus 2% ascorbyl glucoside (a vitamin C derivative) for brightening skin. Research shows tranexemic acid can reduce melasma and hyperpigmentation, although much of the clinical research uses around 3–5%, so I wouldn’t assume this 2% formula will produce the same results as those studies. Overall, you need to be consistent to see results. It can fade post-acne marks, sun damage and uneven pigmentation gradually, but you need to be patient.

Related: The Battle Of The Skin-Lightener: Which Is The Best Ingredient To Fade Away Dark Spots?

The Inkey List 10% Niacinamide Serum (£10.00)

Niacinamide is one of my fave skincare ingredients because it does everything. It hydrates skin, soothes irritations, treats acne, fights wrinkles, and even fades away dark spots. Plus, it’s suitable even for sensitive skin. Doesn’t matter what your skin type is or what skin concern you’re dealing with, adding niacinamide to your skincare routine can only help. If your moisturiser doesn’t have a drop of niacinamide, then this lightweight serum is a great way to sneak it into your skincare routine. Plus, it’s enriched with Hyaluronic Acid for extra hydration.

Related: How To Choose The Best Exfoliator For YOUR Skin Type

The Inkey List Beta Hydroxy Acid (BHA) Serum (£100)

Beta Hydroxy Acid (BHA) is another name for Salicylic Acid, the best exfoliant for oily skin. While other exfoliants only remove dead cells from the surface of your skin, Salicylic Acid is oil-soluble, so it gets deeper into your pores and unclogs them from within. Bye bye blackheads! Bye bye whiteheads! Bye bye pimples! The texture feels a little sticky, but if you don’t mind that, this’ll help you treat your acne faster. Plus, it’s enriched with hyaluronic acid, so it won’t dry out your skin. No acne and plump skin? Sign me up!

The Inkey List Glycolic Acid Toner (£13.00)

Glycolic acid is an exfoliant on steroids. In addition to doing what every other exfoliant does (removing dead cells from the surface of your skin), it also boosts collagen and hydrates your skin. Add everything together and this toner has what it takes to make your rough skin softer again, miminimise the look of fine lines and wrinkles, and make your complexion brighter. Oh, and it helps fade away dark spots too. It’s best suitable for dry, normal, and sun-damaged skin. For best results, use it every other night, right after cleansing (never use it on nights you use retinoids!).

The Inkey List Redness Relief Solution 10% Azelaic Acid Serum (£10.00)

What do you do when you’re dealing with acne/dark spots and skin so sensitive, the usual treatments are irritating your skin? That’s when you turn to Azelaic Acid. Produced by a yeast that lives on your skin, this powerful actives has powerful anti-inflammatory properties + a mild exfoliating effect that give it several superpowers: it treats acne, fades away dark spots, and even soothes rosacea. The green hue also helps hide the redness that always comes along with these inflammatory conditions. It also has a good texture that’s a pleasant to use (Azelaic Acid is difficult to formula with, so this is a huge bonus!).

Related: Azelaic Acid VS Tretinoin: Which One Should You Use?

Availability

The Inkey List products are available at Asos, Boots, Cult Beauty, Look Fantastic, Sephora, and SpaceNK

What Are The Best The Inkey List Products For Wrinkles?

  • The Inkey List Advanced Retinal Serum ($12.99): This powerful anti-aging serum contains 0.2% retinal to tackle wrinkles and acne.

What Are The Best The Inkey List Products For Acne?

  • The Inkey List Beta Hydroxy Acid (BHA) Serum ($12.99): BHA is the only exfoliant that gets inside your pores and unclogs them from within. It both prevents and treats blackheads, whiteheads, and acne.
  • The Inkey List Advanced Retinal Serum ($12.99): This powerful anti-aging serum contains 0.2% retinal to tackle wrinkles and acne.

What Are The Best The Inkey List Products For Dark Spots?

  • The Inkey List Tranexemic Acid Serum (£16.00): Tranexemic acid is a new skin-lightener that inhibits the production of melanin, the pigment that gives skin its natural colour.
  • The Inkey List List Redness Relief Solution 10% Azelaic Acid Serum (£10.00): If your skin is so sensitive, it can’t take harsh skin-lighteners like Alpha Arbutin and 1% retinol, try this. Azelaic acid fades away dark spots and is well-tolerated by sensitive skin too.

What Are The Best The Inkey List Products For Sensitive Skin?

  • The Inkey List List Redness Relief Solution 10% Azelaic Acid Serum (£10.00): If you’re trying to fade away dark spots or treat acne, but everything you use irritates your skin, it’s time to switch to Azelaic Acid. It treats these conditions without irritating skin.
  • The Inkey List 10% Niacinamide Serum (£10.00): Feeling frustrated and like you’re missing out because all the best anti-aging ingredients irritate your skin? Try niacinamide. This active does everything, from fighting wrinkles to fading dark spots and treating acne – and all without irritating skin.

Is The Inkey List Cruelty-Free?

Yes, The Inkey List is cruelty-free. They don’t test on animals. They don’t outsource animal testing to a third party. And they don’t sell their products in countries, like China, where animal testing is still required by law.

The Pros Of The Inkey List Skincare

The Inkey List offers single actives skincare products. Each bottle and tube is packed with a science-backed ingredient that can really prevent premature aging, fade away dark spots, and keep breakouts at bay. It’s skincare that works – at a very affordable price too. Who said you need to spend a fortune to get the skin of your dreams?

The Cons Of The Inkey List Skincare

The con of single active skincare? There’s no single active that can single-handedly prevent wrinkles or fight acne. That’s why I love skincare products that mix several actives together, so you can get everything you need in one bottle. With The Inkey List, you’ll need to use several products to get the same results. Kinda defeats the purpose of making skincare less complicated…

I personally think of The Inkey List as supplements. If an ingredient my skin needs is missing from my skincare routine, I know I can turn to this brand to get my fix. But I wouldn’t want to rely only on this brand – otherwise, my skincare routine would be 10 steps long! Plus, the packaging is cheap. It does the job, and at this price point, that’s all you can expect. But if beautiful packaging is important for you, this isn’t your brand.

One last thing: sometimes The Inkey List uses fancy ingredients that make for a good marketing story, even if there’s not enough science to back up the claims yet. Be careful when you go shopping. Remember: every brand has a dud (or five).

Which Is Better: The Ordinary Or The Inkey List? 

Now that’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? Both brands are so similar, you could argue The Inkey List is a copycat of The Ordinary. I mean, same single active philosophy, black and white packaging, and affordable pricing… I personally have a soft spot for The Ordinary because they were the first to came up with the concept and disrupt the skincare industry.

When it comes to which ones make more effective product, it really depends on the product. Both brands have their duds and their gems. So, it’s not about which of the two brands is better, but which product is better for your unique skin type and concerns.

The Verdict

The Inkey List delivers single-active skincare products that do what they promise without breaking the bank. If you’re on a budget or simply don’t want to spend a small fortune for skincare that works, this is a brand worth checking out.