The Ordinary Volufiline review diary: is it the serum—or my red-light mask?

Why I started this three-month test

Volufiline has been everywhere in beauty conversations, usually with much bigger claims than I am comfortable repeating. The Ordinary’s version is a 15 mL, water-free targeted serum with 92% Volufiline and 1% palmitoyl isoleucine. The brand positions it for areas that look hollow or have lost visible volume, including the temples, under-eye area, cheeks, and smile lines.

I have started using it because I want to see whether it creates a subtle, believable change in how full and smooth my skin looks. I am already noticing some plumping, especially through the cheek area—but this is exactly where a skincare diary can become misleading if I pretend one product exists in isolation.

At the same time, I have been very consistent with red and near-infrared LED light. Photobiomodulation has research around skin appearance and collagen-related processes, so the change I see could be from the mask, the serum, ordinary hydration, lighting, or a combination of all four.

That makes this a real-world routine test rather than a controlled experiment. I am keeping the rest of my routine stable and taking photographs in the same place, at the same time of day, with the same camera settings. Even then, I will be able to describe an association—not prove which product caused it.

The serum in this diary is The Ordinary Volufiline 92% + Pal-Isoleucine 1% plumping serum.

The LED device already in my routine is the Dr. Renú SpectraLift Advanced LED face mask.

For context on the changes I noticed before starting this serum, read my two-month Dr. Renú SpectraLift review.

What is actually in the bottle

• 92% Volufiline™, a Sederma trademarked cosmetic technology
• 1% palmitoyl isoleucine, which The Ordinary describes as a supporting lipoamino acid
• A 15 mL, anhydrous targeted-serum format
• The published formula is water-free, alcohol-free, oil-free, and silicone-free
• The brand directs users to shake well and apply as needed after moisturizer
• Designed for targeted use rather than as an injectable-filler substitute

The question I’m trying to answer

I want to know whether the early plumping remains visible across consistent photographs after three months—and whether it looks meaningfully different from the baseline I already established while using red light.

Worth knowing: Because I am continuing SpectraLift, this diary cannot isolate Volufiline as the cause. A proper product test would change one variable at a time or use a split-face design. I chose routine continuity over experimental purity, so my conclusion will stay appropriately modest.

How I’m using and tracking it

I shake the bottle, use a small amount only on the target areas, and apply it after moisturizer as The Ordinary directs. I patch tested first and use it only on unbroken skin. If I develop redness, burning, itching, blistering, or persistent irritation, I will stop rather than trying to “push through.”

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