PRODUCT REVIEW

The Ordinary "Buffet" + Copper Peptides

Buffet plus 1% copper peptides at double the price. The copper is real; the case for paying for it is weaker.

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The Ordinary "Buffet" + Copper Peptides

Key facts

The Ordinary "Buffet" + Copper Peptides at a glance.

7 peptide complexes + copper tripeptide-1 (GHK-Cu) 1%

Key active

Lightweight serum, faintly blue

Texture

Anti-aging routines built around copper peptides

Best for

$28–$32

Approximate price

Fragrance free

Fragrance

1.01 oz

Size

$32.00

Price

Serum

Type

What is it?

Top things to know about The Ordinary "Buffet" + Copper Peptides

  1. The Ordinary "Buffet" + Copper Peptides is a light, faintly blue serum in a dropper bottle, about $28 to $32. It is the plain Buffet serum with one ingredient added — a hydrating peptide serum, not a proven anti-aging treatment.
  2. The addition is copper tripeptide-1, or GHK-Cu, three amino acids bound to a copper atom, printed at 1 percent on the label. Under it sit seven other peptide complexes, two weights of hyaluronic acid and a full amino acid blend. The copper makes the bottle blue and gives it a faint metallic smell.
Mixed

The Ordinary Buffet + Copper Peptides is a good hydrating serum carrying a copper peptide studied mainly in wounded skin, not intact faces. Keep it away from vitamin C, because copper breaks ascorbic acid down and the acid destabilizes the peptide. If wrinkles are the goal, a retinoid remains the evidenced choice.

— Dr. Schwarz

Skin fit

Is it right for your skin?

Good fit

Sensitive Skin

Peptides are short chains of amino acids. They do not speed up turnover the way a retinoid does, so there is no stinging and peeling phase. This is the gentle option for skin that cannot hold a retinoid, but gentle is not equally proven.

Sun Damage

GHK-Cu is a signal the body releases when tissue is injured, and in wounds and laser-resurfaced skin it has real data. On intact skin the evidence is much thinner — mild support, not the thing that reverses sun damage.

Good fit

Dry Skin

The base is the reliable part. Two weights of hyaluronic acid and an amino acid blend pull water into the outer layer and hold it. Skin looks plumper within minutes, and that is hydration, not rebuilding.

Texture

What it feels like on skin.

Serum

A light, water-thin serum with a faint blue tint that disappears on the skin. It absorbs in about a minute and leaves a slightly tacky finish, so give it a moment before the next layer or it can roll up. It is fragrance free, with a faint metallic smell from the copper that most people stop noticing. Use a few drops; more does not absorb.

Troubleshooting

If it didn’t work for you.

If it pills

Try this

Use fewer drops and let it dry. Tacky serum with a thick cream over it is what makes it roll.

Alternatives

If this isn’t the right product for you

Recommended equally

The Ordinary Buffet

The same seven peptide technologies without the copper, about $17. If copper peptides are not the point, keep the money.

Recommended less

Biossance Squalane + Copper Peptide Rapid Plumping Serum

A genuine copper peptide at position seven in a squalane base, but $62 to $72 and no dose disclosed. This one prints its 1%.

Recommended less

Glow Recipe Pomegranate Copper Peptides Face Serum

Its copper peptide is well placed, but it adds fragrance and a headline marine peptide with no independent human data, at $42 to $45.

Ingredients · Interactive

What’s in it, and where each ingredient works.

Full ingredient list · 49 ingredients, in label order. Click one.

Lactococcus Ferment LysateCopper Tripeptide-1Acetyl Hexapeptide-8Pentapeptide-18Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38Dipeptide Diaminobutyroyl Benzylamide DiacetateAcetylarginyltryptophyl DiphenylglycineSodium Hyaluronate CrosspolymerAllantoinGlycineAlanineSerineValineIsoleucineProlineThreonineHistidinePhenylalanineArginineAspartic AcidTrehaloseFructoseGlucoseMaltoseUreaSodium PCAPCASodium LactateCitric AcidHydroxypropyl CyclodextrinSodium ChlorideSodium HydroxideButylene GlycolPentylene GlycolAcacia Senegal GumPolysorbate 20Dimethyl IsosorbideSodium BenzoateCaprylyl GlycolChlorphenesin
Holds waterKeeps the product working

  1. The base the other ingredients are dissolved in. Most of it evaporates soon after the product goes on.

  2. A small humectant. It moves into the outer layer of skin and holds water there.

  3. A form of hyaluronic acid. Its molecule is large, so it stays on the surface and holds water there.

  4. A thickener that keeps the texture even.

  5. A thickener that gives the product its texture.

  6. Helps the preservative work and softens the feel of the product.

  7. The preservative. It stops bacteria and mold from growing in the product.

What it does
Where it worksSurface
SurfaceBarrierEpidermisDermis

How to use it

How to use it.

Every day

How to apply it

  1. How muchThree or four drops on clean, slightly damp skin, before anything thicker.
  2. CarefulKeep this and any L-ascorbic acid vitamin C at opposite ends of the day. Copper breaks vitamin C down, and vitamin C's low pH pulls the copper peptide apart. Other peptides do not have this problem.
Over time

What to expect

  1. What to expectSkin looks plumper the same day — the hyaluronic acid holding water. Anything the peptides do is slow and subtle over months, and it will not match a retinoid.

Questions

Common questions.

Does The Ordinary "Buffet" + Copper Peptides really contain copper peptide?

Yes. GHK-Cu sits high in the list, and the 1% is on the label.

Can I use The Ordinary "Buffet" + Copper Peptides with vitamin C?

Not at the same time. Copper and vitamin C undo each other.

Is The Ordinary "Buffet" + Copper Peptides worth double the price of Buffet?

That is the real question. Reviews are split.

Is The Ordinary "Buffet" + Copper Peptides fragrance-free?

Yes, though the copper gives a faint metallic scent.

Why is The Ordinary "Buffet" + Copper Peptides blue?

The copper peptide tints it. Harmless.

References

Sources.

  1. 1. Oral and topical peptides for skin aging: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2026.1618306/full) — Confirms the page's claim of a 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis in Frontiers in Medicine that pooled 19 randomized controlled trials of peptides (1,341 participants), finding peptides safe and modestly effective for skin-aging measures. Link
  2. 2. GHK Peptide as a Natural Modulator of Multiple Cellular Pathways in Skin Regeneration (https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/648108) — Backs the claim that GHK/GHK-Cu (copper tripeptide-1) has a substantial independent scientific literature, reviewing its mechanisms in collagen synthesis, skin regeneration and wound healing. Link
  3. 3. The human tri-peptide GHK and tissue remodeling (https://doi.org/10.1163/156856208784909435) — Supports GHK-Cu's role in skin tissue remodeling, citing controlled studies on aged skin showing improved elasticity/firmness and reduced fine lines, wrinkles and photodamage. Link
  4. 4. The potential of GHK as an anti-aging peptide (https://doi.org/10.31491/apt.2020.03.014) — Supports the anti-aging and skin-remodeling activity of the copper peptide GHK-Cu, summarizing its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and regenerative effects in in vitro and in vivo studies. Link
  5. 5. Cosmeceuticals in photoaging: A review (https://doi.org/10.1111/srt.13730) — A systematic review of topical cosmeceuticals for photoaged skin finding that peptides have among the strongest evidence bases (Level Ib), supporting the page's framing that peptides do have real clinical literature behind them. Link