What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Paraffinum Liquidum
Emollient
Ethylhexyl Palmitate
Emollient
Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil
Emollient
Canola Oil
Emollient
Sorbeth-30 Tetraoleate
Emulsifying
Olea Europaea Fruit Oil
Masking
PEG-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil
Masking
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil
Skin Conditioning
Squalane
Emollient
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycyrrhiza Uralensis Root Extract
Skin Conditioning
Glycerin
Humectant
Camellia Sinensis Extract
Antioxidant
Paraffinum Liquidum, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil, Canola Oil, Sorbeth-30 Tetraoleate, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, PEG-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate, Phenoxyethanol, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil, Tocopherol, Limnanthes Alba Seed Oil, Squalane, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Water, Glycyrrhiza Uralensis Root Extract, Glycerin, Camellia Sinensis Extract
Water
Skin ConditioningPEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides
EmulsifyingButylene Glycol
Humectant
Polyglyceryl-4 Caprate
EmulsifyingGlycerin
Humectant
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Skin Conditioning
Gardenia Florida Flower Extract
Skin ConditioningCetylpyridinium Chloride
AntimicrobialPolyaminopropyl Biguanide
Preservative
Sucralose
Skin ConditioningSodium Citrate
BufferingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Trehalose
Humectant
2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1,3-Diol
Preservative
Citric Acid
Buffering
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningCamellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Leontopodium Alpinum Flower/Leaf Extract
Skin Conditioning1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Water, PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, Butylene Glycol, Polyglyceryl-4 Caprate, Glycerin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Gardenia Florida Flower Extract, Cetylpyridinium Chloride, Polyaminopropyl Biguanide, Sucralose, Sodium Citrate, Phenoxyethanol, Trehalose, 2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1,3-Diol, Citric Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Leontopodium Alpinum Flower/Leaf Extract, 1,2-Hexanediol
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Glycerin (or glycerol) is a compound naturally found in your skin. It's a powerhouse humectant that pulls water into the stratum corneum.
Topically, glycerin does several things at once:
Your skin makes glycerin on its own (mostly from sebaceous oil breakdown) and shuttles it to your outermost layer of skin, or your epidermis, via aquaporin-3.
Aquaporin-3 is a transporter that is essential for normal skin hydration, elasticity, and repair. Interestingly, mice lacking in AQP3 have dry and less elastic skin that can be fully corrected with glycerin.
This ingredient is non-irritating, plays well with almost every ingredient, and works across all skin types. Typical use is anywhere between 3-10% but can go up to 79% in some leave-on products.
Just know very high concentrations (>40%) can feel tacky in low humidity.
Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.
Learn more about GlycerinPhenoxyethanol is one of the most widely used preservatives in skincare (and for good reason!).
It has a large spectrum of antimicrobial activity and especially effective bacteria, yeast, and mold while only having a weak effect on your skin's natural microbiome.
On a cellular level, it disrupts the cell membranes of microbes by poking holes that make the cell leak. This shuts down the chemical reactions the microbe needs to make energy so it can no longer survive.
Another perk of this ingredient is that it stays functional across a wide pH range (3-10).
You'll often see it paired with boosters like Ethylhexylglycerin; one study showed that a 1:9 ratio of Ethylhexylglycerin to Phenoxyethanol damages bacterial membranes as effectively as doubling the Phenoxyethanol concentration on its own.
Typical use concentrations range from 0.3-1% depending on the formula, and this ingredient is capped at 1% int the EU.
Safety-wise, the fear mongering does not hold up to the evidence. The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety and FDA consider it safe as a preservative at up to 1%, including for children of all ages.
Adverse systemic effects only showed up in animal studies at exposures roughly 200x higher than what people get from cosmetics. And despite its very widespread use, this ingredient is a rare sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon.
Learn more about PhenoxyethanolWater. 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. Remember to stay hydrated!
Learn more about Water
