What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningButylene Glycol
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
Pentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Arginine
Masking
Biotin
AntiseborrhoeicCaffeine
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Propylene Glycol
Humectant
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Biotinoyl Tripeptide-1
Citric Acid
Buffering
Myristoyl Pentapeptide-17
Skin Conditioning
Myristoyl Hexapeptide-16
Skin Conditioning
Myristoyl Tetrapeptide-12
Skin Conditioning
Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Panthenol, Arginine, Biotin, Caffeine, Sodium Hyaluronate, Phenoxyethanol, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Benzoate, Caprylyl Glycol, Potassium Sorbate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Biotinoyl Tripeptide-1, Citric Acid, Myristoyl Pentapeptide-17, Myristoyl Hexapeptide-16, Myristoyl Tetrapeptide-12
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Rhizobian Gum
Panthenol
Skin Conditioning
Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
Emollient
Octapeptide-2
Skin Conditioning
Myristoyl Pentapeptide-17
Skin Conditioning
Tocopheryl Acetate
Antioxidant
Collagen
Moisturising
Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract
Masking
Avena Sativa Kernel Extract
Abrasive
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate
Humectant
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Water, Glycerin, Rhizobian Gum, Panthenol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Octapeptide-2, Myristoyl Pentapeptide-17, Tocopheryl Acetate, Collagen, Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract, Avena Sativa Kernel Extract, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Phenoxyethanol, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Allantoin, Sodium Hyaluronate
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 GlycerinMyristoyl Pentapeptide-17 is a five amino peptide attached to myristic acid to help it absorb better into skin. It's mostly used for lash growth and as a delivery vehicle for other ingredients.
The myristic acid "tail" is basically a delivery upgrade that helps the peptide mix with your skin's natural oils so it can get where it needs to go.
In your eyelash follicles, it activates the keratin gene and promotes nutrient absorption into the follicle. This translates to thicker and longer eyelashes over time.
Besides stimulating keratin production for lash growth, this ingredient enhances the delivery of other active ingredients in a formula.
The clinical evidence is still pretty early-stage at this point. A 90 day study in 29 participants found improvements in lash length (10.52%), volume (9.3%), thickness (35%), and curl (50.83%) with no adverse reactions reported.
You might have heard that eyelash serums can cause pigmentation change in eye color to turn eyes brown. This is associated with a different class of lash serum ingredients: prostaglandin analogs.
Myristoyl Pentapeptide-17 is a different thing entirely and has no known association with iris pigmentation changes. The 90 day study noted no adverse effects around the eye area at all.
Learn more about Myristoyl Pentapeptide-17Panthenol is a common ingredient that helps hydrate and soothe the skin. It is found naturally in our skin and hair.
There are two forms of panthenol: D and L.
D-panthenol is also known as dexpanthenol. Most cosmetics use dexpanthenol or a mixture of D and L-panthenol.
Panthenol is famous due to its ability to go deeper into the skin's layers. Using this ingredient has numerous pros (and no cons):
Like hyaluronic acid, panthenol is a humectant. Humectants are able to bind and hold large amounts of water to keep skin hydrated.
This ingredient works well for wound healing. It works by increasing tissue in the wound and helps close open wounds.
Once oxidized, panthenol converts to pantothenic acid. Panthothenic acid is found in all living cells.
This ingredient is also referred to as pro-vitamin B5.
Learn more about PanthenolPhenoxyethanol 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.
Sodium Hyaluronate is the salt form of hyaluronic acid. It is a long sugar chain that is naturally found in your skin, joints, and connective tissue that maintains hydration and elasticity.
In skincare, it works as a humectant. It pulls water from the environment and deeper layers of skin and binds it to the surface.
Interestingly, the size of the molecule affects its behavior:
Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.
Many serums use a blend of both weights so you can get surface hydration plus longer-lasting and deeper effects.
You'll typically see concentrations between 0.1-2% for this ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium HyaluronateWater. 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
