Covergirl TruBlend Matte Made Liquid Foundation Versus Rimmel London Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation

Cyclopentasiloxane (D5) is a lightweight silicone that mostly acts as an emollient and solvent in cosmetics. Its the reason your products feel silky, fast-spreading, and non-greasy.

Since D5 is volatile, it does its thing and then evaporates off the skin quickly.

Phenoxyethanol 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.

Chances are, you eat sodium chloride every day. Sodium Chloride is also known as table salt. This ingredient has many purposes in skincare: thickener, emulsifier, and exfoliator.

You'll most likely find this ingredient in cleansers where it is used to create a gel-like texture. As an emulsifier, it also prevents ingredients from separating.

Talc is a clay mineral. It helps absorb moisture and improve the texture of products. Like other types of clay, Talc can have a slight exfoliating effect on skin. Talc can be added to increase the volume of products.

Some Baby powders are made by combining talc with corn starch. The word "talc" comes from Latin and originates from Arabic. Talc is a mineral commonly found throughout the world.

Trihydroxystearin is what you get when you fully hydrogenate castor oil into a waxy, fine powder.

It's mostly a behind-the-scenes texture enhancer that's especially good at "thixotropic" thing where the product stays thick but applies nicely.

Water. 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.