What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Ethylhexyl Palmitate
Emollient
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
Masking
Lauryl Laurate
Skin Conditioning
Polyglyceryl-3 Laurate
EmulsifyingPolyhydroxystearic Acid
Emulsifying
Helianthus Annuus Seed Wax
Skin Conditioning
Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate
Skin Conditioning
Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil
Humectant
Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Oil
Skin Conditioning
Actinidia Chinensis Fruit Extract
EmollientFragaria Ananassa Seed Extract
Antioxidant
Vaccinium Macrocarpon Seed Oil
Skin Conditioning
Borago Officinalis Seed Oil
Emollient
Adansonia Digitata Seed Oil
Emollient
Polyglyceryl-2 Caprate
EmulsifyingCitrullus Lanatus Seed Oil
Emollient
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Schinziophyton Rautanenii Kernel Oil
Emollient
Vaccinium Angustifolium Fruit Extract
Skin Protecting
Ximenia Americana Seed Oil
Emollient
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Glycerin
Humectant
Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Lauryl Laurate, Polyglyceryl-3 Laurate, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Helianthus Annuus Seed Wax, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Oil, Actinidia Chinensis Fruit Extract, Fragaria Ananassa Seed Extract, Vaccinium Macrocarpon Seed Oil, Borago Officinalis Seed Oil, Adansonia Digitata Seed Oil, Polyglyceryl-2 Caprate, Citrullus Lanatus Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Schinziophyton Rautanenii Kernel Oil, Vaccinium Angustifolium Fruit Extract, Ximenia Americana Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Glycerin
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil
Skin Conditioning
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides
EmulsifyingPEG-8 Beeswax
Emulsifying
Cetearyl Alcohol
Emollient
Sorbitan Stearate
Emulsifying
Sambucus Nigra Oil
Masking
PEG-60 Almond Glycerides
Emulsifying
Parfum
Masking
Silica
Abrasive
Avena Sativa Kernel Oil
Skin Conditioning
Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil
Emollient
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Wax
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Lecithin
Emollient
Borago Officinalis Seed Oil
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Cocos Nucifera Oil
Masking
Citronellol
Perfuming
Geraniol
Perfuming
Acacia Decurrens Flower Wax
Emollient
Rosa Multiflora Flower Wax
Skin ConditioningTocopherol
Antioxidant
Cocoyl Hydrolyzed Collagen
Cleansing
Rosa Canina Fruit Oil
Emollient
Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil
Masking
Benzyl Salicylate
Perfuming
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Rose Extract
Skin ConditioningPelargonium Graveolens Oil
Masking
Rosa Damascena Flower Oil
Masking
Rosa Damascena Extract
MaskingPadina Pavonica Thallus Extract
Skin ConditioningPrunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, PEG-8 Beeswax, Cetearyl Alcohol, Sorbitan Stearate, Sambucus Nigra Oil, PEG-60 Almond Glycerides, Parfum, Silica, Avena Sativa Kernel Oil, Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Wax, Glycerin, Lecithin, Borago Officinalis Seed Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Cocos Nucifera Oil, Citronellol, Geraniol, Acacia Decurrens Flower Wax, Rosa Multiflora Flower Wax, Tocopherol, Cocoyl Hydrolyzed Collagen, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil, Benzyl Salicylate, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Rose Extract, Pelargonium Graveolens Oil, Rosa Damascena Flower Oil, Rosa Damascena Extract, Padina Pavonica Thallus Extract
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Borago Officinalis Seed Oil is from the seeds of the starflower plant. This plant grows primarily in Europe.
This oil does not have a scent. It contains fatty acids such as linolenic acid. These fatty acids help keep skin hydrated.
Borago Officinalis Seed Oil is an antioxidant. Antioxidants help fight free-radicals. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells.
Learn more about Borago Officinalis Seed OilCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride (aka MCT Oil) is a lightweight emollient, solvent, and texture enhancer. It is considered a skin-softener by helping to prevent moisture loss.
Though it behaves like an oil, it is not technically one due to its chemical composition. One perk of this ingredient is that it is very stable, resistant to oxidation, and unlikely to go rancid.
In practice, that translates to a long shelf life and a consistently elegant skin feel.
While there is an assumption Caprylic Triglyceride can clog pores due to it being derived from coconut oil, there is no research supporting this. Just patch test if you have concerns.
Fractionated coconut oil and MCT Oil are both listed as Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride according to INCI. This is because INCI names are based on the ingredient’s final chemical composition and not its marketing name or source.
This ingredient is treated as the gold standard fungal acne safe oil. Even though it is coconut derived, the problematic lauric acid is stripped out.
This leaves just caprylic (C8) and capric (C10) acid. These chain lengths actually trend antifungal; a 2020 study found caprylic acid was enough to disrupt Malassezia furfur cell membrane, with a caprylic acid derivative damaging membrane structures at concentrations as low as 0.2%.
Learn more about Caprylic/Capric TriglycerideCarthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil comes from the seeds of the safflower plant. It is a skin conditioning agent that helps soften skin and keep it hydrated.
This seed oil has an unusual fatty acid profile: it is one of the highest linoleic acid plant oils out there (~55-77%). It also has low amounts of oleic acid, and this high-linoleic/low-oleic ratio gets people excited.
Linoleic acid helps maintain skin barrier integrity and is a building block for the ceramides in your stratum corneum. Notably, people with acne tend to have lower linoleic acid in their skin lipids as well (and this gets worse as acne gets more severe).
Overall, it's a lightweight, fast-absorbing oil that has a long safety track record. Lab testing has found it to be non-irritating for skin or eyes.
The Malassezia yeast can metabolize the fatty acids in this oil to grow; therefore this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Carthamus Tinctorius Seed OilGlycerin (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 GlycerinThis ingredient is also known as sweet almond oil. It is a lightweight, cold-pressed oil from the ripe seeds of the sweet almond tree.
Sweet almond oil is rich in skin-nourishing fatty acids such as oleic acid (55-86%) and linolenic acid (7-35%).
As an emollient, it softens and hydrates skin by forming a thin barrier that locks in moisture.
Clinical studies have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing. The CIR Expert Panel has evaluated the available safety data and concluded it is safe for topical use.
Because of the oleic acid content, this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
Learn more about Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis OilTocopherol is a fat-soluble antioxidant known as Vitamin E.
You'll find this ingredient in the vast majority of skincare (for good reason). It works to neutralize free radicals, or unstable molecules generated by UV exposure, pollution, and other environmental stressors, before they can cause oxidative damage to your skin cells.
Topically applied tocopherol has been shown to protect against UV damage by ramping up the skin's own natural defense enzymes.
It also acts as a skin conditioning agent; some studies show that regular topical use can improve the skin's water-binding capacity over 2-4 weeks.
This ingredient is especially loved for being a team player. When combined with Vitamin C, the photoprotective effect of both ingredients roughly doubles and the combo also helps reduce UV-induced DNA damage.
This ingredient has some brightening potential but it's more of a prevention ingredient than spot-fader. Cell studies show it can slow down melanin production but it's worth noting that it's not the most powerful brightener out there.
In formulations, it also serves as a stabilizer that helps protect other oxidation-prone ingredients from degrading.
Concentrations usually range from 0.1-1% in most leave-on products.
Learn more about Tocopherol
