What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Glycerin
Humectant
Water
Skin ConditioningDicaprylyl Carbonate
EmollientBorago Officinalis Seed Oil
Emollient
Citrullus Lanatus Seed Oil
Emollient
Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil
Emollient
Sucrose Laurate
Emollient
Methylpropanediol
SolventSucrose Stearate
EmollientCitrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil Expressed
Perfuming
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Cupressus Sempervirens Oil
Masking
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Cellulose Gum
Emulsion StabilisingCitrus Aurantifolia Oil
Cleansing
Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Peel Oil
Perfuming
Juniperus Mexicana Oil
Masking
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Lavandula Angustifolia Oil
Masking
Lavandula Hybrida Oil
Emollient
Litsea Cubeba Fruit Oil
Masking
Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil
Masking
Pogostemon Cablin Leaf Oil
Masking
Thuja Occidentalis Leaf Oil
Masking
Algin
Masking
Sucrose Palmitate
EmollientCentella Asiatica Extract
Cleansing
Ferula Galbaniflua Resin Oil
Antimicrobial
Maltodextrin
Absorbent
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Hydrolyzed Gardenia Florida Extract
Antioxidant
Gardenia Jasminoides Fruit Extract
Cosmetic ColorantLimonene
Perfuming
Linalool
Perfuming
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycerin, Water, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Borago Officinalis Seed Oil, Citrullus Lanatus Seed Oil, Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil, Sucrose Laurate, Methylpropanediol, Sucrose Stearate, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil Expressed, Caprylyl Glycol, Cupressus Sempervirens Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Cellulose Gum, Citrus Aurantifolia Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Peel Oil, Juniperus Mexicana Oil, Allantoin, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Lavandula Hybrida Oil, Litsea Cubeba Fruit Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Pogostemon Cablin Leaf Oil, Thuja Occidentalis Leaf Oil, Algin, Sucrose Palmitate, Centella Asiatica Extract, Ferula Galbaniflua Resin Oil, Maltodextrin, Tocopherol, Hydrolyzed Gardenia Florida Extract, Gardenia Jasminoides Fruit Extract, Limonene, Linalool
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Ethylhexyl Palmitate
Emollient
Glycerin
Humectant
Water
Skin ConditioningSucrose Laurate
Emollient
Pseudozyma Epicola/Camellia Sinensis Seed Oil Ferment Extract Filtrate
Humectant
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Salvia Hispanica Seed Oil
Emollient
Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract
AstringentArgania Spinosa Kernel Extract
Skin ConditioningHydrogenated Lecithin
Emulsifying
Melia Azadirachta Extract
Skin ConditioningMoringa Oleifera Seed Oil
Emollient
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Antimicrobial
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Glycerin, Water, Sucrose Laurate, Pseudozyma Epicola/Camellia Sinensis Seed Oil Ferment Extract Filtrate, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Salvia Hispanica Seed Oil, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Argania Spinosa Kernel Extract, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Melia Azadirachta Extract, Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Butylene Glycol, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Tocopherol
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Caprylic/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 TriglycerideGlycerin (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 GlycerinMoringa Oleifera Seed Oil is a lightweight oil from the seeds of the Moringa oleifera tree. In cosmetics, it's an emollient that forms a light film to slow water loss and soften skin.
Its fatty acid composition is dominated by oleic acid (70-78%), with smaller amounts of behenic, palmitic, and stearic acids (this profile is actually pretty similar to olive oil).
Notably, this ingredient is oxidatively stable for an oil and resists going rancid as fast as other oils.
A small, in vivo study on 32 participants found a cream with this ingredient increased skin hydration with no reported skin irritation. It also found the tocopherol content gave it some antioxidant activity as well.
One thing to flag for fungal acne:
Because this oil is so high in oleic acid, Malassezia can use it as a food source and this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.
For everyone else, this ingredient is well-tolerated and nourishing with a good safety track record.
Learn more about Moringa Oleifera Seed OilPhenoxyethanol 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 PhenoxyethanolSucrose Laurate isn't fungal acne safe.
Tocopherol 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 TocopherolWater. 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
