What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Dipropylene Glycol
HumectantHydrolyzed Collagen
Emollient
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate
Skin Conditioning
Arginine
Masking
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingPolyglyceryl-4 Laurate
Emulsifying
Allantoin
Skin Conditioning
Adenosine
Skin Conditioning
Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside
CleansingButylene Glycol
Humectant
Parfum
Masking
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingCaprylyl Glycol
Emollient
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Collagen Extract
Skin Conditioning
Soluble Collagen
Humectant
Disodium EDTA
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningCopper Tripeptide-1
Skin Conditioning
Hexapeptide-11
Skin Conditioning
Hexapeptide-9
Skin Conditioning
Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4
Skin Conditioning
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1
Skin Conditioning
Tripeptide-1
Skin Conditioning
Water, Glycerin, Dipropylene Glycol, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Hydroxyacetophenone, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, Arginine, Carbomer, Polyglyceryl-4 Laurate, Allantoin, Adenosine, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Butylene Glycol, Parfum, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Caprylyl Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Collagen Extract, Soluble Collagen, Disodium EDTA, Ethylhexylglycerin, Copper Tripeptide-1, Hexapeptide-11, Hexapeptide-9, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Tripeptide-1
Water
Skin ConditioningPropylene Glycol
Humectant
Glycerin
Humectant
Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate
Humectant
Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer
HumectantHydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate
HumectantHydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Hydroxyethylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingLavandula Hybrida Oil
Emollient
Limonene
Perfuming
Mannose
HumectantP-Anisic Acid
MaskingPEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Emulsifying
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Potassium Hydroxide
BufferingPvm/Ma Copolymer
Emulsion StabilisingSodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingParfum
Masking
Water, Propylene Glycol, Glycerin, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate, Hydroxyacetophenone, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Lavandula Hybrida Oil, Limonene, Mannose, P-Anisic Acid, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium Hydroxide, Pvm/Ma Copolymer, Sodium Hyaluronate, Xanthan Gum, Parfum
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 GlycerinHydroxyacetophenone is a small phenolic molecule that earns its place in a formulas as an antioxidant and preservative booster.
As a phenol, it is able to neutralize free radicals to protect both the product and the skin from oxidative stress.
Though it can't kill microbes on its own, it works as a good supporting agent when combined with other preservatives like Phenoxyethanol or 1,2-Hexanediol.
This ingredient naturally occurs as piceol in Norwegian spruce needles (~0.4-1.1% dry weight and in cloudberries). Though the cosmetic-grade material is synthesized for purity and consistency.
You'll usually see it used at low levels and suppliers recommend up to 1% added to a water phase.
Safety testing was done at concentrations like 0.05% in SPF products and 0.5% in a Human Repeated Insult Patch Test. The safety evidence is assuring; this ingredient is safe for cosmetics in current use and also holds safety status as a food flavoring as well.
An honest caveat: the "soothing" and "anti-inflammatory" claims come mostly from supplier marketing rather than published clinical trials. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review's own literature search found no useful efficacy studies on this ingredient.
So the antioxidant and preservative-boosting roles are the well supported ones while the calming benefit is plausible but thinly evidenced.
Overall, this is a well-tolerated, low-irritation multitasker that quietly helps a formula stay fresh and stable.
Learn more about HydroxyacetophenoneHydroxyethylcellulose is used to improve the texture of products. It is created from a chemical reaction involving ethylene oxide and alkali-cellulose. Cellulose is a sugar found in plant cell walls and help give plants structure.
This ingredient helps stabilize products by preventing ingredients from separating. It can also help thicken the texture of a product.
This ingredient can also be found in pill medicines to help our bodies digest other ingredients.
Learn more about HydroxyethylcelluloseParfum is a catch-all term for an ingredient or more that is used to give a scent to products.
Also called "fragrance", this ingredient can be a blend of hundreds of chemicals or plant oils. This means every product with "fragrance" or "parfum" in the ingredients list is a different mixture.
For instance, Habanolide is a proprietary trade name for a specific aroma chemical. When used as a fragrance ingredient in cosmetics, most aroma chemicals fall under the broad labeling category of “FRAGRANCE” or “PARFUM” according to EU and US regulations.
The term 'parfum' or 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term.
For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance by INCI standards.
One example is Calendula flower extract. Calendula is an essential oil that still imparts a scent or 'fragrance'.
Depending on the blend, the ingredients in the mixture can cause allergies and sensitivities on the skin. Some ingredients that are known EU allergens include linalool and citronellol.
Parfum can also be used to mask or cover an unpleasant scent.
The bottom line is: not all fragrances/parfum/ingredients are created equally. If you are worried about fragrances, we recommend taking a closer look at an ingredient. And of course, we always recommend speaking with a professional.
Learn more about ParfumWater. 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
