What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Dimethicone
Emollient
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Squalane
Emollient
Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate
Emulsion StabilisingBHT
Antioxidant
Biosaccharide Gum-1
Humectant
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Copper Gluconate
Skin Conditioning
Dimethiconol
Emollient
Disodium EDTA
Magnesium Aspartate
Skin ConditioningPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
Poloxamer 338
EmulsifyingSodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
T-Butyl Alcohol
Perfuming
Xanthan Gum
EmulsifyingZinc Gluconate
Skin Conditioning
Parfum
Masking
Water, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Squalane, Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, BHT, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Caprylyl Glycol, Copper Gluconate, Dimethiconol, Disodium EDTA, Magnesium Aspartate, Phenoxyethanol, Poloxamer 338, Sodium Hyaluronate, T-Butyl Alcohol, Xanthan Gum, Zinc Gluconate, Parfum
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Dicaprylyl Carbonate
EmollientSqualane
Emollient
Octyldodecyl Myristate
EmollientC20-22 Alkyl Phosphate
EmulsifyingC20-22 Alcohols
Emulsion Stabilising
Paeonia Lactiflora Root Extract
Skin ConditioningPalmitoyl Grapevine Shoot Extract
Antioxidant
Bisabolol
Antioxidant
Citrus Aurantium Amara Flower Water
MaskingSaccharide Isomerate
Humectant
Niacinamide
Smoothing
Parfum
Masking
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingSilica
Abrasive
CI 77891
Cosmetic ColorantEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningMica
Cosmetic ColorantSodium Hydroxide
BufferingSodium Phytate
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Citric Acid
Buffering
Tin Oxide
Abrasive
Sodium Citrate
BufferingTocopherol
Antioxidant
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Sodium Benzoate
Masking
Water, Glycerin, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Squalane, Octyldodecyl Myristate, C20-22 Alkyl Phosphate, C20-22 Alcohols, Paeonia Lactiflora Root Extract, Palmitoyl Grapevine Shoot Extract, Bisabolol, Citrus Aurantium Amara Flower Water, Saccharide Isomerate, Niacinamide, Parfum, Carbomer, Silica, CI 77891, Ethylhexylglycerin, Mica, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Phytate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Citric Acid, Tin Oxide, Sodium Citrate, Tocopherol, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate
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 GlycerinParfum 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 āFRAGRANCEā or āPARFUMā 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 ParfumSodium 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 HyaluronateSqualane is the hydrogenated and shelf-stable form of squalene (a lipid that naturally occurs in human sebum).
It is an emollient and skin conditioning agent that is able to integrate seamlessly into the skin's lipid barrier without clogging pores.
This is due to how structurally similar it is to what your skin already produces.
Though it is mostly an emollient that helps soften and hydrate skin, it also has some humectant and occlusive action. Humectants help the skin retain moisture while occlusives seal it in, making squalane a triple-threat moisturizer.
Research shows it has antioxidant capabilities that help protect against stressors like UV exposure, specifically UVA induced oxidative stress. This study also found that it supports collagen biosynthesis in human dermal fibroblasts.
No clinical study has reported significant adverse effects and irritation reactions are very rare from this ingredient (even at 100% concentration).
Overall, it's a fantastic ingredient for hydration and is suitable for all skin types.
This depends on the source. Squalane can be derived from both plants and animals. Most squalane used in skincare comes from plants.
Please note: the source of squalane is only known if disclosed by the brand. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have any questions about their squalane.
Read more about squalene with an "e".
Though squalane is often called an oil, itās technically not one. It is a hydrocarbon, meaning it is only made of carbon and hydrogen. True oils are triglycerides and made of fatty acids and glycerol.
The term āoil-freeā isnāt regulated so companies can define it however they want. Some exclude all oils, while others just avoid mineral oil or comedogenic oils.
Squalane has a comedogenic rating of 1 from the original 1972 study that tested raw ingredients under occlusion on rabbit ears. This system is not standardized or peer-reviewed, and using the raw ingredients is very different from how diluted cosmetic formulations are used on human skin.
A comedogenic rating of 1 means it is "unlikely to clog pores" according to the original rating system.
The overall formula of a product matters more than the individual ingredients on whether or not it will cause clogged pores.
Learn more about SqualaneWater. 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
