NARS Cosmetics Light Reflecting Advanced Skincare Foundation Versus Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter
What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningC9-12 Alkane
SolventButylene Glycol
Humectant
Undecane
EmollientTridecane
Perfuming
Isodecyl Neopentanoate
EmollientHydrogenated Polyisobutene
EmollientPolyglyceryl-6 Polyricinoleate
Emulsifying
Polyglyceryl-2 Diisostearate
Emulsifying
Disteardimonium Hectorite
StabilisingDiisostearyl Malate
EmollientGlycerin
Humectant
Synthetic Wax
Abrasive
Sodium Chloride
MaskingOphiopogon Japonicus Root Extract
Skin ConditioningAscophyllum Nodosum Extract
Skin ConditioningTheobroma Cacao Seed Extract
Antioxidant
Curcuma Longa Root Extract
Masking
Silybum Marianum Fruit Extract
Skin ConditioningAluminum Hydroxide
EmollientMagnesium Chloride
Sodium Dilauramidoglutamide Lysine
HumectantTocopherol
Antioxidant
Coco-Caprylate/Caprate
Emollient
Ethylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningPentylene Glycol
Skin Conditioning
Hydroxyphenyl Propamidobenzoic Acid
Skin ConditioningAscorbyl Palmitate
Antioxidant
Citric Acid
Buffering
Sea Water
HumectantTrisodium EDTA
CI 77120
Cosmetic ColorantAlumina
Abrasive
Chlorphenesin
Antimicrobial
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Potassium Sorbate
Preservative
Iron Oxides
Mica
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77891
Cosmetic ColorantWater, C9-12 Alkane, Butylene Glycol, Undecane, Tridecane, Isodecyl Neopentanoate, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Polyglyceryl-6 Polyricinoleate, Polyglyceryl-2 Diisostearate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Diisostearyl Malate, Glycerin, Synthetic Wax, Sodium Chloride, Ophiopogon Japonicus Root Extract, Ascophyllum Nodosum Extract, Theobroma Cacao Seed Extract, Curcuma Longa Root Extract, Silybum Marianum Fruit Extract, Aluminum Hydroxide, Magnesium Chloride, Sodium Dilauramidoglutamide Lysine, Tocopherol, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Hydroxyphenyl Propamidobenzoic Acid, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Citric Acid, Sea Water, Trisodium EDTA, CI 77120, Alumina, Chlorphenesin, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium Sorbate, Iron Oxides, Mica, CI 77891
Water
Skin ConditioningHydrogenated Didecene
Skin ConditioningMica
Cosmetic ColorantGlycerin
Humectant
Propanediol
Solvent
Squalane
Emollient
Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone
Emulsifying
Isoamyl Laurate
Emollient
Hydrogenated Styrene/Isoprene Copolymer
Sodium Chloride
MaskingCaprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Masking
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate
Emulsifying
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Caprylyl Glycol
Emollient
Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate
Hoya Lacunosa Flower Extract
Skin ConditioningPentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate
Antioxidant
CI 77891
Cosmetic ColorantIron Oxides
CI 77163
Cosmetic Colorant
Water, Hydrogenated Didecene, Mica, Glycerin, Propanediol, Squalane, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Isoamyl Laurate, Hydrogenated Styrene/Isoprene Copolymer, Sodium Chloride, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Hydroxyacetophenone, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Hoya Lacunosa Flower Extract, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, CI 77891, Iron Oxides, CI 77163
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Ci 77891 is a white pigment from Titanium dioxide. It is naturally found in minerals such as rutile and ilmenite.
It's main function is to add a white color to cosmetics. It can also be mixed with other colors to create different shades.
Ci 77891 is commonly found in sunscreens due to its ability to block UV rays.
Learn more about CI 77891Glycerin (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 GlycerinMica is a naturally occurring mineral used to add shimmer and color in cosmetics. It can also help improve the texture of a product or give it an opaque, white/silver color.
Serecite is the name for very fine but ragged grains of mica.
This ingredient is often coated with metal oxides like titanium dioxide. Trace amounts of heavy metals may be found in mica, but these metals are not harmful in our personal products.
Mica has been used since prehistoric times throughout the world. Ancient Egyptian, Indian, Greek, Roman, Aztec, and Chinese civilizations have used mica.
Learn more about MicaChances 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.
You might see people debate whether Sodium Chloride is comedogenic, but there actually haven't been any comedogenic tests done on it. Either way, the overall formulation of a product matters a lot more than any single ingredient.
You might see this ingredient used in scrubs as a primary exfoliating ingredient.
Learn more about Sodium ChlorideWater. 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 WaterThis ingredient is a combination of red, black, and yellow iron oxide pigments. This combination of colors is usually found in foundation, because it results in a "skin" color.
The EU typically uses CI numbers for colorants when applicable, such as CI 77489. In the US, iron oxides are regulated as color additives and "iron oxides" is the most commonly used name in US cosmetic practice.
A 2021 paper looked at skincare formulations containing iron oxides and found that they reduced transmission of blue light when measured optically. In simple terms, the pigment particles helped block or scatter part of the visible light spectrum in lab testing and the authors suggest this could translate into better protection against blue-light-related skin effects.
There is also clinical and experimental research showing that tinted products containing iron oxides can reduce visible light-induced pigmentation:
Please note, whether a product reduces visible or blue light depends on things like:
In the EU's CosIng database, iron oxides are only listed as a colorant. CosIng groups ingredients by their main cosmetic role, such as colorant, preservative, or UV filter.
Though studies say iron oxides can "attenuate blue light", they're describing an optical property and not an officially recognized cosmetic function.
So CosIng isn’t contradicting the research. It’s just classifying iron oxides by what they officially are: pigments that add color.
Learn more about Iron Oxides
