What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Mica
Cosmetic ColorantOryza Sativa Powder
Silica
Abrasive
Magnesium Myristate
Cocoglycerides
Emollient
Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate
Emollient
Propanediol
Solvent
Decylene Glycol
Skin ConditioningButyrospermum Parkii Butter
Skin Conditioning
Magnesium Stearate
Cosmetic ColorantC10-18 Triglycerides
Emollient
1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Lauroyl Lysine
Skin Conditioning
Caprylhydroxamic Acid
ChelatingCI 77891
Cosmetic ColorantIron Oxides
CI 77007
Cosmetic ColorantSynthetic Fluorphlogopite
Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate
Hydrogenated Ethylhexyl Olivate
EmollientDimethicone
Emollient
Octyldodecanol
Emollient
Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil
Emollient
Polyhydroxystearic Acid
Emulsifying
Dodecane
Emollient
Coconut Alkanes
Emollient
Disteardimonium Hectorite
StabilisingOctyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate
Emollient
Ethylhexyl Polyhydroxystearate
EmollientHydrogenated Olive Oil Unsaponifiables
Emollient
Propylene Carbonate
SolventNeopentyl Glycol Diethylhexanoate
Emollient
Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer
Skin Conditioning
Tin Oxide
Abrasive
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Emollient
Coco-Caprylate/Caprate
Emollient
CI 19140
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77163
Cosmetic Colorant
Mica, Oryza Sativa Powder, Silica, Magnesium Myristate, Cocoglycerides, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Propanediol, Decylene Glycol, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Magnesium Stearate, C10-18 Triglycerides, 1,2-Hexanediol, Lauroyl Lysine, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, CI 77891, Iron Oxides, CI 77007, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Hydrogenated Ethylhexyl Olivate, Dimethicone, Octyldodecanol, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Dodecane, Coconut Alkanes, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Ethylhexyl Polyhydroxystearate, Hydrogenated Olive Oil Unsaponifiables, Propylene Carbonate, Neopentyl Glycol Diethylhexanoate, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Tin Oxide, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, CI 19140, CI 77163
Mica
Cosmetic ColorantPolyethylene
Abrasive
Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate
Absorbent
Zinc Stearate
Cosmetic ColorantMicrocrystalline Cellulose
AbsorbentIsononyl Isononanoate
EmollientEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningSorbic Acid
Preservative
Tocopherol
Antioxidant
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emollient
CI 19140
Cosmetic ColorantCI 42090
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77007
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77163
Cosmetic Colorant
Iron Oxides
CI 77891
Cosmetic Colorant
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 19140 is also known as Tartrazine. Tartrazine is a synthetic dye used in cosmetics, foods, and medicine to add a yellow color.
Tartrazine is created from petroleum and is water-soluble.
Some people may experience allergies from this dye, especially asthmatics and those with an aspirin intolerance.
Learn more about CI 19140This pigment is called Ultramarine blue lazurite. It gives a saturated blue color, but can be used to create other colors as well.
According to the manufacturer, it is usually made from kaolin, sodium sulfate, sodium carbonate, sulfur, and charcoal.
CI 77163 is the color-index name for Bismuth Oxychloride, a lab-made white powder that acts as a pearl pigment.
It's what gives a lot of pressed powders, eyeshadows, highlighteres, and mineral foundations that soft pearly glow.
Due to its structure as flat, plate-like crystals that stack like tiles, it feels silky and sticks to skin well. This also makes it very chemically stable and insoluble under normal skin conditions (this just means it sits on top of skin rather than going into it).
It has an interesting quirk: it slowly goes gray in sunlight and the graying is partly reversible in the dark.
At this time, there's no legal cap on how much a brand can use. Both the FDA and the EU permit it without restriction so real-world concentration levels come down to formulation:
Allergy risk is low as well since it's insoluble and doesn't release free metal ions into skin. True allergic contact dermatitis to it is rare enough that there's very little published cases.
However, mineral makeup users do report itching or stinging. The leading explanation for this is irritation from those stiff platelet crystals rubbing on skin (also more likely with heavy, high-percentage loose mineral powders) rather than an immune reaction.
This ingredient shows up on a lot of "pore-clogging" lists but there's no real evidence behind that. It doesn't even have a comedogenic rating from an actual study; the numbers you'll find online come from blogs citing other blogs.
Some people still find it breaks them out. So if that's you, definitely trust your skin.
Learn more about CI 77163Ci 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 77891Mica 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 MicaThis 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
