What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
No concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Skin ConditioningSilica
Abrasive
Sodium Hyaluronate
Humectant
Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose
Emulsion StabilisingHydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Glycerin
Humectant
Pullulan
Carbomer
Emulsion StabilisingMica
Cosmetic ColorantCI 77891
Cosmetic ColorantPolianthes Tuberosa Callus Extract
Antioxidant
Phenoxyethanol
Preservative
Porphyridium Cruentum Extract
Skin ConditioningRosa Damascena Flower Oil
Masking
Rosa Damascena Extract
MaskingSodium Hydroxide
BufferingCitronellol
Perfuming
Geraniol
Perfuming
Water, Silica, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Hydroxyacetophenone, Glycerin, Pullulan, Carbomer, Mica, CI 77891, Polianthes Tuberosa Callus Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Porphyridium Cruentum Extract, Rosa Damascena Flower Oil, Rosa Damascena Extract, Sodium Hydroxide, Citronellol, Geraniol
Water
Skin ConditioningGlycerin
Humectant
Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer
Humectant1,2-Hexanediol
Skin Conditioning
Sorbitol
Humectant
Butylene Glycol
Humectant
Caffeine
Skin Conditioning
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract
Antimicrobial
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38
Skin Conditioning
Hydroxyacetophenone
Antioxidant
Asparagopsis Armata Extract
Skin ProtectingHydroxypropyl Cyclodextrin
MaskingAscophyllum Nodosum Extract
Skin ConditioningChrysanthellum Indicum Extract
Skin Conditioning
Mica
Cosmetic ColorantPhenoxyethanol
Preservative
CI 77891
Cosmetic ColorantWater, Glycerin, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sorbitol, Butylene Glycol, Caffeine, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38, Hydroxyacetophenone, Asparagopsis Armata Extract, Hydroxypropyl Cyclodextrin, Ascophyllum Nodosum Extract, Chrysanthellum Indicum Extract, Mica, Phenoxyethanol, CI 77891
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 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 HydroxyacetophenoneMica 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 MicaPhenoxyethanol 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 PhenoxyethanolWater. 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
