What's inside
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Zinc Oxide 15%
Cosmetic ColorantWater
Skin ConditioningCoco-Caprylate/Caprate
EmollientVitis Vinifera Seed Oil
EmollientC15-19 Alkane
SolventIsocetyl Stearoyl Stearate
EmollientArgania Spinosa Kernel Oil
EmollientTocopheryl Acetate
AntioxidantSodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer
HumectantJojoba Esters
EmollientTribehenin
EmollientBeeswax
Emulsion StabilisingGlyceryl Stearate
EmollientLeuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
AntimicrobialGlycerin
HumectantLactobacillus
Skin ConditioningAcacia Senegal Gum
MaskingXanthan Gum
EmulsifyingViola Tricolor Extract
EmollientBisabolol
AntioxidantGlycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract
BleachingSodium Hyaluronate
HumectantAloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
EmollientCocos Nucifera Fruit Extract
EmollientTitanium Dioxide
Cosmetic ColorantIron Oxides
Mica
Cosmetic ColorantZinc Oxide 15%, Water, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil, C15-19 Alkane, Isocetyl Stearoyl Stearate, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Jojoba Esters, Tribehenin, Beeswax, Glyceryl Stearate, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Glycerin, Lactobacillus, Acacia Senegal Gum, Xanthan Gum, Viola Tricolor Extract, Bisabolol, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Cocos Nucifera Fruit Extract, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Mica
Water
Skin ConditioningSqualane
EmollientPolyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate
EmulsifyingMethyl Dihydroabietate
Mica
Cosmetic ColorantDisteardimonium Hectorite
StabilisingPropanediol
SolventGlycerin
HumectantIsostearic Acid
CleansingPolyglyceryl-10 Pentaisostearate
EmollientSilica
AbrasiveSodium Chloride
MaskingCocos Nucifera Water
MaskingJojoba Esters
EmollientCocos Nucifera Fruit Juice
EmollientBoron Nitride
AbsorbentSodium Hyaluronate
HumectantTocopherol
AntioxidantAscorbic Acid
AntioxidantBisabolol
AntioxidantTocopheryl Acetate
AntioxidantEthylhexylglycerin
Skin ConditioningPhenoxyethanol
PreservativeBenzyl Benzoate
AntimicrobialAroma
CI 77891
Cosmetic ColorantIron Oxides
Water, Squalane, Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate, Methyl Dihydroabietate, Mica, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Propanediol, Glycerin, Isostearic Acid, Polyglyceryl-10 Pentaisostearate, Silica, Sodium Chloride, Cocos Nucifera Water, Jojoba Esters, Cocos Nucifera Fruit Juice, Boron Nitride, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopherol, Ascorbic Acid, Bisabolol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Benzyl Benzoate, Aroma, CI 77891, Iron Oxides
Reviews
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Bisabolol is a gentle skin conditioner, antioxidant, and soothing ingredient.
It's primary claim to fame is soothing and research shows topically applied bisabolol can quiet the chemical messengers that cause your skin to become inflamed, helping to sooth any irritation.
A clinical study found that applying 0.5% bisabolol daily for 8 weeks produced an average 9% decrease in skin pigmentation. Researchers found it can also suppress the process that leads to excess melanin production in skin.
In vitro studies found that bisabolol combined with propylene glycol significantly increased skin permeability by increasing lipid fluidity in the stratum corneum.
You'll likely see use concentrations quite low, usually 0.1-0.2%.
Overall, this is a well-tolerated ingredient that works well in formulas designed for sensitive, reactive, or post-procedure skin.
Learn more about BisabololGlycerin (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 GlycerinJojoba Esters is a wax created from Jojoba oil. It is an emollient and film-forming ingredient. In bead form, it is an exfoliator.
This ingredient has high oxidative stability, meaning it doesn't break down when exposed to oxygen.
Its similarity to our skin's natural oils makes it a great emollient. Emollients help soften and soothe our skin by creating a barrier on top. This barrier helps trap moisture in, keeping skin hydrated.
It is created using either the hydrogenation or transesterification processes on jojoba oil.
Learn more about Jojoba EstersMica 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 MicaSodium 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 HyaluronateTocopheryl Acetate is AKA Vitamin E. It is an antioxidant and protects your skin from free radicals. Free radicals damage the skin by breaking down collagen.
One study found using Tocopheryl Acetate with Vitamin C decreased the number of sunburned cells.
Tocopheryl Acetate is commonly found in both skincare and dietary supplements.
Learn more about Tocopheryl AcetateWater. 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