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Essence Pretty Natural Hydrating Foundation Ingredients Explained

Color: Neutral Ivory 030
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Published on February 02, 2022 Submitted by MaritakeN

Overview

What it is

Foundation with 23 ingredients that contains exfoliants and hyaluronic acid

Cool Features

It is vegan, cruelty-free, fungal acne (malassezia) safe, and reef safe

Suited For

It has ingredients that are good for dry skin, brightening skin and sensitive skin

Free From

It doesn't contain any harsh alcohols, common allergens, oils, parabens or sulfates

Fun facts

Essence is from Germany. This product is used in 1 routines created by our community.

We independently verify ingredients and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Does this product need an update? Let us know.

You should know

Here's our breakdown of the notable ingredients, benefits, and concerns we determined from the ingredients in this product. Click any item to learn more.

Notable Ingredients

Exfoliators
Hyaluronic Acid

Benefits

Hydrating
Redness Reducing
Reduces Irritation
Brightening

Concerns

Drying
Acne Trigger
Rosacea (2)
Eczema

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and view relevant ingredients.
alcohol-free
silicon-free
fragrance-free
sulfate-free
paraben-free
oil-free
fungal-acne safe
reef-safe
eu-allergen-free
vegan
cruelty-free

Ingredients Overview

Here's our quick-to-read summary of the ingredients in this product. Keep scrolling if you'd like to learn more about what each ingredient does!
Ingredient
Features
1
Skin Conditioning, Solvent
2
Emollient, Skin Conditioning, Solvent
Silicon Icon
3
Abrasive, Absorbent, Skin Protecting
1 / 0
Exfoliant Icon
4
Emollient, Skin Conditioning
5
Skin Conditioning
Silicon Icon
6
Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting, Solvent
0 / 0
Helps hydrate Dry Skin IconHelps brighten skin Icon
7
Emulsifying, Skin Conditioning
Silicon Icon
8
Skin Conditioning
Helps reduce Skin Redness IconHelps reduce irritation Icon
9
Skin Conditioning
10
Humectant, Skin Conditioning
0 / 0
Hyaluronic Acid Icon
11
Masking
Can worsen Dry Skin IconBad for Acne Prone Skin IconMay worsen Rosacea Icon
12
Stabilising
13
Silicon Icon
14
15
Solvent
16
Emollient, Humectant, Skin Protecting
17
Preservative
Preservative Icon
18
Preservative
Preservative Icon
19
Masking, Perfuming
Fragrance IconMay worsen Eczema IconMay worsen Rosacea Icon
20
Cosmetic Colorant
21
Cosmetic Colorant
22
Cosmetic Colorant
23
Cosmetic Colorant

Ingredients Explained

This product contains 23 ingredients. Click on any ingredient to learn more about it
1
What it does: Skin Conditioning, Solvent
Community Rating: Loved

Water. 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. Talk about multi-purpose! If you see this, drink a glass of water. Stay hydrated!

Learn more about Water
2
What it does: Emollient, Skin Conditioning, Solvent
Community Rating: Disliked

Cyclopentasiloxane is a silicone used to improve texture and trap moisture. An easier name for this is D5.

D5 is considered lightweight and volatile. Volatile means it evaporates quickly after application. Once evaporated, D5 leaves a thin barrier that helps keep skin hydrated.

D5 is an emollient. Emollients help soften the skin and prevent water loss. Silicones create a silky texture in products. D5 helps other ingredients become more spreadable.

Studies show D5 is safe to use in skincare products. We recommend speaking with a skincare professional if you have concerns.

Learn more about Cyclopentasiloxane
3
What it does: Abrasive, Absorbent, Skin Protecting
Community Rating: Very Disliked

Talc is a clay mineral. It helps absorb moisture and improve the texture of products. Like other types of clay, Talc can have a slight exfoliating effect on skin. Talc can be added to increase the volume of products.

Some Baby powders are made by combining talc with corn starch. The word "talc" comes from Latin and originates from Arabic. Talc is a mineral commonly found throughout the world.

If you have any concerns about using talc, we recommend checking out the FDA's official page.

Learn more about Talc
4
What it does: Emollient, Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Disliked

This silicone is an emollient. Emollients create a thin film on the skin to prevent moisture from escaping.

It is not soluble in water and helps increase water-resistance in products.

According to a manufacturer, it can blend seamlessly with silicone oils, such as Cyclopentasiloxane.

Learn more about Trimethylsiloxysilicate
5
What it does: Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Very Disliked

Peg-10 Dimethicone is silicone with conditioner and emulsifier properties. It mostly acts as an emollient in skincare and and humectant in haircare.

According to the manufacturer, acidic formulations decrease the stability of this ingredient. It works best in neutral or near neutral formulations.

6
What it does: Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting, Solvent
Community Rating: Loved

Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.

A study from 2016 found glycerin to be more effective as a humectant than AHAs and hyaluronic acid.

As a humectant, it helps the skin stay hydrated by pulling moisture to your skin. The low molecular weight of glycerin allows it to pull moisture into the deeper layers of your skin.

Hydrated skin improves your skin barrier; Your skin barrier helps protect against irritants and bacteria.

Glycerin has also been found to have antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Due to these properties, glycerin is often used in wound and burn treatments.

In cosmetics, glycerin is usually derived from plants such as soybean or palm. However, it can also be sourced from animals, such as tallow or animal fat.

This ingredient is organic, colorless, odorless, and non-toxic.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

Learn more about Glycerin
7
What it does: Emulsifying, Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Very Disliked

This ingredient is a high molecular weight silicone. It has emulsifying and skin conditioning properties.

8
What it does: Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Liked

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice comes from leaves of the aloe plant. Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice is best known for helping to soothe sunburns. It is also anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, antiseptic, and can help heal wounds.

Aloe is packed with good stuff including Vitamins A, C, and E. These vitamins are antioxidants, which help fight free-radicals and the damage they may cause. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells, such as pollution.

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice also contains sugars. These sugars come in the form of monosaccharides and polysaccharides, folic acid, and choline. These sugars are able to help bind moisture to skin.

It also contains minerals such as calcium, 12 anthraquinones, fatty acids, amino acids, and Vitamin B12.

Learn more about Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
9
What it does: Skin Conditioning

We don't have a description for Tropolone.

10
What it does: Humectant, Skin Conditioning
Community Rating: Loved

Sodium Hyaluronate is hyaluronic acid's salt form. It is commonly derived from the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid.

Like hyaluronic acid, it is great at holding water and acts as a humectant. This makes it a great skin hydrating ingredient.

Sodium Hyaluronate is naturally occurring in our bodies and is mostly found in eye fluid and joints.

These are some other common types of Hyaluronic Acid:

Learn more about Sodium Hyaluronate
11
What it does: Masking
Community Rating: Very Disliked

Chances 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.

There is much debate on whether this ingredient is comedogenic. The short answer - comedogenic ratings don't tell the whole story. Learn more about comegodenic ratings here.

The concensus about this ingredient causing acne seems to be divided. Research is needed to understand if this ingredient does cause acne.

Scrubs may use salt as the primary exfoliating ingredient.

Learn more about Sodium Chloride
12
What it does: Stabilising
Community Rating: Disliked

Disteardimonium Hectorite comes from the clay mineral named hectorite. It is used to add thickness to a product.

It can also help stabilize a product by helping to disperse other ingredients.

Hectorite is a rare, white clay mineral.

Learn more about Disteardimonium Hectorite
13

Hydrogen Dimethicone is a type of silicone.

14
What it does:
Community Rating: Liked

Sodium Phytate is the synthetic salt form of phytic acid. Phytic acid is an antioxidant and can be found in plant seeds.

Sodium Phytate is a chelating agent. Chelating agents help prevent metals from binding to water. This helps stabilize the ingredients and the product.

15
What it does: Solvent

This ingredient is a solvent. It helps dissolve active ingredients and alter the texture of products.

Propylene Carbonate is commonly used in makeup and with clay, such as montmorillonite or bentonite.

Studies show this ingredient to be safe for cosmetics. When it is undiluted, it can cause skin irritation. (It is always diluted in skincare and makeup). This ingredient is water-soluble.

Propylene Carbonate is created from propylene glycol and carbonic acid.

Learn more about Propylene Carbonate
16
What it does: Emollient, Humectant, Skin Protecting
Community Rating: Disliked

Aluminum Hydroxide is a form of aluminum. It can be naturally found in nature as the mineral gibbsite. In cosmetics, Aluminum Hydroxide is used as a colorant, pH adjuster, and absorbent.

As a colorant, Aluminum Hydroxide may add opacity, or reduce the transparency. Aluminum hydroxide is contains both basic and acidic properties.

According to manufacturers, this ingredient is an emollient and humectant. This means it helps hydrate the skin.

In medicine, this ingredient is used to help relieve heartburn and help heal ulcers.

Learn more about Aluminum Hydroxide
17
What it does: Preservative
Community Rating: Very Disliked

Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent germ and microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.

It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.

18
What it does: Preservative
Community Rating: Loved

This ingredient is a preservative with antimicrobial properties. It is the sodium salt of dehydroacetic acid.

It is especially effective at preventing bacterial and fungal growth in low concentrations.

19
What it does: Masking, Perfuming
Community Rating: Very Disliked

Parfum is a catch-all term for an ingredient or more that is used to give aroma to products. Parfum, or fragrance, 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.

In the US, the alternative name for parfum is 'fragrance'. The term '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. One example is Calendula flower extract. Essential oil ingredients still impart a scent or 'fragrance'.

Depending on the blend, it can cause allergies and sensitivities on the skin. Some ingredients that are known EU allergens include linalool and citronellol.

Products use parfum often to give products a scent or cover up smells of different ingredients.

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 Parfum
20
What it does: Cosmetic Colorant
Community Rating: Mixed

Ci 77491 is also hydrated iron III oxide. It's sole purpose is to give a red/pink hue to products.

Iron III oxides are classified as inorganic chemicals for coloring.

Synthetically created Ci 77491 is considered safer than those naturally found. This is because the synthetically created version may contain less impurities. Iron oxides are generally non-toxic and non-allergenic.

Learn more about CI 77491
21
What it does: Cosmetic Colorant
Community Rating: Mixed

Ci 77492 is also hydrated iron III oxide. It's sole purpose is to give a yellow hue to products.

Iron III oxides are classified as inorganic chemicals for coloring.

Synthetically created Ci 77492 is considered safer than those naturally found. This is because the synthetically created version may contain less impurities. Iron oxides are generally non-toxic and non-allergenic.

Learn more about CI 77492
22
What it does: Cosmetic Colorant
Community Rating: Mixed

Ci 77499 is also hydrated iron III oxide. It is created from mixing red and black iron oxides. This helps give shades of darkness to a product.

Iron III oxides are classified as inorganic chemicals for coloring.

23
What it does: Cosmetic Colorant
Community Rating: Disliked

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 77891
Embed Ingredients

Here's what our community thinks of the 23 ingredients in this product ✨

26% are loved or liked
13% have mixed ratings
48% are disliked or very disliked
13% have no rating yet

When to use

Here's some more info on how this product is used by our community.

Directions

Pretty and natural! The essence pretty natural hydrating foundation with hyaluronic acid and aloe vera provides a natural, medium coverage finish and weightless feel for up to 24 hours, leaving you with the perfect combo of pretty and natural. Vegan, paraben free, alcohol...

Pretty and natural! The essence pretty natural hydrating foundation with hyaluronic acid and aloe vera provides a natural, medium coverage finish and weightless feel for up to 24 hours, leaving you with the perfect combo of pretty and natural. Vegan, paraben free, alcohol free, oil free, gluten free.

How to Use:
After priming and moisturizing, dip sponge, brush, or fingers into product. Sweep and buff product in place, blending upwards and outwards for a flawless look. Build up product until desired coverage is achieved. Best if applied with a sponge.

When to use

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