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KORA ORGANICS Berry Bright Vitamin C Eye Cream

Berry Bright Vitamin C Eye Cream

An eye cream with a 5.5 percent-active vitamin c blend to target signs of aging for visibly firmer, brighter skin.
Uploaded by: lwk2018 on

Skim through

Ingredient name what-it-does irr., com. ID-Rating
Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice soothing, moisturizer/​humectant goodie
Rosa Canina (Rosehip) Seed Oil emollient goodie
Glycerin skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/​humectant 0, 0 superstar
Balanites Roxburghii Seed Oil
Cetearyl Alcohol emollient, viscosity controlling, emulsifying, surfactant/​cleansing 1, 2
Water/Aqua/Eau solvent
Coconut Alkanes emollient, solvent
Lactobacillus Ferment soothing, preservative goodie
Oleic/Linoleic/Linolenic Polyglycerides emollient goodie
Cetearyl Olivate emulsifying goodie
Sorbitan Olivate emulsifying goodie
Propanediol solvent, moisturizer/​humectant
Ascorbyl Glucoside antioxidant, skin brightening goodie
Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil antioxidant, emollient 0, 0-3 goodie
Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil emollient 0, 0 goodie
Lactobacillus
Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter emollient goodie
Coco-Caprylate/Caprate emollient
Potassium Sorbate preservative
Eclipta Prostrata Extract
Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Fruit Extract emollient
Chenopodium Quinoa Seed Extract
Panax Ginseng Root Extract antioxidant, emollient goodie
Sclerotium Gum viscosity controlling
Rubus Chamaemorus Fruit Extract antioxidant
Morinda Citrifolia Fruit Extract
Sodium Phytate chelating
Anigozanthos Flavidus Extract
Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract
Terminalia Ferdinandiana Fruit Extract antioxidant, skin brightening
Sodium Benzoate preservative
Potassium Hydroxide buffering
Hippophae Rhamnoides (Seabuckthorn) Fruit Oil antioxidant, emollient goodie
Tocopherol antioxidant 0-3, 0-3 goodie
Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil emollient goodie
Alcohol antimicrobial/​antibacterial, solvent, viscosity controlling icky

KORA ORGANICS Berry Bright Vitamin C Eye Cream
Ingredients explained

Also-called: Aloe Vera | What-it-does: soothing, moisturizer/humectant

Aloe Vera is one of today’s magic plants. It does have some very nice properties indeed, though famous dermatologist Leslie Baumann warns us in her book that most of the evidence is anecdotal and the plant might be a bit overhyped.

What research does confirm about Aloe is that it’s a great moisturizer and has several anti-inflammatory (among others contains salicylates, polysaccharides, magnesium lactate and C-glucosyl chromone) as well as some antibacterial components. It also helps wound healing and skin regeneration in general. All in all definitely a goodie. 

Also-called: Dog-Rose Seed Oil, Rosehip Seed Oil | What-it-does: emollient

The oil coming from the seeds of dog-rose, a wild rose species native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia. It's a nice emollient, moisturizing plant oil loaded with skin-nourishing fatty acids (linoleic acid - 51%, linolenic acid - 19% and oleic acid - 20%). 

If you start to dig a bit deeper into the rosehip oil topic, you will soon see that there are lots of species of rose, and it's all a bit confusing to know what the differences and similarities between the oils of the different roses are. As far as our research can tell, here is the gist.

Glycerin - superstar
Also-called: Glycerol | What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/humectant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
  • A natural moisturizer that’s also in our skin
  • A super common, safe, effective and cheap molecule used for more than 50 years
  • Not only a simple moisturizer but knows much more: keeps the skin lipids between our skin cells in a healthy (liquid crystal) state, protects against irritation, helps to restore barrier
  • Effective from as low as 3% with even more benefits for dry skin at higher concentrations up to 20-40%
  • High-glycerin moisturizers are awesome for treating severely dry skin
Read all the geeky details about Glycerin here >>

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: emollient, viscosity controlling, emulsifying, emulsion stabilising, surfactant/cleansing | Irritancy: 1 | Comedogenicity: 2

An extremely common multitasker ingredient that gives your skin a nice soft feel (emollient) and gives body to creams and lotions. It also helps to stabilize oil-water mixes (emulsions), though it does not function as an emulsifier in itself. Its typical use level in most cream type formulas is 2-3%.  

It’s a so-called fatty alcohol, a mix of cetyl and stearyl alcohol, other two emollient fatty alcohols.  Though chemically speaking, it is alcohol (as in, it has an -OH group in its molecule), its properties are totally different from the properties of low molecular weight or drying alcohols such as denat. alcohol. Fatty alcohols have a long oil-soluble (and thus emollient) tail part that makes them absolutely non-drying and non-irritating and are totally ok for the skin.

Also-called: Aqua;Water | What-it-does: solvent

Good old water, aka H2O. The most common skincare ingredient of all. You can usually find it right in the very first spot of the ingredient list, meaning it’s the biggest thing out of all the stuff that makes up the product. 

It’s mainly a solvent for ingredients that do not like to dissolve in oils but rather in water. 

What-it-does: emollient, solvent

Coconut Alkanes is a volatile (something that does not absorb into the skin but evaporates from it), naturally derived vegetable alkane coming from renewable sources. It is a light, oily liquid that works as an emollient and gives a smooth skin feel.

It's often combined with another emollient called Coco-Caprylate/Caprate and the two together can serve as a great replacement for some volatile silicones, like Cyclopentasiloxane

What-it-does: soothing, preservative

Lactobacillus ferment is an interesting probiotic ingredient with some promising properties. 

First, according to a 2009 Estee Lauder patent, it’s a DNA repair enzyme and it can help to protect the skin against environmental aggressors.

What-it-does: emollient

A polyglyceride created from sunflower oil using green, Ecocert approved technology. Oils are mostly made up of triglyceride molecules: a glycerin and three fatty acids attached to it. So this guy is like a modified oil where the manufacturer changed up the fatty acids attached to the glycerin

Thanks to carefully selecting and arranging the fatty acids, the manufacturer claims that it had created an active ingredient that's not simply an emollient but a water-binding and skin-plumping active ingredient. It's also great in lip care formulas as it has high gloss and excellent stick.

Also-called: Part of Olivem 1000 | What-it-does: emulsifying

An ester that comes from Cetearyl alcohol and the fatty acids of olive oil. It often comes to the formula coupled with Sorbitan Olivate as the two together form the well-known, natural emulsifier trade named Olivem 1000. 

Other than helping oil and water to blend, the main thing of Olivem 1000 is generating liquid crystal structures that are similar to the lipid structures of the stratum corneum (the outermost layer of the skin). Thanks to this, Olivem 1000 doubles as an active ingredient with significant moisturizing, barrier-repairing and soothing properties.

Also-called: Part of Olivem 1000 | What-it-does: emulsifying

An ester coming from sorbitol and the fatty acids of olive oil. It is part of the popular emulsifier trade named Olivem 1000 that is well-known for generating biomimetic liquid crystal structures. We have more info on Olivem 1000 at Cetearyl Olivate >>

Also-called: Zemea | What-it-does: solvent, moisturizer/humectant

Propanediol is a natural alternative for the often used and often bad-mouthed propylene glycol. It's produced sustainably from corn sugar and it's Ecocert approved. 

It's quite a multi-tasker: can be used to improve skin moisturization, as a solvent, to boost preservative efficacy or to influence the sensory properties of the end formula. 

Also-called: Form of Vitamin C | What-it-does: antioxidant, skin brightening

A form of skincare superstar, vitamin C. If you do not know why vitamin C is such a big deal in skincare, we have a really detailed, geeky description that's good to read. :) 

So now you know that because pure vitamin C is such a diva (very unstable and hard to formulate) the cosmetic industry is trying to come up with some derivatives that have the badass anti-aging properties of vitamin C (antioxidant protection + collagen boosting + fading hyperpigmentation) but without the disadvantages. This is a hard task, and there is not yet a derivative that is really proven to be better in every aspect, but Ascorbyl Glucoside is one of the best options when it comes to vitamin C derivatives. Let's see why:

Also-called: Avocado Oil, Persea Americana Oil | What-it-does: antioxidant, emollient | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0-3

The oil coming from the pulp of one of the most nutritious fruits in the world, the avocado. It's loaded with the nourishing and moisturizing fatty acid, oleic (70%) and contains some others including palmitic (10%) and linoleic acid (8%). It also contains a bunch of minerals and vitamins A, E and D

Avocado oil has extraordinary skin penetration abilities and can nourish different skin layers. It's a very rich, highly moisturizing emollient oil that makes the skin smooth and nourished. Thanks to its vitamin E content it also has some antioxidant properties. As a high-oleic plant oil, it is recommended for dry skin

Also-called: Sunflower Oil | What-it-does: emollient | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

Sunflower does not need a big intro as you probably use it in the kitchen as cooking oil, or you munch on the seeds as a healthy snack or you adore its big, beautiful yellow flower during the summer - or you do all of these and probably even more. And by even more  we mean putting it all over your face as sunflower oil is one of the most commonly used plant oils in skincare.

It’s a real oldie: expressed directly from the seeds, the oil is used not for hundreds but thousands of years. According to The National Sunflower Association, there is evidence that both the plant and its oil were used by American Indians in the area of Arizona and New Mexico about 3000 BC. Do the math: it's more than 5000 years – definitely an oldie.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Shea Butter | What-it-does: emollient

Unless you live under a rock you must have heard about shea butter. It's probably the most hyped up natural butter in skincare today. It comes from the seeds of African Shea or Karite Trees and used as a magic moisturizer and emollient.

But it's not only a simple emollient, it regenerates and soothes the skin, protects it from external factors (such as UV rays or wind) and is also rich in antioxidants (among others vitamin A, E, F, quercetin and epigallocatechin gallate). If you are looking for rich emollient benefits + more, shea is hard to beat. 

What-it-does: emollient

A light emollient ester (C8-10 fatty acids connected to C12-18 fatty alcohols) that absorbs quickly and leaves a dry but silky finish on the skin. In terms of skin feel, it is similar to Dicaprylyl Carbonate, another commonly used light emollient. 

What-it-does: preservative

It's one of those things that help your cosmetics not to go wrong too soon, aka a preservative. It’s not a strong one and doesn’t really work against bacteria, but more against mold and yeast. To do that it has to break down to its active form, sorbic acid. For that to happen, there has to be water in the product and the right pH value (pH 3-4). 

But even if everything is right, it’s not enough on its own. If you see potassium sorbate you should see some other preservative next to it too.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Coconut Fruit Extract | What-it-does: emollient

The extract coming from the coconut fruit. It is a similar thing to coconut water and fruit juice and is loaded with sugars, minerals, amino acids. It is also claimed to have vitalizing and energizing effects, and some smoothing, emollient and hydrating props.

If you are into coconut, we have more details at coconut water and coconut oil

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: True Ginseng, Ginseng, Korean Ginseng | What-it-does: antioxidant, emollient

A  traditional Korean medicine used for more than 2000 years. Regarding skin care, its main thing seems to be enhancing skin nutrition and metabolism as a result of improving blood circulation.

It also contains biologically active components referred to as ginseng saponins (ginsenosides) that have potent antioxidant properties

A big sugar molecule (polysaccharide) that is used as a natural thickening and gelling agent. It is similar to more commonly used Xanthan Gum, and the two are also often combined to create gel formulas or to stabilize emulsions. 

What-it-does: antioxidant

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Noni Fruit Extract

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: chelating

It’s one of those little helper ingredients that makes sure the product stays the same over time. No color change or anything like that. It does so by neutralizing the metal ions in the formula (that usually get into there from water) that would otherwise cause some not so nice changes. 

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: antioxidant, skin brightening

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: preservative

A helper ingredient that helps to make the products stay nice longer, aka preservative. It works mainly against fungi. 

It’s pH dependent and works best at acidic pH levels (3-5). It’s not strong enough to be used in itself so it’s always combined with something else, often with potassium sorbate.

What-it-does: buffering

It's a very alkaline stuff that helps to set the pH of the cosmetic formula to be just right. It's similar to the more often used sodium hydroxide and pretty much the same of what we wrote there applies here too. 

Also-called: Sea Buckthorn Berry Oil | What-it-does: antioxidant, emollient

The oil coming from the pulp of the sea buckthorn berry. It has a pretty unique fatty acid composition: 65% is a combination of the rare Omega-7, aka palmitoleic acid and the more common palmitic acid. Fatty acids give the oil nice moisturizing and skin-protecting abilities. 

But that's not all the goodness of sea buckthorn oil. It contains antioxidant superstar, Vitamin E (in multiple forms), antioxidant (and orange color giving) pigments beta-carotene and lycopene, as well as skin-soothing and replenishing beta-sitosterol

Tocopherol - goodie
Also-called: Vitamin E | What-it-does: antioxidant | Irritancy: 0-3 | Comedogenicity: 0-3
  • Primary fat-soluble antioxidant in our skin
  • Significant photoprotection against UVB rays
  • Vit C + Vit E work in synergy and provide great photoprotection
  • Has emollient properties
  • Easy to formulate, stable and relatively inexpensive
Read all the geeky details about Tocopherol here >>

Also-called: Moringa Seed Oil | What-it-does: emollient

The oil coming from the seeds of the Moringa tree, a big white-flowered tree native to India. It's a yellow oil similar to olive oil. It's rich in nourishing and moisturizing fatty acid, oleic (75%) and also contains behenic acid (up to 8%) that makes moringa very stable and gives the oil a long shelf life

It blends easily with essential oils and can also help to stabilize scents so it's a popular oil in the perfume industry. 

Alcohol - icky
Also-called: Ethanol | What-it-does: antimicrobial/antibacterial, solvent, viscosity controlling, astringent

Simply alcohol refers to ethanol and it's a pretty controversial ingredient. It has many instant benefits: it's a great solvent, penetration enhancer, creates cosmetically elegant, light formulas, great astringent and antimicrobial. No wonder it's popular in toners and oily skin formulas. 

The downside is that it can be very drying if it's in the first few ingredients on an ingredient list. 

You may also want to take a look at...

what‑it‑does soothing | moisturizer/humectant
The famous aloe vera. A great moisturizer and anti-inflammatory ingredient that also helps wound healing and skin regeneration. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient
The oil coming from dog-rose. A nice emollient, moisturizing plant oil loaded with skin-nourishing fatty acids (linoleic acid - 51%, linolenic acid - 19% and oleic acid - 20%). [more]
what‑it‑does skin-identical ingredient | moisturizer/humectant
irritancy, com. 0, 0
A real oldie but a goodie. Great natural moisturizer and skin-identical ingredient that plays an important role in skin hydration and general skin health. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient | viscosity controlling | emulsifying | surfactant/cleansing
irritancy, com. 1, 2
A super common multitasker ingredient that gives your skin a nice soft feel (emollient) and gives body to creams. [more]
what‑it‑does solvent
Normal (well kind of - it's purified and deionized) water. Usually the main solvent in cosmetic products. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient | solvent
A volatile naturally derived vegetable alkane coming from renewable sources. It works as an emollient that gives smooth skin feel. [more]
what‑it‑does soothing | preservative
A probiotic ingredient that might protect the skin against environmental aggressors, have anti-acne and anti-inflammatory properties. Also works as a natural preservative. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient
A polyglyceride created from sunflower oil using green, Ecocert approved technology. Oils are mostly made up of triglyceride molecules: a glycerin and three fatty acids attached to it. [more]
what‑it‑does emulsifying
Part of Olivem 1000, a natural emulsifier duo that is known for forming biomimetic liquid crystal structures. It doubles as an active ingredient with barrier repairing and soothing properties. [more]
what‑it‑does emulsifying
An ester coming from sorbitol and the fatty acids of olive oil. It often comes to the formula coupled with Cetearyl Olivate and the two together help water and oil to blend (emulsifier). It's a natural and Ecocert approved duo.
what‑it‑does solvent | moisturizer/humectant
A natural corn sugar derived glycol. It can be used to improve skin moisturization, as a solvent, to boost preservative efficacy or to influence the sensory properties of the end formula. [more]
what‑it‑does antioxidant | skin brightening
A stable and easy to formulate form of skincare superstar, vitamin C. In-vitro studies show that it shows all the three anti-aging benefits (antioxidant protection + collagen boosting + fading hyperpigmentation) that pure vitamin C does. [more]
what‑it‑does antioxidant | emollient
irritancy, com. 0, 0-3
Avocado oil - a highly moisturizing, rich emollient oil that is loaded with fatty acids (oleic - 70%) and vitamin A, E and D. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient
irritancy, com. 0, 0
Sunflower Oil - it's a great emollient that protects & enhances the skin barrier. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient
Shea butter that's considered to be a magic moisturizer and emollient. It is also soothing and rich in antioxidants. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient
A light emollient ester (C8-10 fatty acids connected to C12-18 fatty alcohols) that absorbs quickly and leaves a dry but silky finish on the skin. In terms of skin feel, it is similar to Dicaprylyl Carbonate, another commonly used light emollient.  [more]
what‑it‑does preservative
A not so strong preservative that doesn’t really work against bacteria, but more against mold and yeast. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient
The extract coming from the coconut fruit. It is a similar thing to coconut water and fruit juice and is loaded with sugars, minerals, amino acids. It is also claimed to have vitalizing and energizing effects, and some smoothing, emollient and hydrating props. If you are into coconut, we have more details at coconut water and coconut oil. [more]
what‑it‑does antioxidant | emollient
Ginseng - A traditional Korean medicine that has antioxidant properties, and is known to improve blood circulation. [more]
what‑it‑does viscosity controlling
A big sugar molecule (polysaccharide) that is used as a natural thickening and gelling agent. It is similar to more commonly used Xanthan Gum, and the two are also often combined to create gel formulas or to stabilize emulsions.  [more]
what‑it‑does antioxidant
what‑it‑does chelating
It’s one of those little helper ingredients that makes sure the product stays the same over time. No color change or anything like that. It does so by neutralizing the metal ions in the formula (that usually get into there from water) that would otherwise cause some not so nice changes.  [more]
what‑it‑does antioxidant | skin brightening
what‑it‑does preservative
A preservative that works mainly against fungi. Has to be combined with other preservatives. [more]
what‑it‑does buffering
It's a very alkaline stuff that helps to set the pH of the cosmetic formula to be just right. [more]
what‑it‑does antioxidant | emollient
Sea buckthorn berry oil - contains rare omega-7 fatty acid, antioxidants, and skin-soothing plant sterols. A nice moisturising and skin protecting oil. [more]
what‑it‑does antioxidant
irritancy, com. 0-3, 0-3
Pure Vitamin E. Great antioxidant that gives significant photoprotection against UVB rays. Works in synergy with Vitamin C. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient
An emollient plant oil that is rich in nourishing and moisturizing fatty acid, oleic (75%) and also contains behenic acid (up to 8%) that makes moringa very stable and gives the oil a long shelf life. [more]
what‑it‑does antimicrobial/antibacterial | solvent | viscosity controlling
Simple alcohol that's a great solvent, penetration enhancer, creates cosmetically elegant, light formulas, great astringent, and antimicrobial. In large amount can be very drying. [more]