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La Mer Genaissance De La Mer The Serum Essence

Genaissance De La Mer The Serum Essence

Handcrafted with crystal miracle broth™, this richly active, silken serum accelerates renewal to transcend virtually all signs of time. Younger looking skin begins with four exquisite drops.
Uploaded by: tatatatay on

Ingredients overview

Algae (Seaweed) Extract, Dimethicone, Isododecane, Polysilicone-11, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Caprylic/​Capric Triglyceride, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Coco-Caprylate/​Caprate, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil, Medicago Sativa (Alfalfa) Seed Powder, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seedcake, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Seed Meal, Eucalyptus Globulus (Eucalyptus) Leaf Oil, Sodium Gluconate, Copper Gluconate, Calcium Gluconate, Magnesium Gluconate, Zinc Gluconate, Tocopheryl Succinate, Niacin, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Powder, Water\Aqua\Eau, Propanediol, Hypnea Musciformis (Algae) Extract, Gelidiella Acerosa (Algae) Extract, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Seed Extract, Whey Protein\Lactis Protein\Proteine Du Petit-Lait, Caffeine, Acetyl Glucosamine, Pisum Sativum (Pea) Extract, Helichrysum Arenarium (Everlasting) Extract, Polygonum Cuspidatum Root Extract, Bambusa Vulgaris (Bamboo) Extract, Centaurium Erythraea (Centaury) Extract, Bis-PEG-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane, Laminaria Digitata Extract, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Peel Extract, Coffea Arabica (Coffee) Seed Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Extract, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Leaf Extract, Corallina Officinalis Extract, Sucrose, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Sigesbeckia Orientalis (St. Paul'S Wort) Extract, Crithmum Maritimum Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract, Jania Rubens Extract, PEG-8, Hordeum Vulgare (Barley) Extract\Extrait D'Orge, Molasses Extract\Saccharum Officinarum\Extrait De Melasse, Chlorella Vulgaris Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Laminaria Saccharina Extract, Micrococcus Lysate, Saccharomyces Lysate Extract, Caprylic/​Capric/​Myristic/​Stearic Triglyceride, Palmaria Palmata Extract, Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein, Polysorbate 20, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/​VP Copolymer, Sodium PCA, Urea, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Acrylamide/​Sodium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Copolymer, Glyceryl Polymethacrylate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Glycosaminoglycans, Fragrance (Parfum), Isohexadecane, Pentylene Glycol, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Tetraacetylphytosphingosine, Dipalmitoyl Hydroxyproline, Vinyl Dimethicone/​Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Squalane, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Ruby Powder, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Hydrolyzed Rice Extract, Tourmaline, Hydrolyzed Algin, Potassium Sorbate, Gold, Glucosamine Hcl, Caprylyl Glycol, Yeast Polysaccharides, Polysorbate 80, Trehalose, Polyquaternium-51, Hexylene Glycol, Yeast Extract\Faex\Extrait De Levure, Cholesterol, Zea Mays (Corn) Kernel Extract, Glycyrrhetinic Acid, Hydroxypropyl Cyclodextrin, Lecithin, Maltodextrin, Alcohol Denat, Xanthan Gum, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Disodium EDTA, BHT, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin, Hydroxycitronellal, Citronellol, Geraniol, Linalool, Limonene, Caramel, Red 4 (Ci 14700)

Highlights

Skim through

Ingredient name what-it-does irr., com. ID-Rating
Algae (Seaweed) Extract emollient, moisturizer/​humectant goodie
Dimethicone emollient 0, 1
Isododecane emollient, solvent
Polysilicone-11
Glycerin skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/​humectant 0, 0 superstar
Butylene Glycol moisturizer/​humectant, solvent 0, 1
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride emollient
PEG-10 Dimethicone emulsifying
Coco-Caprylate/Caprate emollient
Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil emollient 0, 1-3 goodie
Medicago Sativa (Alfalfa) Seed Powder
Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seedcake abrasive/​scrub
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Seed Meal abrasive/​scrub
Eucalyptus Globulus (Eucalyptus) Leaf Oil perfuming, antimicrobial/​antibacterial icky
Sodium Gluconate chelating, moisturizer/​humectant
Copper Gluconate soothing goodie
Calcium Gluconate moisturizer/​humectant
Magnesium Gluconate
Zinc Gluconate anti-acne, soothing goodie
Tocopheryl Succinate antioxidant
Niacin
Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Powder
Water\Aqua\Eau solvent
Propanediol solvent, moisturizer/​humectant
Hypnea Musciformis (Algae) Extract
Gelidiella Acerosa (Algae) Extract
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Seed Extract
Whey Protein\Lactis Protein\Proteine Du Petit-Lait cell-communicating ingredient goodie
Caffeine antioxidant, perfuming goodie
Acetyl Glucosamine skin-identical ingredient, skin brightening goodie
Pisum Sativum (Pea) Extract
Helichrysum Arenarium (Everlasting) Extract soothing
Polygonum Cuspidatum Root Extract antioxidant
Bambusa Vulgaris (Bamboo) Extract
Centaurium Erythraea (Centaury) Extract
Bis-PEG-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane emollient, moisturizer/​humectant, surfactant/​cleansing
Laminaria Digitata Extract
Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Peel Extract surfactant/​cleansing, perfuming
Coffea Arabica (Coffee) Seed Extract
Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract antioxidant, soothing, antimicrobial/​antibacterial goodie
Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Extract goodie
Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Leaf Extract
Corallina Officinalis Extract
Sucrose moisturizer/​humectant, soothing goodie
Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil emollient goodie
Sigesbeckia Orientalis (St. Paul'S Wort) Extract
Crithmum Maritimum Extract
Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract antioxidant, skin brightening, soothing, emollient goodie
Jania Rubens Extract
PEG-8 moisturizer/​humectant, solvent
Hordeum Vulgare (Barley) Extract\Extrait D'Orge emollient
Molasses Extract\Saccharum Officinarum\Extrait De Melasse
Chlorella Vulgaris Extract
Tocopheryl Acetate antioxidant 0, 0
Laminaria Saccharina Extract moisturizer/​humectant, soothing goodie
Micrococcus Lysate
Saccharomyces Lysate Extract moisturizer/​humectant
Caprylic/Capric/Myristic/Stearic Triglyceride emollient
Palmaria Palmata Extract
Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12 cell-communicating ingredient goodie
Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate surfactant/​cleansing, emulsifying
Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein moisturizer/​humectant goodie
Polysorbate 20 emulsifying, surfactant/​cleansing 0, 0
Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer viscosity controlling
Sodium PCA skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/​humectant 0, 0 goodie
Urea skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/​humectant goodie
Hydrogenated Polyisobutene emollient, viscosity controlling 2, 1
Acrylamide/Sodium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Copolymer viscosity controlling
Glyceryl Polymethacrylate viscosity controlling
Sodium Hyaluronate skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/​humectant 0, 0 goodie
Glycosaminoglycans emollient
Fragrance (Parfum) perfuming icky
Isohexadecane emollient, solvent
Pentylene Glycol solvent, moisturizer/​humectant
Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate antioxidant, skin brightening goodie
Tetraacetylphytosphingosine
Dipalmitoyl Hydroxyproline
Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer viscosity controlling
Squalane skin-identical ingredient, emollient 0, 1 goodie
Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil emollient 0, 3
Ruby Powder
Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 cell-communicating ingredient, moisturizer/​humectant goodie
Hydrolyzed Rice Extract
Tourmaline viscosity controlling
Hydrolyzed Algin
Potassium Sorbate preservative
Gold colorant
Glucosamine Hcl
Caprylyl Glycol moisturizer/​humectant, emollient
Yeast Polysaccharides viscosity controlling
Polysorbate 80 emulsifying, surfactant/​cleansing 0, 0
Trehalose moisturizer/​humectant goodie
Polyquaternium-51 moisturizer/​humectant
Hexylene Glycol solvent, emulsifying, perfuming, surfactant/​cleansing 0-1, 0-2
Yeast Extract\Faex\Extrait De Levure moisturizer/​humectant goodie
Cholesterol skin-identical ingredient, emollient 0, 0 goodie
Zea Mays (Corn) Kernel Extract
Glycyrrhetinic Acid
Hydroxypropyl Cyclodextrin
Lecithin emollient, emulsifying goodie
Maltodextrin
Alcohol Denat antimicrobial/​antibacterial, solvent, viscosity controlling icky
Xanthan Gum viscosity controlling
Polymethylsilsesquioxane
Trimethylsiloxysilicate emollient
Disodium EDTA chelating
BHT antioxidant, preservative
Phenoxyethanol preservative
Chlorphenesin preservative, antimicrobial/​antibacterial
Hydroxycitronellal perfuming icky
Citronellol perfuming icky
Geraniol perfuming icky
Linalool perfuming icky
Limonene perfuming, solvent icky
Caramel colorant
Red 4 (Ci 14700) colorant

La Mer Genaissance De La Mer The Serum Essence
Ingredients explained

We have to admit that Algae Extract is not our favorite ingredient name. It does comply with the INCI standard (the official list about how ingredients on the product labels have to be called, the thing we help you to decode here :)), but there are about 20 000 different kinds of algae and an extract from them can be made in another 10 000 ways.

So, Algae Extract can be anything from La Mer's "Miracle Broth" to a simple brown algae extract that helps to smooth the hair. The official description in the Europiean Cosmetic Ingredient listing is this: "an extract of various species of Algae; Extract of the Seaweed, Fucus vesiculosus, Furaceae". Its official functions include being a humectant (helps skin to attract water), emollient (makes skin feel smooth and nice) and skin conditioner (a catchall phrase for saying it does something good for the skin).

What-it-does: emollient | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1

Probably the most common silicone of all. It is a polymer (created from repeating subunits) molecule and has different molecular weight and thus different viscosity versions from water-light to thick liquid.

As for skincare, it makes the skin silky smooth, creates a subtle gloss and forms a protective barrier (aka occlusive). Also, works well to fill in fine lines and wrinkles and give skin a plump look (of course that is only temporary, but still, it's nice). There are also scar treatment gels out there using dimethicone as their base ingredient. It helps to soften scars and increase their elasticity. 

What-it-does: emollient, solvent

A  clear, colorless and odorless, highly volatile (meaning it does not absorb into the skin but evaporates from it) liquid that's used as an emollient. It gives a nice non-oily light skin feel and it can improve the slip of the formula without leaving a tacky residue behind.

It's also popular in make-up products as its volatility makes mascaras and foundations last longer. If that would not be enough, it's also an excellent solvent, and it's a regular not only on the ingredients lists of make-ups but also on makeup removers.  

A type of silicone elastomer (rubber-like material with both viscosity and elasticity) whose major function is forming a nice film on the skin.

It is also cosmetically very elegant with a non-tacky, non-oily and smooth skin feel. It also works as a stable delivery system of active materials, has sebum absorption and control properties and upon application, it transforms into a matte appearance with a powdery after feel.

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 >>

What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant, solvent | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1

Butylene glycol, or let’s just call it BG, is a multi-tasking colorless, syrupy liquid. It’s a great pick for creating a nice feeling product.  

BG’s main job is usually to be a solvent for the other ingredients. Other tasks include helping the product to absorb faster and deeper into the skin (penetration enhancer), making the product spread nicely over the skin (slip agent), and attracting water (humectant) into the skin.

What-it-does: emollient

A super common emollient that makes your skin feel nice and smooth. It comes from coconut oil and glycerin, it’s light-textured, clear, odorless and non-greasy. It’s a nice ingredient that just feels good on the skin, is super well tolerated by every skin type and easy to formulate with. No wonder it’s popular. 

What-it-does: emulsifying

A silicone emulsifier that helps water and silicone oils to mix nicely together. It can also be used together with plant oil + silicone oil mixtures. 

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. 

Also-called: Sesame Oil | What-it-does: emollient | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1-3

A goldish to dark yellow emollient plant oil coming from Sesame seeds. Similar to many other plant oils, it contains high amounts of nourishing and moisturizing fatty acids (about 38% of oleic and 48% of linoleic acid) and is a nice oil to repair and regenerate dry skin. It is rapidly absorbed and gives the skin a soft and gentle feel.  

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: abrasive/scrub

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: abrasive/scrub

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Eucalyptus Essential Oil | What-it-does: perfuming, antimicrobial/antibacterial

The essential oil created by steam distilling the leaves of the Eucalyptus tree. It's a colorless, pale yellow oil with a camphoraceous aroma used traditionally in vapor rubs to treat coughs. Its name-giving main component is eucalyptol (also called 1,8-cineole, 80-91%) that has significant antibacterial and expectorant properties.   

Among essential oils, Eucalyptus Globulus counts as rather non-sensitising with an EU sensitizer total of 5% (due to limonene). However, if your skin is super-sensitive or you are allergic to fragrances, it is still better to avoid it. 

The neutralized form of gluconic acid. It's a great ingredient to neutralize metal (especially iron and copper) ions in a cosmetic product. This helps to prevent discoloration of the formula over time or rancidity of cosmetic oils. It can also be a pH regulator and a humectant (helps skin to cling onto water).

It's also used in oral care products where it reduces the bitterness of other ingredients. And it's natural, both Ecocert and Cosmos approved. (source: manufacturer info)

What-it-does: soothing

A copper salt (copper cation + gluconate anion) probably best known for promoting cellular regeneration and wound healing. It works mainly in the final healing phase that complements nicely with the wound healing abilities of its mineral salt sister, zinc gluconate

Other than that, copper is also involved in several enzyme systems: it is a cofactor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase and also a cofactor for the melanin stimulating enzyme, tyrosinase. This means that copper has some tan activating properties, though we think you should not be into tanning at all, as UV is so bad for the skin

What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: anti-acne, soothing, deodorant

If you are fighting acne and have looked into oral supplements, chances are that zinc gluconate sounds familiar to you. It is a zinc salt that has research proving it to be effective against inflammatory acne, though not quite as effective as the antibiotic minocycline (31.2% vs. 63.4% success rate). However, zinc supplements are easily available, have little-to-no side effects, so supplementing them with a 30mg per day dose can still be a good idea.

As for smearing zinc gluconate all over your face, it is also not a bad idea. Zinc has multiple magic abilities: it is antibacterial (including evil, acne-causing P. acnes) and sebum-regulating (5α-reductase inhibitor), great for acne-prone skin types. It also stimulates antioxidant enzyme systems (mainly superoxide dismutase) and has nice wound healing abilities acting mainly in the first, proliferation phase. So great for skin types in need of healing and soothing.

What-it-does: antioxidant

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

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. 

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. 

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Milk Peptide Complex;Whey Protein | What-it-does: cell-communicating ingredient

Protein fragments, aka peptides and growth factors derived from milk (whey). It is claimed to boost the production of important extracellular matrix components (the gooey stuff between the skin cells) such as hyaluronic acid, collagen I and fibronectin. The in-vivo (made on people) tests showed reduced wrinkles and improved firmness within two weeks by using 0.5% of Whey Protein.

Caffeine - goodie
What-it-does: antioxidant, perfuming

Hello, our favorite molecule that helps us wake up in the morning and then keeps us going through the day. As a super well-known stimulant from coffee, tea and plenty of other soft drinks, Caffeine needs no introduction. So we will skip right to the part where we talk about what the hell it does in so-so many cosmetic products.

Looking at the research, we were surprised to find how versatile Caffeine is. It is a small, water-loving molecule with pretty good skin penetration abilties. Once in the skin, it has nice antioxidant properties, meaning that it reduces the formation of evil free radicals and it might even be useful in preventing UV-induced skin cancers. 

An amino acid sugar that can be found in the skin and does there good and important things. One of them is that it's a precursor for the biosynthesis of superstar moisturizer, hyaluronic acid. So acetyl glucosamine itself is also an important skin-identical ingredient and natural moisturizing factor.

But that is not all, acetyl glucosamine has two other great properties proved by double-blind clinical trials. First, it's a promising ingredient against wrinkles:  2% can improve wrinkles, particularly in the eye area.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: soothing

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: antioxidant

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Bis-PEG-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane is a silicone that is water dispersible (as opposed to most other silicones that are usually oil dispersible). It makes the skin smooth and nice (emollient), moisturizes, helps to reduce tackiness, and also has some foam boosting properties. It is often used in light, watery formulas to give them an extra silky feel

Also-called: Horsetail Kelp Extract

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Rosemary Leaf Extract | What-it-does: antioxidant, soothing, antimicrobial/antibacterial

The extract coming from the lovely herb, rosemary. It contains lots of chemicals, including flavonoids, phenolic acids, and diterpenes. Its main active is rosmarinic acid, a potent antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory. It has also anti-bacterial, astringent and toning properties. 

The leaves contain a small amount of essential oil (1-2%) with fragrant components, so if you are allergic to fragrance, it might be better to avoid it. 

Also-called: Wheat Germ Extract

It's a plant extract that comes from wheat germ. Used as skin- and hair conditioner and skin protectant.

Contains gluten, if you are allergic.

Also-called: Raspberry Leaf

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Sucrose - goodie

A type fo sugar, usually refined from cane or beet sugar. On the skin, it has water-binding properties and helps to keep your skin hydrated

Also-called: Meadowfoam Oil | What-it-does: emollient

The emollient plant oil coming from the seeds of the white flowering plant called meadowfoam.  Meadowfoam Oil has a unique fatty acid composition with 95% of it being long chain fatty acids (eicosenoic acid C20:1 - 61%, docosenoic acid C22:1 - 16% and docosadienoic acid C22:2 - 18%) that make the oil extraordinarily stable. It also contains antioxidant components such as vitamin E as well as phytosterols.

Apart from Meadowfoam Oil's crazy stability, the oil is described as non-greasy, rapidly absorbed and having a similar skin feel to more often used jojoba oil. The oil is ideal for products where a soft, smooth, silky feel is required whether it be on skin or hair.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Soybean Extract | What-it-does: antioxidant, skin brightening, soothing, emollient

When you hear the word Soy, you probably associate it with soy sauce or tofu, not skincare. But as it turns out, the soybean has a bunch of useful active components and soybean extract is an interesting cosmetic ingredient with a wide range of possible effects. 

Its main active components are antioxidant phenolic acids and flavonoids as well as small and large soy proteins. The large proteins give soybean extract nice skin smoothing and softening properties, while the small proteins (soybean trypsin inhibitor (STI) and Bowman-Birk inhibitor (BBI)) are thought to inhibit skin pigmentation and delay hair regrowth.   

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

A smallish polymer molecule (created from repeated units of Polyethylene glycol, aka PEG) that's used as a solubilizer and viscosity control agent.

It is a clear, colorless liquid that is water-soluble and water-binding (aka humectant) and can help to solubilize sparingly-water soluble things (e.g. vanilla, perfumes) into water-based formulas. Thanks to its water-binding ability, it also prevents the drying out of formulas, especially when combined with the fellow hygroscopic agent, sorbitol

What-it-does: emollient

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Vitamin E Acetate | What-it-does: antioxidant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

It’s the most commonly used version of pure vitamin E in cosmetics. You can read all about the pure form here. This one is the so-called esterified version. 

According to famous dermatologist, Leslie Baumann while tocopheryl acetate is more stable and has a longer shelf life, it’s also more poorly absorbed by the skin and may not have the same awesome photoprotective effects as pure Vit E. 

The extract coming from Laminaria Saccharina, a brown algae. According to manufacturer info, it's loaded with a bunch of good-for-the-skin thingsalginates are polysaccharides (a big molecule from repeating sugar units) that are water-loving and can form a protective film on the skin. This means moisturizing, skin protecting and soothing magic properties.

The extract also contains another polysaccharide called laminarin, that has decongestant and lipid-reducing action that might be useful for combination, acne-prone skin types.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: emollient

A vegetable origin emollient that has a similar consistency to lard (solid at room temperature) but melts rapidly upon contact with the skin.  It's claimed to have great skin compatibility, penetrates easily, does not feel tacky or heavy on the skin and does not leave a greasy shine.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Biopeptide El, pal-VGVAPG, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide (old name) | What-it-does: cell-communicating ingredient

A six amino acid peptide that is claimed to improve firmness and skin tone. Its amino acid sequence is Val-Gly-Val-Ala-Pro-Gly that is also called the "spring fragment" and is repeated six times in the important skin protein, elastin molecule.

The manufacturer made a double-blind, one-month long clinical study on 10 women and found that twice a day application of 4%  Biopeptide El improved skin firmness by 33% and skin tone by 20%. 

A glycerin-derived gentle cleansing agent that is described as being skin and eye-friendly, and not leaving the skin dry or tight. It's also used as a co-emulsifier or solubilizer that helps to blend small amounts of oily things into water-based products. 

What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant

A chemically chopped up version of wheat protein that consists mainly of amino acids (the building blocks), peptides (a couple of amino acids together), and proteins (lots of amino acids together). 

It has moisturizing and film-forming properties and  might be able to counteract the irritating effects of cleansing agents in cleansers and shampoos. It can also condition and repair damaged hair leaving it soft, silky and smooth.

What-it-does: emulsifying, surfactant/cleansing | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

It's a common little helper ingredient that helps water and oil to mix together. Also, it can help to increase the solubility of some other ingredients in the formula. 

Also-called: Aristoflex AVC | What-it-does: viscosity controlling

A kind of polymer (big molecule from repeated subunits) that helps to create beautiful gel-like textures. It's also a texturizer and thickener for oil-in-water emulsions. It gives products a good skin feel and does not make the formula tacky or sticky. 

It works over a wide pH range and is used between 0.5-1.2%.

Sodium PCA - goodie
Also-called: Sodium Pyrrolidone Carboxylic Acid | What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/humectant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

PCA stands for Pyrrolidone Carboxylic Acid and though it might not sound like it, it is a thing that can be found naturally in our skin. The sodium salt form of PCA is an important skin-identical ingredient and great natural moisturizer that helps the skin to hold onto water and stay nicely hydrated. 

Urea - goodie
Also-called: Carbamide | What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/humectant

Yes, it's the thing that can be found naturally in pee. And in the skin. It is an awesome natural moisturizing factor, aka NMF.  NMFs are important components that help the skin to hold onto water and keep it plump, elastic and hydrated. Urea makes up about 7% of NMFs next to other things such as amino acids (40%), PCA (12%) or Lactate (12%).

What makes urea special, is that it is not only a simple moisturizer, but it is thought to be a "small-molecule regulator of epidermal structure and function" meaning that it has a bunch of extra biological activities. It acts as a mild keratolytic agent (some of its moisturizing action is thought to come from urea's ability to break down bonds in the protein called filaggrin and thus freeing up amino acids in the skin), enhances antimicrobial peptide expression and improves skin barrier function

What-it-does: emollient, viscosity controlling | Irritancy: 2 | Comedogenicity: 1

A synthetic liquid oil that can replace mineral oil or silicone oils in the cosmetic formulas. There are different grades depending on the molecular weight ranging from very light, volatile, non-residue leaving ones to more substantial, slight residue leaving ones.

Apart from leaving the skin soft and smooth (emollient), it's also used as a waterproofing agent in sunscreens or makeup products and as a shine enhancer in lip gloss formulas. 

A kind of polymer (big molecule from repeated subunits) that helps to thicken up and stabilize products. It usually comes to the formula as part of some thickener complex. For example, coupled with isohexadecane and polysorbate 80, the trio helps to create soft and supple textures

What-it-does: viscosity controlling

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/humectant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

It’s the - sodium form - cousin of the famous NMFhyaluronic acid (HA). If HA does not tell you anything we have a super detailed, geeky explanation about it here.  The TL; DR version of HA is that it's a huge polymer (big molecule from repeated subunits) found in the skin that acts as a sponge helping the skin to hold onto water, being plump and elastic. HA is famous for its crazy water holding capacity as it can bind up to 1000 times its own weight in water.

As far as skincare goes, sodium hyaluronate and hyaluronic acid are pretty much the same and the two names are used interchangeably. As cosmetic chemist kindofstephen writes on reddit  "sodium hyaluronate disassociates into hyaluronic acid molecule and a sodium atom in solution". 

What-it-does: emollient

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Fragrance, Parfum;Parfum/Fragrance | What-it-does: perfuming

Exactly what it sounds: nice smelling stuff put into cosmetic products so that the end product also smells nice. Fragrance in the US and parfum in the EU is a generic term on the ingredient list that is made up of 30 to 50 chemicals on average (but it can have as much as 200 components!). 

If you are someone who likes to know what you put on your face then fragrance is not your best friend - there's no way to know what’s really in it.  

What-it-does: emollient, solvent

A light, velvety, unique skin feel liquid that is a good solvent and also makes the skin feel nice and smooth (aka emollient). It's often used in makeup products mixed with silicones to give shine and slip to the product. It's also great for cleansing dirt and oil from the skin as well as for taking off make-up.

A multi-functional, silky feeling helper ingredient that can do quite many things. It's used as an emulsion stabilizer, solvent and a broad spectrum antimicrobial. According to manufacturer info, it's also a moisturizer and helps to make the product feel great on the skin. It works synergistically with preservatives and helps to improve water-resistance of sunscreens. 

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

Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate is a stable, oil-soluble form of skincare big shot Vitamin C. If you do not know, why Vitamin C is such a big deal in skincare, click here and read all about it. We are massive vitamin C fans and have written about it in excruciating detail.

So now, you know that Vitamin C is great and all, but it's really unstable and gives cosmetics companies many headaches. To solve this problem they came up with vitamin C derivatives, and one of them is Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate (let's call it THDA in short).

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: viscosity controlling

This bamboozling INCI name is given to a spherical silicone powder that has an elastic silicone rubber inner part and a harder silicone resin outer part.

It gives formulas a uniquely soft, silky feeling, and has a mattifying and soft focus effect. It is available in different particle sizes and the larger the particle the more line/pore filling effect the powder has. 

Squalane - goodie
What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, emollient | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1

It seems to us that squalane is in fashion and there is a reason for it. Chemically speaking, it is a saturated  (no double bonds) hydrocarbon (a molecule consisting only of carbon and hydrogen), meaning that it's a nice and stable oily liquid with a long shelf life. 

It occurs naturally in certain fish and plant oils (e.g. olive), and in the sebum (the oily stuff our skin produces) of the human skin. As f.c. puts it in his awesome blog post, squalane's main things are "emolliency, surface occlusion, and TEWL prevention all with extreme cosmetic elegance". In other words, it's a superb moisturizer that makes your skin nice and smooth, without being heavy or greasy.

What-it-does: emollient | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 3

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Argireline, Acetyl Hexapeptide-3 | What-it-does: cell-communicating ingredient, moisturizer/humectant

If you see a cosmetic product that claims that it has "Botox-like effect" then two things are almost certain: one, the product overpromises and two, it contains Argireline. 

So this one is the famous peptide that's marketed by its manufacturer as the "Botox in a jar". The basis for this claim is that it targets the same wrinkle forming mechanism (wrinkles caused by facial muscle movement) as Botox, but the way it works is very different. In addition, the extent to which it can prevent muscles from contracting (and to smooth wrinkles) is very different (otherwise why would anyone use still Botox?). 

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: viscosity controlling

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

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.

Also-called: Ci 77480 | What-it-does: colorant

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

It’s a handy multi-tasking ingredient that gives the skin a nice, soft feel. At the same time, it also boosts the effectiveness of other preservatives, such as the nowadays super commonly used phenoxyethanol

The blend of these two (caprylyl glycol + phenoxyethanol) is called Optiphen, which not only helps to keep your cosmetics free from nasty things for a long time but also gives a good feel to the finished product. It's a popular duo.

What-it-does: viscosity controlling

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: emulsifying, surfactant/cleansing | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

A common little helper ingredient that helps water and oil to mix together, aka emulsifier. 

The number at the end refers to the oil-loving part and the bigger the number  the more emulsifying power it has. 20 is a weak emulsifier, rather called solubilizer used commonly in toners while 60 and 80 are more common in serums and creams.

Trehalose - goodie
What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant

A type of sugar that has water-binding properties and helps to keep your skin hydrated

What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant

A biocompatible copolymer (a big molecule that consists of more than one type of building blocks) that has the same structure as important cell membrane ingredient, phospholipid. It's a good skin moisturizer, leaves a silky, smooth feel on the skin and can help to reduce irritation caused by some not-so-nice ingredients (like surfactants).

What-it-does: solvent, emulsifying, perfuming, surfactant/cleansing | Irritancy: 0-1 | Comedogenicity: 0-2

Similar to other glycols, it's a helper ingredient used as a solvent, or to thin out thick formulas and make them more nicely spreadable. 

Hexylene Glycol is also part a preservative blend named Lexgard® HPO, where it helps the effectiveness of current IT-preservative, phenoxyethanol

What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant

You probably know yeast from the kitchen where you put it into milk with a little sugar and then after a couple of minutes brownish bubbles form. That is the fungi fermenting the sugar

As for skin care, yeast contains beta-glucan that is a great soothing ingredient and also a mild antioxidant.  The yeast extract itself is a silky clear liquid that has some great moisturizing, skin protecting and film-forming properties on the skin. 

Cholesterol - goodie
What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, emollient | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

It's one of the important lipids that can be found naturally in the outer layer of the skin. About 25% of the goopy stuff between our skin cells consists of cholesterol. Together with ceramides and fatty acids, they play a vital role in having a healthy skin barrier and keeping the skin hydrated. 

Apart from being an important skin-identical ingredient, it's also an emollient and stabilizer

Also-called: Corn Kernel Extract

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

A type of bucket or donut-shaped molecule with a water-loving outer side and an oil-loving inner side that is used mostly to encapsulate other actives in cosmetics. 

Lecithin - goodie
What-it-does: emollient, emulsifying

A very common ingredient that can be found in all cell membranes. In cosmetics it's quite the multi-tasker: it's an emollient and water-binding ingredient but it's also an emulsifier and can be used for stabilization purposes. It's also often used to create liposomes

It's a little helper ingredient coming from corn, rice or potato starch that can help to keep skin mat (absorbent), to stabilise emulsions, and to keep the product together (binding). 

  • It's a super common and super debated skincare ingredient
  • It has several benefits: great solvent, penetration enhancer, creates cosmetically elegant, light formulas, great astringent and antimicrobial
  • It can be very drying if it's in the first few ingredients on an ingredient list
  • Some experts even think that regular exposure to alcohol damages skin barrier and causes inflammation though it's a debated opinion (read more in geeky details tab)
Read all the geeky details about Alcohol Denat. here >>

It's one of the most commonly used thickeners and emulsion stabilizers. If the product is too runny, a little xanthan gum will make it more gel-like. Used alone, it can make the formula sticky and it is a good team player so it is usually combined with other thickeners and so-called rheology modifiers (helper ingredients that adjust the flow and thus the feel of the formula). The typical use level of Xantha Gum is below 1%, it is usually in the 0.1-0.5% range. 

Btw, Xanthan gum is all natural, a chain of sugar molecules (polysaccharide) produced from individual sugar molecules (glucose and sucrose) via fermentation. It’s approved by Ecocert and also used in the food industry (E415). 

spherical texturizing powder that's used as a texture enhancer and soft focus agent. It's claimed to give silicone type softness to the formula and also works as a (temporary) wrinkle filler. 

What-it-does: emollient

A solid silicone resin that creates a permeable film over the skin. It makes makeup formulas more long-lasting and can enhance the water resistance of sunscreens. It leaves a non-tacky film when dried. 

What-it-does: chelating

Super common little helper ingredient that helps products to remain nice and stable for a longer time. 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.

It is typically used in tiny amounts, around 0.1% or less.

Also-called: Butylated Hydroxy Toluene | What-it-does: antioxidant, preservative

It's the acronym for Butylated Hydroxy Toluene. It's a common synthetic antioxidant that's used as a preservative.

There is some controversy around BHT. It's not a new ingredient, it has been used both as a food and cosmetics additive since the 1970s. Plenty of studies tried to examine if it's a carcinogen or not. This Truth in Aging article details the situation and also writes that all these studies examine BHT when taken orally.

What-it-does: preservative

It’s pretty much the current IT-preservative. It’s safe and gentle, but even more importantly, it’s not a feared-by-everyone-mostly-without-scientific-reason paraben.

It’s not something new: it was introduced around 1950 and today it can be used up to 1% worldwide. It can be found in nature - in green tea - but the version used in cosmetics is synthetic. 

A little helper ingredient that works as a preservative. It works against bacteria and some species of fungi and yeast. It's often combined with IT-preservative, phenoxyethanol.

What-it-does: perfuming

A common fragrance ingredient that has a sweet scent somewhere between lily and fruity melon. Can be found in essential oils, such as lavender oil, orange flower oil or ylang-ylang.

In cosmetics, it can be used up to 1%. It’s one of the “EU 26 fragrances” that has to be labelled separately (and cannot be simply included in the term “fragrance/perfume” on the label) because of allergen potential. Best to avoid if your skin is sensitive.

What-it-does: perfuming

Citronellol is a very common fragrance ingredient with a nice rose-like odor. In the UK, it’s actually the third most often listed perfume on the ingredient lists. 

It can be naturally found in geranium oil (about 30%) or rose oil (about 25%). 

Geraniol - icky
What-it-does: perfuming

Geraniol is a common fragrance ingredient. It smells like rose and can be found in rose oil or in small quantities in geranium, lemon and many other essential oils. 

Just like other similar fragrance ingredients (like linalool and limonene) geraniol also oxidises on air exposure and becomes allergenic. Best to avoid if you have sensitive skin.

Linalool - icky
What-it-does: perfuming, deodorant

Linalool is a super common fragrance ingredient. It’s kind of everywhere - both in plants and in cosmetic products. It’s part of 200 natural oils including lavender, ylang-ylang, bergamot, jasmine, geranium and it can be found in 90-95% of prestige perfumes on the market. 

The problem with linalool is, that just like limonene it oxidises on air exposure and becomes allergenic. That’s why a product containing linalool that has been opened for several months is more likely to be allergenic than a fresh one.

Limonene - icky
What-it-does: perfuming, solvent, deodorant

A super common and cheap fragrance ingredient. It's in many plants, e.g. rosemary, eucalyptus, lavender, lemongrass, peppermint and it's the main component (about 50-90%) of the peel oil of citrus fruits.

It does smell nice but the problem is that it oxidizes on air exposure and the resulting stuff is not good for the skin. Oxidized limonene can cause allergic contact dermatitis and counts as a frequent skin sensitizer

What-it-does: colorant

The caramel in cosmetics is pretty much the same one that you know from the kitchen. It is derived by controlled heat treatment of food-grade carbohydrates (sugars) and works as a brown colorant

Also-called: Ci 14700 | What-it-does: colorant

A common colorant that gives products a nice red color.

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what‑it‑does emollient | moisturizer/humectant
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A very common silicone that gives both skin and hair a silky smooth feel. It also forms a protective barrier on the skin and fills in fine lines. Also used for scar treatment. [more]
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A  clear, colorless and odorless, highly volatile (meaning it does not absorb into the skin but evaporates from it) liquid that's used as an emollient and gives a nice, non-oily light skin-feel. [more]
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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]
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An often used glycol that works as a solvent, humectant, penetration enhancer and also gives a good slip to the products. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient
A very common emollient that makes your skin feel nice and smooth. Comes from coconut oil and glycerin, it’s light-textured, clear, odorless and non-greasy. [more]
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A silicone emulsifier that helps water and silicone oils to mix nicely together. [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]
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Emollient plant oil coming from the seeds of Sesame. Contains high amounts of nourishing and moisturizing fatty acids (about 38% of oleic 48% of linoleic acid). [more]
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what‑it‑does abrasive/scrub
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The essential oil created by steam distilling the leaves of the Eucalyptus tree. It's a colorless, pale yellow oil with a camphoraceous aroma used traditionally in vapor rubs to treat coughs. [more]
what‑it‑does chelating | moisturizer/humectant
The neutralized form of gluconic acid. It's a great ingredient to neutralize metal (especially iron and copper) ions in a cosmetic product. This helps to prevent discoloration of the formula over time or rancidity of cosmetic oils. [more]
what‑it‑does soothing
A copper salt that is known to promote cellular regeneration and also has some antioxidant and tan-activating properties. [more]
what‑it‑does moisturizer/humectant
what‑it‑does anti-acne | soothing
A zinc salt known for its soothing and wound healing properties as well as for its anti-acne properties.  [more]
what‑it‑does antioxidant
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Normal (well kind of - it's purified and deionized) water. Usually the main solvent in cosmetic products. [more]
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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 cell-communicating ingredient
Protein fragments, aka peptides and growth factors derived from milk (whey). It is claimed to boost the production of important extracellular matrix components (the gooey stuff between the skin cells) such as hyaluronic acid, collagen I and fibronectin. [more]
what‑it‑does antioxidant | perfuming
The well-known stimulant from coffee. It has nice antioxidant properties and can improve the microcirculation. Might be helpful for dark circles, puffy eyes, as well as cellulite and hair loss. [more]
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An amino sugar that helps the skin to stay hydrated, is also promising against wrinkles and can help to fade brown spots particularly when combined with niacinamide. [more]
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Rosemary leaf extract - Its main active is rosmarinic acid, a potent antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory. It has also anti-bacterial, astringent and toning properties. [more]
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A type fo sugar, usually refined from cane or beet sugar. On the skin, it is water-binding properties and helps to keep your skin hydrated.
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Meadowfoam Oil - An emollient plant that is stable, non-greasy and rapidly absorbed. It gives a soft, smooth, silky skin feel. [more]
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When you hear the word Soy, you probably associate it with soy sauce or tofu, not skincare. But as it turns out, the soybean has a bunch of useful active components and soybean extract is an interesting cosmetic ingredient with a wide range of possible effects. Its main active components are antioxidant phenolic acids and flavonoids  [more]
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A smallish polymer molecule that is used as a solubilizer and viscosity control agent in cosmetic products. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient
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A form of vitamin E that works as an antioxidant. Compared to the pure form it's more stable, has longer shelf life, but it's also more poorly absorbed by the skin. [more]
what‑it‑does moisturizer/humectant | soothing
Brown algae extract with moisturizing, skin protecting and soothing properties. [more]
what‑it‑does moisturizer/humectant
what‑it‑does emollient
A vegetable origin emollient that has a similar consistency to lard (solid at room temperature) but melts rapidly upon contact with the skin.  Makes the skin nice and smooth, and not shiny or heavy.
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Biopeptide El - A six amino acid peptide that is claimed to improve firmness (by 33% in one month) and skin tone (by 20%). [more]
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A chemically chopped up version of wheat protein with moisturizing and film-forming properties. [more]
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A kind of polymer (big molecule from repeated subunits) that helps to create beautiful gel-like textures. It's also a texturizer and thickener for oil-in-water emulsions. [more]
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It's an important skin-identical ingredient and great natural moisturizer that helps the skin to hold onto water and stay nicely hydrated. [more]
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The thing in the pee that is also a natural moisturizing factor (NMF) with mild keratolytic and strong skin moisturizing superpowers. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient | viscosity controlling
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A synthetic liquid oil that can replace mineral oil or silicone oils in the cosmetic formulas. There are different grades depending on the molecular weight ranging from very light, volatile, non-residue leaving ones to more substantial, slight residue leaving ones.Apart from leaving the skin soft and smooth (emollient), it' [more]
what‑it‑does viscosity controlling
A kind of polymer (big molecule from repeated subunits) that helps to thicken up and stabilize products. Helps to create soft and supple textures.  [more]
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It's the salt form of famous humectant and natural moisturizing factor, hyaluronic acid. It can bind huge amounts of water and it's pretty much the current IT-moisturizer. [more]
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The generic term for nice smelling stuff put into cosmetic products so that the end product also smells nice. It is made up of 30 to 50 chemicals on average. [more]
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A light, velvety, unique skin feel liquid that is a good solvent and also makes the skin feel nice and smooth. [more]
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A multi-functional, silky feeling helper ingredient that can do quite many things. It's used as an emulsion stabilizer, solvent, and a broad spectrum antimicrobial. [more]
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A stable, oil-soluble form of Vitamin C, that might have (in-vitro results) all the magic abilities of pure vitamin C (antioxidant, collagen booster, skin brightener). [more]
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This bamboozling INCI name is given to a spherical silicone powder that has an elastic silicone rubber inner part and a harder silicone resin outer part.It gives formulas a uniquely soft, silky feeling, and has a mattifying and soft focus effect. [more]
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Argireline - famous peptide that's often referred to as "Botox in a jar". In reality, it's nowhere near that powerful, but it can smooth wrinkles to some extent by preventing facial muscles from contracting. [more]
what‑it‑does viscosity controlling
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 colorant
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A handy multi-tasking ingredient that gives the skin a nice, soft feel and also boosts the effectiveness of other preservatives. [more]
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A common little helper ingredient that helps water and oil to mix together, aka emulsifier. [more]
what‑it‑does moisturizer/humectant
A type of sugar that has water-binding properties and helps to keep your skin hydrated. 
what‑it‑does moisturizer/humectant
A biocompatible copolymer with a similar structure to cell membrane ingredient, phospholipid. It's a good skin moisturizer and can also help to reduce irritation. [more]
what‑it‑does solvent | emulsifying | perfuming | surfactant/cleansing
irritancy, com. 0-1, 0-2
Similar to other glycols, it's a helper ingredient used as a solvent, or to thin out thick formulas and make them more nicely spreadable.  Hexylene Glycol is also part a preservative blend named Lexgard® [more]
what‑it‑does moisturizer/humectant
A silky clear liquid that has great moisturizing, skin protecting and film-forming properties on the skin. [more]
what‑it‑does skin-identical ingredient | emollient
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It's one of the important lipids that can be found naturally in the outer layer of the skin. About 25% of the goopy stuff between our skin cells consists of cholesterol. [more]
A type of bucket or donut-shaped molecule with a water-loving outer side and an oil-loving inner side that is used mostly to encapsulate other actives in cosmetics.  [more]
what‑it‑does emollient | emulsifying
It's quite the multi-tasker: an emollient and water-binding ingredient but also an emulsifier and can be used for stabilization purposes. It's also often used to create liposomes.  [more]
It's a little helper ingredient coming from corn, rice or potato starch that can help to keep skin mat (absorbent), to stabilise emulsions, and to keep the product together (binding). 
what‑it‑does antimicrobial/antibacterial | solvent | viscosity controlling
Alcohol with some additives to make it unconsumable. It is great solvent, penetration enhancer, creates cosmetically elegant, light formulas, great astringent, and antimicrobial. In large amounts, it can be very drying to the skin. [more]
what‑it‑does viscosity controlling
A super commonly used thickener and emulsion stabilizer. [more]
A spherical texturizing powder that's used as a texture enhancer and soft focus agent. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient
A solid silicone resin that creates a permeable film over the skin. It makes makeup formulas more long-lasting and can enhance the water resistance of sunscreens. It leaves a non-tacky film when dried. 
what‑it‑does chelating
Super common little helper ingredient that helps products to remain nice and stable for a longer time. 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 | preservative
It's the acronym for Butylated Hydroxy Toluene. It's a common synthetic antioxidant that's used as a preservative.There is some controversy around BHT. [more]
what‑it‑does preservative
Pretty much the current IT-preservative. It’s safe and gentle, and can be used up to 1% worldwide. [more]
what‑it‑does preservative | antimicrobial/antibacterial
A little helper ingredient that works as a preservative. It works against bacteria and some species of fungi and yeast. [more]
what‑it‑does perfuming
A fragrance with a sweet scent somewhere between lily and fruity melon. [more]
what‑it‑does perfuming
A common fragrance ingredient with a nice rose-like smell. [more]
what‑it‑does perfuming
A common fragrance ingredient that smells like rose and can be found in rose oil. [more]
what‑it‑does perfuming
A super common fragrance ingredient that can be found among others in lavender, ylang-ylang, bergamot or jasmine. The downside of it is that it oxidises on air exposure and might become allergenic. [more]
what‑it‑does perfuming | solvent
A super common fragrance ingredient found naturally in many plants including citrus peel oils, rosemary or lavender. It autoxidizes on air exposure and counts as a common skin sensitizer. [more]
what‑it‑does colorant
The caramel in cosmetics is pretty much the same one that you know from the kitchen. It is derived by controlled heat treatment of food-grade carbohydrates (sugars) and works as a brown colorant.  [more]
what‑it‑does colorant
A common colorant that gives products a nice red color.