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Nature Republic Essential Lip Balm

Essential Lip Balm

Nourish and revitalize your lips with this vegan and cruelty-free tinted lip balm containing shea butter, camellia seed oil, rosa centifolia flower extract and chamomile leaf extract. A smooth swipe gives you plump, rosy lips that complement a natural, barely-there makeup look.
Uploaded by: pyotrrossetti on

Ingredients overview

Diisostearyl Malate, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Octyldodecanol, Microcrystalline Wax, Phytosteryl/​Isostearyl/​Cetyl/​Stearyl/​Behenyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Synthetic Wax, Paraffin, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Camellia Japonica Seed Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Rosa Centifolia Flower Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Leaf Extract, Caprylyl Glycol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Purified Water, Butylene Glycol, Ceramide NP, Panthenol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Ethylene/​Propylene Copolymer, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Hydrogenated Polydecene, Polyglyceryl-2 Triisostearate, Bis-Behenyl/​Isostearyl/​Phytosteryl Dimer Dilinoleyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Rubus Chamaemorus Seed Extract, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract, Cucurbita Pepo (Pumpkin) Powder, Rubus Idaeus Fruit Extract, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Oil, Dimer Dilinoleyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Trimethylsiloxyphenyl Dimethicone, Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract, Fragaria Chiloensis Fruit Extract, Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract, Fragrance, Lithol Rubine Bca (Ci 15850), Citrus Paradisi Fruit Extract, Polyethylene, Squalane, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract, Solanum Melongena Fruit Extract, Camellia Japonica Flower Extract, Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract, Citronellol, Linalool, Lithol Rubine Bca (Ci 15850), Limonene, Polyglyceryl-2 Diisostearate, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil, Eugenol, Iron Oxide Red (Ci 77491), Glycerin, Phytosteryl Macadamiate, Corallina Officinalis Extract, Tetrachlorotetrabromofluorescein (Ci 45410), Geraniol, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Water, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil, Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, Tartrazine (Ci 19140), Rosa Damascena Flower Oil, Acetylated Sucrose Distearate, Caprylic/​Capric Triglyceride, Citral

Highlights

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Skim through

Ingredient name what-it-does irr., com. ID-Rating
Diisostearyl Malate emollient, surfactant/​cleansing
Hydrogenated Polyisobutene emollient, viscosity controlling 2, 1
Octyldodecanol emollient, perfuming
Microcrystalline Wax viscosity controlling
Phytosteryl/Isostearyl/Cetyl/Stearyl/Behenyl Dimer Dilinoleate viscosity controlling
Synthetic Wax emollient, viscosity controlling
Paraffin viscosity controlling, perfuming
Silica Dimethyl Silylate emollient, viscosity controlling
Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter emollient goodie
Camellia Japonica Seed Oil emollient
Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil emollient 0, 0-2 goodie
Rosa Centifolia Flower Extract
Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Leaf Extract
Caprylyl Glycol moisturizer/​humectant, emollient
Glyceryl Caprylate preservative
Purified Water solvent
Butylene Glycol moisturizer/​humectant, solvent 0, 1
Ceramide NP skin-identical ingredient goodie
Panthenol soothing, moisturizer/​humectant 0, 0 goodie
1,2-Hexanediol solvent
Ethylhexylglycerin preservative
Ethylene/Propylene Copolymer abrasive/​scrub
Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract antioxidant, soothing, skin brightening, perfuming goodie
Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate antioxidant, preservative
Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891) colorant 0, 0
Hydrogenated Polydecene emollient, perfuming, solvent
Polyglyceryl-2 Triisostearate emulsifying
Bis-Behenyl/Isostearyl/Phytosteryl Dimer Dilinoleyl Dimer Dilinoleate emollient, viscosity controlling
Rubus Chamaemorus Seed Extract
Hydrogenated Castor Oil emollient, viscosity controlling, emulsifying, surfactant/​cleansing 0, 1
Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract
Cucurbita Pepo (Pumpkin) Powder
Rubus Idaeus Fruit Extract antioxidant, soothing goodie
Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Oil antioxidant, emollient goodie
Dimer Dilinoleyl Dimer Dilinoleate emollient, viscosity controlling
Trimethylsiloxyphenyl Dimethicone
Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract
Fragaria Chiloensis Fruit Extract
Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract
Fragrance perfuming icky
Lithol Rubine Bca (Ci 15850) colorant 0, 1
Citrus Paradisi Fruit Extract
Polyethylene viscosity controlling
Squalane skin-identical ingredient, emollient 0, 1 goodie
Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract
Solanum Melongena Fruit Extract
Camellia Japonica Flower Extract emollient
Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract
Citronellol perfuming icky
Linalool perfuming icky
Lithol Rubine Bca (Ci 15850) colorant 0, 1
Limonene perfuming, solvent icky
Polyglyceryl-2 Diisostearate emulsifying
Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract antioxidant, soothing, antimicrobial/​antibacterial goodie
Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2 emollient
Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate emollient 0, 2
Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil perfuming icky
Eugenol perfuming icky
Iron Oxide Red (Ci 77491) colorant 0, 0
Glycerin skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/​humectant 0, 0 superstar
Phytosteryl Macadamiate emollient, skin-identical ingredient goodie
Corallina Officinalis Extract
Tetrachlorotetrabromofluorescein (Ci 45410) colorant 0, 2
Geraniol perfuming icky
Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Water
Caprylhydroxamic Acid chelating
Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil emollient, perfuming 0, 0-1
Moringa Oleifera Seed Oil emollient goodie
Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract
Tartrazine (Ci 19140) colorant
Rosa Damascena Flower Oil antioxidant, perfuming, antimicrobial/​antibacterial icky
Acetylated Sucrose Distearate emollient
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride emollient
Citral perfuming icky

Nature Republic Essential Lip Balm
Ingredients explained

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

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. 

What-it-does: emollient, perfuming

A clear, slightly yellow, odorless oil  that's a very common, medium-spreading emollient. It makes the skin feel nice and smooth and works in a wide range of formulas.

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.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

It's a water-hating, fumed silica that works as a thickener for oils and it can also suspend particles in oils.

Also, increases the gloss of castor oil that can be useful for makeup products.

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. 

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

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Jojoba Oil | What-it-does: emollient | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0-2

Jojoba is a drought resistant evergreen shrub native to South-western North America. It's known and grown for jojoba oil, the golden yellow liquid coming from the seeds (about 50% of the weight of the seeds will be oil).  

At first glance, it seems like your average emollient plant oil: it looks like an oil and it's nourishing and moisturizing to the skin but if we dig a bit deeper, it turns out that jojoba oil is really special and unique: technically - or rather chemically - it's not an oil but a wax ester (and calling it an oil is kind of sloppy). 

What-it-does: astringent

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: preservative

A 100% plant derived, natural (Ecocert approved) multi-functional ingredient that has emollient and moisturizing properties, can work as a co-emulsifier (meaning that next to other emulsifiers it can help water and oil to mix)  and even more importantly has a strong antimicrobial activity

Thanks to this last thing, it allows a lower percentage of traditional preservative or it might even be able to completely replace them. 

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: 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.

Ceramide NP - goodie
Also-called: Ceramide 3 | What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient

One of the many types of ceramides that can be found naturally in the upper layer of the skin. Ceramides make up about 50% of the goopy stuff that's between our skin cells and play a super important role in having a healthy skin barrier and keeping the skin hydrated. It works even better when combined with its pal, Ceramide 1.

We wrote way more about ceramides at ceramide 1, so click here to know more.

Panthenol - goodie
Also-called: Pro-Vitamin B5 | What-it-does: soothing, moisturizer/humectant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

An easy-to-formulate, commonly used, nice to have ingredient that’s also called pro-vitamin B5. As you might guess from the “pro” part, it’s a precursor to vitamin B5 (whose fancy name is pantothenic acid). 

Its main job in skincare products is to moisturise the skin. It’s a humectant meaning that it can help the skin to attract water and then hold onto it. There is also research showing that panthenol can help our skin to produce more lovely lipids that are important for a strong and healthy skin barrier. 

What-it-does: solvent

A really multi-functional helper ingredient that can do several things in a skincare product: it can bring a soft and pleasant feel to the formula, it can act as a humectant and emollient, it can be a solvent for some other ingredients (for example it can help to stabilize perfumes in watery products) and it can also help to disperse pigments more evenly in makeup products. And that is still not all: it can also boost the antimicrobial activity of preservatives

What-it-does: preservative, deodorant

If you have spotted ethylhexylglycerin on the ingredient list, most probably you will see there also the current IT-preservative, phenoxyethanol. They are good friends because ethylhexylglycerin can boost the effectiveness of phenoxyethanol (and other preservatives) and as an added bonus it feels nice on the skin too.

Also, it's an effective deodorant and a medium spreading emollient

What-it-does: abrasive/scrub

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Turmeric Root Extract | What-it-does: antioxidant, soothing, skin brightening, perfuming

Turmeric is the yellow spice you probably know from curry and Indian food. It's also a traditional herbal medicine used in Ayurveda for its bunch of anti-something magic abilities including being anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticarcinogenic. 

As for turmeric and skincare, we have good news: studies show that the root extract and its main biologically active component, curcumin can do multiple good things for the skin. Thanks to its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity, it shows some promise for acne-prone skin and a small study from 2013 showed that it might be able to regulate sebum production

Also-called: Tinogard TT | What-it-does: antioxidant, preservative

Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate is an antioxidant molecule used in small amounts (less than 0.8%) to help products stay nice longer. More specifically, it is great at preventing discoloration or other types of oxidative degradation. It is a trendy alternative to often bad-mouthed synthetic antioxidant and stabilizer, BHT

Also-called: Titanium Dioxide/Ci 77891;Ci 77891 | What-it-does: colorant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

Ci 77891 is the color code of titanium dioxide. It's a white pigment with great color consistency and dispersibility.

Also-called: Alphaflow | What-it-does: emollient, perfuming, solvent

A hydrocarbon-based emollient that can come in different viscosities from silky-light through satiny-smooth to luxurious, rich. It forms a non-occlusive film on the surface of the skin and brings gloss without greasiness to the formula. It's a very pure and hypoallergenic emollient that's also ideal for baby care products. 

What-it-does: emulsifying

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: emollient, viscosity controlling, emulsifying, surfactant/cleansing | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1

A chemically modified version of castor oil that results in a solid, waxy material that serves as an emollient and consistency building material.

It also has some unique moisturizing properties as it is both occlusive and humectant.  The former one is common for oils and waxes and it means that it sits on top of the skin hindering water to evaporate out of the top layers. The latter one, the humectant property, is surprising and comes from the unique property of ricinoleic acid (the dominant fatty acid in castor oil)  having an extra water-loving -OH group on its otherwise oil-loving fatty chain. We have some more info about this at castor oil, so if you are interested, read on here.  

Also-called: Acai Extract

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Raspberry Extract | What-it-does: antioxidant, soothing, astringent

Raspberry is one of the colorful berries that’s not only delicious but contains many biologically active, healthy compounds. It has polyphenols including anthocyanins and ellagitannins that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. 

According to skin care expert Paula Begoun, it’s antibacterial as well but due to its tannin content it can cause also irritation to the very sensitive skinned. 

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

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.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Fragrance - icky
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.  

Also-called: Red 6, Red 7;Ci 15850 | What-it-does: colorant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: viscosity controlling

Polyethylene is the most common plastic in the world. It is a super versatile polymer (molecule from repeated subunits) and when it comes to cosmetics, it is often referred to as microbeads. Well, it used to be referred to as microbeads, as it was banned in 2015 in the " Microbead-Free Waters Act" due to the small plastic spheres accumulating in the waters and looking like food to fish. Well done by Obama. 

But being versatile means that polyethylene does not only come as scrub particles but also as a white wax. In its wax-form, it is still well, alive and pretty popular. It thickens up water-free formulas, increases hardness and raises the melting point of emulsions and water-less balms. It is particularly common in cleansing balms and stick-type makeup products due to its ability to add body, hardness and slip to these formulas. 

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.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: emollient

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

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%). 

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.

Also-called: Red 6, Red 7;Ci 15850 | What-it-does: colorant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

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: emulsifying

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. 

What-it-does: emollient

A thick, paste-like emollient ester that is touted as a vegetable-derived lanolin alternative. It has a smooth spreadability and touch, and it gives a substantive film to protect and moisturize the skin.

What-it-does: emollient | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 2

A liquid emollient derived from isostearic acid that gives a rich, cushiony skin-feel and unusually high levels of gloss. It also has film-forming abilities but without leaving a sticky residue and it aids long-lasting and water-resistant properties. All this makes Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate an ideal emollient for long-lasting protective emulsions, like lip balms.

Also-called: Peppermint Oil | What-it-does: perfuming

The essential oil coming from steam distillation of freshly harvested, flowering peppermint sprigs. Its major component is menthol that gives the oil its well-known refreshing and cooling properties. Peppermint oil is traditionally used as an inhalant for cold and coughs and there is also some clinical data validating its use against headaches by rubbing a peppermint oil cream on the forehead. 

As for skincare, other than the nice grassy-minty smell and the refreshing sensations, we cannot write good things. It can be a skin irritant, so much so that it is a well-known counterirritant for muscle pains creating mild surface irritation to make things better in the deeper layers. But for everyday skincare, counterirritation is not something you wanna do, so we think that peppermint oil is better to avoid, especially if your skin is sensitive. 

Eugenol - icky
What-it-does: perfuming

A colorless or yellowish oil that's used as a fragrance. It has a spicy scent and can be found for example in basil, clove or cinnamon oil.

A 2006 in-vitro  (made in the lab not on real people) study examined if clove oil is cytotoxic and found that not only clove oil but also its main constituent, eugenol is cytotoxic even at very low concentration (0.03%). It’s also 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 at least in leave-on products.

Also-called: Ci 77491 | What-it-does: colorant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

Red Iron Oxide is the super common pigment that gives the familiar, "rust" red color. It is also the one that gives the pink tones in your foundation. Chemically speaking, it is iron III oxide (Fe2O3). 

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 >>

Phytosteryl Macadamiate is the combination of phytosterol and fatty acids coming from Macadamia oil. It is a botanical version of cholesteryl esters found in skin surface lipids. It comes to the ingredient list as part of L22, a skin surface lipid mimetic whose main job is barrier repair and skin hydration

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Red 28, Red 27, Red 27 Lake, Red 28 Lake, Acid Red 92 Phloxine;Ci 45410 | What-it-does: colorant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 2

A cosmetic colorant used as a reddish pigment.

Some version of it is a pH-sensitive dye that enables a colorless lip balm to turn red/pink upon application. 

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.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: chelating

A chelating agent that helps to preserve cosmetic products by neutralizing the metal ions (especially iron) in the formula (that usually get into there from water). Its special thing is that it also acts as a biostatic and fungistatic agent and remains active even at high pH.

It is often coupled with antimicrobial glycols (such as propanediol) to create a "preservative free preservative system" for cosmetic products.

Also-called: Castor Oil | What-it-does: emollient, perfuming | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0-1

Castor oil is sourced from the castor bean plant native to tropical areas in Eastern Africa and the Mediterranean Basin. It is an age-old ingredient (it’s over 4,000 years old!) with many uses including as a shoe polish, food additive and motor lubricant. You would be reasonable to think that putting shoe polish on your face wouldn’t be the best idea, but it turns out castor oil has some unique properties that make it a stalwart in thick and gloss-giving formulas (think lipsticks and highlighters).

So what is so special about it? The answer is its main fatty acid, called ricinoleic acid (85-95%).  Unlike other fatty acids, ricinoleic acid has an extra water-loving part (aka -OH group) on its fatty chain that gives Castor Oil several unique properties. First, it is thicker than other oils, then its solubility is different (e.g. dissolves in alcohol but not in mineral oil), and it allows all kinds of chemical modifications other oils do not, hence the lots of Castor oil-derived ingredients. It is also more glossy than other oils, in fact, it creates the highest gloss of all natural oils when applied to the skin. Other than that, it is a very effective emollient and occlusive that reduces skin moisture loss so it is quite common in smaller amounts in moisturizers. 

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. 

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Tartrazine, Yellow 5;Ci 19140 | What-it-does: colorant

Ci 19140  or Tartrazine is a super common colorant in skincare, makeup, medicine & food. It’s a synthetic lemon yellow that's used alone or mixed with other colors for special shades. 

FDA says it's possible, but rare, to have an allergic-type reaction to a color additive. As an example, it mentions that Ci 19140 may cause itching and hives in some people but the colorant is always labeled so that you can avoid it if you are sensitive. 

Also-called: Damask Rose Flower Oil | What-it-does: antioxidant, perfuming, antimicrobial/antibacterial

We are big fans of all kinds of roses as ornamental plants but when it comes to skincare, it is a mixed bag. Before we list out the good and the not so good, here is an interesting thing. 

The oil content in rose is very, very low so distilling rose essential oil requires huge amounts of rose flowers. It has such a wonderful scent that there are no comparable synthetic alternatives. You can probably guess that this means rose essential oil is expensive.... very very expensive

What-it-does: emollient

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

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. 

Citral - icky
What-it-does: perfuming

It’s a common fragrance ingredient that smells like lemon and has a bittersweet taste.  It can be found in many plant oils, e.g. lemon, orange, lime or lemongrass. 

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.

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what‑it‑does emollient | surfactant/cleansing
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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]
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A clear, slightly yellow, odorless oil  that's a very common, medium-spreading emollient. It makes the skin feel nice and smooth and works in a wide range of formulas.
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It's a water-hating, fumed silica that works as a thickener for oils and it can also suspend particles in oils. [more]
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Shea butter that's considered to be a magic moisturizer and emollient. It is also soothing and rich in antioxidants. [more]
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Jojoba oil - a wax ester (chemically not a real oil), that's very similar to human sebum. It's uniquely excellent at helping the skin with its protective barrier and helping it to stay moisturized. [more]
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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 natural multi-functional ingredient that has emollient and moisturizing properties, can work as a co-emulsifier and has a strong antimicrobial activity. [more]
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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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An often used glycol that works as a solvent, humectant, penetration enhancer and also gives a good slip to the products. [more]
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Ceramides make up 50% of the goopy stuff that's between our skin cells and play a super important role in having a healthy skin barrier and keeping the skin hydrated.  [more]
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Pro-Vitamin B5 is a goodie that moisturises the skin, has anti-inflammatory, skin protecting and wound healing properties. [more]
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A multi-functional helper ingredient that acts as a humectant and emollient. It's also a solvent and can boost the effectiveness of preservatives. [more]
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It can boost the effectiveness of phenoxyethanol (and other preservatives) and as an added bonus it feels nice on the skin too. [more]
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Turmeric Root Extract that has nice anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and skin-brightening properties. [more]
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Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate is an antioxidant molecule used in small amounts (less than 0.8%) to help products stay nice longer. More specifically, it is great at preventing discoloration or other types of oxidative degradation. [more]
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Titanium dioxide as a colorant. It's a white pigment with great color consistency and dispersibility.
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A hydrocarbon-based emollient that can come in different viscosities from silky-light to luxurious, rich. It forms a non-occlusive film on the surface of the skin. [more]
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A chemically modified version of castor oil that results in a solid, waxy material that serves as an emollient and consistency building material. It also has some unique moisturizing properties as it is both occlusive and humectant.  The former one is common for oils and waxes and it means that it sits on top of the skin hindering water to evaporate out of the top layers. [more]
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Raspberry is one of the colorful berries that’s not only delicious but contains many biologically active, healthy compounds. It has polyphenols including anthocyanins and ellagitannins that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. According to skin care expert Paula Begoun, it’s antibacterial as well but due to its tannin content it can cause also irritation to the very s [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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The common plastic molecule that is used as a white wax to give hardness and slip to the formulas. It used to be used as microbeads as well but was banned in 2015 due to environmental reasons. [more]
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A common fragrance ingredient with a nice rose-like smell. [more]
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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]
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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]
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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 thick, paste-like emollient ester that works as a vegetable derived lanolin alternative. [more]
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A liquid emollient that gives a rich, cushiony skin-feel and unusually high levels of gloss. Often used in lip balms. [more]
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The essential oil coming from steam distillation of freshly harvested, flowering peppermint sprigs. Its major component is menthol that gives the oil its well-known refreshing and cooling properties. [more]
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A colorless or yellowish oil that's used as a fragrance with a spicy scent. [more]
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Iron Oxide - a super common colorant with the color red.  [more]
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Phytosteryl Macadamiate is the combination of phytosterol and fatty acids coming from Macadamia oil. It is a botanical version of cholesteryl esters found in skin surface lipids. [more]
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A common fragrance ingredient that smells like rose and can be found in rose oil. [more]
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Castor oil is sourced from the castor bean plant native to tropical areas in Eastern Africa and the Mediterranean Basin. It is an age-old ingredient (it’s over 4,000 years old!) with many uses including as a shoe polish, food additive and motor lubricant. [more]
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Rose essential oil - a super expensive oil with a lovely scent. Has also antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Contains fragrant components that might irritate sensitive skin. [more]
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A common fragrance ingredient that smells like lemon. [more]