Avène Antirougeurs Anti-Redness Soothing Day Cream Versus Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster

Avène Antirougeurs Anti-Redness Soothing Day Cream Versus Paula's Choice 10% Azelaic Acid Booster

This calming day moisturizer is formulated around Butyrospermum Parkii Butter and 4-T-Butylcyclohexanol to calm redness and hydrate skin.

This calming treatment is formulated around Azelaic Acid and Salicylic Acid to calm redness and fade the look of dark spots.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate

Glycerin

Dicaprylyl Carbonate

Diisopropyl Adipate

Methylene Bis-Benzotriazolyl Tetramethylbutylphenol

Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate

Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine

Butyrospermum Parkii Butter

Diethylhexyl Butamido Triazone

Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane

Glyceryl Stearate

PEG-100 Stearate

Potassium Cetyl Phosphate

1,2-Hexanediol

4-T-Butylcyclohexanol

Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer

CI 42090

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Caprylyl Glycol

Decyl Glucoside

Disodium EDTA

Parfum

Glyceryl Behenate

Glyceryl Dibehenate

Octyldodecanol

Pongamia Glabra Seed Oil

Propylene Glycol

Sodium Dextran Sulfate

Sodium Hydroxide

Stearyl Alcohol

CI 77891

Tocopherol

Tocopheryl Glucoside

Tribehenin

Tropolone

Xanthan Gum

Water, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Glycerin, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Diisopropyl Adipate, Methylene Bis-Benzotriazolyl Tetramethylbutylphenol, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Diethylhexyl Butamido Triazone, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, 1,2-Hexanediol, 4-T-Butylcyclohexanol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, CI 42090, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Caprylyl Glycol, Decyl Glucoside, Disodium EDTA, Parfum, Glyceryl Behenate, Glyceryl Dibehenate, Octyldodecanol, Pongamia Glabra Seed Oil, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Dextran Sulfate, Sodium Hydroxide, Stearyl Alcohol, CI 77891, Tocopherol, Tocopheryl Glucoside, Tribehenin, Tropolone, Xanthan Gum

Azelaic Acid

Methyl Glucose Sesquistearate

Cetearyl Alcohol

Dimethicone

Salicylic Acid

Adenosine

Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract

Boerhavia Diffusa Root Extract

Allantoin

Bisabolol

Cyclopentasiloxane

Sclerotium Gum

Propanediol

Butylene Glycol

Phenoxyethanol

Water, Azelaic Acid, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Methyl Glucose Sesquistearate, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Dimethicone, Salicylic Acid, Adenosine, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Boerhavia Diffusa Root Extract, Allantoin, Bisabolol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Xanthan Gum, Sclerotium Gum, Propanediol, Butylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol

Reviews

Alternatives

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate is a lightweight emollient made by combinig benzoic acid with fatty alcohols that are 12-15 carbons long.

In cosmetics, it plays several roles:

The Cosmetic Review Expert Panel has concluded the alkyl benzoate group to be safe as used in cosmetics; it wasn't found to be a skin irritant and unlikely to be absorbed due to its low water solubility.

This report recorded almost 1000 reported uses with concentrations up to 59% in leave-on products but your cosmetics will typically use 0.5-15% depending on the product.

It's often called a "SPF booster": this is because it keeps UV filters properly dissolved and evenly distributed to support a sunscreen's performance. It doesn't actually raise SPF on its own.

Overall, this ingredient is well tolerated.

This ingredient is fungal acne safe because it is an ester of benzoic acid.

Think of this ingredient as two parts stuck together: an oily part and an acid part. Malassezia only gets a meal when it can snip off a fatty acid to eat. With C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, the acid part is benzoic acid, which isn't a fatty acid and which the yeast can't use as food.

Benzoic acid is actually used as a preservative to stop yeast from growing.

The oily part is a blend of C12-15 fatty alcohols but fatty alcohols in this size range can support only a little Malassezia growth (mostly for one species of Malassezia as well).

In the ingredient, those alcohols stay locked inside the molecule. The yeast can only reach them by snipping the benzoate bond, and that type of bond is harder for it to cut than a normal fatty bond.

So not much gets released. And whatever does get snipped comes packaged with benzoic acid, which discourages yeast growth.

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride (aka MCT Oil) is a lightweight emollient, solvent, and texture enhancer. It is considered a skin-softener by helping to prevent moisture loss.

Though it behaves like an oil, it is not technically one due to its chemical composition. One perk of this ingredient is that it is very stable, resistant to oxidation, and unlikely to go rancid.

In practice, that translates to a long shelf life and a consistently elegant skin feel.

While there is an assumption Caprylic Triglyceride can clog pores due to it being derived from coconut oil, there is no research supporting this. Just patch test if you have concerns.

Fractionated coconut oil and MCT Oil are both listed as Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride according to INCI. This is because INCI names are based on the ingredient’s final chemical composition and not its marketing name or source.

This ingredient is treated as the gold standard fungal acne safe oil. Even though it is coconut derived, the problematic lauric acid is stripped out.

This leaves just caprylic (C8) and capric (C10) acid. These chain lengths actually trend antifungal; a 2020 study found caprylic acid was enough to disrupt Malassezia furfur cell membrane, with a caprylic acid derivative damaging membrane structures at concentrations as low as 0.2%.

Glycerin (or glycerol) is a compound naturally found in your skin. It's a powerhouse humectant that pulls water into the stratum corneum.

Topically, glycerin does several things at once:

Your skin makes glycerin on its own (mostly from sebaceous oil breakdown) and shuttles it to your outermost layer of skin, or your epidermis, via aquaporin-3.

Aquaporin-3 is a transporter that is essential for normal skin hydration, elasticity, and repair. Interestingly, mice lacking in AQP3 have dry and less elastic skin that can be fully corrected with glycerin.

This ingredient is non-irritating, plays well with almost every ingredient, and works across all skin types. Typical use is anywhere between 3-10% but can go up to 79% in some leave-on products.

Just know very high concentrations (>40%) can feel tacky in low humidity.

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

Glyceryl Stearate is made by reacting glycerin with stearic acid (typically sourced from plant oils like palm or coconut). It's an emulsifier, emollient, and mild occlusive.

Emulsifiers help ingredients like oil and water stay mixed so your formula stays nicely blended and uniform in texture.

This ingredient is typically used in concentrations between 1-10%. Studies have found it to be non-sensitizing, non-phototoxic, and non-photoallergenic.

A close cousin of this ingredient is Glyceryl Stearate SE ("self-emulsifying"). This just has a small amount of sodium or potassium stearate added so it can emulsify without a co-emulsifier.

Since this ingredient is an ester of a C18 fatty acid, it may not be fungal acne safe. The Malassezia yeast can potentially metabolize within the C11-C24 range.

Fun fact: The human body also creates Glyceryl Stearate naturally.

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Remember to stay hydrated!

Xanthan gum is used as a stabilizer and thickener within cosmetic products. It helps give products a sticky, thick feeling - preventing them from being too runny.

On the technical side of things, xanthan gum is a polysaccharide - a combination consisting of multiple sugar molecules bonded together.

Xanthan gum is a pretty common and great ingredient. It is a natural, non-toxic, non-irritating ingredient that is also commonly used in food products.

Similar Comparisons