Peptide Skincare & BeautySkin science and ingredient guides

Skin science article

Clarins Double Serum Eye Versus Olay Eyes Eye Lifting Serum

Clarins Double Serum Eye Versus Olay Eyes Eye Lifting Serum This anti-aging eye moisturizer is formulated around Squalane and Niacinamide to soften the look of wrinkles and strengthen the skin barrier. This anti-aging eye moisturizer is formulated around Niaci

Clarins Double Serum Eye Versus Olay Eyes Eye Lifting Serum

This anti-aging eye moisturizer is formulated around Squalane and Niacinamide to soften the look of wrinkles and strengthen the skin barrier.

This anti-aging eye moisturizer is formulated around Niacinamide and Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 to soften the look of wrinkles and refine skin texture.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Propanediol

Squalane

Niacinamide

Pentylene Glycol

Glycerin

Boron Nitride

Maltodextrin

C14-22 Alcohols

Caffeine

Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside

Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer

Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6

1,2-Hexanediol

Parfum

Tocopheryl Acetate

Ethylhexylglycerin

Origanum Majorana Leaf Extract

C12-20 Alkyl Glucoside

Escin

Caprylhydroxamic Acid

Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vp Copolymer

Curcuma Longa Root Extract

Persea Gratissima Oil Unsaponifiables

Polysorbate 60

Sorbitan Isostearate

Caramel

Marrubium Vulgare Extract

Phenethyl Alcohol

Anthriscus Sylvestris Extract

Furcellaria Lumbricalis Extract

T-Butyl Alcohol

Sodium Hydroxide

Citric Acid

Maris Sal

Water, Propanediol, Squalane, Niacinamide, Pentylene Glycol, Glycerin, Boron Nitride, Maltodextrin, C14-22 Alcohols, Caffeine, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, 1,2-Hexanediol, Parfum, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Origanum Majorana Leaf Extract, C12-20 Alkyl Glucoside, Escin, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vp Copolymer, Curcuma Longa Root Extract, Persea Gratissima Oil Unsaponifiables, Polysorbate 60, Sorbitan Isostearate, Caramel, Marrubium Vulgare Extract, Phenethyl Alcohol, Anthriscus Sylvestris Extract, Furcellaria Lumbricalis Extract, T-Butyl Alcohol, Sodium Hydroxide, Citric Acid, Maris Sal

Dimethicone

Dimethicone Crosspolymer

Polymethylsilsesquioxane

Polyethylene

Panthenol

Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4

Allantoin

Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract

Dimethiconol

Laureth-4

Laureth-7

Sodium PEG-7 Olive Oil Carboxylate

Disodium EDTA

Polyacrylamide

Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer

Triethoxycaprylylsilane

Phenoxyethanol

Titanium Dioxide

Mica

Iron Oxides

Caprylyl Glycol

C13-14 Isoparaffin

Water, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Polyethylene, Panthenol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4, Allantoin, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Dimethiconol, Laureth-4, Laureth-7, Sodium PEG-7 Olive Oil Carboxylate, Disodium EDTA, Polyacrylamide, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, 1,2-Hexanediol, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Phenoxyethanol, Titanium Dioxide, Mica, Iron Oxides, Caprylyl Glycol, C13-14 Isoparaffin

Alternatives

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

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

1,2-Hexanediol is a synthetic liquid and another multi-functional powerhouse.

It is a:

Humectant, drawing moisture into the skin

Emollient, helping to soften skin

Solvent, dispersing and stabilizing formulas

Preservative booster, enhancing the antimicrobial activity of other preservatives

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.

Niacinamide is a multitasking form of vitamin B3 that strengthens the skin barrier, reduces pores and dark spots, regulates oil, and improves signs of aging.

And the best part? It's gentle and well-tolerated by most skin types, including sensitive and reactive skin.

You might have heard of "niacin flush", or the reddening of skin that causes itchiness. Niacinamide has not been found to cause this.

In very rare cases, some individuals may not be able to tolerate niacinamide at all or experience an allergic reaction to it.

If you are experiencing flaking, irritation, and dryness with this ingredient, be sure to double check all your products as this ingredient can be found in all categories of skincare.

When incorporating niacinamide into your routine, look out for concentration amounts. Typically, 5% niacinamide provides benefits such as fading dark spots. However, if you have sensitive skin, it is better to begin with a smaller concentration.

When you apply niacinamide to your skin, your body converts it into nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). NAD is an essential coenzyme that is already found in your cells as "fuel" and powers countless biological processes.

In your skin, NAD helps repair cell damage, produce new healthy cells, support collagen production, strengthen the skin barrier, and fight environmental stressors (like UV and pollution).

Our natural NAD levels start to decline with age, leading to slower skin repair, visible aging, and a weaker skin barrier. By providing your skin niacinamide, you're recharging your skin's NAD levels. This leads to stronger, healthier, and younger looking skin.

Another name for vitamin B3 is nicotinamide. This vitamin is water-soluble and our bodies don't store it. We obtain Vitamin B3 from either food or skincare. Meat, fish, wheat, yeast, and leafy greens contain vitamin B3.

The type of niacinamide used in skincare is synthetically created.

Tocopheryl Acetate is a stable, shelf-friendly form of vitamin E.

Formulators love it because plain vitamin E oxidizes quickly once it hits air. This acetate version stays stable and resists going off, helping to extend a product's shelf life.

It's actually inactive on its own and works like a slow-release "storage" form; the enzymes in your skin called esterases gradually convert it into active vitamin E over time.

One in vivo study showed 5% of the acetate in the living layer of the epidermis converted to vitamin E after 5 days of application. This study also found the skin gained protection against UV damage even though the conversion was slow and small.

Once converted, vitamin E acts as a skin's main fat-soluble antioxidant that fights free radicals to protect skin from damage.

Topical vitamin E generally boosts the skin's photoprotection, and it reduced UV-damage in animal models.

This ingredient has some brightening potential but it's more of a prevention ingredient than spot-fader. Cell studies show it can slow down melanin production but it's worth noting that it's not the most powerful brightener out there.

Overall, it has a pretty solid safety profile and has been found to be non-irritating and non-comedogenic. Allergic reactions may happen but stay rare due to how widely the ingredient gets used.

The concentration will vary depending on the formula; industry data shows 0.1% in baby lotions, 3% in lipsticks, and 5% in foot powders. You can also find this ingredient at 100% in a pure vitamin E oil.

Most leave-on skincare keeps it at the lower end, often between 0.5-1%.

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!

Similar Comparisons

The reference edit

Ingredients, questions
& further reading.

Connected source records selected through this article’s public topic index.

01

Formula cabinet

Ingredients & structured notes

Ingredient index

Rodial Pink Diamond Instant Lifting SerumIngredients explained

  1. 01Good 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.
  2. 02It’s mainly a solvent for ingredients that do not like to dissolve in oils but rather in water.
  3. 03Expand to read more
  4. 04Once inside the skin, it hydrates, but not from the outside - putting pure water on the skin (hello long baths!) is drying.
  5. 05One more thing: the water used in cosmetics is purified and deionized (it means that almost all of the mineral ions inside it is removed). Like this, the products can stay more stable over time.
  6. 06Butylene 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.
  7. 07BG’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…
  8. 08It’s an ingredient whose safety hasn’t been questioned so far by anyone (at least not that we know about). BG is approved by Ecocert and is also used enthusiastically in natural products. BTW, it’s also a food additive.
  9. 09A handy spherical powder that's often combined with fellow spherical powder, Polymethylsilsesquioxane to form a high-performing texturizing duo. The duo is claimed to provide excellent slip, fluidity and overall skin feel and gives soft focus and wr…
  10. 10A mildly viscous, amber-colored liquid with fatty odor, made from Castor Oil and polyethylene glycol (PEG).
  11. 11If it were a person, we’d say, it’s agile, diligent & multifunctional. It’s mostly used as an emulsifier and surfactant but most often it is used to solubilize fragrances into water-based formulas.
  12. 12A big molecule created from repeated subunits (a polymer of acrylic acid) that magically converts a liquid into a nice gel formula. It usually has to be neutralized with a base (such as sodium hydroxide) for the thickening to occur and it creates vi…
  13. 13It’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.
  14. 14It’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.
  15. 15Other than having a good safety profile and being quite gentle to the skin it has some other advantages too. It can be used in many types of formulations as it has great thermal stability (can be heated up to 85°C) and works on a wide range of pH le…
  16. 16It’s often used together with ethylhexylglycerin as it nicely improves the preservative activity of phenoxyethanol.
  17. 17It's one of those things that help your cosmetics not to go wrong too soon, aka a preservative. It can be naturally found in fruits and teas but can also be made synthetically.
  18. 18No matter the origin, in small amounts (up to 1%) it’s a nice, gentle preservative. Has to be combined with some other nice preservatives, like potassium sorbate to be broad spectrum enough.
  19. 19In high amounts, it can be a skin irritant, but don’t worry, it’s never used in high amounts.
  20. 20A super versatile and common mineral powder that comes in different particle sizes. It is a multi-tasker used to improve skin feel, increase product slip, give the product light-reflecting properties, enhance skin adhesion or serve as an anti-caking…
Source · incidecoder.com
02

Product index

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03

Comparison edit

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