Drunk Elephant C-Firma Fresh Day Serum Versus Beauty Pie Triple Hyaluronic Acid + Peptide Serum

Drunk Elephant C-Firma Fresh Day Serum Versus Beauty Pie Triple Hyaluronic Acid + Peptide Serum

This brightening serum is formulated around Ascorbic Acid and Tocopherol to brighten dull-looking skin and soften the look of wrinkles.

This hydrating serum is formulated around Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid and Acetyl Dipeptide-1 Cetyl Ester to hydrate skin and soften the look of wrinkles.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Dimethyl Isosorbide

Ascorbic Acid

Laureth-23

Glycerin

Tocopherol

Lactobacillus/Pumpkin Ferment Extract

Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil

Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate

Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract

Vitis Vinifera Juice Extract

Ferulic Acid

Phyllanthus Emblica Fruit Extract

Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract

Lactobacillus/Punica Granatum Fruit Ferment Extract

Propanediol

Gluconolactone

Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer

Sodium Hyaluronate

Oryza Sativa Bran Extract

Glutamylamidoethyl Imidazole

Tetrahydrobisdemethoxydiferuloylmethane

Tetrahydrodemethoxydiferuloylmethane

Tetrahydrodiferuloylmethane

Pentylene Glycol

Caprylhydroxamic Acid

Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate

Sorbic Acid

Phenoxyethanol

Sodium Benzoate

Caprylyl Glycol

Chondrus Crispus Extract

Ethylhexylglycerin

Water, Dimethyl Isosorbide, Ascorbic Acid, Laureth-23, Glycerin, Tocopherol, Lactobacillus/Pumpkin Ferment Extract, Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Vitis Vinifera Juice Extract, Ferulic Acid, Phyllanthus Emblica Fruit Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Lactobacillus/Punica Granatum Fruit Ferment Extract, Propanediol, Gluconolactone, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Sodium Hyaluronate, Oryza Sativa Bran Extract, Glutamylamidoethyl Imidazole, Tetrahydrobisdemethoxydiferuloylmethane, Tetrahydrodemethoxydiferuloylmethane, Tetrahydrodiferuloylmethane, Pentylene Glycol, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Sorbic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Benzoate, Caprylyl Glycol, Chondrus Crispus Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin

Methylpropanediol

Dimethylsilanol Hyaluronate

Butylene Glycol

Xylitylglucoside

Anhydroxylitol

1,2-Hexanediol

Xylitol

Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Seed Extract

Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer

Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid

Sorbitan Laurate

Xanthan Gum

Hydroxyethylcellulose

Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate

Acetyl Dipeptide-1 Cetyl Ester

Alteromonas Ferment Extract

Phenethyl Alcohol

Hyaluronic Acid

Silanetriol

Citric Acid

Glucose

Sodium Hydroxide

Water, Methylpropanediol, Dimethylsilanol Hyaluronate, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Xylitylglucoside, Anhydroxylitol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Phenoxyethanol, Xylitol, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Seed Extract, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Sorbitan Laurate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Xanthan Gum, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Acetyl Dipeptide-1 Cetyl Ester, Alteromonas Ferment Extract, Phenethyl Alcohol, Hyaluronic Acid, Silanetriol, Citric Acid, Sorbic Acid, Glucose, Sodium Hydroxide, Chondrus Crispus Extract

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Alternatives

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

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

Caprylyl Glycol is a humectant, skin conditioner, emollient, and preservative booster derived from either caprylic acid or synthetically created.

Typical use levels vary from 0.3-1% as a preservative booster and go up to 2% to condition skin.

Because it is not a free-fatty acid, this ingredient is fungal acne safe (there's nothing for Malassezia to feed on).

Chondrus Crispus Extract comes from a red algae native to the northern Atlantic coasts of Europe and North America. It helps hydrate the skin and is rich in antioxidants.

The antioxidants in chondrus crispus include lutein and zeaxanthin. Lutein has the ability to filter blue light from screens.

Other contents of chondrus crispus include polysaccharides, peptides, and amino acids. These help hydrate the skin.

What's the difference between algae and seaweed? Algae is a broad term that includes seaweed. Not all algae is seaweed.

Ethylhexylglycerin is created from glycerin. It is a multitasker ingredient that:

The CIR Expert Panel found minimal skin absorption or sensitization of any kind in a safety assessment. Though this ingredient is considered well-tolerated, a small number of cases of allergic dermatitis have been published since 2002. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure.

Industry-reported use ranges from 8% in rinse-off products and 2% in leave-on formulations.

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.

Phenoxyethanol is one of the most widely used preservatives in skincare (and for good reason!).

It has a large spectrum of antimicrobial activity and especially effective bacteria, yeast, and mold while only having a weak effect on your skin's natural microbiome.

On a cellular level, it disrupts the cell membranes of microbes by poking holes that make the cell leak. This shuts down the chemical reactions the microbe needs to make energy so it can no longer survive.

Another perk of this ingredient is that it stays functional across a wide pH range (3-10).

You'll often see it paired with boosters like Ethylhexylglycerin; one study showed that a 1:9 ratio of Ethylhexylglycerin to Phenoxyethanol damages bacterial membranes as effectively as doubling the Phenoxyethanol concentration on its own.

Typical use concentrations range from 0.3-1% depending on the formula, and this ingredient is capped at 1% int the EU.

Safety-wise, the fear mongering does not hold up to the evidence. The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety and FDA consider it safe as a preservative at up to 1%, including for children of all ages.

Adverse systemic effects only showed up in animal studies at exposures roughly 200x higher than what people get from cosmetics. And despite its very widespread use, this ingredient is a rare sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon.

Sodium Hyaluronate is the salt form of hyaluronic acid. It is a long sugar chain that is naturally found in your skin, joints, and connective tissue that maintains hydration and elasticity.

In skincare, it works as a humectant. It pulls water from the environment and deeper layers of skin and binds it to the surface.

Interestingly, the size of the molecule affects its behavior:

Some clinical evidence links low molecular weight versions to improved wrinkle depth, elasticity, anti-inflammatory effects, and barrier repair.

Many serums use a blend of both weights so you can get surface hydration plus longer-lasting and deeper effects.

You'll typically see concentrations between 0.1-2% for this ingredient.

Sorbic Acid is a preservative that stops your product from spoiling by stopping microbes from growing.

As a preservative, it's kind of a specialist: it has a broad spectrum of activity against yeast and molds but is weaker against bacteria. That's why it's often paired with another preservative to cover that gap.

This ingredient is also pretty picky about pH; it performs best at pH 6.5 or below.

At the right pH level, sorbic acid is "active" and can slip through the outer wall of a microbe. Once inside, it turns the cell's interior more acidic to shut down the microbe from the inside.

The EU caps this ingredient at 0.6% while the CIR has concluded it's safe at concentrations up to 1%. It's most often used around 0.05-0.2% in cosmetics.

Though this ingredient is considered low-sensitizing and well-tolerated, a very small number of people may have a contact allergy to it. Be sure to patch test if you have a history of allergies towards preservatives.

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!

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