e.l.f. cosmetics Holy Hydration! Thirst Burst Drops Versus Good Molecules Hyaluronic Acid Serum

e.l.f. cosmetics Holy Hydration! Thirst Burst Drops Versus Good Molecules Hyaluronic Acid Serum

This hydrating serum is formulated around Niacinamide and Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate to hydrate skin and strengthen the skin barrier.

This hydrating serum is formulated around Sodium Hyaluronate to hydrate skin.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

No concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Dipropylene Glycol

Butylene Glycol

Niacinamide

Cetyl Ethylhexanoate

Glycerin

Glycereth-26

Hydroxyacetophenone

1,2-Hexanediol

Tocopherol

Tromethamine

Carbomer

Synthetic Fluorphlogopite

Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate

Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vp Copolymer

Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil

Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer

Erythritol

Disodium EDTA

Hibiscus Esculentus Fruit Extract

Tin Oxide

Titanium Dioxide

CI 16035

Water, Dipropylene Glycol, Butylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Glycerin, Glycereth-26, Hydroxyacetophenone, 1,2-Hexanediol, Tocopherol, Tromethamine, Carbomer, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vp Copolymer, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Erythritol, Disodium EDTA, Hibiscus Esculentus Fruit Extract, Tin Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, CI 16035

Propanediol

Sodium Hyaluronate

Sodium Citrate

Citric Acid

Ethylhexylglycerin

Water, Propanediol, Glycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydroxyacetophenone, Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tocopherol

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.

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.

Hydroxyacetophenone is a small phenolic molecule that earns its place in a formulas as an antioxidant and preservative booster.

As a phenol, it is able to neutralize free radicals to protect both the product and the skin from oxidative stress.

Though it can't kill microbes on its own, it works as a good supporting agent when combined with other preservatives like Phenoxyethanol or 1,2-Hexanediol.

This ingredient naturally occurs as piceol in Norwegian spruce needles (~0.4-1.1% dry weight and in cloudberries). Though the cosmetic-grade material is synthesized for purity and consistency.

You'll usually see it used at low levels and suppliers recommend up to 1% added to a water phase.

Safety testing was done at concentrations like 0.05% in SPF products and 0.5% in a Human Repeated Insult Patch Test. The safety evidence is assuring; this ingredient is safe for cosmetics in current use and also holds safety status as a food flavoring as well.

An honest caveat: the "soothing" and "anti-inflammatory" claims come mostly from supplier marketing rather than published clinical trials. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review's own literature search found no useful efficacy studies on this ingredient.

So the antioxidant and preservative-boosting roles are the well supported ones while the calming benefit is plausible but thinly evidenced.

Overall, this is a well-tolerated, low-irritation multitasker that quietly helps a formula stay fresh and stable.

Tocopherol is a fat-soluble antioxidant known as Vitamin E.

You'll find this ingredient in the vast majority of skincare (for good reason). It works to neutralize free radicals, or unstable molecules generated by UV exposure, pollution, and other environmental stressors, before they can cause oxidative damage to your skin cells.

Topically applied tocopherol has been shown to protect against UV damage by ramping up the skin's own natural defense enzymes.

It also acts as a skin conditioning agent; some studies show that regular topical use can improve the skin's water-binding capacity over 2-4 weeks.

This ingredient is especially loved for being a team player. When combined with Vitamin C, the photoprotective effect of both ingredients roughly doubles and the combo also helps reduce UV-induced DNA damage.

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.

In formulations, it also serves as a stabilizer that helps protect other oxidation-prone ingredients from degrading.

Concentrations usually range from 0.1-1% in most leave-on products.

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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