Eucerin Anti-Pigment Night Cream Versus IMAGE skincare Ilium Intense Brightening Crème

Eucerin Anti-Pigment Night Cream Versus IMAGE skincare Ilium Intense Brightening Crème

This brightening night moisturizer is formulated around Isobutylamido Thiazolyl Resorcinol and Glycyrrhiza Inflata Root Extract to fade the look of dark spots.

This brightening night moisturizer is formulated around Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate and 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid to brighten dull-looking skin and fade the look of dark spots.

What's inside

Key Ingredients

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Side-by-side

Water

Glycerin

Isopropyl Palmitate

Alcohol Denat.

Cetearyl Isononanoate

Squalane

Panthenol

Glyceryl Stearate Citrate

Cetearyl Alcohol

Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides

Butyrospermum Parkii Butter

Methylpropanediol

Lauroyl Lysine

Isobutylamido Thiazolyl Resorcinol

Glycyrrhiza Inflata Root Extract

Tocopherol

Glucosylrutin

Carbomer

Chondrus Crispus Extract

Sodium Hydroxide

Isoquercitrin

Trisodium EDTA

Phenoxyethanol

Parfum

Water, Glycerin, Isopropyl Palmitate, Alcohol Denat., Cetearyl Isononanoate, Squalane, Panthenol, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Methylpropanediol, Lauroyl Lysine, Isobutylamido Thiazolyl Resorcinol, Glycyrrhiza Inflata Root Extract, Tocopherol, Glucosylrutin, Carbomer, Chondrus Crispus Extract, Sodium Hydroxide, Isoquercitrin, Trisodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum

Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

Bellis Perennis Flower Extract

Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate

Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate

Cetyl Alcohol

Dimethicone

Elaeis Guineensis Oil

Glyceryl Stearate

PEG-100 Stearate

Gossypium Herbaceum Seed Oil

Stearic Acid

Bidens Pilosa Extract

Citrus Grandis Peel Oil

Limonene

Linum Usitatissimum Seed Oil

Curcuma Longa Root Extract

Ceteth-10 Phosphate

Dicetyl Phosphate

Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer

Caprylyl Glycol

Ethylhexylglycerin

Hexylene Glycol

Xanthan Gum

3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid

PPG-12/Smdi Copolymer

Tocopheryl Acetate

Aminomethyl Propanol

Polysorbate 60

Phenethyl Alcohol

Lecithin

Sorbitan Isostearate

Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract

Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Oil

Methyl Undecylenoyl Dipeptide-16

Disodium Phosphate

Melissa Officinalis Leaf Extract

Lepidium Sativum Sprout Extract

Citral

Ergothioneine

Water, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Bellis Perennis Flower Extract, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Elaeis Guineensis Oil, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Gossypium Herbaceum Seed Oil, Stearic Acid, Bidens Pilosa Extract, Citrus Grandis Peel Oil, Limonene, Phenoxyethanol, Linum Usitatissimum Seed Oil, Curcuma Longa Root Extract, Ceteth-10 Phosphate, Dicetyl Phosphate, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Caprylyl Glycol, Squalane, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hexylene Glycol, Xanthan Gum, 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, PPG-12/Smdi Copolymer, Tocopheryl Acetate, Aminomethyl Propanol, Polysorbate 60, Alcohol Denat., Phenethyl Alcohol, Lecithin, Sorbitan Isostearate, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Root Extract, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Oil, Methyl Undecylenoyl Dipeptide-16, Disodium Phosphate, Melissa Officinalis Leaf Extract, Lepidium Sativum Sprout Extract, Citral, Tocopherol, Ergothioneine

Reviews

Be the first to review

Alternatives

Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

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

Alcohol Denat. is an alcohol with a denaturant property. It is created by mixing ethanol with other additives.

The "denat" part just means "denatured"; common denaturants include Denatonium Benzoate, t-butyl alcohol, and Diethyl Phthalate. This step makes the alcohol undrinkable (and lets brand skip taxes related to beverage alcohol).

This ingredient gets a bad rep because it is irritating and drying due to its astringent property. Astringents draw out natural oils in tissue to constrict pores and dry out your skin.

However, alcohol denat. is not all that bad.

Due to its low molecular weight, alcohol denat. tends to evaporate quickly. One study on pig skin found half of applied alcohol evaporated in 10 seconds and less than 3% stayed on skin.

This also helps other ingredients become better absorbed upon application.

Studies are conflicted about whether this ingredient causes skin dehydration. One study from 2005 found adding emollients to propanol-based sanitizer decreased skin dryness and irritation. Another study found irritation only occurs if your skin is already damaged.

Small amounts of alcohol are generally tolerated by oily skin or people who live in humid environments.

The rule of thumb is this ingredient will probably not affect your skin much if it is near the end of an ingredients list.

One thing to note: People with ALDH2 (aldehyde dehydrogenase 2) deficiency may experience skin irritation from continued alcohol use. About 8% of the world's population have this deficiency.

The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has determined denatured alcohols to be safe for use in concentrations between 0.05% and 12% (depending on which denaturant is used).

Also...

This ingredient has antimicrobial and solvent properties.

The antimicrobial property helps preserve products and increase their shelf life. As a solvent, it helps dissolve other ingredients.

Look for formulas that contain glycerin, hyaluronic acid, or panthenol if you want to offset any drying effect.

This ingredient will trip away your skin's natural oils/lipids that help it lock in moisture. This can worsen dryness, trigger eczema flare-ups, and aggravate rosacea.

Be sure to patch test any product with this ingredient if you have dry or sensitive skin, eczema, or rosacea.

Cetearyl alcohol is a waxy mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is an emollient and emulsifier.

Despite having "alcohol" in its name, it has nothing to do with drying solvent alcohols; the FDA also allows "alcohol-free" products to contain fatty alcohols like this ingredient.

It plays several roles in a formula:

Typical use levels for this ingredient sit around 1-10% and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has affirmed safety at concentrations up to 25% in leave-on products.

Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.

However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.

Cetearyl alcohol has a comedogenic rating of 2 and irritancy rating of 1. Both of these numbers come from the 1989 study that used rabbit ears; a "2" means mildly comedogenic and a "1" means low irritancy.

Here's the catch: rabbit skin is more sensitive than human skin and throws a lot of false positives. A 1996 reappraisal found that ingredients rated 1-2 in the rabbit ear tests are generally safe for humans.

Remember comedogenic ratings are unable to assess the entire formula of a product or how it will react on your skin. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure about certain ingredients.

This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.

A 2019 study has also observed Malassezia growth in the presence of this ingredient, confirming it to be not-fungal acne safe.

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.

Squalane is the hydrogenated and shelf-stable form of squalene (a lipid that naturally occurs in human sebum).

It is an emollient and skin conditioning agent that is able to integrate seamlessly into the skin's lipid barrier without clogging pores.

This is due to how structurally similar it is to what your skin already produces.

Though it is mostly an emollient that helps soften and hydrate skin, it also has some humectant and occlusive action. Humectants help the skin retain moisture while occlusives seal it in, making squalane a triple-threat moisturizer.

Research shows it has antioxidant capabilities that help protect against stressors like UV exposure, specifically UVA induced oxidative stress. This study also found that it supports collagen biosynthesis in human dermal fibroblasts.

No clinical study has reported significant adverse effects and irritation reactions are very rare from this ingredient (even at 100% concentration).

Overall, it's a fantastic ingredient for hydration and is suitable for all skin types.

This depends on the source. Squalane can be derived from both plants and animals. Most squalane used in skincare comes from plants.

Please note: the source of squalane is only known if disclosed by the brand. We recommend reaching out to the brand if you have any questions about their squalane.

Read more about squalene with an "e".

Though squalane is often called an oil, it’s technically not one. It is a hydrocarbon, meaning it is only made of carbon and hydrogen. True oils are triglycerides and made of fatty acids and glycerol.

The term “oil-free” isn’t regulated so companies can define it however they want. Some exclude all oils, while others just avoid mineral oil or comedogenic oils.

Squalane has a comedogenic rating of 1 from the original 1972 study that tested raw ingredients under occlusion on rabbit ears. This system is not standardized or peer-reviewed, and using the raw ingredients is very different from how diluted cosmetic formulations are used on human skin.

A comedogenic rating of 1 means it is "unlikely to clog pores" according to the original rating system.

The overall formula of a product matters more than the individual ingredients on whether or not it will cause clogged pores.

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!

Similar Comparisons