Skin science article
Farmacy Wake Up Honey Eye Cream Versus Sephora Collection Firming Eye Cream with Peptides
Farmacy Wake Up Honey Eye Cream Versus Sephora Collection Firming Eye Cream with Peptides This anti-aging eye moisturizer is formulated around Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate and Caffeine to soften the look of wrinkles and brighten dull-looking skin. This anti-aging
Farmacy Wake Up Honey Eye Cream Versus Sephora Collection Firming Eye Cream with Peptides
This anti-aging eye moisturizer is formulated around Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate and Caffeine to soften the look of wrinkles and brighten dull-looking skin.
This anti-aging eye moisturizer is formulated around Squalane to soften the look of wrinkles and hydrate skin.
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Glycerin
Coco-Caprylate/Caprate
Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate
Diisostearyl Malate
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Cetearyl Alcohol
Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate
Cetearyl Olivate
Pentylene Glycol
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil Unsaponifiables
Sorbitan Olivate
Boron Nitride
Caffeine
Hyaluronic Acid
Ceramide NP
Vaccinium Macrocarpon Fruit Extract
Coffea Arabica Seed Extract
Honey Extract
Propolis Extract
Royal Jelly Extract
Citrus Aurantium Amara Fruit Extract
Citrus Aurantium Sinensis Peel Extract
Citrus Reticulata Fruit Extract
Ascorbic Acid
Tridecapeptide-1
Betaine
Triolein
Hydroxyacetophenone
Tocopheryl Acetate
Astaxanthin
Allantoin
Hippophae Rhamnoides Oil
Tocopherol
Ubiquinone
Lecithin
Haematococcus Pluvialis Extract
Glyceryl Dioleate
Water, Glycerin, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Diisostearyl Malate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Cetearyl Alcohol, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Cetearyl Olivate, Pentylene Glycol, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil Unsaponifiables, Sorbitan Olivate, Boron Nitride, Caffeine, Hyaluronic Acid, Ceramide NP, Vaccinium Macrocarpon Fruit Extract, Coffea Arabica Seed Extract, Honey Extract, Propolis Extract, Royal Jelly Extract, Citrus Aurantium Amara Fruit Extract, Citrus Aurantium Sinensis Peel Extract, Citrus Reticulata Fruit Extract, Ascorbic Acid, Tridecapeptide-1, Betaine, Triolein, Hydroxyacetophenone, Tocopheryl Acetate, Astaxanthin, Allantoin, Hippophae Rhamnoides Oil, Tocopherol, Ubiquinone, Lecithin, Haematococcus Pluvialis Extract, Glyceryl Dioleate
C10-18 Triglycerides
Butylene Glycol
Tribehenin
Heptyl Undecylenate
Glyceryl Stearate
Squalane
CI 77891
Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
Sodium PCA
Synthetic Fluorphlogopite
Caprylyl Glycol
Potassium Cetyl Phosphate
Xanthan Gum
Ethylhexylglycerin
Sodium Polyacrylate Starch
Lepidium Meyenii Root Extract
Maltodextrin
Polysorbate 60
Sorbitan Isostearate
Sodium Phytate
Tin Oxide
Water, C10-18 Triglycerides, Butylene Glycol, Tribehenin, Heptyl Undecylenate, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, Squalane, CI 77891, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Sodium PCA, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Hydroxyacetophenone, Tocopheryl Acetate, Caprylyl Glycol, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Xanthan Gum, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Polyacrylate Starch, Lepidium Meyenii Root Extract, Maltodextrin, Polysorbate 60, Sorbitan Isostearate, Sodium Phytate, Tin Oxide, Tocopherol
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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.
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.
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.
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!