Skin science article
Sephora Collection Firming Eye Cream with Peptides Versus La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Eye Cream
Sephora Collection Firming Eye Cream with Peptides Versus La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Eye Cream This anti-aging eye moisturizer is formulated around Squalane to soften the look of wrinkles and hydrate skin. This barrier-repair eye moisturizer is formu
Sephora Collection Firming Eye Cream with Peptides Versus La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermallergo Eye Cream
This anti-aging eye moisturizer is formulated around Squalane to soften the look of wrinkles and hydrate skin.
This barrier-repair eye moisturizer is formulated around Niacinamide and Squalane to strengthen the skin barrier and calm redness.
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
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
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
Propanediol
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Pentylene Glycol
Niacinamide
Cellulose
Zea Mays Starch
Polysorbate 20
Salvia Miltiorrhiza Root Extract
Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer
Sphingomonas Ferment Extract
Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate
Citric Acid
Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate
Acetyl Dipeptide-1 Cetyl Ester
Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Propanediol, Squalane, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Pentylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Cellulose, Zea Mays Starch, Polysorbate 20, Salvia Miltiorrhiza Root Extract, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Sphingomonas Ferment Extract, Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Hydroxyacetophenone, Citric Acid, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Acetyl Dipeptide-1 Cetyl Ester
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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.
Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:
Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.
Though this ingredient works well with most skin types, some people with sensitive skin may experience a reaction such as allergic rashes, closed comedones, or itchiness.
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.
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.
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!