Airbrush Flawless Foundation

The base most products are built on. It carries the other ingredients and has no safety concern.

A lightweight hydrocarbon that gives formulas a smooth, silky feel. Used in color cosmetics and sunscreens. Well tolerated and inert.

A silicone that gives a smooth, soft feel and helps hold water in the skin. Inert and well studied.

A humectant that draws water into the skin. One of the best-studied, best-tolerated ingredients in personal care.

A silicone-based conditioning agent that adds smoothness and soft feel to formulas. Silicones in cosmetics are not absorbed by the skin and rinse cleanly, making them well-tolerated for most users.

A lightweight ester that conditions skin and helps other ingredients dissolve evenly in formulas. It is well tolerated in cosmetics and has no known safety concerns at typical use levels.

A low-viscosity cyclic silicone used in primers and lightweight cosmetics for smooth application. It is inert and well tolerated on the skin without identified safety concerns.

A mineral thickener and anti-caking agent widely used in sunscreens and cosmetics to control texture and prevent ingredient separation. CIR has reviewed silica in cosmetic use and found no basis for concern at the levels used topically.

Calcium sodium borosilicate is a milled borosilicate glass used as sparkling flakes or platelets that add glitter and light-catching shimmer to eyeshadow, highlighter, and other color cosmetics. CIR's expert panel reviewed data on this and related borosilicate glasses, including patch and eye-irritation testing, and concluded the ingredient is safe as used, with heavy-metal impurities like lead, arsenic, and mercury held to trace, low-parts-per-million specifications.

A diester formed from malic acid and isostearyl alcohol. It conditions and smooths skin with no known safety issues in cosmetic use.

An emulsifier made from sorbitol and isostearic acid, used to stabilize oil-in-water formulas. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review panel assessed it as safe for cosmetic use at typical concentrations.

A widely used preservative, safe at the legal limit of 1% or less. Often the "paraben-free" replacement.

Ordinary salt, used in surfactant-based products like shampoos and body washes to adjust viscosity by interacting with the surfactant micelles. It has no meaningful toxicity concern at cosmetic use levels; the main practical downside is that too much can make a formula feel less mild.

A fast-evaporating solvent used to carry actives and give toners a light, "clean" feel; at the concentrations used in classic astringents it can be genuinely drying or irritating with repeated use, especially on dry or compromised skin, though it is not inherently toxic and is a normal, well-studied cosmetic ingredient.

A yeast ferment containing amino acids, vitamins, and polysaccharides used for hydration and skin conditioning. Published research indicates it is well tolerated and supports skin texture.

A crosslinked silicone polymer that creates a velvety texture in primers and powders. The crosslinked structure does not change its safety profile, and it is inert and well tolerated.

A widely used, gentle preservative also common in food. It is generally well tolerated, though it can occasionally cause mild, transient irritation in people with already-compromised or very reactive skin.

Sodium dehydroacetate is a preservative that fights bacteria and fungi in water-based formulas, typically used alongside other preservatives at up to 0.6% (as the acid) and not permitted in aerosol sprays. CIR's panel has reaffirmed since 1985 that it's safe as used, based on it being practically nonirritating and nonsensitizing across many clinical tests, though the panel has also noted a small number of published hypersensitivity case reports set against very widespread use.

Dextrin Palmitate is a starch derivative (dextrin) esterified with palmitic acid, used as a texturizing thickener and water-in-oil emulsion stabilizer, often in pressed powders and gel creams. Testing on this and closely related dextrin fatty-acid esters reported no eye irritation in rabbits and a high oral LD50 in rats, pointing to low acute hazard, though a dedicated CIR panel report specific to this ester has not been published.

An inert mineral oxide used as a filler and opacifying agent in color cosmetics. It is an FDA-approved colorant with a well-established safety record in cosmetic formulations.

A silane used to improve texture and conditioning properties in leave-on cosmetics. It is hydrolyzed during formulation and creates silicone-like benefits; well tolerated at standard use levels.

Propylene carbonate is a small, high-boiling solvent used to dissolve other ingredients and thin out formulas in products like lipstick, eyeshadow, and mascara. Undiluted material caused moderate skin irritation in testing, but at the concentrations actually used in finished products (generally under 20%), CIR's panel found it at most moderately irritating and reaffirmed it safe as used, with no meaningful sensitization or photoirritation seen.

A more stable, esterified form of vitamin E used as an antioxidant and skin-conditioning ingredient. It is a different substance from the vitamin E acetate implicated in vaping-related lung injury, which involved inhaling the oil, not applying it topically to skin.

Lauroyl Lysine is a lysine amino acid bonded to lauric acid, made as a fine powder that coats pigments and gives makeup a soft, silky slip. It shows up mostly in lipsticks, powders, and eye makeup. CIR reviewed it as part of a group of amino acid alkyl amides, and irritation and sensitization testing on the ingredient itself supported safe use at the concentrations reported, up to 45% in lipstick.

Used in tiny amounts to set a product to skin-friendly pH. No concern at those levels.

A synthetic antioxidant approved in the EU and used at low levels to prevent product degradation and extend shelf life. Not absorbed through skin and presents no safety concern in cosmetic formulations.