Pillow Talk Push Up Lashes! Mascara (Super Black)

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

Mineral pigments used to add color to cosmetics. Iron oxides are FDA-approved colorants with a well-established safety record in cosmetic formulations.

A naturally occurring fatty acid (also made in the body and found in many foods) used to thicken lotions and help stabilize cleansing bars. It is one of the most well-studied emollient ingredients and is not a meaningful irritant at cosmetic use levels.

A plant-derived wax from carnauba palm leaves, widely used in cosmetics to provide texture and protective film-forming properties. Extensively documented as safe for topical use.

A common emulsifier and texture-softener made from glycerin and stearic acid. CIR review of this class found no evidence of reproductive, carcinogenic, sensitizing, or phototoxic effects in the studies examined.

A synthetic polymer used to thicken and stabilize cosmetic formulas. The polymer chains are too large to penetrate skin; graded safe by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review and widely used in rinse-off and leave-on products.

A vegetable oil that has been hydrogenated to create a stable, solid texture. Used in cosmetics for emollient and conditioning properties with extensive history of safe use.

A lightweight humectant and solvent similar in role to propylene glycol, used to carry actives and give lotions a lighter feel. CIR has reviewed it and considers it safe as used in cosmetics.

A plant-derived emollient oil rich in ricinoleic acid, used in skincare for decades. Contact allergy has been reported but is uncommon relative to how widely it is used in leave-on products.

A buffering agent used in small amounts to maintain or adjust the pH of formulas to keep them skin-friendly. It is not added as an active ingredient but to keep the product at a safe and stable pH level.

Caprylyl glycol is a plant-derived humectant that also has mild antimicrobial properties, so it is commonly paired with other preservatives to allow lower overall preservative levels. Available data do not point to meaningful irritation or sensitization concerns at typical use levels.

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

Galactoarabinan is a polysaccharide pulled from larch tree wood, used to form a light, breathable film that helps skin hold onto moisture and gives serums and primers better spreadability. It was reviewed by CIR as part of a larger group of plant polysaccharide gums, where reproductive and developmental toxicity data across the group came back essentially negative, and it was found safe as used.

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.

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.

A polyethylene glycol ether of lauryl alcohol, used as a mild surfactant and emulsifier in cleansers and other rinse-off products. CIR assessments support the safety of laureth surfactants in cosmetics, and they are often chosen for their mildness.

A small-dose synthetic antioxidant that prevents oils and fragrance in a formula from oxidizing. Not shown to pose a toxicological risk at the levels used in cosmetics.