Flawless Finish Foundation

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

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

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

A lightweight, volatile silicone that gives serums and primers their silky slip and quick-evaporating finish. Human safety data are reassuring; the EU restriction on this ingredient in rinse-off products is about environmental persistence in waterways, not skin safety.

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

A small humectant and solvent molecule that helps other ingredients dissolve and helps skin hold water. It is one of the most studied cosmetic ingredients and is considered safe at the concentrations used in personal care products.

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 solvent and emollient ester used in leave-on and rinse-off formulas. The CIR Expert Panel reviewed alkyl benzoates and found no irritation even at full strength, with typical use levels ranging from 0.0008 to 50 percent depending on product type.

Tridecyl trimellitate is a synthetic ester made from trimellitic acid and tridecyl alcohol, used as a rich, non-greasy emollient that smooths and conditions dry skin at concentrations reported up to roughly 57%. CIR's panel reviewed it with four related trialkyl trimellitates and concluded they're safe as used when formulated to be non-irritating; it was slightly irritating to rabbit eyes in testing but is not significantly absorbed through skin.

A derived emulsifier made from sorbitol and oleic acid, used to help blend oil and water-based ingredients. Sorbitan esters are assessed as safe in cosmetics by the CIR, though people with sensitive skin or known sensitivities to oleic acid should patch test before broad application.

A naturally occurring mineral used as a powder filler to impart smoothness and soft-focus texture in cosmetics. It is inert, non-absorbed, and poses no known irritation or sensitization concerns at cosmetic use levels.

A mineral salt used in cosmetics as a humectant and antioxidant. It is the same compound used in food and personal care products, and is well tolerated in both rinse-off and leave-on formulations.

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

A quaternized clay mineral used to thicken and suspend products. CIR found it safe as used, though the mineral base means trace amounts of inhalable silica particles exist if the powder form is aerosolized. It is well tolerated in leave-on and rinse-off cosmetics when formulated properly.

PEG/PPG-18/18 dimethicone is a silicone modified with polyethylene and polypropylene glycol chains, which lets it act as a co-emulsifier that holds water droplets inside a silicone base, useful for long-wearing liquid foundations and other water-in-silicone formulas. CIR's expert panel reviewed dimethicone copolyols as a group and concluded this ingredient is safe as used up to 10%.

Silica dimethyl silylate is silica that has been surface-treated with a dimethyl coating so it disperses more easily into oils; it's used as an anti-caking and thickening agent that keeps pressed powders from clumping and helps other ingredients stay evenly suspended. CIR reviewed it together with other silylates and surface-modified silicas and concluded it's safe as used, so long as the finished product is formulated to avoid irritating the eyes or respiratory tract.

A glycerin derivative used as a skin conditioner and preservative booster, often paired with phenoxyethanol to allow lower total preservative levels. It has a low irritation and sensitization profile in safety reviews.

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 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.

An undisclosed scent blend that can contain dozens of components. The single most common cause of cosmetic contact allergy, and the blend is not itemized, so you cannot see what is in it.

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.