Born to Glow Liquid 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 silicone with phenyl groups that provides conditioning and a refined feel in foundations and color cosmetics. It is inert and well tolerated across skin types.

A mineral UV filter and white pigment used in sunscreens and makeup. It sits on the skin surface rather than being absorbed, and major regulators consider it safe for topical cosmetic 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 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 emulsifier combining polyethylene glycol and dimethicone to help blend water and oil phases in serums and primers. Limited but consistent data support its safety in cosmetic formulations.

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.

Technically a liquid wax ester rather than a true oil, jojoba closely resembles skin's own sebum and absorbs without feeling greasy. It is well tolerated across skin types, including acne-prone skin, with no significant irritation or comedogenicity signal in the available data.

A long-chain alkyl ester derived from behenic acid, used to condition and thicken cosmetic formulations. Available evidence from cosmetic use shows minimal sensitization potential.

A mineral powder valued for its absorbent and soft-feel properties in cosmetics. Cosmetic-grade talc is required to be asbestos-free; inhalation risk from topical application is minimal. Generally well tolerated when used as intended.

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.

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 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 chelating agent that binds trace metal ions to keep formulas stable and preservatives working properly. It is not a functional skincare "active" and only a very small amount is used, with minimal skin penetration expected.

A soothing humectant that helps skin and hair look conditioned. Very well tolerated.

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.

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.

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

Dehydroacetic acid is a preservative regulated under the EU preservative annex with a set maximum concentration. Sensitization appears to be rare, though occasional contact dermatitis case reports exist, so people with reactive skin may want to patch test.

A naturally occurring acid used to preserve and adjust pH in cosmetic formulas. It is generally recognized as safe at cosmetic use levels, with mild irritation possible on broken or very sensitive skin at higher concentrations.