Laboratoire Botanique
Ingredient Laboratory · Named in full, with its limits stated
INCI is one of the very few things in cosmetics that is genuinely standardised and genuinely checkable. Every name and functional class below can be verified in a public ingredient database.
Damask Rose Absolute
Rose de Damas Absolue · Rose Valley, Bulgaria
The scent of rose absolute is an ensemble of several hundred molecules, led by phenylethanol, citronellol and geraniol. Those same molecules are among the fragrance allergens the European Union requires to be declared — which is why an honestly made rose product usually has the longer ingredient panel, not the shorter one. What the absolute contributes here is scent and skin feel; writing it up as the formula’s antioxidant workhorse would not be accurate.
Alba White Truffle Extract
Truffe Blanche d’Alba · Alba, Piedmont, Italy
White truffle appears as Tuber Magnatum Extract in the INCI system, with skin conditioning as its declared function — a fact anyone can look up in any public ingredient database. It is rich in polysaccharides and proteins, forms a hydrated conditioning film on the surface of the skin, softens roughness and slows water loss. That is its genuine place in a formula: an excellent skin-feel and humectant ingredient, not the lead in an anti-ageing story.
Multi-Molecular-Weight Sodium Hyaluronate
Acide Hyaluronique Multi-Poids · Biofermentation
How hyaluronic acid behaves is decided almost entirely by molecular weight. Fractions in the million-dalton range cannot cross the stratum corneum, so they stay on the surface as a hydrated film; fractions in the tens of thousands can enter its upper layers. Neither reaches the dermis, which makes “deep hydration” an untenable phrase in dermatological terms. The point of a multi-weight blend is to cover both places at once.
Plant-Derived Squalane
Squalane Végétal · Sugarcane fermentation / olive (Provence, France)
Human sebum already contains squalene, one of the skin’s own natural emollients, but its six double bonds make it oxidise very readily. Hydrogenation into squalane removes those bonds and raises stability considerably, while the affinity with skin survives intact. Ours is fermented from sugarcane and is not of animal origin — in earlier decades this raw material came chiefly from deep-sea shark liver oil.
Glossaire INCI
Functional classes, side by side
Every ingredient in the INCI system carries a declared functional class. Learn these dozen or so and most ingredient lists become readable.
Emollient
Leaves a thin film on the surface of the skin, filling the gaps between corneocytes and improving feel and softness.
Squalane · Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride · Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil · Rosa Canina Fruit Oil · Camellia Japonica Seed Oil · Ricinus Communis Seed Oil
Humectant
Attracts and binds water molecules, holding water in the stratum corneum. When humidity is too low it needs an occlusive alongside it.
Glycerin · Sodium Hyaluronate · Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid · Panthenol · Tuber Melanosporum Extract
Occlusive
Forms a hydrophobic barrier on the surface that physically slows transepidermal water loss.
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Emulsifier
Lets an oil phase and a water phase coexist stably, which is the precondition for any cream or lotion.
Cetearyl Alcohol · Glyceryl Stearate
Surfactant
Lowers surface tension and wraps up oil and soil so they can be rinsed away. This is where cleansing power comes from.
Sodium Cocoyl Apple Amino Acids · Coco-Glucoside
UV filter
Absorbs or scatters ultraviolet light. Sun protection may only be claimed after registration and efficacy testing.
Antioxidant
Slows the oxidative spoilage of the formula itself; its effect on the stability of the formula is more certain than its effect on skin.
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract · Tocopherol · Ubiquinone
Preservative
Inhibits microbial growth. A water-containing formula with no preservative system is not safe.
Phenoxyethanol · Sodium Benzoate · Potassium Sorbate
Skin conditioning
The broadest class in the INCI system: ingredients that keep skin in good condition.
Niacinamide · Tuber Magnatum Extract · Leontopodium Alpinum Callus Culture Extract · Chamomilla Recutita Flower Extract · Bisabolol · Ceramide NP … +4
Viscosity control
Adjusts flow and spreadability, and so decides whether a product feels watery, milky or balmy.
Magnesium Stearate · Cera Alba · Copernicia Cerifera Cera · Xanthan Gum
Colorant
Provides color or coverage. Most countries publish an explicit positive list of permitted colorants.
Mica · Titanium Dioxide · Iron Oxides
Absorbent
Absorbs sebum and moisture, and scatters light for a soft-focus effect.
Silica
Solvent
Dissolves the other ingredients and makes up the bulk of the formula.
Aqua · Alcohol Denat. · Rosa Damascena Flower Water
Fragrance
Provides scent. Natural fragrance materials contain declarable allergens just as much as anything else.
Rosa Damascena Flower Oil · Rosa Centifolia Flower Extract · Abies Sibirica Oil · Santalum Album Oil · Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil · Parfum … +8
Chelating
Binds trace metal ions so that they cannot catalyze oxidation of the formula.
pH adjuster
Brings the acidity of the formula into a range that is both stable and kind to skin.
Citric Acid