Educational guide
Elemis Pro-Collagen Oxygenating Night Cream Versus Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Intense Reset Concentrate
Elemis Pro-Collagen Oxygenating Night Cream Versus Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Intense Reset Concentrate This calming serum is formulated around Lactobacillus Ferment and Resveratrol to calm redness and strengthen the skin barrier. What's inside Key Ing
This guide cannot diagnose a condition or recommend a personal treatment plan. Discuss medical questions with a qualified professional.
Elemis Pro-Collagen Oxygenating Night Cream Versus Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Intense Reset Concentrate
This calming serum is formulated around Lactobacillus Ferment and Resveratrol to calm redness and strengthen the skin barrier.
What's inside
Key Ingredients
Benefits
Concerns
Ingredients Side-by-side
Water
Glyceryl Stearate Se
Glycerin
Isononyl Isononanoate
Ethylhexyl Palmitate
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
Lauryl Laurate
Ethyl Macadamiate
Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate
Cetyl Alcohol
Phenoxyethanol
Sodium Polyacrylate
Potassium Cetyl Phosphate
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil
Oryza Sativa Starch
Parfum
Butylene Glycol
Laminaria Digitata Extract
Chlorphenesin
Sesamum Indicum Oil Unsaponifiables
Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil Unsaponifiables
Persea Gratissima Oil
Phytosterols
Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer
Disodium EDTA
Sodium Dehydroacetate
Olea Europaea Fruit Oil
Padina Pavonica Thallus Extract
Glyceryl Polyacrylate
Citronellol
Linalool
Collagen Amino Acids
Lithothamnion Calcareum Extract
Mimosa Tenuiflora Bark Extract
Mannitol
Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Tocopherol
Sorbitan Oleate
Geraniol
Limonene
Hydroxycitronellal
Citric Acid
Malic Acid
Diatomaceous Earth
Tocopheryl Acetate
Ascorbyl Palmitate
Sodium Hydroxide
Zinc Sulfate
Hexapeptide-9
Water, Glyceryl Stearate Se, Glycerin, Isononyl Isononanoate, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Lauryl Laurate, Ethyl Macadamiate, Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, Cetyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Polyacrylate, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Oryza Sativa Starch, Parfum, Butylene Glycol, Laminaria Digitata Extract, Chlorphenesin, Sesamum Indicum Oil Unsaponifiables, Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil Unsaponifiables, Persea Gratissima Oil, Phytosterols, Glyceryl Acrylate/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Padina Pavonica Thallus Extract, Glyceryl Polyacrylate, Citronellol, Linalool, Collagen Amino Acids, Lithothamnion Calcareum Extract, Mimosa Tenuiflora Bark Extract, Mannitol, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Tocopherol, Sorbitan Oleate, Geraniol, Limonene, Hydroxycitronellal, Citric Acid, Malic Acid, Diatomaceous Earth, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Sodium Hydroxide, Zinc Sulfate, Hexapeptide-9
Dimethicone
Methyl Trimethicone
Bis-PEG-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane
Isopropyl Isostearate
PPG-15 Stearyl Ether
PEG-10 Dimethicone
Faex Extract
Tripeptide-32
Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer
Sodium Hyaluronate
Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate
Hydrolyzed Algin
Lactobacillus Ferment
Adansonia Digitata Seed Extract
Soy Amino Acids
Aminopropyl Ascorbyl Phosphate
Resveratrol
Algae Extract
Salicylic Acid
Ergothioneine
Whey Protein
Avena Sativa Kernel Extract
Citrullus Lanatus Fruit Extract
Lens Esculenta Fruit Extract
Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract
Caffeine
Sodium PCA
Propylene Glycol Caprylate
Triticum Vulgare Germ Extract
Lavandula Angustifolia Oil
Hordeum Vulgare Extract
Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract
Isohexadecane
Polysilicone-11
Methyldihydrojasmonate
Sodium Lactate
Disteardimonium Hectorite
Isododecane
Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6
Squalane
Polyethylene
Propylene Carbonate
Pentylene Glycol
BHT
Potassium Sorbate
Sodium Benzoate
CI 14700
CI 19140
Water, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Methyl Trimethicone, Bis-PEG-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane, Butylene Glycol, Isopropyl Isostearate, PPG-15 Stearyl Ether, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Faex Extract, Tripeptide-32, Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydrolyzed Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydrolyzed Algin, Lactobacillus Ferment, Adansonia Digitata Seed Extract, Soy Amino Acids, Aminopropyl Ascorbyl Phosphate, Resveratrol, Algae Extract, Salicylic Acid, Ergothioneine, Tocopheryl Acetate, Whey Protein, Avena Sativa Kernel Extract, Citrullus Lanatus Fruit Extract, Laminaria Digitata Extract, Lens Esculenta Fruit Extract, Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract, Caffeine, Sodium PCA, Propylene Glycol Caprylate, Triticum Vulgare Germ Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Hordeum Vulgare Extract, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract, Isohexadecane, Polysilicone-11, Methyldihydrojasmonate, Sodium Lactate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Isododecane, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Squalane, Polyethylene, Propylene Carbonate, Pentylene Glycol, Disodium EDTA, BHT, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol, Linalool, CI 14700, CI 19140
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Alternatives
Ingredients Explained
These ingredients are found in both products.
Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.
Butylene Glycol (or BG) is used within cosmetic products for a few different reasons:
Overall, Butylene Glycol is a safe and well-rounded ingredient that works well with other ingredients.
Though this ingredient works well with most skin types, some people with sensitive skin may experience a reaction such as allergic rashes, closed comedones, or itchiness.
Disodium EDTA is a chelating agent. It grabs onto and deactivates metal ions that sneak into your products from water, packaging, or air.
This ingredient mainly works behind the scenes and helps with:
On top of that, this ingredient can counteract the effects of hard water by binding to the minerals in it.
One thing worth knowing is that Disodium EDTA has been shown to be a mild penetration enhancer. It can help other ingredients absorb into skin more effectively which can be a double-edged sword (great for actives, but can also make the active too strong if you have sensitive skin).
Clinical patch testing showed no significant skin irritation at typical use concentrations and minimal dermal absorption.
You'll most likely see this ingredient near the end of an ingredient list. It's typically found in concentrations less than 1%.
Glycerin (or glycerol) is a compound naturally found in your skin. It's a powerhouse humectant that pulls water into the stratum corneum.
Topically, glycerin does several things at once:
Your skin makes glycerin on its own (mostly from sebaceous oil breakdown) and shuttles it to your outermost layer of skin, or your epidermis, via aquaporin-3.
Aquaporin-3 is a transporter that is essential for normal skin hydration, elasticity, and repair. Interestingly, mice lacking in AQP3 have dry and less elastic skin that can be fully corrected with glycerin.
This ingredient is non-irritating, plays well with almost every ingredient, and works across all skin types. Typical use is anywhere between 3-10% but can go up to 79% in some leave-on products.
Just know very high concentrations (>40%) can feel tacky in low humidity.
Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.
Laminaria Digitata Extract comes from the big brown seaweed (or kelp) that grows in the North Atlantic. In skincare, it's mostly used as a skin protectant and conditioning agent.
The most interesting stuff inside is mostly just sugars and minerals: fucoidan (a sulfated polysaccharide), laminarin (a beta-glucan), alginates, and phlorotannins (seaweed polyphenols).
Any antioxidant and soothing claims mostly come from those polysaccharides; crude laminarin and fucoidan from Laminaria digitata do show antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity in lab assays.
Just know that the lab assays are test-tube work on isolated compounds and not clinical trials on the finished extract.
Realistically, this ingredient is a nice-feeling and hydrating skin conditioner (not really an active).
Safety-wise, it's one of the better documented seaweeds and safe to be used in cosmetics according to the CIR Expert Panel.
Industry surveys find that usage concentrations run can be found up to 5% in bubble baths and leave-on usage is more likely 0.1-3%.
The risk of allergy is also quite low as human repeat insult patch tests (under 5% and blends containing 8-12%) came back non-irritating and non-sensitizing. Rabbit studies came back negative too, though one trade mixture at 1.5-2.5% in water + propylene glycol did cause moderate irritation at 30 minutes.
Reported seaweed allergies in the literature are almost all occupational (people handling wet kelp) or from a totally unrelated blue/green alga.
At this time, there's actually no published comedogenicity test on it and the evidence that does exist points away from clogging.
Laminaria Digitata Extract has never been run through the rabbit ear assay or the Mills & Kligman human model and it isn't in Fulton's 1989 list of tested comedogenic ratings.
The CIR's brown algae review pulled every published and unpublished study industry had on 82 seaweed ingredients and found no comedogenicity data for any of them.
So any number you see online was assigned by a person and not actually measured.
In 2012, Capitanio et al. ran an 8-week double-blind, vehicle-controlled trial in 60 people with mild acne using a Laminaria digitata-derived oligosaccharide complexed with 0.1% zinc pyrrolidone.
They found comedones, papules and pustules dropped significantly more in the active group than the vehicle group at 2, 4 and 8 weeks.
Caveats for this study: a Laminaria digitata-derived oligosaccharide is just fraction and not the plain extract, and the zinc is likely doing real work. Still, the study found comedones went down in acne-prone skin.
This fits mechanistically. Comedogenesis is largely a lipid story and this is water-soluble polysaccharides, minerals, and polyphenols. There's nothing really to plug a follicle with.
The real caveat is the carrier: some supplier versions come dispersed in caprylic/capric triglycerides.
The 0-5 scale comes from applying ingredients to the inside of an albino rabbit's ear. Rabbit follicles are far more reactive than human ones so it over-predicts. Even petrolatum was reassigned as non-comedogenic by the original scientist, Kligman.
Here are three more problems of comedogenic ratings:
Linalool is a fragrance and helps add scent to products. It's derived from common plants such as cinnamon, mint, citrus, and lavender.
Like Limonene, this ingredient oxidizes when exposed to air. Oxidized linalool can cause allergies and skin sensitivity.
This ingredient has a scent that is floral, spicy tropical, and citrus-like.
Phenoxyethanol is one of the most widely used preservatives in skincare (and for good reason!).
It has a large spectrum of antimicrobial activity and especially effective bacteria, yeast, and mold while only having a weak effect on your skin's natural microbiome.
On a cellular level, it disrupts the cell membranes of microbes by poking holes that make the cell leak. This shuts down the chemical reactions the microbe needs to make energy so it can no longer survive.
Another perk of this ingredient is that it stays functional across a wide pH range (3-10).
You'll often see it paired with boosters like Ethylhexylglycerin; one study showed that a 1:9 ratio of Ethylhexylglycerin to Phenoxyethanol damages bacterial membranes as effectively as doubling the Phenoxyethanol concentration on its own.
Typical use concentrations range from 0.3-1% depending on the formula, and this ingredient is capped at 1% int the EU.
Safety-wise, the fear mongering does not hold up to the evidence. The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety and FDA consider it safe as a preservative at up to 1%, including for children of all ages.
Adverse systemic effects only showed up in animal studies at exposures roughly 200x higher than what people get from cosmetics. And despite its very widespread use, this ingredient is a rare sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon.
Tocopheryl Acetate is a stable, shelf-friendly form of vitamin E.
Formulators love it because plain vitamin E oxidizes quickly once it hits air. This acetate version stays stable and resists going off, helping to extend a product's shelf life.
It's actually inactive on its own and works like a slow-release "storage" form; the enzymes in your skin called esterases gradually convert it into active vitamin E over time.
One in vivo study showed 5% of the acetate in the living layer of the epidermis converted to vitamin E after 5 days of application. This study also found the skin gained protection against UV damage even though the conversion was slow and small.
Once converted, vitamin E acts as a skin's main fat-soluble antioxidant that fights free radicals to protect skin from damage.
Topical vitamin E generally boosts the skin's photoprotection, and it reduced UV-damage in animal models.
This ingredient has some brightening potential but it's more of a prevention ingredient than spot-fader. Cell studies show it can slow down melanin production but it's worth noting that it's not the most powerful brightener out there.
Overall, it has a pretty solid safety profile and has been found to be non-irritating and non-comedogenic. Allergic reactions may happen but stay rare due to how widely the ingredient gets used.
The concentration will vary depending on the formula; industry data shows 0.1% in baby lotions, 3% in lipsticks, and 5% in foot powders. You can also find this ingredient at 100% in a pure vitamin E oil.
Most leave-on skincare keeps it at the lower end, often between 0.5-1%.
Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.
So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.
You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Remember to stay hydrated!