An acid found in grains such as barley and wheat. It works on the look of blemishes, uneven tone and visible redness at the same time. In a 28-day clinical study on the ingredient, the total number of blemishes fell by 20.7%.

From the root of the liquorice plant. Documented to soothe.

It stimulates the skin's natural synthesis of melanin pigments, which is what keeps a self-tan reading as a tan rather than as a colour laid on top.

Vitamin B3, and one of the few ingredients that does several things at once. It helps settle oil production, so skin turns less shiny and pores look smaller. It strengthens the barrier, so skin holds on to water. And it calms visible redness.

A moisture binder, sometimes called nature's hyaluronic acid. It attracts water and holds it in the skin, so skin looks fuller rather than tight, and it works as an antioxidant at the same time.

A gentle form of vitamin A. Retinyl palmitate helps improve skin elasticity and strengthen the skin's springiness.

Contains vitamin A related compounds, which contribute to your daily intake of vitamin A.

A stabilised form of vitamin C that does not oxidise in the bottle the way pure ascorbic acid does, and that converts into free vitamin C in the skin. It is documented to fade pigment spots and age spots, help the skin build collagen and improve the appearance of wrinkles and skin texture, alongside its antioxidant effects.

An oil-soluble form of vitamin C that works on age spots and UV-induced pigmentation. Being oil-soluble, it stays stable in an oil instead of breaking down the way pure ascorbic acid does in water.

An antioxidant. Vitamin E also softens and conditions the skin.

An extract of white tea leaves, the least processed form of the tea plant.

Coenzyme Q10, an antioxidant the skin produces less of with age. It neutralises free radicals, and it is documented to reduce the appearance of wrinkles.

An advanced retinoid. It renews the surface and works on texture. In a 12-week double-blind study on the ingredient, skin texture improved significantly, while neither the placebo nor conventional retinyl palmitate changed at all.

A molecule that bacteria make to survive in places where there is almost no water to be had. In skin it forms a shield of bound water around the cells, which is what defends against environmental stress, pollution and dehydration.

In a placebo-controlled study, ectoin reduced pollution damage by 48% in five days.

A dipeptide the body makes itself. It works as an antioxidant and helps the skin build and strengthen the collagen that firmness and elasticity depend on.

A red pigment from microalgae. It works as an antioxidant and neutralises free radicals. In Bakuchiol Anti-Ageing Oil it is also what gives the oil its colour.

From the babchi plant, and the usual answer for skin that cannot tolerate retinol. In a laboratory test, bakuchiol made skin cells produce more collagen than retinol did, and it is documented to reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles. As an antioxidant, it protected fats against oxidation 60 times better than vitamin E in a laboratory test. It contains no vitamin A, which is why it needs no building-up period.

Also known as cica. An extract rich in antioxidants, studied for fading visible redness and for making damaged capillaries less visible. In a study on the ingredient, blood flow in the cheek fell by 30.8% over six weeks, while the placebo side of the same face did not change meaningfully.

From the oat kernel. Documented to soothe and to reduce redness.

From the Sophora japonica tree. An antioxidant.

Fomes officinalis, taken from the pulp of the fungus. Through agaric acid it works as a natural astringent, so pores look smaller and the surface looks smoother. In a placebo-controlled test on the ingredient, pore visibility fell 18.3% within 15 minutes of the first application, against 7.8% on placebo, measured by image analysis.

The gel from the aloe leaf. It is mostly water held in place by plant sugars, so it hydrates and cools at the same time. In a cleanser it is what keeps skin from feeling stripped after rinsing.

A tropical reed and a mushroom, used together as a single ingredient. Studied for calming irritated skin, reducing visible redness and supporting the skin's barrier function. Both have a long history of traditional use for calming.

A cleansing molecule that works by shape rather than by strength. Micelles gather into tiny spheres with their oil-loving ends turned inward, which is how they carry makeup and sebum away.

Saw palmetto, argan and sesame. Documented to reduce sebum and keep shine down.

A moisturising complex made from a plant sugar. Pentavitin® prevents dehydration and protects the skin against drying agents.

A small DNA fragment, in our case from barley sprouts rather than salmon. It is documented to stimulate the skin's own collagen synthesis, the process the skin uses to replace what it loses over time.

A blend of skin-identical ceramides and barrier fats. Ceramides sit in the outermost layer of the skin, where they work as the mortar between the cells: they lock moisture in and keep external stress out.

Replacing them improves hydration and supports elasticity.

Vegan exosomes from a green microalga, built to work like the real thing rather than harvested from animal or human cells. Exosomes are how cells talk to each other, and in a laboratory test these carried almost three times as much active ingredient into the deeper skin as conventional carriers. In a published placebo-controlled study, wrinkle depth fell by 12% and radiance rose by 20% over 56 days.

A ferment from lactic acid bacteria. It supports the skin's own microbial balance and helps the barrier hold water.

The two sugars that do the tanning. DHA reacts with amino acids in the outermost skin cells and develops colour within hours. Erythrulose works more slowly and evens the result out over a day or two. Neither needs UV, and nothing reaches deeper than the surface cells.

Two stabilised polyphenols, DHQG and EGCG2, with glycine and zinc. It works at the follicle rather than on the lash itself.

Portulaca pilosa extract with palmitoyl tripeptide-38. In a study with twice-daily application for a month, lip moisture was 50.6% higher 20 hours after the last application, and lips became 10.5% softer and 8.6% fuller, measured on the visible lip area.

Fats the skin makes itself, and part of what holds the barrier together. They seal water in and keep the outside out.

Squalane is the stable form of squalene. It softens and slows how fast water leaves, without the weight of an oil, so it suits skin that needs softening rather than richness.

A rich butter pressed from the nut of the shea tree. It is high in fatty acids that settle between the skin cells, so the surface feels smooth and water leaves more slowly. It is what makes a cream feel comforting on skin that is dry, or that has been out in wind and cold.

Waxy esters made from jojoba oil. They sit on the surface as a light film that slows how fast water leaves, and they leave skin soft without feeling greasy.

An alpha hydroxy acid. It dissolves the bonds that hold dead cells to the surface, so they lift away instead of building up. What is underneath is smoother and clearer, and fine lines look shallower.

A beta hydroxy acid. Unlike the AHAs it is oil-soluble, so it travels down into the pore rather than working on the surface, and dissolves the mix of sebum and dead skin blocking it. Salicylic acid exfoliates the skin and clears the pore, so blackheads and congestion look less visible.

An amino acid taken from sugar beet. It draws water into the skin and helps hold it there. Betaine is documented to moisturise, to soothe and to reduce age spots.

From microalgae grown in Icelandic glacial water, not from fish. Glycine, proline and hydroxyproline, the trio that makes up most of the skin's own collagen fibres. They bind water in the skin, so the surface instantly looks plumper and smoother.

A moisture binder: it pulls water towards the skin and holds it there. Glycerin is documented to moisturise, to retain moisture in the skin and to reduce water loss through it, and to act as a skin protectant against drying agents.

Something the skin already produces. Hyaluronic acid attracts water and holds on to it, so skin feels hydrated.

Provitamin B5, a vitamin precursor the skin already contains. It has strong moisturising efficacy, soothes the skin and acts as a skin protectant, so skin stays soft rather than tight through daily use.

A collagen alternative from microalgae, with none of the animal origin. Rich in amino acids, it binds water in the skin and leaves it feeling smoother and more comfortable.

Allantoin softens and calms. It helps the outer layer hold water and loosens dry, flaking cells, so the surface feels smooth instead of rough. It is one of the ingredients that makes a formula gentler on skin that reacts easily.

Protein broken down into pieces small enough to stay on the surface. It forms a thin film that holds water along the lash, which makes lashes look fuller.

A peptide studied for its effect on expression lines, the ones that form where the face moves most. In a study against placebo on the other half of the face, it reduced the look of the fine lines at the outer corners of the eyes, the ones that come from movement rather than from time.

A lash peptide. It supports lash density by nourishing and strengthening each follicle.

Acetyl Tetrapeptide-3 with red clover extract. It works at the follicle and improves how firmly the lash is anchored.

A peptide that prompts the skin to produce collagen, hyaluronic acid and the proteins that hold its structure together, and it reinforces the connections between the skin's layers. In a study against placebo on the other half of the face, deep lines at the corners of the eyes looked measurably shallower after two months.

A calming peptide for skin that reacts. We use the peptide at the full dose, 2.5%.

A tripeptide that mimics the body's own signal to make collagen. In a placebo-controlled study on the ingredient, collagen density rose by 22% in four weeks, measured by ultrasound.

A collagen peptide identical to a section of the type III collagen the skin makes itself, produced by fermentation rather than taken from animals. In a randomised, double-blind study against the same formula without the peptide, the skin became denser and skin spots looked less visible.

Biotinoyl Tripeptide-1 with panthenol. It works at the follicle, where the lash is anchored, and that is where loss begins. In a clinical study on the ingredient itself at 2% over 30 days, lashes were 17% longer and 19% thicker, and around nine fewer lashes were lost than with placebo.