Articles and guides
Practical advice, ingredients and stories about solid cosmetics.
In-depth guides
Choose a topic and find practical answers.
Ingredient Atlas
Ingredient origins, textures and practical answers about cosmetic labels.
Read the guide
Solid Cosmetics School
Practical lessons for using, storing and travelling with solid cosmetics.
Read the guide
Which One? Comparison Studio
Clear comparisons for the cosmetics you use, the routines you enjoy and the gifts you give.
Read the guideArticles: 776
Ingredient Atlas
Propyl gallate
A solid perfume is a composition of materials that needs looking after as well as smelling. Propyl gallate belongs to the quiet part of that work: helping limit oxygen-related changes....
Ingredient Atlas
CI 17200 · the red behind a mixed shade
A red ingredient can be hiding in a bar that does not announce itself as red at all. CI 17200 is one of the colours a maker can use to...
Ingredient Atlas
Potassium sorbate
The sorbate name leads back to a family of compounds connected with rowan berries, but its everyday cosmetic value is much more practical. Potassium sorbate helps protect a formula, and...
Ingredient Atlas
CI 15850 · a red with several names
Some ingredient names sound wonderfully familiar until a closer look reveals a different material. CI 15850 can appear under names such as Litholrubin or Carmine 6B, yet it is a...
Ingredient Atlas
Phenylpropanol
A faint impression of hyacinth, an ability to help fragrance materials dissolve, and a second job supporting the formula: phenylpropanol is a small ingredient with more than one reason to...
Ingredient Atlas
Mica
Turn a pearly surface towards a window and its glow shifts. Mica's story begins with that changing light, then takes an unexpected turn: an ingredient list may describe the mineral...
Ingredient Atlas
Pentaerythrityl tetra-di-t-butyl hydroxyhydrocinnamate
This may be one of the longest names on a perfume-balm label, yet its main job is refreshingly understandable: helping oxygen-sensitive ingredients keep their character. The name belongs to an...
Ingredient Atlas
CI 61570 · a manufactured green
Green can evoke a garden, a herb or simply a clean-looking object. CI 61570 supplies a different kind of green story: a manufactured dye with a definite identity. In a...
Ingredient Atlas
Menthol
Mint can feel cool even when the room is warm. That familiar little surprise helped scientists uncover how we sense temperature. Menthol connects a sensory pleasure in everyday products with...
Ingredient Atlas
CI 77742 · manganese violet
A violet pigment can begin with heat rather than flowers. Manganese violet is a prepared inorganic colour, made through a reaction that turns starting materials into a distinctive pigment. In...
Ingredient Atlas
Maltodextrin
A botanical-sounding active may catch your eye, while the maltodextrin beside it receives none of the attention. Yet this starch-derived ingredient can help turn another useful material into a manageable...
Ingredient Atlas
Basil essential oil
The windowsill herb has another life: a fragrant material whose character depends on more than the word basil.
