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.
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Solid Cosmetics School
Practical lessons for using, storing and travelling with solid cosmetics.
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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
C13–15 alkane
A range of numbers can tell a useful material story. C13–15 Alkane identifies a family of saturated hydrocarbon molecules within a chosen chain-length range. In a cosmetic, that technical shorthand...
Ingredient Atlas
Small-leaved lime flower extract
The small-leaved lime offers a close-up worth taking: heart-shaped leaves, rusty tufts beneath them and small hanging flowers with a rich scent. Its cosmetic name follows those flowers into an...
Ingredient Atlas
Conditioning oligosaccharides
A carbohydrate can be given a conditioning role that has very little to do with sweetness. Stearyl Dihydroxypropyldimonium Oligosaccharides combines a carbohydrate-related identity with charged conditioning character, creating a material...
Ingredient Atlas
Silver-lime extract
A silver lime has two ways of showing its leaves: glossy green above, pale and softly felted underneath. A moving branch can reveal both sides at once. This familiar kind...
Ingredient Atlas
Polyquaternium-7
A clear liquid can help make a cleanser feel more caring. Polyquaternium-7 is one of the ingredients behind that possibility: a conditioning polymer designed to work in surfactant mixtures, where...
Ingredient Atlas
Sea silt extract
The sea leaves more behind than shells and salt. Fine sediment settles into a much quieter material world, one that cosmetic makers can prepare into powders and extracts. Sea silt...
Ingredient Atlas
Polyquaternium-57
Castor oil can take a route far beyond a bottle of oil. In one Polyquaternium-57 preparation it becomes part of a branched conditioning polymer, selected for shine, detangling and a...
Ingredient Atlas
Saw palmetto fruit extract
A low palm with pleated fans of leaves, pale flowers and dark fruit has a surprisingly busy life. Bees visit it, bears eat its berries and people have woven its...
Ingredient Atlas
Polyquaternium-51
Some cosmetic ideas begin by looking at the organisation of living things. Polyquaternium-51 belongs to that story: a polymer inspired by the water-friendly head groups found in cell-membrane phospholipids. Its...
Ingredient Atlas
Sappanwood bark extract
Some plants hide their most surprising colour inside. Sappanwood is one of them: a tree associated with a long history of red dye, yet dressed in green leaflets and yellow...
Ingredient Atlas
Ginkgo leaf extract
A fallen ginkgo leaf looks almost designed: a small fan, a neat stalk and veins branching towards its edge. It is also a link with a remarkably old tree lineage....
Ingredient Atlas
Sage extract
A sage leaf looks as though it has been upholstered in miniature: softly hairy, finely wrinkled and full of scent. Follow that familiar kitchen herb into a cosmetic and another...
