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
Atlas cedarwood essential oil
Atlas cedarwood can suggest a warm timber room or freshly opened wooden drawers. Follow the scent back far enough and the tree comes into view, along with a serious sourcing...
Ingredient Atlas
Castor oil
Castor oil moves with a slow, glossy character that makes viscosity easy to picture. Follow its patterned seed into the prepared oil, then into cosmetic tasks such as distributing pigment...
Ingredient Atlas
Caprylic/capric triglyceride
A long label name hides a simple material question: how do you give a solid bar a smooth, spreading stroke?
Ingredient Atlas
Caffeine
Caffeine’s prepared crystals are white and odourless, a surprising distance from a dark cup of coffee.
Ingredient Atlas
Candelilla wax
A wax coating on slender desert stems can become the firm edge of a balm. The pleasure comes when that support still allows an easy stroke.
Ingredient Atlas
Behentrimonium methosulfate
A conditioner bar has to deliver its conditioning system through a useful texture. Behentrimonium methosulfate and its supporting ingredients help explain how the small solid does that work.
Ingredient Atlas
Bisabolol
Chamomile is a familiar doorway into bisabolol, but the named ingredient can come by several routes.
Ingredient Atlas
Black pepper essential oil
The pepper mill gives away two experiences at once: a fragrance rising from the crushed spice and a bite arriving with the food.
Ingredient Atlas
Berry wax
Some waxes help a stick stand firm; a softer wax can help it give a pleasant stroke. Berry wax adds that yielding personality to the texture conversation.
Ingredient Atlas
Bergamot mint essential oil
Bergamot mint sends the imagination towards a citrus fruit, then leads you to a leafy herb instead.
Ingredient Atlas
Bergamot peel essential oil
Bergamot can bring to mind a curl of citrus peel or the fragrant lift of Earl Grey tea. Follow that familiar scent into a bar and the story becomes more...
Ingredient Atlas
Bentonite clay
A quiet-looking clay powder can change the movement of water. Bentonite’s most interesting scene begins when its layered minerals become properly dispersed and hydrated.
