Botanica is built around plant extracts. This page is about how to think about that category generally — the specific composition of any product is on its packaging and in the Faberlic catalogue, and that is where it should be read.

What plant extracts do in a formulation

Broadly, three jobs:

Active roles — some extracts have genuine measurable effects: antioxidant activity, soothing properties, mild astringency.

Supporting roles — scent, colour, texture, preservation.

Marketing roles — present in quantities too small to do anything, but worth listing. This is common across the whole industry and not specific to any brand.

The ingredient list tells you which is which: ingredients are listed in descending order by quantity down to 1%, so an extract near the end of a long list is present in trace amounts.

Reading the list

  • The first five ingredients are the bulk of the product
  • Water (Aqua) first is normal in a cream
  • INCI names are standardised internationally, so you can compare across brands and countries
  • Plant names appear in Latin — Chamomilla recutita, Aloe barbadensis — which is a feature, not obscurantism

The allergen point

This is the part that matters more than any benefit claim.

Botanical ingredients are among the most frequent causes of cosmetic reactions. Essential oils particularly — limonene, linalool, citral and geraniol are all common fragrance allergens derived from plants, and EU labelling requires them to be declared for exactly that reason.

If you have sensitive skin or a known plant allergy:

  • Read the list on the packaging, not a summary
  • Patch test on the inner forearm for several days
  • Re-check on repurchase, since formulations change
  • Introduce one product at a time, so a reaction is traceable

What not to conclude

That plant-derived means gentler, safer or more effective. It means plant-derived. Poison ivy is natural; so is caffeine. The origin of a molecule says nothing about how your skin will respond to it.

Equally, do not conclude the opposite — that botanical extracts are useless. Some have good evidence behind them, and preferring plant-based formulations is a perfectly reasonable preference.

The practical summary

Choose Botanica because you prefer botanical formulations, not because you believe they are inherently kinder. Read the actual list for anything you are allergic to. Patch test.

For the range as a whole, see the reviews section.