Formulation Standards

What clean means at Maison Van Irene

Clean beauty has no single universal definition. Rather than borrow someone else's, we publish our own — what we formulate without, what we prioritize, and why some ingredients earn their place.

Precision over fear

Most clean-beauty marketing works by naming an enemy. We do not. An ingredient is not judged by how unfamiliar its name sounds, but by what it does in the formula, at what concentration, and for whose skin. Our standard is a discipline of selection — not a list of villains.

What we formulate without

Our current formulas — the Copper Peptide Elixir and the Copper Peptide Barrier Cream — are made without the following. These are per-formula commitments, verified against each product's printed ingredient list. We do not extend them in advance to products we have not yet made.

Added fragrance: Fragrance is the most common source of sensitivity in skincare, and neither formula declares Fragrance or Parfum. We word this as "no added fragrance" rather than "fragrance-free" because it is the more precise claim: the botanical waters in the Elixir are conditioning ingredients, not perfume.
Parabens: Preservation is essential to a safe formula; these particular preservatives are simply not the ones we chose. Both formulas are preserved by other means.
Sulfates: Neither product is a cleanser, and neither uses sulfate surfactants.
Mineral oil: Our occlusion comes from skin-identical lipids — Ceramide NP with cholesterol and phytosphingosine — and, in the Barrier Cream, from squalane.
Petrolatum: The same reasoning. We seal the barrier with lipids the skin already recognizes.

What we prioritize

An exclusion list says nothing about whether a formula works. These are the ingredient families our formulas are actually built on.

Advanced peptides: A nine-peptide complex led by GHK-Cu in the Elixir, and a five-peptide signal complex in the Barrier Cream.
Ceramides and skin-identical lipids: Ceramide NP with cholesterol and phytosphingosine in both formulas; the Barrier Cream adds Ceramide AP and Ceramide EOP.
Humectants: Dual-weight hyaluronic acid, polyglutamic acid, glycerin, and panthenol — hydration held at more than one level.
Skin-conditioning botanicals: Centella asiatica in both formulas, and in the Elixir a 26% botanical water base of cherry blossom leaf water, jasmine flower water, dendrobium, and hibiscus.

Why some ingredients are simply necessary

A formula has to survive the journey from our facility to your bathroom shelf. Preservatives keep it safe to use for its whole life. Chelators stop trace metals from destabilising the actives. Emulsifiers and texture agents are what make a cream behave like a cream. These ingredients are permitted, well studied, and used at cosmetic levels — and calling them dangerous to score a marketing point would be neither honest nor scientific. Every one of them is disclosed in full.

Our position on fragrance

We do not add fragrance to either formula. What you notice on application is the formula itself. This is a formulation decision made with sensitive skin in mind, and it is the reason our claim is worded the way it is: no added fragrance.

Cruelty-free and GMP-certified

Maison Van Irene products are cruelty-free. They are produced in a GMP-certified facility under strict quality standards, with each batch formulated and tested to consistent specifications. GMP certifies how a product is manufactured, not what is in it — we keep it separate from ingredient claims, because the two are different assurances.

Ingredient transparency

Every product page publishes the complete ingredient list exactly as it appears on the carton — not a curated highlight reel. The caution text and the full directions for use are published in the same place. If it is on the box, it is on the site.

Copper Peptide Elixir ingredients →Barrier Cream ingredients →

Our standard, in one line

Every ingredient should have a purpose, and nothing should be included simply for excess.