Kill Lash Mascara Remover

Isododecane, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Isohexadecane, Dextrin Palmitate, C13-15 Alkane, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract, Glyceryl Caprylate, Water, Panthenol, Butylene Glycol, Pentylene Glycol

This is a silicone-free, oil-continuous waterproof/superproof mascara remover. The architecture is textbook for the job: Isododecane, Isohexadecane, and C13-15 Alkane form a volatile hydrocarbon solvent trio that does what dimethicone/cyclopentasiloxane used to do — dissolves long-wear film-formers and pigment, then evaporates clean without greasy residue. Hydrogenated Polydecene and Cetyl Ethylhexanoate add slip and lightweight emollience around that solvent core. Dextrin Palmitate is the structuring agent — it gels the oil phase into a controllable texture (letting this be delivered via a mascara-wand applicator rather than a runny liquid) and likely also acts as a mild W/O emulsifier, which is how a discrete water phase shows up later in the list without a dedicated classic emulsifier.

After that functional block comes a conditioning trio — avocado oil, hydrolyzed keratin, soybean seed extract — positioned mid-list, followed by Glyceryl Caprylate (a preservative-booster that typically marks the trace-ingredient threshold), then a minor water/panthenol/butylene glycol/pentylene glycol phase bringing up the rear. That back half is the "clean, conditioning" marketing layer sitting on top of a genuinely well-built solvent base. Structurally this makes sense for its stated purpose, and notably there's no fragrance/parfum anywhere in the list — a real plus for a product used directly on the lash line.

• Isododecane, Isohexadecane, C13-15 Alkane — Worth having. The premier silicone-alternative solvents for dissolving waterproof makeup; highly functional, well-established.
• Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil — A genuine plant emollient with a fatty-acid/sterol profile that's compositionally skin-compatible, but lacks studies to back up the benefit claims.
• Hydrolyzed Keratin — Gimmick. There is real human data on topical hydrolyzed keratin: Barba et al. (2008, Skin Research and Technology) tested a 0.5% keratin-peptide formulation on 6 healthy female volunteers over 7 days and found a significant increase in skin capacitance and a 17% increase in elasticity, persisting 3 days post-application. That's a legitimate finding — but it's a small human trial (n=6), on forearm skin, not eyelashes, and there is no published eyelash-conditioning study for hydrolyzed keratin at all. Positioned here after the solvent/structuring block (almost certainly well under 1%) in a product that's wiped off within seconds, the lash-conditioning implication isn't functionally supported.
• Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract — Gimmick. CIR's 2020 safety assessment notes soy extract is used up to 2% in leave-on face products, and there is real antioxidant literature on soy isoflavones (genistein/daidzein) — but that data comes from purified-isoflavone studies, largely in vitro or animal models (e.g., PMC3394924 on genistein's anti-oxidative effect used topical formulations in a non-human-clinical design), not from "seed extract" as typically dosed in finished cosmetics. Positioned second-to-last among functional ingredients, right before the trace-marker Glyceryl Caprylate, this is trace-dosed with no plausible contribution in a rinse-off eye product — present for the trendy-extract label line, not function.
• Panthenol — Gimmick. Panthenol has solid human RCT backing at the right dose: Camargo et al. (2011, Journal of Cosmetic Science), n=40, 30-day randomized controlled trial, found 1% and 5% panthenol produced significant TEWL reduction and barrier support, while 0.5% did not reach that bar. Here panthenol sits dead last in the list, after even the minor Butylene Glycol — almost certainly far below the 1% threshold the literature says you need — and whatever residual dose remains has essentially no dwell time before being wiped away. This is pro-vitamin B5 halo marketing, not functional barrier support in this format.