Aqua Tofana | High-Potency Repairing Lotion (100mL)

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Stop Watering Down Your Beauty

Most lotions are 80-90% distilled water, with ingredients that have been siting in a warehouse for months and reducing the potency. This isn't a drink of water that disappears into your skin and leaves you wondering if you applied anything at all. Aqua Tofana is a powerhouse of skin repair designed to tame even the most fiery of irritations without clogging your pores or leaving your skin greasy. 

The Alchemy Behind the Elixir

• Rose Water and Orange Blossom Water: Unlike most lotions that are mostly made of plain water, our base consists of pure hydrosols with the bonus of a gentle natural fragrance. Rose and Orange Blossom are used for the water portion of this emulsion, offering a soothing anti-inflammatory for even the most sensitive skin types that tones the skin. 

• Freeze-Dried Snail Mucin: The underdog of skincare rising to fame. Snail Mucin has been shown to help speed wound repair, soothe irritation, smooth fine lines, and increase hydration on tired skin. Since mucin contains 99% water, I sought out the most concentrated form so that you receive more of the nutrients per bottle. 

• Horsetail Extract: Horsetail extract is unique due to its powerful combination of silica, flavonoids, tannins, vitamins, minerals, and other bioactive components. Together, these nutrients help to maintain the balance of the complexion, prevent signs of aging, promote wound healing, and improve the texture, firmness, and suppleness of the skin. And since it's free from common allergens, it can be used on even the most sensitive of skins

• White Willow fermented with Lactobacilli: A fermented filtrate produced by Lactobacillus bacteria acting on Salix alba (white willow) bark, this filtrate contains a blend of lactic acid, salicylic acid, salicin, and various metabolites produced during fermentation. This is a gentle and mild BHA that gently exfoliates and unclogs pores, reduces blemishes, brightens dull skin, and reduces inflammation. 

• Kokum Butter and Camellia Oil: The finishers that leave your skin hydrated. These noncomedogenic oils work to infuse your skin with nutrients and moisture needed to keep soft throughout the day. 

Ingredients: Rose water, Orange blossom water, colloidal oatmeal, glycerine, kokum butter, camellia oil, vitamin E oil, emulsifying wax (plant wax, Cetearyl Alcohol, polysorbate 60), freeze dried snail mucin, horsetail extract, white willow fermented with lactobacillus extract, propilane glycol (preservative), diaozlidinyl urea (preservative), iodopropynyl butylcarbamate (preservative)

⚠️Warning Before Use ⚠️

Ask your doctor about using Aqua Tofana if allergic to aspirin, as white willow contains significant levels of acetylsalicylic acid. 

Directions: After cleansing, add a dime size amount to your face and apply in a thin, even layer. Let it air dry to allow ingredients to soak in properly. A little goes a long way. Do not ingest. It will not get rid of your spouse. 

A Letter From Your Loyal Alchemist: Q&A

Q: "Wait, my lotions are mostly just plain water!?"
A: You know how when you combine oil and vinegar, it separates after shaking? That's because fat and water molecules repel one another, meaning no matter how hard you stir or shake, it'll always separate. That's where emulsifiers come in. Emulsifiers come in many shapes and forms, and they help bind fat and water molecules together. A good example of this is the mayonnaise you eat, which is a combination of eggs and oils. 

Lotions are similar, where they're a combination of waters and oils to make a solution that won't separate after each use. This is because water helps spread the product more evenly onto skin easier and is part of that initial absorption your body feels when applying lotion.

As an alchemist, I believe every ingredient has their time and place. And in some cases, plain distilled water is perfectly acceptable for use, such as for medical and sterile settings. But when princess lotions continue to be watered down in order to save a few coins while the price keeps soaring, there comes a point where one has to ask "Why bother buying a lotion when the sink is cheaper?" 

So I replaced my distilled water with floral waters, which provide water-loving trace minerals that essential oils lack. I don't provide merely fragrance by adding in these waters, but also anti-inflammatory flavonoids and pore shrinking tannins from the Rose Water alongside the pH balancing trace acid and skin tightening pectins from the Orange Blossom Water.

Q: "Snail mucin!? Like the snot!? Yuck!"
A: Never underestimate the quietest person in the room.

Snails aren't just silly little slimy guys or common garden pests. Behind these supposedly simple creatures lies a mucin full of complex compounds that are showing promising results in official research. 

Snail mucin can show great cosmetic results to all sorts of minor injuries. From post procedure peel relief to eczema flare ups, the little garden friend is continuing to awe the beauty industry as a skin repairing powerhouse.

The Alchemist's Scroll: The Courtyard After A Storm

“The howling wind and roars of thunder are merciless. But when all is over and the paths are slick with rain, the garden reveals the strength within. The weak leaves and sticks have blown away, with only the resilient standing tall and proud despite it all. Bathed in the golden light that peeks between the parting clouds, we find the elements of Aqua Tofana and the quiet science behind the chaotic beauty of nature and time." 

I. White Willow

Considered to be the "asprin of the ancients", Salix alba (white willow) is known historically to have been used in everything from pain relief to wart removal throughout its 3500 year history. This is due to the high levels of acetylsalicylic acid found naturally in this humble tree. And with a little modern science, this same component is used to produce aspirin, which is the most used medication around the world. 

I am but a humble alchemist, so I leave the medical side of this complicated history to the esteemed physicians and researchers. But what we do know for certain is that this is an incredibly friendly plant to acne prone skin and is incredibly useful in combination with salicylic acid. This is due to the high concentration of salicin, which is most known as an antioxidant that helps with renewing tired and aging skin. White willow bark extract also pairs well with niacinamide, where clinical evidence demonstrates this duo helps regulate excess surface oil, another benefit for those with blemish-prone skin.

I selected this versatile yet powerful ingredient, which is concentrated at 2.5% of the total jar, to finish off any beauty routine and pair with your routine. 

II. Horsetail Extract

A living fossil, the modern horsetail (Equisetum Arvense) plant has been around since the Jurassic Period nearly 200 million years ago. This particular breed of resilient, bamboo-like reed has been used in various cultures around the world, being the only nontoxic variety that can be regularly consumed without harm. And despite everything over the course of millions of years, this unusual stalk stands tall as the ultimate survivor among the streams and lakes. 

There have been many debates on the effectiveness of horsetail, with some touting it as a miracle ingredient that can even synthesize nicotine while others deem it to be an average filler extract. I seek not to flatter your majesty, but to tell the truth. What we do know for sure is that Horsetail extract contains multiple phytochemicals that show promise in reducing inflammation caused by skin barrier damage. The abundance of colloidal silica also have been shown to increase skin elasticity and aid in wound repair. 

With horsetail having such a high concentration of natural silica, which is an essential building block for collagen, it comes as no surprise that many have begun tapping into this extract for its gentle yet powerful qualities. 

III. Snail Mucin

Starting as a treatment prescribed by Hippocrates himself (aka: The Father of Medicine), this appeared as an ointment for skin inflammation, where crushed up snails were combined with sour milk and applied topically. And similar treatments have been found in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years.

Thankfully, I believe in treating our little garden friends a bit more kindly here at the Queen's Alchemist. Happy snails produce more mucin, after all. And as your loyal alchemist, I work hard to vet purveyors for less cruel methods of extraction. Because royalty rules with respect and grace, not fear. 

With the rise of K and J beauty around the world, the snail has been growing rapidly in popularity as an unlikely star in the skincare world. And the proof is in the research. The mucus secreted by the mantle glands contains the major proteins, GAGs, mucopolysaccharides, minerals and other important enzymes useful in burns, wound healing and cosmetics. This ingredient isn't just a trend or a fad, either. In fact, it was was initially used to treat radiation-induced dermatitis in early treatments for cancer patients and even survivors of the 1986 Chernobyl Disaster.

While more research still needs to be done for medical application, results have shown that this shy creature hides a powerful shield.