Cosmetic Products UK: Safety, Labelling and Your Rights

At a glance

• Who is responsible for a cosmetic's safety: every cosmetic sold in Great Britain must have a UK-established 'Responsible Person' — the manufacturer, importer, labelling distributor, or an appointed party — under retained Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009.
• Before it reaches a shelf: the Responsible Person must commission a cosmetic product safety report from a qualified safety assessor, keep a 10-year Product Information File, and notify the product to the Office for Product Safety and Standards via the Submit Cosmetic Product Notifications service.
• Labelling: ingredients are listed by standardised INCI name in descending order of weight down to 1%, and recognised fragrance allergens above set thresholds must be declared separately.
• Your consumer rights: under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described — a full refund is normally available if you reject a faulty product within 30 days.
• Reporting harm: a reaction serious enough to affect your normal day-to-day activities should be reported to OPSS as a serious undesirable effect; any unsafe or counterfeit product can also be reported via the Citizens Advice consumer helpline, which refers matters to local Trading Standards.
• Animal testing: finished cosmetics and their ingredients cannot be tested on animals to assess consumer safety, and since 2023 no new licences have been granted — and testing under legacy licences has ended — for chemicals used exclusively as cosmetic ingredients.
• Misleading claims: cosmetics labelling and advertising must not imply characteristics or functions a product does not have — this sits alongside, not instead of, your Consumer Rights Act remedies.

What counts as a cosmetic product

A cosmetic product is anything applied to the outside of the body — skin, hair, nails, lips, teeth or the mucous membranes of the mouth — with the main purpose of cleaning it, making it smell nice, changing how it looks, or keeping it in good condition. That definition, carried across from the former EU Cosmetic Products Regulation, is broad on purpose.

It captures obvious things like lipstick, shampoo, moisturiser and perfume, but it also covers toothpaste, shaving foam, hair dye, nail polish, deodorant, sunscreen, and many 'natural' or 'organic' beauty products sold online. In Great Britain, these items sit inside their own regulatory framework, separate from medicines and medical devices, which are regulated instead by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

The rules govern who is responsible for a product's safety, what can go into it, how it must be labelled, and what happens when something proves harmful. For consumers, the key point is that cosmetics are not a lawless category — manufacturers, importers and retailers all carry legal duties, and you have specific rights if a product you've bought turns out to be unsafe or not as described.

The Great Britain regime since Brexit

Since the end of the transition period, Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) has applied its own version of the former EU Cosmetic Products Regulation, carried across into domestic law by the Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, and enforced through the Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013 as they apply to GB. Northern Ireland continues to follow the EU Cosmetic Products Regulation directly under the Windsor Framework, and its Responsible Person must be established in Northern Ireland or the EU/EEA, not Great Britain.

The core safety architecture is the same across GB and NI, but two things differ in practice: the Responsible Person for the GB market must have a genuine UK-established address (not a PO box or mail-forwarding address), and notification for GB happens through the UK's own Submit Cosmetic Product Notifications service rather than the EU's Cosmetic Products Notification Portal.

GB has also begun diverging from the EU on the substances annexes over time, with GB-specific statutory instruments adding newly classified substances to the prohibited list and adjusting concentration limits for certain restricted ingredients on their own timetable. If you are checking whether a specific ingredient is currently permitted, always check the current position on GOV.UK rather than relying on an EU cosmetics database, since GB and EU lists can now differ.

Who is responsible, and what they must do

Every cosmetic product made available to a consumer in Great Britain — whether sold, given away as a free sample, or used on a member of the public by a professional — must have a named 'Responsible Person'. This can be:

• the manufacturer, if the product is made in the UK and placed directly on the GB market;
• the importer, for products brought in from outside the UK;
• the distributor, if they label the product as their own brand; or
• a company or individual appointed by the manufacturer or importer.

The Responsible Person must be a business or individual established in the UK with a genuine UK address — a mail-forwarding address or PO box does not count. Their name and address must appear on the product packaging.

Before a product can be sold, GOV.UK guidance sets out that the Responsible Person is required to:

1. Commission a cosmetic product safety report. This has two parts: safety information about the ingredients, physical and chemical properties, and likely use, and a safety assessment carried out by a qualified professional in a relevant discipline such as toxicology, pharmacy or medicine.
2. Keep a Product Information File (PIF) in English, containing the product description, the safety report, evidence of good manufacturing practice, and evidence for any claims made about the product's effects. The PIF must be retained for 10 years after the last batch of the product is made available.
3. Follow good manufacturing practice, commonly demonstrated through compliance with the international standard ISO 22716, covering staff training, hygiene, equipment maintenance, traceability and batch labelling.
4. Notify OPSS before the product is placed on the market, using the Submit Cosmetic Product Notifications service.
5. Report serious harmful effects experienced by users to OPSS, and be able to demonstrate that any marketing claims made about the product are accurate.

Knowing who the Responsible Person is matters practically: they are the first point of contact if you want to raise a concern about a product's safety or challenge a claim made about it.

Ingredients: what can and can't go into a cosmetic

The underlying Cosmetic Products Regulation sets out a system of annexes that GB has carried into domestic law and continues to update:

• one annex lists substances that are prohibited outright in cosmetic products;
• another lists substances that are restricted — permitted only up to certain concentrations, or only in certain product types; and
• further annexes are 'positive lists' — only the colourants, preservatives and UV filters named may be used, and only within the conditions specified.

Substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction are banned from cosmetics as a general rule, subject to a narrow exemption process. GB has made its own statutory instruments adding newly classified substances to the prohibited list and adjusting concentration limits for specific restricted substances — these changes do not always track the EU's equivalent updates on the same timetable, so always check the current GB position on GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk rather than assuming a product compliant in the EU is automatically compliant in GB, or vice versa.

New ingredients intended for use as colourants, UV filters or preservatives — including nanomaterials — must go through a separate safety assessment before they can be used, in addition to standard product notification.

Labelling: what must be on the pack

Cosmetic product labelling must be clear and legible, and must include:

• the name and address of the Responsible Person;
• the country of origin, if the product is imported into the UK;
• the weight or volume;
• a 'use by' or 'period after opening' date where relevant;
• any necessary precautions for use;
• a batch or identification number;
• what the product does; and
• the full ingredients list, using standardised INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) names, in descending order of weight down to 1% concentration, with ingredients below that threshold listed in any order afterwards.

Fragrance and flavour compounds can usually be listed simply as 'parfum' or 'aroma', but recognised fragrance allergens must still be declared separately by name if they are present above set thresholds — this matters if you have a known sensitivity and want to check a product before you buy it.

Very small items, such as free samples under 5 grams or 5 millilitres, are exempt from some labelling requirements, but the missing information should still be available on accompanying packaging or a leaflet, indicated by a symbol on the product itself.

Crucially, GOV.UK guidance is explicit that labelling and advertising for a cosmetic product must not imply it has characteristics or functions that it does not actually have. That obligation sits on top of, not instead of, your general consumer rights.

Your consumer rights when a cosmetic goes wrong

Faulty, contaminated or misdescribed products

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 implies terms into every consumer contract for the sale of goods, including cosmetics: goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose, and as described. If a product is contaminated, defective, or materially different from how it was marketed — for example, a moisturiser advertised with a specific SPF rating that it does not actually provide — you have a statutory right to a remedy.

Under section 22, if you reject the goods within 30 days of taking ownership of them, you are normally entitled to a full refund under the short-term right to reject. After 30 days, you must usually give the retailer one opportunity to repair or replace the product before you can ask for a refund or a price reduction.

Subjective marketing language, such as claims that a cream will make skin 'glow' or look 'younger', is difficult to challenge as a breach of contract because it is not a specific, verifiable claim. A clear, checkable factual claim — such as a stated SPF number, a stated percentage of an active ingredient, or a claim to be free from a specific allergen when it is not — is a much stronger basis for a complaint.

Misleading marketing and unfair practices

Separately from your contractual rights under the Consumer Rights Act, traders are also under a general duty not to engage in unfair commercial practices, including giving consumers misleading information about a product's characteristics. This framework — previously the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, replaced from 6 April 2025 by equivalent provisions in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 — makes it unlawful for a trader to mislead consumers about a product's benefits, composition or effects. The Competition and Markets Authority has powers to investigate and take direct enforcement action against such practices, in addition to your own right to bring a civil claim. See our guide on the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations for how this framework operates in practice.

Allergic reactions and other harm

If a cosmetic product causes an allergic reaction, stop using it and seek medical attention if the reaction is severe. Photograph the affected area, keep the product and note its batch number, and keep your proof of purchase.

Mild reactions such as ordinary irritation or cosmetic acne do not need to be formally reported to the regulator. But GOV.UK guidance is clear that a 'serious undesirable effect' — one causing temporary or permanent functional incapacity, disability, hospitalisation, congenital anomalies, or an immediate risk to life — should be reported to the Office for Product Safety and Standards. You can also raise any safety concern about a product with the Citizens Advice consumer helpline (in England and Wales), which passes reports on to your local Trading Standards service for possible investigation. Reporting matters beyond your own situation: consumer reports are used by Trading Standards and OPSS to identify unsafe products, support wider investigations, and inform changes to the regulatory framework.

Counterfeit cosmetics

Counterfeit cosmetics carry a heightened safety risk because they bypass the entire safety-assessment and notification system, and enforcement cases have linked fakes to chemical burns and heavy metal contamination. If you've unknowingly bought a counterfeit, you are entitled to a full refund from the seller under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Report the listing to the platform you bought it from, to the Citizens Advice consumer helpline, and to the brand being counterfeited, and stop using the product immediately.

'Cruelty-free', 'natural' and 'organic' — what these terms actually mean in law

Marketing language on cosmetics packaging is not always backed by a legal definition, and it is worth knowing which terms have real legal weight and which are largely voluntary.

Animal testing has the clearest legal grounding. Testing finished cosmetic products, and testing cosmetic ingredients, on animals to assess consumer safety has long been prohibited in Great Britain. Following a period of controversy over licences granted for certain ingredient testing, the government confirmed in 2023 that no new licences would be granted for animal testing of chemicals used exclusively as cosmetic ingredients, and has since published a wider roadmap for phasing out animal testing in favour of alternative methods. Always check GOV.UK for the current position if this issue matters to your purchasing decision.

'Natural' and 'organic', by contrast, are largely governed by voluntary industry certification schemes rather than by cosmetics safety statute — there is no single statutory definition that a product must meet to use these words. That does not mean the words are consequence-free: if a label makes a claim that is actively false or deceptive, this can amount to a misleading commercial practice under the general consumer protection framework described above, giving you grounds to complain even where cosmetics-specific law is silent on the term itself.

What to do if something goes wrong

1. Identify the Responsible Person. Check the packaging for the name and UK address of the Responsible Person — they are legally accountable for the product's safety and compliance, and the first point of contact for a concern.
2. Preserve your evidence. Photograph any reaction or damage, keep the product and its batch number, and hold on to your proof of purchase and any marketing material you relied on.
3. Contact the retailer first. Ask for a refund, repair or replacement under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. If you act within 30 days of receiving the product, you are normally entitled to a full refund.
4. Report a serious reaction to OPSS. If the reaction caused functional incapacity, hospitalisation or a comparable serious effect, report it as a serious undesirable effect via the relevant GOV.UK reporting service.
5. Report an unsafe or counterfeit product. Contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline (in England and Wales), which will pass your report to your local Trading Standards service for possible investigation.
6. Take advice if the picture is unclear. Where a reaction may amount to a personal injury, or the seller is disputing your rights, a conversation with a legal adviser can help you understand which route — consumer complaint, regulatory report, or a wider claim — fits your situation.

This guide provides general information about how cosmetic products are regulated in Great Britain and what your consumer rights are. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice tailored to your specific circumstances. The law described was accurate as at July 2026 and is subject to change — ingredient annexes in particular are updated periodically, so always check GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk for the current position before relying on a specific ingredient rule or fee.

Last reviewed: July 2026 by a non-practising solicitor · Next review due: July 2027 or on legislative change.