Below is a copy of the current cosmetic labelling legislation for the UK and the EU
12.
(1) No person shall supply a cosmetic product unless the container and packaging displays
the following information in indelible, easily legible and visible lettering—
(a) the name or style and the address or registered office of the manufacturer or the person
responsible for marketing the cosmetic product who is established within the EEA. Such
information may be abbreviated in so far as the abbreviation makes it generally possible
to identify the undertaking. Where the cosmetic product is manufactured outside the
EEA, the country of origin must also be specified.
(b) the date of minimum durability—
(i) indicated by the words: ‘best used before the end of’ followed by either the date
itself, or details of where it appears on the packaging;
(ii) clearly expressed and consisting of either the month and year or the day, month and
year in that order;
(iii) supplemented, if necessary, by an indication of the conditions which must be
satisfied to guarantee the stated durability;
except where the cosmetic product has a minimum durability of more than 30 months, in
which case it is not mandatory to indicate the date of durability, but such a product shall
have an indication of the period of time after opening for which the product can be used
without any harm to the consumer. This information shall be indicated by the symbol
given in Part 2 of Schedule 8 followed by the period in months or years or both months
and years.
(c) particular precautions to be observed in use. The ‘Conditions of use and warnings which
must be printed on the label’ set out in Schedules 4, 5, 6 and 7 and any special
precautionary information on cosmetic products for professional use, in particular in
hairdressing, must appear on the container and packaging;
(d) the batch number of manufacture or the reference for identifying the goods;
(e) the function of the product, unless it is clear from the presentation of the product.
(2) No person shall supply a cosmetic product unless the packaging in which it is supplied bears,
in indelible, easily legible and visible lettering a list, preceded by the word ‘ingredients’ of the
ingredients in descending order of weight as they are added—
(a) an ingredient must be identified by the name provided for in the International
Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI) or in the absence of such identification, by
its chemical name, its European Pharmacopoeia name, its International Non-proprietary
name (INN) as recommended by the World Health Organisation, its EINECS, ELINCS or
CAS identification reference or its colour index number(a).
(b) the following shall not however be regarded as ingredients:
(i) impurities in the raw materials used;
(ii) subsidiary technical materials used in the preparation but not present in the final
product;
(iii) materials used in strictly necessary quantities as solvents or as carriers for perfumes
and aromatic compositions;
(c) perfume and aromatic compositions and their raw materials shall be referred to by the
word ‘perfume’ or ‘aroma’.
(d) the presence of substances, the mention of which is required under the column ‘other
limitations and requirements’ in Schedule 4 shall be indicated in the list irrespective of
their function in the product;
(e) ingredients in concentrations of less than 1% may be listed in any order after those in
concentrations of more than 1%;
(f) colouring agents may be listed in any order after the other ingredients, in accordance with
the colour index number or denomination adopted in Schedule 5;
(g) for decorative cosmetic products marked in several colour shades, all colouring agents
used in the range may be listed, provided that the words ‘may contain’ or ‘+/-‘ are added.
(3) The particulars referred to—
(a) in paragraph 1(b), (c) and (e) above shall be in English, but this shall not prohibit the
additional use of other languages;
(b) in paragraph (2) shall be in a language easily understood by the consumer.
(4) Where two or more cosmetic products are supplied together as a single item, each product
being in a separate container and the containers being enclosed together in packaging which bears
clear and conspicuous instructions to the effect that the products must be mixed together in
specified proportions before use, the particulars referred to in paragraph (1)(c) shall appear on an
enclosed leaflet and an indication shall appear on both the containers and the packaging referring
the consumer to the information in the leaflet.
13.
(1) Where a cosmetic product other than soap is supplied in neither a container nor
packaging, the particulars referred to in paragraph (1) shall appear on the container in which the
product is exposed for supply or a notice in immediate proximity to that container.
(2) Where a cosmetic product has no packaging or it is impossible for practical reasons for the
list of ingredients referred to in regulation 12(2) to appear on the packaging, the list shall appear
on the container; and where a cosmetic product is supplied in neither a container nor packaging,
the list shall appear on the container in which the product is exposed for supply or a notice in
immediate proximity.
(3) Where it is impossible for practical reasons for the required particulars as to the conditions
of use or list of ingredients to appear on the container and packaging an enclosed leaflet, label,
tape or card must contain that information to which the consumer is referred either by abbreviated
information or the symbol in Part 1 of Schedule 8 which—
(a) in the case of conditions of use must appear on the container and the packaging, and
(b) in the case of the list of ingredients, must appear on the packaging.
(4) Where it is impracticable, for reasons of size or shape, for the required particulars as to the
conditions of use or list of ingredients to appear in an enclosed leaflet those particulars shall
appear on a label, tag, tape or card which is enclosed or attached to the cosmetic product.
(5) In the case of soap, bath balls and other small products where it is impracticable, for reasons
of size or shape, for the required information as to the ingredients to appear on a label, tag, tape or
card or in an enclosed leaflet, those particulars shall appear on a notice in immediate proximity to
the container in which the cosmetic product is exposed for sale.
(6) Where it is impossible for practical reasons for the batch number of manufacturer or the
reference for identifying the goods to appear on the container and packaging because the cosmetic
product is too small such information need only appear on the packaging.
14.
The supply of a cosmetic product in respect of which a claim that the product or its
ingredients have not been tested on animals appears on the product packaging or in any
documents, notice, label, ring or collar accompanying or referring to the product is only permitted
if—
(a) the manufacturer and his supplier have not carried out any such tests on the finished
product, its prototype or on any of the ingredients contained in the finished product or its
prototype;
(b) the manufacturer and his supplier have not commissioned any such tests on the finished
product, its prototype or on any of the ingredients contained in the finished product or its
prototype; and
(c) the cosmetic product contains no ingredients which have been tested on animals by others
for the purposes of developing new cosmetic products.