EU Regulation 1223/2009 on cosmetic products has applied since July 2013. Brands have had well over a decade to get compliant. Yet labeling non-conformities keep appearing, not because the requirements are unfamiliar, but because the specific failure modes are the kind a routine review process tends to miss.
2026 has made that harder. Several changes landed this year, and the result is that many brands now have more label versions in circulation than ever, each subject to slightly different rules.
What's Changed in 2026
The fragrance allergen deadline has passed. Under Regulation (EU) 2023/1545, the list of fragrance allergens that must be declared individually expanded to more than 80, triggered when present above 0.001% in leave-on products or 0.01% in rinse-off products. (Our fragrance allergens guide covers the full requirements.) Products placed on the EU market from July 31, 2026 must comply. Products already on the market before that date may continue to be sold until July 31, 2028.
That sell-through window creates its own risk. For the next two years, compliant and pre-deadline versions of the same product can legitimately sit side by side in the channel. Any new production run needs the updated declaration, and it's easy for an older artwork file to be picked up for a reprint by mistake.
New substance bans and restrictions took effect. Regulation (EU) 2026/78, known as Omnibus VIII, applied from May 1, 2026, prohibiting a new set of substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic to reproduction (CMR) and restricting others, including silver and hexyl salicylate. Every reformulation that follows a ban or restriction means an ingredient list change on the label.
Wider reform is on its way. In July 2025, the Commission proposed an "omnibus" simplification of EU chemicals legislation that includes amendments to the Cosmetics Regulation itself, the most significant change to the main body of the regulation since it began to apply. The Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement in June 2026, and formal adoption is expected later this year. Until the final text is published in the Official Journal, the current rules remain in force.
INCI Lists: Where Errors Still Cluster
The ingredient list must use INCI names in descending order of weight at the time the product is made. Ingredients present at 1% or less can follow in any order, and colorants can be listed in any order after the other ingredients, per Article 19 of the Regulation.
Enforcement findings usually come down to specifics:
- Order not updated after a reformulation, which is more likely this year given the Omnibus VIII changes.
- Allergens listed only as "parfum" when they exceed the threshold and must be named individually.
- Old INCI names carried over from a previous formulation, because the change to the formula didn't trigger a full label review.
The Responsible Person, and a UK That Keeps Diverging
Every cosmetic product sold in the EU must name an EU Responsible Person on the label. Since Brexit, products sold in Great Britain need a separate UK Responsible Person under UK law. Brands also selling in the US have a third set of obligations, since MoCRA made the US Responsible Person a regulated role too.
This is a data field that changes with business relationships. A new distributor, an acquisition, or a change of logistics provider can all change the Responsible Person, and the label has to follow. Because it doesn't touch the formula or consumer-facing claims, it rarely triggers the review steps a formulation change would, which is why it gets missed.
The UK rules also keep moving independently. UK regulations that took effect this summer, for example, lowered the threshold at which products containing formaldehyde-releasing preservatives must carry a warning, from July 15, 2026. A single label master covering both markets can no longer be assumed to satisfy both.
Period After Opening: The Symbol That Goes Wrong
The Period After Opening (PAO) symbol, an open jar with a number and "M" for months, is required on products with a minimum durability of more than 30 months. Products with a durability of 30 months or less must carry a best-before date instead.
PAO errors cluster in two places: a PAO period that doesn't match the product's stability data, and a PAO symbol used on a product that should carry a best-before date. Both are easy to miss in a visual review because the label looks right unless you're checking that specific data point.
None of these failures involve a lack of regulatory knowledge. They happen when a change is made in one place (a formula, a supplier, a market) and the label doesn't fully follow. With allergen sell-through, new substance restrictions, and UK divergence all in play at once, the number of places for that to happen has grown this year. Our FMCG/CPG Packaging Compliance Checklist covers the wider set of EU packaging requirements in one place.
Content Compare verifies every cosmetics label against the approved master, including INCI order, allergen declarations, Responsible Person details, and PAO, across every EU and UK version. See how it works on your own artwork.
