European Union cosmetic ingredient regulations
EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 annexes and the CosIng discovery database.
- Regulator
- European Commission
- Source language
- English and EU languages
- Coverage version
- Regulation (EC) 1223/2009 consolidated to 1 May 2026
What this list is
The EU list is not one list. Regulation 1223/2009 splits substances across five annexes that answer different questions, and reading the wrong one is the most common way to get an EU answer wrong.
- Annex II prohibits 1,739 substances outright.
- Annex III permits 373 substances only within stated limits, product types and warnings.
- Annexes IV, V and VI are positive lists: 154 colourants, 54 preservatives, 33 UV filters.
- For those three categories, absence from the annex means not permitted — the opposite of Annex II's logic.
- CosIng is a discovery database, not the law; the annexes as published are.
Most markets on this site publish one list. The EU publishes five, and they do not work the same way. Annex II names substances that may not be used at all. Annex III names substances that may be used, but only within a concentration limit, for stated product types, and often with a warning that must appear on the label. Annexes IV, V and VI are positive lists for colourants, preservatives and UV filters.
That last distinction reverses the logic and catches people out. For a substance in general, absence from Annex II is not permission — nothing has been decided about it. For a preservative, absence from Annex V is a decision: it may not be used as a preservative in a cosmetic product. The same silence means opposite things depending on which annex you are reading.
CosIng is worth naming separately, because it is what most searches land on. It is the Commission's database for finding ingredients and their annex references, and it is genuinely useful for that. It is not the legal text. When CosIng and the published annex disagree — usually because an amendment has come into force and the database has not caught up — the annex governs.
An Annex III entry is also more than a number. The limit, the product-type condition and the warning text travel together, and quoting the concentration without the condition it applies to produces an answer that is right about the figure and wrong about the product.
Checked against
Official ingredient records
2353 matching recordsSecondary alkyl- and alkanolamines and their salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 411 · 15/10/2010
4-Amino-2-nitrophenol
Source reference: Annex II, entry 412 · 20/10/2010
2-Methyl-m-phenylenediamine (Toluene-2,6-diamine)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 413 · 20/10/2010
4-tert.-Butyl-3-methoxy-2,6-dinitrotoluene (Musk ambrette)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 414 · 20/10/2010
Cells, tissues or products of human origin
Source reference: Annex II, entry 416 · 20/01/2023
3,3-Bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)phthalide (Phenolphthalein (INN))
Source reference: Annex II, entry 417 · 07/01/2011
3-Imidazol-4-ylacrylic acid (Urocanic acid) and its ethyl ester
Source reference: Annex II, entry 418 · 20/10/2010
Category 1 material and Category 2 material as defined in Articles 4 and 5 respectively of Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3), and ingredients derived therefrom
Source reference: Annex II, entry 419 · 20/10/2010
Apomorphine ((R)-5,6,6a,7-tetrahydro-6-methyl-4H-dibenzo[de,g]quinoline-10,11-diol)) and its salts
Source reference: Annex II, entry 42 · 17/10/2010
Crude and refined coal tars
Source reference: Annex II, entry 420 · 15/10/2010
1,1,3,3,5-Pentamethyl-4,6-dinitroindane (Moskene)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 421 · 15/10/2010
5-tert.-Butyl-1,2,3-trimethyl-4,6-dinitrobenzene (Musk Tibetene)
Source reference: Annex II, entry 422 · 20/10/2010
Alanroot oil (Inula helenium L.) (CAS No 97676-35-2), when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 423 · 20/10/2010
Benzyl cyanide, when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 424 · 20/10/2010
Cyclamen alcohol, when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 425 · 01/10/2025
Diethyl maleate, when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 426 · 20/10/2010
3,4-Dihydrocoumarin, when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 427 · 20/10/2010
2,4-Dihydroxy-3-methylbenzaldehyde, when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 428 · 20/10/2010
3,7-Dimethyl-2-octen-1-ol (6,7-Dihydrogeraniol), when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 429 · 30/01/2023
Arsenic and its compounds
Source reference: Annex II, entry 43 · 07/01/2011
4,6-Dimethyl-8-tert-butylcoumarin, when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 430 · 20/10/2010
Dimethyl citraconate, when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 431 · 20/10/2010
7,11-Dimethyl-4,6,10-dodecatrien-3-one (Pseudomethylionone), when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 432 · 20/10/2010
6,10-Dimethyl-3,5,9-undecatrien-2-one (Pseudoionone), when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 433 · 20/10/2010
Diphenylamine, when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 434 · 20/10/2010
Ethyl acrylate, when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 435 · 20/10/2010
Fig leaf absolute (Ficus carica L.), when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 436 · 20/10/2010
trans-2-Heptenal, when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 437 · 20/10/2010
trans-2-Hexenal diethyl acetal, when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 438 · 20/10/2010
trans-2-Hexenal dimethyl acetal, when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 439 · 20/10/2010
Atropa belladonna L. and its preparations
Source reference: Annex II, entry 44 · 15/10/2010
Hydroabietyl alcohol, when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 440 · 03/08/2020
6-Isopropyl-2-decahydronaphthalenol, when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 441 · 20/10/2010
7-Methoxycoumarin, when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 442 · 20/10/2010
4-(4-Methoxyphenyl)-3-butene-2-one (Anisylidene acetone), when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 443 · 20/10/2010
1-(4-Methoxyphenyl)-1-pentene-3-one (alpha-Methylanisylideneacetone), when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 444 · 20/10/2010
Methyl trans-2-butenoate, when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 445 · 20/10/2010
7-Methylcoumarin, when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 446 · 20/10/2010
5-Methyl-2,3-hexanedione (Acetyl isovaleryl), when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 447 · 20/10/2010
2-Pentylidenecyclohexanone, when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 448 · 20/10/2010
3,6,10-Trimethyl-3,5,9-undecatrien-2-one (Pseudo-Isomethyl ionone), when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 449 · 20/10/2010
Atropine, its salts and derivatives
Source reference: Annex II, entry 45 · 15/10/2010
Verbena essential oils (Lippia citriodora Kunth.) and derivatives other than absolute when used as a fragrance ingredient
Source reference: Annex II, entry 450 · 05/06/2014
6-(2-Chloroethyl)-6-(2-methoxyethoxy)-2,5,7,10-tetraoxa-6-silaundecane
Source reference: Annex II, entry 452 · 20/10/2010
Nickel monoxide [1]; nickel oxide [2]; bunsenite [3]
Source reference: Annex II, entry 455 · 24/11/2016
Trinickel disulfide; nickel subsulfied [1]; heazlewoodite [2]
Source reference: Annex II, entry 458 · 24/10/2016
Market coverage contract
Complete annex dataset- Included scope
- Annexes II–VI: prohibited and restricted substances, colourants, preservatives and UV filters.
- If no match is found
- No annex match only means that these five annexes did not return a match; CosIng identity data and other EU obligations still need review.
Complete verification checklist
- Confirm the exact INCI/CAS/EC identity.
- Review every matching Annex II–VI row and its conditions.
- Check SCCS opinions, CMR/nanomaterial rules and later amendments.
- Verify product classification, claims, labelling and responsible-person duties.
Official sources and legal role
PubChem PUG-View annotations
Attributed physical-property, hazard, environmental, use and literature annotations for uniquely matched PubChem compounds
Legal meaning: Scientific context aggregated by PubChem; individual values retain their named depositor or publication source
EMBL-EBI ChEBI 2.0
Curated definitions, chemical classes, roles, names, relationships and cross-references
Legal meaning: Curated scientific ontology; not a cosmetics permission or prohibition list
FDA Global Substance Registration System
UNII identifiers, preferred names, substance types, codes and public substance relationships
Legal meaning: Identity registry only; UNII availability does not imply FDA review or approval
Cosmetic Ingredient Review safety assessments
Expert Panel conclusions, assessed ingredient groups, use conditions, dates and report documents
Legal meaning: Independent expert review considered by FDA; not a government approval or binding market rule
EU Safety Gate cosmetic product alerts
Published cosmetic product alerts, notifying country, risk, product identifiers and corrective measures
Legal meaning: Official market-surveillance alerts; not proof that a named ingredient caused an incident
Available language: English and EU languages
What this market page can answer
Source and authority
Identify the official material and the regulator responsible for it: European Commission.
Language and scope
See whether usable English or bilingual material exists and what the mapped source actually covers. Current source language: English and EU languages.
Evidence status
Browse ingredient-level records imported from official sources. Each row states whether it passed deterministic source checks or human editorial review.
How to verify an ingredient for this market
- Search the ingredient by INCI name, CAS number or EC number and record the exact identity.
- Open each official source above and check the current version, product scope, concentration limits and required warnings.
- Confirm effective dates and whether an English text is official, reviewed or only contextual.
- Treat a missing local match as unknown, never as permission or a safety conclusion.