Extreme cosmetics and borderline products: an analytical-based survey of European regulation compliance

The cosmetic industry currently focuses on products with magnified or exaggerated effects or extremely long-lasting characteristics. There are also a number of related commercial products for which the regulatory framework is far from clear; they are called 'borderline', and the European authorities only recommend which regulations they need to comply with. In any case, all these products must be safe under reasonable conditions of use in accordance with the applicable laws in force in the European Union (EU) framework. In this context, adequate analytical methodology is needed to evaluate the degree of compliance. Ultrasound Assisted Extraction (UAE) procedures for the analysis of 70 cosmetic ingredients have therefore been developed in this work. Moreover, for cosmetics with plastic applicators, a Supported-UAE (Sup-UAE) method was also opportunely optimized to check if a partial transfer of plasticizers to the cosmetics-and thereby to the consumers-could happen. In a survey of 50 commercial products (30 'extreme' and 20 'borderline'), the methods afforded mean recoveries of about 100% and RSD values lower than 5% for UAE and 10% for Sup-UAE, and with detection limits far below the legal requirements, for all the target compounds, thereby demonstrating their analytical suitability. Results are discussed in detail for phthalates, fragrances (musks and allergens) and some frequent preservatives. Additionally, a labelling study was performed to check if the consumer is correctly and fully informed. Graphical abstract ᅟ.