Ironically, the European Commission has just published the latest update to its Glossary of Cosmetic Ingredients, while proposing that it be abandoned in the name of administrative simplification. The implementing decision making it official appeared in the Official Journal of the European Union on July 10, 2025.
This update has been prepared and published in accordance with Article 33 of Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009, which requires the Commission to establish and update a Glossary of common ingredient names to be used in product labelling.
The program includes: the inclusion of new ingredient names, the correction of errors, the removal of INCIs that are no longer used, etc.
In the end, the new Glossary lists 30,418 ingredients, while its previous version had 30,070.
This Decision is applicable from July 30, 2026, but it is specified that economic operators can use its names for labeling from July 30, 2025.
And it may be the last of its kind if the proposal to simplify "certain requirements and procedures applicable to chemical products," published by the European Commission, becomes effective. It provides for the deletion of Article 33 of the Regulation, and with it the deletion of the Glossary and all references to it, particularly in the Annexes.
