Capturing regulatory chaos in a bottle

In August 2020, lilial, a common fragrance used in cosmetics, was banned in the EU and Northern Ireland. Deemed a carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic substance, companies had two years to remove the floral scent from products in these markets. 

This meant engaging with stakeholders across several brands, several product lines and digging into numerous ingredients lists to rapidly reformulate, then reregister mixtures with various authorities to verify compliance.

The industry had gone through a similar process a few years prior, when Lyral (butylphenyl methylpropional), another common fragrance allergen, was added to the list of prohibited substances. As with lilial, Lyral would no longer be permitted in Europe after August 2019, with existing product lines permitted to stick around until August 2021.