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Industries
Cosmetics
Cosmetics & Personal Care Inspection in China
The formula passed once; the batch on the pallet can be another batch. We check fill weight, batch and expiry coding, and labels against your artwork.
A beauty brand's contract manufacturer changed fragrance suppliers without notification. The new fragrance contained Lilial exceeding EU limits. With the EU ban, this would have meant immediate market recall. Our ingredient verification caught the change before shipment.
James Liu
Founder & CEO
2.5
Major AQL
4.0
Minor AQL
58
Checkpoints
2.5
Avg defect types
WHAT WE INSPECT
Products We Cover
Skincare
Makeup
Hair care
Fragrances
Personal hygiene
Nail products
Beauty tools
Oral care
Sun care
Body care
Essential oils
Most Common Defects We Find
Where beauty orders actually fail.
Defect type
Packaging/seal defects
Label non-compliance
Color/fragrance inconsistency
Fill level variance
Contamination risk
Packaging appearance
Rate
27%
22%
19%
14%
11%
7%
Description
Leaking caps, compromised seals, pump failures
Missing INCI list, wrong batch codes
Shade variation, fragrance differences
Under-filled containers
Foreign particles, microbial indicators
Print quality, alignment, carton damage
OUR PROTOCOL
Inspection Checklist
Every checkpoint run, findings photographed.
Packaging seal integrity testing
Label compliance (INCI, batch code, warnings)
Color matching (spectrophotometer)
Fragrance consistency evaluation
Fill level/weight verification
Microbiological sample collection
Ingredient documentation and MSDS verification
Packaging print quality and alignment
Batch coding and traceability audit
Shelf life / expiry date verification
QUALITY STANDARDS
Recommended AQL Levels
Critical
0
Zero tolerance
Safety & function failures
Major
2.5
Significant defects
Function or performance impact
Minor
4.0
Cosmetic issues
Appearance only, no functional impact
Standard. Luxury brands: AQL 0/1.5/2.5.
United States
FDA 21 CFR 700-740
Cosmetics regulation
USDA Organic
Organic certification
European Union
EU Reg 1223/2009
Cosmetics safety
REACH
Chemical safety
Global
ISO 22716
GMP for cosmetics
IFRA
Fragrance safety
CERTIFICATIONS
Certifications & Standards
COVERAGE
Where We Inspect
Guangzhou
32 inspectors
Shanghai
38 inspectors
Shenzhen
45 inspectors
Hangzhou
15 inspectors
CASE STUDY
EU Recall Prevented on 60,000 Units
Beauty Brand (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Ingredient documentation audit detected Lilial (banned under EU Cosmetics Regulation) at 0.8% in a reformulated moisturizer. The manufacturer had switched fragrance suppliers to save $1.20/kg. All 60,000 units were reformulated. Exposure prevented: $320,000.
EU recall prevented | 60,000 units reformulated
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What cosmetics regulations do you check?
We verify compliance against your destination market: FDA 21 CFR 700-740 for the US, EU Regulation 1223/2009 and REACH for Europe, plus ISO 22716 (GMP for cosmetics) and IFRA fragrance limits. Label checks cover INCI lists, batch codes, PAO/expiry, and mandatory warnings.
Do you test for restricted ingredients?
How do you verify color consistency?
Is microbiological testing included?

Protect Your Cosmetics Orders

Free quote within 2 business hours. Inspector on site in 24 hours.

Download sample report

Talk to an Expert

First-time importer? 

See our starter guide

Product Type*
Order Quantity*
Factory City*

Encrypted. Never shared. Response within 2 business hours.

Inspectors in 38 cities

ISO 17020 methodology

 CNAS-accredited partner labs

Money-back commitment

© 2026 TruMark QC. All rights reserved. Quality You Can Trust. Verified.

IndustriesCosmetics

Cosmetics & Personal Care Inspection in China

The formula passed once; the batch on the pallet can be another batch. We check fill weight, batch and expiry coding, and labels against your artwork.

A beauty brand's contract manufacturer changed fragrance suppliers without notification. The new fragrance contained Lilial exceeding EU limits. With the EU ban, this would have meant immediate market recall. Our ingredient verification caught the change before shipment.

James Liu

Founder & CEO

2.5

Major AQL

4.0

Minor AQL

58

Checkpoints

2.5

Avg defect types

What We Inspect

Products We Cover

SkincareMakeupHair careFragrancesPersonal hygieneNail productsBeauty toolsOral careSun careBody careEssential oils

Most Common Defects We Find

Where beauty orders actually fail.

Defect type
Rate
Description
Packaging/seal defects
Rate27%
DetailLeaking caps, compromised seals, pump failures
Label non-compliance
Rate22%
DetailMissing INCI list, wrong batch codes
Color/fragrance inconsistency
Rate19%
DetailShade variation, fragrance differences
Fill level variance
Rate14%
DetailUnder-filled containers
Contamination risk
Rate11%
DetailForeign particles, microbial indicators
Packaging appearance
Rate7%
DetailPrint quality, alignment, carton damage

Our Protocol

Inspection Checklist

Every checkpoint run, findings photographed.

Packaging seal integrity testing

Microbiological sample collection

Label compliance (INCI, batch code, warnings)

Ingredient documentation and MSDS verification

Color matching (spectrophotometer)

Packaging print quality and alignment

Fragrance consistency evaluation

Batch coding and traceability audit

Fill level/weight verification

Shelf life / expiry date verification

Quality Standards

Recommended AQL Levels

Critical

0

Zero tolerance

Safety & function failures

Major

2.5

Significant defects

Function or performance impact

Minor

4.0

Cosmetic issues

Appearance only, no functional impact

Standard. Luxury brands: AQL 0/1.5/2.5.

Certifications

Certifications & Standards

United States

FDA 21 CFR 700-740

Cosmetics regulation

USDA Organic

Organic certification

European Union

EU Reg 1223/2009

Cosmetics safety

REACH

Chemical safety

Global

ISO 22716

GMP for cosmetics

IFRA

Fragrance safety

Coverage

Where We Inspect

Guangzhou

32 inspectors

Shanghai

38 inspectors

Shenzhen

45 inspectors

Hangzhou

15 inspectors
Case Study

EU Recall Prevented on 60,000 Units

Beauty Brand (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Ingredient documentation audit detected Lilial (banned under EU Cosmetics Regulation) at 0.8% in a reformulated moisturizer. The manufacturer had switched fragrance suppliers to save $1.20/kg. All 60,000 units were reformulated. Exposure prevented: $320,000.

EU recall prevented | 60,000 units reformulated

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

We verify compliance against your destination market: FDA 21 CFR 700-740 for the US, EU Regulation 1223/2009 and REACH for Europe, plus international standards like ISO 22716 (GMP for cosmetics) and IFRA fragrance limits. Label checks cover INCI ingredient lists, batch codes, PAO/expiry, and mandatory warnings.

Yes. We audit ingredient documentation and MSDS against restricted-substance lists — including EU-banned fragrance allergens such as Lilial, prohibited preservatives, and heavy-metal limits. Where lab confirmation is needed, we coordinate testing through ISO 17025-accredited partner labs to confirm concentrations.

Color matching is performed with a spectrophotometer against your approved reference standard, measuring Delta-E to catch shade variation the eye can miss. We also evaluate fragrance consistency and check for batch-to-batch differences across the production lot.

We collect representative microbiological samples on-site and can arrange full lab testing for total viable count, yeast and mould, and specified pathogens (E. coli, S. aureus, P. aeruginosa) per ISO 21149/22718 — critical for water-based and natural formulations that carry higher contamination risk.

Protect Your Cosmetics Orders

Free quote within 2 business hours. Inspector on site in 24 hours.

Download sample report
Talk to an Expert

First-time importer?See our starter guide

Product Type*
Order Quantity*
Factory City*

Encrypted. Never shared. Response within 2 business hours.

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Weekly tips on inspections, supplier management, and importing from China.

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Inspectors in 38 citiesISO 17020 methodologyCNAS-accredited partner labsMoney-back commitment