The FDA Proposed Standardized Asbestos Testing for Talc Cosmetics
A December 2024 proposed rule would require standardized testing of talc-containing cosmetics — the first federal method of its kind.
Written by Sarah CollinsBeauty News
Beauty News files developments as they break: product launches worth attention, ingredient restrictions, contamination recalls, and regulatory decisions affecting cosmetics and sun protection. Each item explains what the substance does, who is exposed, and whether a bottle already on the shelf should be discarded.
Product launches, restrictions on ingredients, contamination recalls and regulator decisions in cosmetics, with the substance and the exposure explained.
The Fragrance Line on Every Label: What MoCRA's Allergen Rule Will (and Won't) Change
A 2022 law requires FDA to make brands disclose fragrance allergens on cosmetic labels. Here's why "fragrance" still means undisclosed today, and how far the rule has actually gotten.
Written by Sarah Collins
Estée Lauder and Puig Called Off the Year's Biggest Beauty Merger
The Estée Lauder Companies and Puig confirmed on May 21, 2026 that they terminated discussions on a potential combination that would have created a beauty group with roughly $20 billion in annual sales — a collapse that redraws the industry's consolidation math.
Written by Sarah Collins
California's Packaging Law Went Live May 1: What It Asks of Beauty Brands
CalRecycle's final regulations under SB 54, the country's most sweeping packaging extended-producer-responsibility law, took effect May 1, 2026 — and cosmetics brands selling in California are counted among the producers who must join the system and report.
Written by Sarah Collins
Bemotrizinol Moves Ahead: FDA's First New Sunscreen Filter in Decades
FDA issued a proposed administrative order on December 12, 2025 to add bemotrizinol — a photostable UV filter used widely in Europe and Asia — to the OTC sunscreen monograph at up to 6%, the first new sunscreen active the agency has advanced in about two decades.
Written by Sarah Collins
Bakuchiol at the Javits Center: A Retinol Alternative Goes Supplier-Scale
At NYSCC Suppliers' Day 2026, held May 19–20 in New York, ingredient house Infinitee USA unveiled Infin Rejuve Bakuchiol, a plant-based retinol alternative — a launch that shows how the gentle-actives trend now starts in the supply chain, per the company.
Written by Sarah Collins
Ulta's Blockbuster Quarter: What Q4 Numbers Say About Beauty Demand
Ulta Beauty closed fiscal 2025 with net sales up 11.8% to about $3.9 billion and comparable sales up 5.8% — but a softer profit picture and cautious 2026 guidance suggest the beauty boom is maturing rather than stalling.
Written by Sarah Collins
Ex Nihilo Comes to America: The French Fragrance House's US Expansion
Backed by L Catterton, which agreed in January to buy Eurazeo's minority stake, Paris niche house Ex Nihilo is targeting 200 US points of sale by 2028 and three American flagship boutiques — details come from the brand and its investors.
Written by Sarah Collins
Washington's Cosmetics Deadline: Restricted Ingredients Leave the Shelf
As of January 1, 2026, Washington retailers may no longer sell cosmetics containing chemicals restricted under the state's Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act, closing the sell-through window that began when the ban took effect in 2025.
Written by Sarah Collins
A Nationwide Mousse Recall: Reading Henkel's FDA Notice
Henkel voluntarily recalled 25 lots of Schwarzkopf Professional Osis Grip Extra Strong Mousse nationwide because pressurized cans can leak or burst — a recall that shows how cosmetic safety problems often arrive through packaging, not formula.
Written by Sarah Collins