2. Analysis constraints and problems

The analysis of active ingredients and regulated substances in cosmetic products is often a very delicate task. While there are many high-performance methods for analyzing the compounds in question in simple matrices, this is not the case for complex matrices such as most cosmetic formulas. On this point, the Cosmetics Regulation remains very vague. Article 12, Sampling and Analysis, simply states: "Sampling and analysis of cosmetic products shall be carried out in a reliable and reproducible manner". No method is recommended. As a guarantee of quality, reference is simply made to the applicable harmonized standards, the references of which are published in the Official Journal of the European Union. A glance at the methods published in the OJ reveals that they are few in number and often obsolete.

The analytical approach is generally standard: sampling, sample...