Cosmetics returns: which opened products can you refuse?

In short. In a cosmetics shop that directs its activity at EU consumers, the hygiene exception only excludes an opened product from withdrawal if it carried a hygiene seal, the customer broke it after delivery and, once unsealed, it can no longer be returned for health or hygiene reasons. What comes back closed, or never had a seal, can be withdrawn, unless it falls under another exception, such as a personalised product: at most, with a deduction for diminished value if it was used beyond checking it.

Cosmetics is the sector with the best-known exception to the right of withdrawal and, at the same time, the one that applies it worst. "Hygiene products cannot be returned" appears in many online shops' policies as if it were a general rule, and it is not: the law requires a seal and that the customer has broken it. Since 19 June 2026, Directive (EU) 2023/2673 also requires you to offer a withdrawal button that seals every request with a date and time, so a poorly grounded refusal no longer gets lost in the inbox. This guide takes down to cosmetics-level detail what the return policy by industry guide summarises in one section: what you can refuse, what you can deduct, how to handle perfumes, sets and allergies, and how to set it up in Shopify.

What does the law say about returns of cosmetics bought online?

If your shop directs its activity at EU consumers, the customer has 14 calendar days to withdraw from the purchase of a cosmetic without giving reasons, and you must refund what they paid, including outbound delivery up to the cost of the cheapest standard delivery you offer. If the customer chose express delivery, the extra cost is not refunded (Art. 13(2)). There is no special regime for beauty: Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights applies, as transposed in each Member State.

Five rules carry the most weight in cosmetics:

1. A 14-day period from when the customer receives the product (Art. 9). If the order arrives in several parcels, from when they receive the last one. If you did not correctly inform them of the right of withdrawal, the period does not end after 14 days: it expires 12 months after the end of the initial period; and if you provide the information within 12 months of the day the customer received the product, the customer has 14 days from the day they receive it (Art. 10).
2. Refund within 14 days of being informed of the withdrawal, using the same means of payment unless expressly agreed otherwise (Art. 13(1)). You may wait until you receive the product or proof that it has been sent back (Art. 13(3)), unless you offered to collect it yourself.
3. Return shipping is paid by the customer only if you informed them of this before the purchase (Arts. 6(1)(i) and 14(1)).
4. Diminished value only for handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics or functioning of the product (Art. 14(2)).
5. Closed exceptions (Art. 16). In cosmetics, one matters above all: point (e), goods sealed for health or hygiene reasons.

The European Commission, in its guidance on interpreting the directive (Commission Notice 2021/C 525/01), gives an example from precisely this sector: the hygiene exception could apply to cosmetic products such as lipsticks and to toothbrushes, shavers and similar personal hygiene items, if the consumer unseals them after delivery (section 5.11.4).

When is an opened cosmetic excluded from withdrawal?

The hygiene exception only excludes an opened cosmetic from withdrawal if three conditions are met at the same time: it carried a seal applied for genuine health or hygiene reasons, the customer broke it after delivery and, once unsealed, it is no longer suitable for return on those grounds. If any of the three fails, the hygiene exception does not apply, and withdrawal follows its course unless the product falls under another exception, such as a personalised product. This is point (e) of Article 16 of Directive 2011/83/EU.

1. There must be a seal with a sanitary reason. The Commission's guidance accepts that the seal may consist of a wrapping or a protective film, but requires its use to respond to genuine health or hygiene reasons. A seal applied only to stop the customer opening the product does not count.
2. The customer must have broken it after delivery. If the product comes back with its seal intact, the exception does not apply.
3. The product can no longer be resold for health or hygiene reasons. The Court of Justice of the EU, in case C-681/17 (slewo) of 27 March 2019, set the test: the exception only covers products that, once unsealed, cannot be put back on the market because their nature makes it impossible or excessively difficult for the seller to take measures to resell them without affecting health or hygiene. The case concerned a mattress, which the court considered could be cleaned; a lipstick that has touched someone's lips cannot be.

What you have to do: state on the product page, before the purchase, that the right of withdrawal is lost if the seal is broken. For objective exclusions like this one, the product stays excluded even if the notice is missing, but not giving it is a breach of the information duties in its own right (Art. 6(1) of the directive), sanctionable separately.

What counts as a seal on a cosmetic?

A seal is anything that protects the contents and cannot be opened without leaving a visible trace: a heat-sealed foil under the cap, shrink film on the container itself or an adhesive tamper-evident seal. Anything that only closes the outer packaging and can be opened and closed again is not.

Two practical consequences. First: if you do not seal, you have no hygiene exception, however intimate the product's use. Second: sealing something that can be cleaned and resold (a metal eyelash curler, a brush) does not make it exempt, because the third condition fails.

Which cosmetics returns can you refuse, and which can you not?

You can refuse withdrawal when the product fits an exception in Article 16; in cosmetics, in practice, the one for hygiene-sealed goods and, for engraved or made-to-order products, the one for personalised goods. Everything else is refunded, at most with a deduction for diminished value.

All 13 exceptions, with examples from other sectors, are in exceptions to the right of withdrawal.

Unsealed cosmetics: diminished value is your only tool

If the cosmetic had no seal, the customer can withdraw even if they have opened it, unless it falls under another exception, such as a personalised product; what you can do is claim diminished value if they used it beyond what was necessary to check it. The Commission's guidance specifies that this diminished value may include the objectively justified loss of revenue when the product can no longer be sold as new (section 5.5.4). For opened cosmetics, that loss can be high.

Three conditions you should not skip:

1. Complete prior information. Article 14(2) does not allow you to claim diminished value if you did not inform the customer of their right of withdrawal before the purchase: conditions, time limit, procedure and model form.
2. A proportionate, explained calculation. The deduction is the real loss of value, not a flat fee. An opened, untouched balm is not the same as a half-empty jar. Document the condition with photos when the parcel arrives and explain the figure to the customer.
3. No reversal of the burden of proof. The Commission's guidance recalls that the CJEU, in case C-489/07 (Messner), under the previous directive, rejected a national rule that required the consumer to prove they had not used the product more than necessary. Documenting the condition is your job.

A nuance almost no guide mentions: the directive does not regulate how that diminished value is collected. Whether you can deduct it directly from the refund or have to claim it separately depends on each country's law, as the Commission's guidance itself acknowledges. Review it with your adviser before deducting systematically.

Perfumes: the most disputed case

A perfume in a spray bottle does not clearly fit the hygiene exception: the contents are not touched when the box is opened, and the European Commission proposes a different solution — including a free tester. In its guidance (section 5.5.4), the Commission explains that the consumer could try perfumes and similar cosmetics with a free tester that the trader includes with the product, without opening the main container.

In practice, for a perfume shop:

• Include a sample or a vial with high-ticket perfumes. If the customer tries the sample and returns the bottle closed, there is no argument.
• Do not declare perfumes "non-returnable" merely because the cellophane has been removed.
• If the bottle comes back clearly used (a visible part of the contents is missing), the route is diminished value, calculated case by case.

Allergies and defective products: two different regimes

An allergic reaction is not a special ground for return: within the withdrawal period, withdrawal follows its normal rules; once that period has expired, only the legal guarantee comes in, and only if the product was not in conformity. Mixing the two regimes is the source of many complaints.

• Withdrawal (no reason needed). The period is 14 days; if you did not correctly inform the customer of the right of withdrawal, it expires 12 months after the end of those 14 days (Art. 10). If the product comes back closed, it is refunded, unless it falls under another exception, such as a personalised product. If it carried a hygiene seal and the customer broke it, the exception may apply even if the reason is an allergy.
• Legal guarantee (Directive (EU) 2019/771). It covers lack of conformity: an expired or contaminated product, one with damaged packaging or one different from what you described. There, the broken seal does not matter: the customer is entitled to repair or replacement and, in the cases the directive provides for, to a price reduction or to terminate the contract. If the reaction is due to an ingredient that appeared on the list on the packaging, whether or not there is a lack of conformity depends on the case; do not assume it is automatic, nor rule it out.
• Product safety (Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009). If the customer describes a serious undesirable effect (the regulation defines it as one that results in temporary or permanent functional incapacity, disability, hospitalisation, congenital anomalies, an immediate vital risk or death), Article 23 requires the responsible person and distributors to notify it without delay to the competent authority of the Member State where it occurred. An online shop that resells cosmetics bought within the EU is, as a rule, a distributor; if you import cosmetics from outside the EU, you are the responsible person for each product you place on the market, unless you designate by written mandate another person established in the EU who accepts in writing (Art. 4(5) of the regulation); and if you sell under your own name or brand, or modify the product in a way that may affect its compliance with the regulation, you are too (Art. 4(6); translating its information does not count as a modification). The responsible person has considerably more obligations.

A complaint about "allergy" or "irritation" is not just a commercial data point: returnEasier has no dedicated reason for it, so it will reach you as "Other reason", "Arrived damaged or faulty" or in the customer's notes; read them with a safety mindset, not only a refund one.

Samples, exchanges and store credit: your commercial layer

Above the legal floor, cosmetics competes on its commercial policy: samples, shade exchanges, free returns and store credit. All of that is voluntary, as long as the refund the customer is entitled to remains just as easy to obtain.

Before the purchase, reduce the risk. Shade samples, travel sizes and testers are the lawful way for the customer to check the product without breaking the seal of the full-size product. It is the same idea the Commission proposes for perfumes.

Shade exchange. If the product comes back closed, the customer is entitled to the refund; if you also offer a shade exchange, they can choose it instead. The exchange is an option you decide to offer, not a customer right. If you offer to exchange an opened, exempt product, call it what it is: a commercial concession, not an obligation. The difference between the two is covered in withdrawal vs. return vs. exchange.

Store credit. In a withdrawal, the refund goes to the same means of payment; store credit can only replace it if the customer expressly agrees and it costs them nothing. We cover this in refund or store credit.

If you want to know who must pay for return shipping and when, we go into detail in who pays return shipping in the EU.

How to set up cosmetics returns in Shopify

Shopify does not distinguish out of the box between legal withdrawal and your commercial policy: you make that separation yourself in your settings, on your product pages and in your returns flow. These steps work for any beauty shop:

1. Review your return rules in the admin: the return window (at least 14 calendar days if you sell to the EU, starting from the delivery of the last item in the order, and with the option to extend the window for weekends and holidays turned on, as Shopify's own help recommends for the EU), who pays for return shipping and which products are final sale. Shopify does not let customers request a return for a final sale item, so do not mark hygiene-sealed products as final sale: if they come back with the seal intact they can still be withdrawn from, and the exception can only be assessed once you receive them. Keep final sale for exceptions that do not depend on the product's condition, such as personalised products. Remember that the restocking fee those rules allow has no place in a withdrawal. Shopify's return rules only apply to future orders.
2. Tag only the products that genuinely fall under the exception: sealed for hygiene and, once opened, impossible to resell for health or hygiene reasons (not the ones that can be cleaned, nor doubtful cases such as perfume). For example, hygiene-sealed, so you can filter them and show the notice on the product page.
3. Put the notice on those products' pages, before the purchase: "This product cannot be withdrawn once the hygiene seal has been removed".
4. Review your packaging with your supplier: which items genuinely carry a foil, film or tamper-evident seal? The exception depends on that, not on the category.
5. Separate on your policy page the right of withdrawal (14 days, refund) from your commercial terms (shade exchange, samples, free returns).
6. Inspect and document each return when you receive it, with photos of the seal in doubtful cases, before processing the refund.

The full operational process, step by step in the admin, is in how to manage a return in Shopify.

Where returnEasier fits. The withdrawal button is on every plan, including the free one, and every request is sealed with a date, a time and an auditable record. In the commercial flow (Pro plan and above) you can offer an exchange and store credit alongside the refund (store credit, on orders with a customer account and with Shopify's new customer accounts activated), and exclude products from commercial returns by Shopify tag. That exclusion does not affect legal withdrawal: if a tagged product does not fit any exception in Article 16 (for example, it comes back with its seal intact), the customer keeps their right to withdraw and the button remains available to them. Deciding which products are legally exempt is still up to you.

Common mistakes in cosmetics returns

• Declaring the whole shop "no returns for hygiene reasons", including products that come back closed.
• Treating the cardboard box as a seal or requiring the product to come back in its box.
• Not sealing products that genuinely cannot be resold once opened and, even so, refusing to refund them.
• Not stating on the product page that the right of withdrawal is lost when the seal is broken.
• Refusing withdrawal of a perfume because the cellophane was removed, without having included a tester.
• Charging a flat fee per opened product within a withdrawal.
• Handling a complaint about a serious reaction as just another return, without assessing the notification under Article 23 of the Cosmetics Regulation.
• Selling sets without having decided what happens if the customer unseals only one of the products.
• Imposing store credit instead of a refund.

Frequently asked questions

Can I refuse the return of an opened cosmetic? Only if it carried a genuine hygiene seal, the customer broke it after delivery and, once unsealed, it is no longer suitable for return for health or hygiene reasons (Art. 16, point (e)). If it comes back with its seal intact, it can be withdrawn as normal, unless it falls under another exception, such as a personalised product.

Do the cardboard box or the cellophane count as a seal? The box does not. Cellophane may count if it protects the product for sanitary reasons; if it only wraps the box of a perfume with a closed atomiser, it is a doubtful case.

What happens if the cosmetic had no seal and the customer has used it? They can withdraw, unless it falls under another exception, such as a personalised product. You can claim diminished value for use beyond checking it, if you informed them of their right beforehand, calculated case by case.

Can a perfume the customer has tried be returned? Do not treat it as exempt without legal advice. The Commission suggests including a free tester; if the bottle comes back clearly used, the route is diminished value.

Can a foundation in the wrong shade be returned? Yes, if it comes back with its seal intact. If the customer broke a hygiene seal to try it, the exception may apply.

If a customer has an allergic reaction, do I have to accept the return? Within the withdrawal period (14 days; if you did not inform the customer of the right, it expires 12 months after the end of those 14 days), withdrawal follows its normal rules; the legal guarantee comes in if the product was not in conformity. And if the reaction is serious, as a distributor you must notify the competent authority (Art. 23 of Regulation 1223/2009).

In a gift set with several products, can the whole set be returned if one was opened? The directive does not expressly settle it. Decide your approach with your adviser and explain it on the product page before the purchase.

Conclusion

If you run a Shopify cosmetics shop that directs its activity at EU consumers, the hygiene exception is a tool, not a blanket policy. Check which products genuinely carry a seal, give notice on the product page before the purchase, refund what comes back closed and doesn't fall under another exception, and keep diminished value for real, documented use. Put your commercial effort into samples, testers and shade exchanges, which is where returns of opened products are avoided. And treat every complaint about a serious reaction as what it is: a safety matter.

💡 Ready to comply effortlessly? returnEasier installs a compliant withdrawal button on your Shopify shop, seals every request with a date, a time and an auditable record and, from the Pro plan, adds exchanges and store credit alongside the refund. Try it free — 3 trial returns, no card.

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Official sources

• Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights (arts. 6, 9, 10, 13, 14 and 16) — EUR-Lex
• Commission Notice 2021/C 525/01, guidance on Directive 2011/83/EU (sections 5.5.4 and 5.11.4) — EUR-Lex
• Directive (EU) 2023/2673 — EUR-Lex
• CJEU, judgment of 27 March 2019, case C-681/17 (slewo) — EUR-Lex
• Directive (EU) 2019/771 on contracts for the sale of goods — EUR-Lex
• Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products (arts. 2, 4 and 23) — EUR-Lex
• Shopify Help Center — Return rules

Informational content; not legal advice. For specific cases, consult a lawyer specialised in consumer law.