Cosmetics
Every cosmetic product placed on the UK or EU market must have a Cosmetic Product Safety Report (CPSR) signed by a qualified safety assessor before it is notified and sold. Taylored's assessors produce the full report, Part A and Part B, from your formulation and test data, and hand it back with the documents your Responsible Person needs to notify the product.
Qualified assessors, complete Part A and Part B reports, and a clear list of what is missing before any work starts.
A CPSR is the safety assessment required under the UK Cosmetics Regulation and EU Regulation 1223/2009 for every cosmetic product. It sits inside the Product Information File (PIF) and has to exist before the product is notified and placed on the market. Without it, the product is not legally on sale, however good the formulation.
Part A is the safety information: the formulation with every ingredient's function and concentration, the physical, chemical and microbiological characteristics, stability data, packaging compatibility, the intended use and exposure, the toxicological profile of each ingredient, and any data on undesirable effects.
Part B is the assessment itself: the safety assessor's reasoning, the conclusion that the product is safe for the intended use, any warnings or instructions that must appear on the label, and the assessor's credentials and signature.
Only a suitably qualified person can sign Part B: a degree in pharmacy, toxicology, medicine or a similar discipline recognised in the UK or EU. That is why a CPSR cannot be bought as a template. The signature is a professional opinion, and it is the assessor's name on the line.
Every new cosmetic product needs its own CPSR before notification, whether you manufacture it yourself or have it made for you. This includes skincare, haircare, make-up, fragrance, oral care, soap and any product that meets the cosmetic definition.
If your name is on the product, you are the person placing it on the market and you need a CPSR in your name, even if the manufacturer holds one for the same formulation. Existing data can often be reused, which keeps the cost down.
Since Brexit the two regulations have diverged in places. A CPSR written for one market is usually most of the way there for the other, but it has to be checked and updated against the current annexes before it can be relied on.
Closely related variants, such as shades of the same base formulation, can usually be covered by one report with a variant table. We confirm what can be grouped from your formulations before quoting.
The assessment is only as good as the data behind it. Here is what we ask for, and what we do if you do not have it yet.
The full formulation with percentages, the INCI name and function of each ingredient, and supplier documentation: safety data sheets, certificates of analysis, allergen declarations and impurity statements. We chase suppliers on your behalf where needed.
Stability and challenge test results, microbiological counts and the packaging specification. Where tests are missing we tell you exactly which ones the product needs and can arrange them through partner laboratories.
Draft artwork, the product claims and the intended use, so the assessment covers the way the product will actually be sold and any warnings can be written into the label before it goes to print.
Missing data is the most common reason a CPSR is delayed. We review what you have first, list the gaps, and quote any testing before starting the assessment, so there are no surprises part-way through.
A finished CPSR from Taylored includes:
Part A: the complete safety information dossier, structured to the regulation
Part B: the signed safety assessment from a qualified assessor
A toxicological review of every ingredient at its concentration and exposure
Label warnings and instructions for use that the assessment requires
A PIF-ready document set your Responsible Person can file and notify from
A clear note of any conditions, such as restricted markets or age limits
If we act as your UK Responsible Person as well, the CPSR goes straight into your PIF and SCPN notification without a handover.
The order matters. First the Product Information File is compiled with the formulation, manufacturing method and test data. The CPSR is written from that file and becomes part of it. Only then can the product be notified, through the Submit Cosmetic Product Notification (SCPN) portal in Great Britain or the Cosmetic Products Notification Portal (CPNP) in the EU, by the Responsible Person.
That Responsible Person, a company established in the market, holds the PIF and CPSR for ten years after the last batch is placed on the market and makes them available to authorities on request. If you are outside the UK or EU, you appoint one; Taylored acts as UK Responsible Person for brands worldwide.
Because the PIF, CPSR and notification depend on each other, a CPSR that a Responsible Person later rejects is a real cost. Our reports are written to the standard a Responsible Person will accept, and if we are your RP too, the whole chain sits in one place.
Every cosmetic sold in Great Britain needs a UK Responsible Person to hold the PIF and notify through SCPN. We do both, and can hold your CPSR under the same roof.
A CPSR is priced per product, with variants of the same base formulation grouped where the regulation allows. What moves the price is the complexity of the formulation, how complete your ingredient and test data already is, and whether existing reports can be reused. Missing safety data is the biggest single factor, because it means testing before assessment.
We quote after a short review of your formulations and data, in writing, with any testing listed separately so you can see exactly what you are paying for. Our CPSR cost guide explains what drives the price and how brands avoid paying twice.
Responsible Persons and marketplaces reject CPSRs more often than brands expect: unqualified signatories, missing Part A data, assessments that pre-date a change in the annexes, or reports that cover a different formulation from the one on sale. We review your existing report and tell you whether it can be updated or needs redoing.
The annexes to both regulations change every year. If an ingredient in your product has been restricted or banned since your CPSR was signed, the report needs revisiting, and so does the label.
With complete data, a straightforward product is typically assessed within two to three weeks. If stability, challenge or microbiological tests are still needed, laboratory lead times of several weeks apply first. We tell you which case you are in before we start.
Not two full reports, but the assessment has to address both regulations if you sell in both markets. The UK Cosmetics Regulation and EU Regulation 1223/2009 share the same structure and most requirements, and we write a single report that covers both where the annexes align and flags any differences where they do not.
It depends on the complexity of the formulation, how much of the required data you already hold and whether existing reports or test results can be reused. We quote per product after reviewing your data, with any testing shown separately. Our CPSR cost guide explains what moves the price.
Part B must be signed by a safety assessor holding a degree in pharmacy, toxicology, medicine or a similar discipline, recognised in the UK or EU. Our assessors meet that requirement, and their credentials are included in the report so your Responsible Person and any authority can check them.
Usually, yes. Good stability, microbiological and safety data from your manufacturer or a previous assessment brings the cost and timeline down. We review what you have, confirm what is usable and list what is missing before quoting.
Our cosmetics team writes CPSRs, compiles PIFs and acts as UK Responsible Person for brands across the UK, EU and beyond, so the report we write is the one we would accept ourselves. You get one team for the assessment, the file and the notification.
