Cosmetic Colorant, Mica and Glitter in Cosmetics: Annex IV, CI Numbers, and What Is Allowed on Lips, Eyes, Skin and in the Bath

The mica arrived in twelve jewel colours from a craft supplier, and the bath bomb, lip balm and eyeshadow range was designed around them in a weekend. Then the assessor asked one question: which pigments are on the mica? The supplier's listing said cosmetic grade. It did not say which colours were permitted for lips, which for eyes, and which for neither, because the supplier did not know. Colour is the part of cosmetics where enthusiasm and regulation collide most often. Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 permits only the colourants listed in Annex IV, each within a defined field of application and purity criteria, and the UK regulation enforced through the Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013 follows the same positive list. Glitter adds a second regime, the REACH restriction on intentionally added microplastics, which has changed what glitter can be sold in the EU.

This guide takes the jars off the shelf one at a time. It explains how Annex IV works and how to read a Colour Index number, the four fields of application and what they mean for lips, eyes, skin and rinse off products, mica and coloured micas, the pigments that are never permitted, the glitter and microplastics position in the EU and Great Britain, purity criteria and supplier documents, the may contain labelling convention, how the assessor treats colour in the CPSR, a worked example of the twelve jar range, and how to buy colour so it can actually be used. The weekend range survived, but only nine of the twelve jars did.

Annex IV: a positive list, and how to read it

Unlike most cosmetic ingredients, which may be used unless prohibited or restricted, colourants may be used only if they are listed in Annex IV. The annex identifies each colourant by its Colour Index number, the internationally recognised reference of the form CI followed by five digits, sometimes with a chemical name and often with a common name. Iron oxides are CI 77491, 77492 and 77499 for red, yellow and black; titanium dioxide is CI 77891; mica is CI 77019; carmine is CI 75470; ultramarines are CI 77007. Each entry then states the field of application, any maximum concentration and any other conditions, and purity criteria apply to many. The INCI name on your label is the CI number for most colourants, which is why ingredient lists end in strings of them.

The four fields of application 

The columns are cumulative in their restrictions: a column 3 colourant cannot go in a lip balm, a column 4 colourant cannot go in a body butter, and a column 2 colourant cannot go in an eyeshadow. A lipstick therefore uses only column 1 colourants, an eyeshadow only column 1, and a leave on body product columns 1 to 3. Bath bombs are rinse off products in contact with the whole body, so columns 1 to 4 are available subject to conditions, but the assessor will consider eye and mucosal contact in bath water and may exclude column 2 and 3 colourants where a child's bath is foreseeable.

Mica, and the problem with coloured mica

Mica is CI 77019, a column 1 colourant permitted in all products, and a plain pearlescent mica is straightforward. A coloured mica is a different thing: a mica flake coated with one or more pigments, typically titanium dioxide for white pearl, iron oxides for golds, bronzes and browns, and organic pigments or other metal oxides for blues, greens, purples and pinks. Each coating pigment has its own CI number and its own column. A gold mica coated with iron oxides and titanium dioxide is column 1 throughout and fine for lips and eyes. A vivid blue or purple mica coated with a column 3 pigment, or with a pigment not in Annex IV at all, cannot go in a lip product, and if the coating is ferric ferrocyanide, CI 77510, it is not permitted for lips. This matters most for makers of lip tints, where a shade chosen for its look on the shelf may rely on a coating that is not permitted near the mouth. A cosmetic grade description tells you the mica has been supplied for cosmetic use; it tells you nothing about which product types it may go in. The supplier's specification listing every coating pigment with its CI number is the document the assessor needs, and it applies to all cosmetic colorants, whatever their origin.

Colourants that are never permitted

Some pigments beloved of the craft market are not in Annex IV and cannot be used in cosmetics in the UK or EU under any conditions. Neon and fluorescent pigments in most forms, many craft and resin pigments, food colours not also listed for cosmetic use, artist pigments, and any colourant sold without a CI number fall into this group. Brands drawn to natural colorants such as plant dyes, spices or clays should be aware that a natural origin does not exempt a colourant from this rule: it must still appear in Annex IV, or it cannot be used as a colourant, and a water-soluble plant dye is no different in that respect from a synthetic one. Some colourants permitted in the United States are not permitted here and vice versa, so a US supplier's assurance is not an assurance for your market. A colour that is not listed cannot be assessed as safe by any assessor, and the product cannot be sold with it.

Glitter and the microplastics rules

Conventional glitter is cut plastic film, usually polyester coated with aluminium and colour. The EU's REACH restriction on intentionally added synthetic polymer microparticles, adopted in 2023, banned the placing on the market of loose glitter and of cosmetics containing microbeads from October 2023, with longer transition periods for other cosmetic uses of microplastics including glitter in rinse off and leave on products, running over several years according to the product type. The direction is clear: plastic glitter is leaving EU cosmetics. Great Britain has its own microbead ban for rinse off products and has not adopted the EU's wider restriction on the same timetable, so the two markets differ, and Northern Ireland follows the EU. Biodegradable glitters made from cellulose or other polymers may fall outside the restriction depending on their composition and biodegradability, but they are still colourants and still need to be permitted for the use: a biodegradable glitter for a lip product must be made of lip permitted materials. Our guide to packaging regulations touches on the broader microplastics picture.

Purity criteria and supplier documents

Many Annex IV entries reference purity criteria, and colourants are among the ingredients most likely to carry heavy metal impurities such as lead, arsenic and mercury, which the assessor must consider under Part A section 4. The documents that make colour assessable are the supplier's specification giving the CI number, the coating pigments for a mica, the purity and heavy metal limits, and a certificate of analysis for the batch; the Safety Data Sheet; and, for glitter, the polymer composition and any biodegradability data. Craft suppliers who cannot produce these are selling for crafts, not cosmetics, however the listing is worded.

The may contain convention

Decorative cosmetics sold in a range of shades may list all the colourants used across the range on every label, preceded by the words may contain or the plus and minus symbol, so that one ingredient list serves the whole range. The convention applies to decorative cosmetics only, colour cosmetics such as lipstick, eyeshadow, nail polish and foundation, and not to skincare, bath products or soap, which must list the colourants actually present in that variant. Even under the convention, every listed colourant must be permitted for the product type, so a lipstick range's may contain list may include only column 1 colourants.

How the assessor treats colour in the CPSR

In Part A section 1 the assessor identifies every colourant by CI number, expands micas to their coating pigments, and checks each against Annex IV for the product's field of application and any concentration limit. In section 4 the assessor reviews purity and heavy metals from the specifications. In section 8 the assessor considers any specific toxicological concern, for example sensitisation potential of certain organic pigments or the position on nano forms of carbon black and titanium dioxide. Part B then states which colourants are accepted, at what level, and any variant specific conditions. For a multiple variant report each shade is a row. A colourant that is not permitted for the use is not capped; it is excluded, and the product cannot be sold with it. Our guide to multiple variant CPSRs covers shade ranges.

A worked example: the twelve jar range

The assessor asks the craft supplier for specifications and receives them for nine of the twelve micas. Gold, bronze, copper, champagne and rose gold are iron oxide and titanium dioxide on mica: column 1, usable in the bath bombs, the lip balm and the eyeshadow. Silver and white are titanium dioxide on mica: column 1. Emerald green is chromium oxide green, CI 77288, on mica: permitted for eyes and skin but excluded from lips by its entry, so it goes in the eyeshadow and bath bombs and not the balm. Sapphire blue is ferric ferrocyanide on mica: not for lips, so the same split. Three micas, a neon pink, a fluorescent orange and an unbranded violet, come with no specification and, on enquiry, contain pigments with no CI number or not in Annex IV. They are excluded from every product. The brand keeps nine colours, uses seven in the lip balm, nine in the eyeshadow and nine in the bath bombs, and prints three different may contain lists. It also finds a new supplier for the blues and pinks who lists coating pigments on every product page.

Bath bombs and children: where colour meets exposure

Bath products deserve a word of their own, because they are where colour and exposure combine in ways makers rarely anticipate. A bath bomb colours a whole bath in which a child may sit for twenty minutes with eyes, mouth and every mucous membrane in contact with the water. The assessor considers this foreseeable use and will often restrict bath bomb colourants to those permitted for all products, even though a bath bomb is technically rinse off, and will look closely at levels that could stain skin or the bath. Water soluble dyes that are permitted for rinse off use may be acceptable at low levels; pigments and micas that float and cling to skin raise different questions; and glitter in a bath is a microplastics and drainage question as well as a colour one. A bath bomb range for adults and one marketed for children can reasonably end up with different colour lists.

Buying colour so you can use it

• Buy from suppliers who publish CI numbers and coating pigments. On the product page, before you order.
• Ask for the specification and certificate of analysis. With purity and heavy metal limits.
• Decide the product first, then the colour. A lip product needs column 1; an eye product needs column 1; choose accordingly.
• Treat cosmetic grade as a starting point, not a permission. It says nothing about lips or eyes.
• Avoid anything described as neon, fluorescent or craft. They are almost never permitted.
• For glitter, ask for polymer composition and biodegradability data. And check the market you are selling in.

Myths we hear

• Cosmetic grade mica is safe for everything. The coating pigments decide, product by product.
• If it is safe on skin it is safe on lips. Lips are mucous membranes and ingestion is foreseeable; column 3 colourants are excluded.
• Food colours are fine in cosmetics. Only if also listed in Annex IV for the use.
• Biodegradable glitter is automatically compliant. It must be a permitted material for the product type and assessed.
• A US supplier's approval covers the UK. The lists differ.

What to do this week

• List every colourant and mica you use with its CI numbers.
• Look each one up in Annex IV for the product it goes in.
• Request specifications for any coloured mica without coating pigment data.
• Check your glitter against the microplastics position in each market.
• Correct any may contain list that includes a colourant not permitted for that product.

Colour questions are among the quickest to answer in a consultation and among the most expensive to discover after the labels are printed. The twelve jar range is a nine jar range with three lists, and it is on sale. Ask the question before the weekend, not after.

Official sources and legislation

• Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products, Annex IV
• Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013
• REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006, microplastics restriction
• Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS)
• OPSS guidance on cosmetic products regulations

Disclaimer: This article is general information, not legal advice. Regulations change and product decisions depend on your exact formulation, claims and market. Have your product assessed by a qualified professional before sale.