European Accessibility Act for beauty and cosmetics e-commerce
The European Accessibility Act (EU Directive 2019/882) has been fully applicable since 28 June 2025 and covers beauty and cosmetics e-commerce as well. Here's what it means in practice and how to check your site right away.
Why it concerns you too
Cosmetics shops sell to European consumers and fall within the e-commerce covered by the European Accessibility Act. The sector lives on visual nuance — shades, textures, finishes — which, without text descriptions, completely excludes anyone who cannot see them.
The obligation comes from EU Directive 2019/882 (European Accessibility Act), fully applicable since 28 June 2025. Non-compliance risks administrative fines, consumer complaints and remediation orders. Only service microenterprises are exempt: fewer than 10 employees and less than €2 million turnover.
The issues we find most often in this sector
Shades and swatches with no name
Dozens of tones shown as clickable coloured dots with no text label: choosing the right colour is impossible.
Low-contrast brand identity
Pastel palettes and thin fonts: refined on the moodboard, unreadable for people with low vision.
Intrusive pop-ups and newsletters
Overlays that open without managing focus and cannot be closed by keyboard.
These are recurring examples found in scans of sites in this sector: your site may have others (or none at all). The only way to know is to check.
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Analyse your site for freeFrequently asked questions
- Does the European Accessibility Act apply to beauty and cosmetics e-commerce?
- Cosmetics shops sell to European consumers and fall within the e-commerce covered by the European Accessibility Act. The sector lives on visual nuance — shades, textures, finishes — which, without text descriptions, completely excludes anyone who cannot see them.
- Which accessibility issues are typical for beauty and cosmetics e-commerce?
- The three we find most often: Shades and swatches with no name; Low-contrast brand identity; Intrusive pop-ups and newsletters.
- How do I check whether my site is compliant?
- Start with the free EAA Sentinel scan: a real browser analyses up to 3 pages of your site and returns a 0-100 score with the most severe issues in about a minute. The full report (€49 one-time) extends the analysis to up to 50 pages, with every issue and fix instructions. Automated analysis detects 30-40% of WCAG issues — the machine-verifiable ones: full compliance also requires manual checks.
Prefer to start from the technical check? Accessibility check for beauty and cosmetics e-commerce