Temu and Shein skincare: what tests found and what to check before you buy

BUYING GUIDE SWITZERLAND

Is skincare from Temu and Shein safe?

Not every product from Temu or Shein is unsafe, but the samples tested so far show that far more non-compliant goods slip through when you order directly from budget marketplaces than in regular retail. The reason has less to do with the country of manufacture than with the question of who answers for a product. On both platforms, many listings come from third-party sellers, and according to Stiftung Warentest, Temu even operates exclusively as a marketplace for other companies. In a Swiss shop or online store, by contrast, a company based in Switzerland has to make sure that a product is safe and meets every requirement, and cantonal enforcement authorities check Swiss shops regularly. With a direct order, that layer disappears.

One thing matters for putting this in context: the well-known tests deliberately bought high-risk product groups. They show what can slip through, not what share of the whole range is affected. So you cannot draw a verdict on any single face cream from a marketplace – but you can conclude that you have to do the checking yourself that a retailer in Switzerland would otherwise take on. Whether Temu skincare is a reasonable risk for you therefore depends heavily on what you order.

What have authorities and consumer tests found in cosmetics from budget marketplaces?

A Swiss laboratory test of marketplace cosmetics failed across the board in 2026: of 15 products, not a single one complied with Swiss law. For this test, Kassensturz deliberately searched Shein, Temu, Aliexpress and Fruugo for cosmetics that might contain problematic ingredients and had them analysed by the Cantonal Laboratory of Basel-Stadt: four make-up kits, four henna tattoo kits, three gel nail polish kits and four hair dyes, all shipped from China. 14 products contained prohibited substances, limits were exceeded in more than half of them, and the labelling was wrong on 12. According to the report, the henna kits contained far too much benzyl alcohol, and the gel nail polishes from Temu and Aliexpress did not declare acrylates, which are strong allergens.

Face creams and serums were not part of the sample. For other product groups, there are larger surveys from abroad that confirm the pattern but cannot be applied directly to skincare.

Why do more products slip through on marketplaces than in Swiss shops?

More slips through on marketplaces because, between the factory and your bathroom, there is nobody who is liable for compliance before the sale and who can be inspected by the authorities. A Swiss retailer or importer has to make sure that its products meet the requirements. The platforms, on the other hand, stressed to Kassensturz that they are intermediaries, do not make the products themselves and that the manufacturers are responsible for safety. After the enquiry, all the products in question had disappeared from the platforms; in some cases, according to the platforms, they had already been removed beforehand, and several announced that they would review similar listings.

Then there is the sheer volume. According to the FSVO, several hundred thousand parcels enter Switzerland every day, comprehensive checks are not feasible, a single check can cost several hundred Swiss francs depending on the product, and when sellers abroad face sanctions, they quickly carry on selling under a new address. The Swedish Chemicals Agency also found that details of the responsible company on goods sold online often look formally correct, but the named representative does not exist or the labelling cannot be traced. A low price is not the cause here, but it is a sign of cost pressure. If you want to understand what you’re really paying for in a face cream, it is worth looking at development, testing and labelling rather than at the brand. Counterfeit branded products, incidentally, are a separate problem – this article is about no-name goods.

What rules apply in Switzerland when you order cosmetics directly from China?

If you order cosmetics from China privately for your own use, Swiss foodstuffs legislation does not apply to that product, and nobody checks it systematically on your behalf. The FSVO states clearly that this legislation covers only commercial trade, not private imports for household use. Even if a cantonal laboratory detects banned substances in such a product, the authorities therefore cannot take any action. That is how Gregor McCombi of the Cantonal Laboratory of Basel-Stadt put it to Kassensturz. The FSVO recommends buying cosmetics from Swiss or EU online shops wherever possible, because comparable requirements apply there and the authorities monitor those shops. The Federal Council wants to improve the legal basis so that foreign online retailers with a link to Switzerland can be monitored more effectively and blocked in the event of serious violations.

Customs duty and VAT are a side issue for cosmetics parcels; what to look out for when importing directly from Asia is covered in detail using K-beauty as the example. When it comes to complaints and returns, you are also in a weaker position with a seller in the Far East than with a Swiss shop. Before you order, it is therefore worth knowing your real rights when buying skincare online.

How can you tell from the packaging whether a cheap cream meets the minimum labelling requirements?

A cream meets the minimum labelling requirements if the container and packaging show a responsible company with an address, a complete ingredient list, shelf life, batch number and any necessary warnings in one of Switzerland’s official languages. These obligations apply to cosmetics sold in Switzerland, as summarised, for example, in the information sheet from the St. Gallen Office for Consumer Protection and Veterinary Affairs. They are not binding for a direct order, but they are the best yardstick you have:

• Responsible company: at least a name, postcode, town and country – not just a brand name or a web address.
• Ingredient list under ‘Ingredients’, using INCI names in descending order of quantity – not just a few highlighted active ingredients.
• Shelf life: a best-before date or, for longer shelf lives, the open-jar symbol showing the period after opening.
• Batch number, so that a product can be identified in the event of a recall.
• No medicinal claims: references to healing, soothing or anti-inflammatory effects are prohibited on cosmetics.

A complete label does not prove that the contents are right, though. In the Kassensturz test, the labelling was wrong on 12 of the 15 products – and, as you would expect, the banned substances were not listed. So check before you buy whether the listing shows the full list, and learn how to read an ingredient list properly. What complete information can look like is shown by The Duo, with its INCI and concentrations disclosed: 5% niacinamide, 2% vitamin C as 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid and 1% zinc PCA. In a review on Judge.me, J.D. writes of being delighted ‘with the whole concept and the great transparency about ingredients etc.’ (review translated from German).

Which products carry a particularly high risk, and where is it lower?

The risk is highest for products with colourants and reactive substances that stay on the skin, nails or lips for a long time: henna, hair dye, gel nail polish, children’s make-up and lipsticks. These are exactly the groups that failed the Kassensturz test. With henna, too much benzyl alcohol can trigger contact allergies, acrylates in nail gel are among the strongest allergens, and lipsticks are a particular concern for Urs Hauri, who led the test, because you practically eat them. For the children’s make-up, the verdict was clear: according to the report, none of the make-up kits in the test could legally be sold in Swiss shops.

Accessories that leave nothing on the skin, such as brushes or storage boxes, are generally less of a concern. Skincare sits somewhere in between: there is no reliable Swiss test data on cheap marketplace creams, but you wear a cream on your face every day for months. That is exactly where it counts whether there is a manufacturer with an address and complete labelling behind it. Rather than fearing individual substances from warning lists, it helps more to know which harmful ingredients are actually backed by evidence. A missing product label, on the other hand, is always a reason not to order.

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