May contain [+/-] in an ingredient list
The product comes in several shades, and the list after [+/-] names every colorant used anywhere in the range. The shade in your hand contains some of them, not necessarily all.
How to read it
Everything before the [+/-] is in this product, listed in descending order of weight down to 1 %, then in any order. Everything after it is the shade range’s colour palette. So for a foundation ending ‘[+/- CI 77891, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499]’, a pale shade may use only titanium dioxide (CI 77891) and a little yellow iron oxide (CI 77492), while a deep shade uses all four.
What it does not promise
It does not promise that your shade contains any particular colorant after the [+/-], and it does not promise that it is free of one either. If you need to avoid a specific colorant, such as carmine (CI 75470), the list cannot settle it for one shade: ask the brand about that shade.
This page explains what a symbol or mark on the pack means in law or in the scheme’s own rules. It is not advice on whether a product or an ingredient is safe for you or suits your skin: for that, read the product’s warnings and ask a pharmacist or doctor.
- What it looks like
- At the end of the ingredient list of lipsticks, eyeshadows, nail varnish and foundations, a bracket such as [+/- CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 77891] or the words ‘may contain’ followed by a list of colour index numbers.
- Legal reference
- Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Article 19(1)(g)
- Also called
- +/- symbol; [+/-] ingredients; may contain colours; peut contenir
Good to know
Hair colorants are excluded from this rule: the dyes of a hair-colour product must be listed for the product itself.
Related
Other marks with the same shape
Sources
Each document was fetched and read on the date shown. Written in our own words; quotations are the documents’ wording.
- Legal text — EU Official Journal text, reproduced by legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives): Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 — Article 19, Labelling (as adopted) — Article 19(1)(g): ‘For decorative cosmetic products marketed in several colour shades, all colorants other than colorants intended to colour the hair used in the range may be listed, provided that the words “may contain” or the symbol “+/-” are added.’ Also: ingredients under 1 % may be listed in any order; colorants may be listed in any order after the other ingredients. Checked 2026-09-26.
- Legal text — EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the European Union): Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 — consolidated text of 1 May 2025 — The consolidated text of 1 May 2025 carries Article 19(1)(g) with the same ingredient-list rules. Checked 2026-09-26.