Where these products come from, and how you can check.
We are a broker, not an importer. That shapes everything on this page — what we can evidence, what we can only tell you, and why an order sometimes arrives in two parcels.
How a product reaches you
Five stages, none of which involve us holding the product.
We only shortlist what we can verify
A product reaches the shortlist only if we can see the full ingredient list and the EU labelling before we commit to buying it. If a supplier will not send those, the conversation ends there. It is the cheapest possible filter and it removes most of the market.
We buy from suppliers already established in the EU
Our stock comes from suppliers established in the EU — not from open marketplaces, auction listings or wholesalers who will not name themselves. That matters legally as well as practically: it means a business inside the EU has already taken on responsibility for placing the product on the market, and we can ask that business to prove it.
We ask for the paperwork before the product goes live
Before listing, we ask the supplier for the name and EU address of the Responsible Person for that specific product, and confirmation that it has been notified to the EU Cosmetic Products Notification Portal. We keep what they send. If it does not arrive, the product does not list — however well it would have sold.
The supplier ships to you directly
When you order, we pass it to whichever supplier holds those products. They pick, pack and post. We never take possession. That is why stock stays fresh, and it is also why a basket spanning two suppliers arrives as two parcels.
We follow up on what comes back
Anything you tell us about condition, packaging or authenticity goes back to the supplier with the batch code from your parcel attached. A supplier who cannot explain two of those stops being a supplier. You do not have to take part in that conversation — we settle with you first.
What we check on the label
EU cosmetics law is specific about what has to appear on a pack. These are the items we ask a supplier to show us before a product is listed.
Authenticity: what we can promise and what we cannot
We can tell you which supplier a product came from, who is named as responsible for it in the EU, and which batch you were sent. We think that is a stronger thing to offer than the words “100% authentic”, which cost nothing to type.
What we cannot do is inspect every unit ourselves, because the parcel never passes through our hands. So if anything about your product looks wrong — the seal, the print quality, the batch code, the smell — photograph it and send it to us. We refund or replace first and investigate afterwards. You should not be the one waiting on a supplier.
Words we do not use
- Clean, natural, chemical-free, non-toxic. None of these has a definition in EU cosmetics law. They tell you nothing about whether a product suits your skin, and they mostly work by making you nervous about the alternative.
- Cruelty-free. Testing finished cosmetics on animals is banned in the EU, and so is marketing cosmetics whose ingredients were animal-tested for cosmetic purposes. Selling that back to you as a feature of our shop would be dishonest.
- Organic, bio, vegan. We use these only where the brand holds certification against a named standard — and then we name the standard on the product page, so you can go and read it.
Being a broker: the honest version
We hold no stock at all. There is no Routinae warehouse. This has consequences and you should know them before you order, not after.
- More than one parcel. If your basket spans two suppliers, you receive two parcels, sometimes on different days. Checkout tells you when that applies, and it never costs you extra.
- More than one tracking number. One email per parcel, so nothing looks lost when it is not.
- Returns go to the address on the parcel. Each parcel has its own return note. Use the address on the note that came with the item you are sending back.
- Your contract is with us. If a supplier gets it wrong, that is ours to fix. You never have to deal with them, and your legal rights as a consumer are against us, not against a company you have never heard of.
Sourcing is only half of it.
Compliance decides what we are allowed to sell. The editorial standard decides what we actually do sell — and what has to leave to make room.