This is the last of our three-part series on all the important changes in the Asian market so far in 2025. This edition details the intensifying regulatory environment across the region, focusing on ASEAN enforcement, dynamic ingredient list changes, and the accelerating shift toward the digitalization of supervision.

Stay tuned until the end for our roundup of the latest industry buzz.

The ASEAN framework and key national authorities focused on aligning lists and sharpening enforcement.

ACD annexes were updated again. The ASEAN Cosmetic Directive (ACD) saw additional changes to prohibited and restricted substances, preservatives, colorants, and UV filters, picked up in multiple 2025 regional digests.​

Thailand moved aggressively on lists. Draft amendments circulated in October 2025 expanded the prohibited list and refined restrictions for several commonly used actives, aligning more closely with both ACD and EU‑style risk management.​

Indonesia leaned on enforcement. The Indonesian Food and Drug Authority’s, known as BPOM, highly publicized cancellations of non‑compliant products for labeling–formula mismatches reinforced the importance of accurate notification data and ongoing internal checks.​

Vietnam simplified some front‑end friction. Updated procedures for cosmetic notification and sample import gave clearer documentation rules and timelines, supporting smoother import testing and market entry.​

What it means for you: ASEAN continues to drift closer to EU‑inspired ingredient and labeling norms, while enforcement intensity (especially on mislabeled or under‑declared products) is rising. Centralized formula–label governance is becoming a necessity for regional players.

Several common threads run through these country‑specific updates:

Higher bar for safety dossiers

China, Korea, and Taiwan now explicitly anchor regulatory expectations in formal safety assessments and PIF‑like documentation, while Japan and ASEAN markets push harder on ingredient transparency and risk communication.​

Dynamic ingredient lists and UV filter scrutiny

Ongoing IECIC revisions, Korean Safety Standards updates, ASEAN annex changes, and Thai list expansions all point to more frequent, risk‑based adjustments—especially for UV filters, sensitizers, and potential CMRs.​

Shift toward alternative test methods and standards

China’s 2025 standards project plan and NIFDC method workstreams continue to build non‑animal and advanced methods into the regulatory fabric, with wider Asia gradually following similar trajectories.​

Digitalization of supervision

Smart submission systems, electronic labels, e‑notification portals, and risk‑based monitoring tools are converging across China, Vietnam, and other markets, favoring companies that can structure data consistently across jurisdictions.​

For global regulatory teams, 2025’s Asian developments confirm a clear trajectory: dossiers need to be deeper, data needs to be cleaner and more portable, and monitoring of fast‑moving lists and pilots (e.g., e‑labels, personalized cosmetics) must be part of business‑as‑usual rather than ad‑hoc fire drills.

Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) is putting the K-beauty brand Dr. Jart+ (acquired in 2019 for $680 million), along with color brands Too Faced and Smashbox, on a company-wide portfolio review list for potential sale. This action aligns with the "strategy of selection and concentration" Estée Lauder signaled during its August fiscal 2025 earnings presentation, indicating a move to divest and remove underperforming assets from its brand portfolio. Learn more.

LVMH Luxury Ventures Fund (LLV) has acquired a minority stake in BDK Parfums to accelerate the independent brand's global expansion following a 45% sales surge in 2024. This investment marks the first outside capital for the Parisian fragrance house since its 2016 founding. Learn more.

London-based beauty-tech startup Yuv has raised $12 million in Series A funding to scale its smart hair color lab for professional salons. The system replaces single-use tubes with refillable aluminum cartridges and uses AI to dispense custom formulations. Led by Nineyards Equity, this investment will fuel Yuv's expansion into the US market by 2026. Learn more.