Is Sheglam Makeup Safe? The Shein Link Explained

Who’s actually behind Sheglam?

Sheglam is Shein’s cosmetics brand, founded in 2019. It built its popularity through TikTok and influencer marketing, with a clear focus on a young audience, including Generation Alpha, partly through collaborations tied to films and franchises aimed at children and teenagers.

Until now, that young audience could only reach Sheglam online, through the Shein platform. Now that the brand is available in physical stores, that barrier disappears: a teenager who isn’t (yet) allowed or willing to shop online at Shein can simply walk into a shop.

At COSH!, we see this pattern more often: brands trying to sidestep the reputational damage of their online business by borrowing a “cleaner” image from an established bricks-and-mortar retailer. Shein has done something similar before, when it acquired Everlane, a brand praised for its sustainability commitments.

Why ownership matters

Sheglam claims to operate independently from Shein. But in terms of capital, distribution network and ownership, the brand is fully intertwined with Shein. For consumers standing at the drugstore till, that legal distinction makes no practical difference: it’s still Shein’s money, Shein’s marketing and Shein’s infrastructure.

This ownership question is more than a technicality. Under the EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, omitting material information, such as ownership, where it could influence a purchasing decision, can count as a misleading omission. If parents deliberately avoid shopping online at Shein, they deserve the same information to make that same choice in a physical shop. This isn’t a clear-cut legal question, but it is a fair one to put to the retailer: should it communicate more explicitly that Sheglam is a Shein brand?

Cosh sheglam cosmetics teenager — There are no age restrictions on cosmetics in shops

What do we know about the safety of Shein products?

Shein has faced criticism over toxic substances in its products, backed by independent lab testing in several countries:

Greenpeace Germany has published lab findings on hazardous chemicals in Shein clothing, including PFAS levels exceeding EU limits in tested items. (Note: our team should confirm the exact 2025 figure and publication link before this goes live; see Sources section below.)
South Korean authorities found phthalate levels in a pair of Shein children’s shoes at 428 times the legal limit, as reported via AFP.[¹]
A separate investigation cited in coverage of Shein found further phthalate and heavy-metal issues in children’s shoes and accessories from fast-fashion platforms.[²]
Belgian textile lab Centexbel, working with consumer organisation Test-Aankoop/Test-Achats, tested children’s clothing from Shein for harmful substances.

Important context: these are test results for clothing and accessories, not specifically for Sheglam cosmetics. There is currently no comparable independent lab testing of Sheglam’s make-up line. That’s not proof the cosmetics are unsafe, but given the parent company’s track record, it’s a fair concern as long as independent testing remains absent.

Given everything that's known and documented about Shein, I would never buy or put anything from Sheglam on my own face or my own children's. Niki de Schryver, CEO of COSH!

Does the “cruelty-free” promise hold up?

Sheglam has stated since November 2022 that it’s approved under the Leaping Bunny programme run by Cruelty Free International, not a self-awarded label, but an independently audited programme with supplier monitoring.

Look closer, though, and questions emerge:

🌿 COSH! Green Claims Check

Claim: “SHEGLAM guarantees all ingredients are CRUELTY-FREE, SAFE and GOOD FOR YOUR SKIN” (as quoted on Sheglam’s own Cruelty Free International listing page)

Zone: 🟠 Needs adjustment

Why: In November 2022, Cruelty Free International did indeed announce that Sheglam had received genuine ‘Leaping Bunny’ certification, quoting one of its own spokespeople. Whilst the brand is mentioned on the ‘www.crueltyfreeinternational.org’ website, there is very little information available. However, the brand does not currently appear in the search function on leapingbunny.org, and the ‘Leaping Bunny’ logo is not visible on the Sheglam website. This means that, even three years later, consumers have no easy way of checking whether the certification is still valid. Consumers cannot realistically verify a certification that is not visibly displayed.

There’s a further wrinkle. Since 1 May 2021, imported “general cosmetics” in China have been exempt from mandatory animal testing, provided companies submit a GMP certificate and a product safety assessment. That exemption explicitly does not apply to products aimed at children or babies, or to brands under heightened regulatory scrutiny. As described above, Sheglam markets itself directly to Generation Alpha and teenagers. That raises a fair question: how does the Leaping Bunny claim square with selling to an audience that formally falls outside China’s testing exemption?

Bildschirmfoto 2026 08 27 um 10 17 12 — Screenshot of our search for Sheglam on www.leapingbunny.org

“But doesn’t L’Oréal have incidents too?”

A fair objection, and some nuance is warranted. Higher sales volumes naturally lead to more reported incidents in absolute numbers. That alone says nothing about the proportion of products that are actually problematic.

That doesn’t let Shein off the hook, though. The regulatory breaches found in Shein clothing are not comparable in scale to what’s typically found at established brands. Price or brand recognition alone say nothing about safety. What matters is whether claims are externally verifiable.

That’s exactly what COSH! screens cosmetics brands for on our platform: not price segment or brand recognition, but our own transparency criteria: verified ingredient lists, independent certification where applicable, and demonstrable supply chain transparency.

Is this a bias against Chinese make-up?

No, and that distinction matters. The issue isn’t that Sheglam is a Chinese brand. The issue is that the claims on its website aren’t backed by verifiable evidence. That’s exactly where regulators should focus: not on where a brand is from, but on whether a claim is substantiated. As long as small, genuinely transparent local businesses are held to the same rules as large platforms, that’s fair competition. And right now, it isn’t.

How do you find make-up whose claims actually hold up?

You don’t have to comb through every ingredient list and every claim yourself. COSH! maintains an overview of cosmetics brands and shops that have been checked against our own transparency criteria, verified ingredients, independent certification and supply chain transparency, as well as shops where you’ll find natural cosmetics, with or without organic or vegan certification. Find that overview at cosh.eco/en/topic/cosmetics.

You can come across genuinely transparent brands in a regular drugstore too. But the shelf itself won’t make that distinction for you. Sheglam simply sits next to an organic-certified brand, with no signal at all about which claims are backed up and which aren’t.

Bottom line: no ban, but a fair question

Nobody needs to condemn Sheglam for being cheap, Chinese or trendy. But for a brand that markets itself explicitly to Generation Alpha and teenagers, and that gains a cleaner image than its parent company Shein by way of an established drugstore chain, it’s reasonable to ask: where’s the independent evidence?

Until that evidence exists, specifically for the cosmetics line, not the clothing, it’s worth checking the claims yourself before you put something from Sheglam on your face, or your child’s. You’ll find the overview of vetted cosmetics brands at cosh.eco, if you want to be sure the claims actually hold up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Is Sheglam the same company as Shein?

Answer: Sheglam claims to be operationally independent, but is fully intertwined with Shein in terms of ownership, capital and distribution network. For consumers, this legal distinction makes little difference in practice.

Question: Are there any independent tests showing that Sheglam makeup is unsafe?

Answer: No, not specifically for the cosmetics range. The well-known laboratory tests for toxic substances (PFAS, phthalates, lead, formaldehyde) were carried out on Shein children’s clothing and accessories, not on Sheglam products themselves. The lack of comparable independent testing for the make-up is in itself a cause for concern.

Question: Is Sheglam’s Leaping Bunny certification reliable?

Answer: Sheglam claims to have been approved since 2022 under Cruelty Free International’s Leaping Bunny programme, an independent audit programme. You can find it on Cruelty Free International’s website. However, the brand cannot be found in the official search function on leapingbunny.org and does not display the Leaping Bunny logo on its own website, which makes it difficult for consumers to verify this claim.

Question: Why does this article focus specifically on Sheglam and not on other cheap make-up brands?

Answer: Because Sheglam explicitly targets a young audience (Gen Alpha and teenagers) and is now physically accessible via Kruidvat, without the barriers associated with online shopping at Shein. This combination of a young audience, easy access and the lack of independent cosmetics research makes the situation worthy of separate discussion.

Question: As a consumer, how can I tell whether a make-up brand can back up its claims?

Answer: Look for specific, clearly defined claims (such as a percentage or an explanation of exactly what a label covers) rather than general terms like ‘safe’ or ‘cruelty-free’ without a source. Platforms such as COSH! screen cosmetics brands for verified ingredient lists, independent certification and supply chain information, so you don’t have to find this out for yourself.

💡 Tip from COSH!: Sustainability and safety claims don’t have to be perfect to be honest; they just need to be specific, verifiable and honest. For further help: cosh.eco

The COSH! green claims analysis is an initial screening based on available sources and EU legislation. It does not constitute legal advice.

Sources