Hourglass symbol (best before end of)
The date printed after it is the date until which the cosmetic, stored properly, will keep working as it should. It stands for “best used before the end of”.
Easily confused with
How to read it
The hourglass is the date-of-minimum-durability symbol of the EU Cosmetics Regulation (Regulation 1223/2009, Annex VII), which also remains in UK law. It comes before a date, written as month and year or as day, month and year, or before a note of where on the pack the date is printed. The Regulation defines that date as the one until which the product, stored under appropriate conditions, will continue to fulfil its initial function. The words “best used before the end of” can stand in its place. Business Companion, the trading standards guidance for UK businesses, calls it the timer symbol.
Also searched as: best before symbol cosmetics, date of minimum durability, egg timer symbol, hourglass symbol on cosmetics.
Hourglass or open jar?
Only products that keep for 30 months or less have to carry the date (Article 19). Products that last longer carry the open jar and a number of months instead. The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association, the UK industry body, says best-before dating is not common, because most cosmetics are formulated to have a long shelf life.
Read next
- Next in Packaging symbolsHand and open book symbol (refer to the leaflet)Some of the information the law requires is on a leaflet, label, tag, tape or card that comes with the product, not on the pack.
- The same shape in African flagsFlag of the ComorosThe Comoros flag is four horizontal stripes, yellow, white, red and blue from the top, with a green triangle along the pole holding a white crescent and four white stars in a line between its tips. Norway’s Store norske leksikon explains the crescent as the symbol of Islam and the four stars as the four islands of the Comoros; Lex says the four stripes are said to stand for the islands too.
More packaging symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with curves and waves or triangles.
Sources
- Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products, Article 19, Article 19 (Labelling), legislation.gov.uk (UK Government), Article 19(1)(c)
- Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products, Annex VII, Annex VII (Symbols used on packaging/container), legislation.gov.uk (UK Government), Annex VII, point 3
- Cosmetic products, Quick guide, Marking / labelling, Business Companion (Chartered Trading Standards Institute), Durability
- Best before, A-Z of terms and ingredients, Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association (CTPA), thefactsabout.co.uk
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
Added .