EU: Safety Gate Flags Pixi Eyeliner for PFOA-Related PFAS

On August 6, 2026, the European Commission published Safety Gate alert SR/02152/26, notified by Denmark, covering Pixi's Endless Silky Eye Pen in the Silver Reflex shade and every other colour variant that lists perfluorononyl dimethicone. The alert states that the cosmetic fails the EU Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) Regulation and the REACH Regulation because that ingredient is a perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) related compound. Danish market surveillance ordered a stop of sales for distributors, with the measure dating from February 26, 2025; the August 2026 Safety Gate entry is the EU-wide publication of that national action.

For cosmetics formulators, Responsible Persons, importers and EU retailers, the novelty is not a new ban text. It is a concrete enforcement signal that PFOA-related fluorosilicones still appearing on INCI lists trigger chemical and environmental risk findings under rules that are already in force, with stop-of-sales measures that circulate through Safety Gate to every Member State authority.

What does Safety Gate alert SR/02152/26 actually find?

According to the official Safety Gate alert detail for SR/02152/26, the product is a 1.2 g eyeliner sold under the Pixi brand, packaging described as a cardboard box, country of origin unknown. Risk types are chemical and environment. The risk description names perfluorononyl dimethicone as a PFOA-related compound and states that PFOAs pose a risk to human health and the environment.

Legal non-compliance is framed against two directly applicable EU acts: the Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulation (EU) 2019/1021, which lists PFOA, its salts and related compounds in Annex I, and the REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006. The alert does not publish a measured concentration; the finding is ingredient-based. The colour-variant wording matters: Silver Reflex is the named example, but the measure extends to all other Endless Silky Eye Pen shades that contain the same fluorinated silicone.

Who is hit by the stop-of-sales measure, and where?

Public authorities ordered a stop of sales addressed to the distributor, with entry into force on February 26, 2025. The same date is recorded for the economic operator's own stop-of-sales action. The online trader named on the alert is www.matas.dk, so Danish retail and e-commerce channels for this SKU are the immediate enforcement footprint.

EU-wide, Safety Gate publication means market surveillance authorities in every Member State can see the Danish finding and check whether the same Pixi SKUs, or equivalent formulations listing perfluorononyl dimethicone, remain on their markets. Responsible Persons for third-country brands placing cosmetics on the Union market, EU importers, distributors and marketplace sellers that stocked Endless Silky Eye Pen variants with that INCI entry are the practical cohort that needs to act. Brands that already reformulated away from PFOA-related fluorosilicones are not newly obligated, but they should confirm INCI and supplier documentation still match what is on shelves and web listings.

What should cosmetics teams do now, and by when?

Treat August 6, 2026 as the date the Danish PFOA-related finding became visible EU-wide, not as a new compliance deadline. Immediate actions for any operator still listing Endless Silky Eye Pen (or private-label equivalents with the same fluorinated INCI) are: pull or quarantine affected SKUs, update online listings, and document the stop of sales for the Responsible Person file.

Broader portfolio hygiene should follow within the next compliance cycle, not wait for a further Safety Gate hit. Screen finished-formula INCI lists and raw-material SDS for perfluorononyl dimethicone and other PFOA-related compounds covered by Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2019/1021. Confirm with suppliers that fluorinated silicones used for slip or wear claims are outside the PFOA-related definition, and keep that evidence ready for market surveillance requests. Continuous, per-jurisdiction monitoring of Safety Gate and chemicals alerts is how Obsidian surfaces this class of enforcement the day it publishes.

This alert is separate from the still-pending universal PFAS restriction under REACH Annex XVII. That dossier remains with the Commission after RAC and SEAC opinions; it is not the legal basis cited in SR/02152/26. Do not treat this eyeliner case as evidence that the universal PFAS ban has been adopted.

Take advantage of this real-time watch

Next steps: (1) map any Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen or perfluorononyl dimethicone SKUs still offered in the EU; (2) verify POP Annex I and REACH compliance for every fluorinated cosmetic ingredient still in your formulas; (3) brief product safety and retail teams that Danish stop-of-sales findings can propagate through Safety Gate without a new legislative text. Obsidian keeps those alerts and the underlying POP and REACH texts in one monitored feed so the next single-product hit does not arrive as a surprise.