---
title: "Cosmetics hourglass (minimum durability) — what it means"
description: "The best-before date of a cosmetic product — it is best used before the date shown. What the symbol looks like, what happens if you ignore it, and where its meaning "
url: https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-cosmetic-hourglass/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Cosmetics hourglass (minimum durability)

**Cosmetics hourglass (minimum durability): The best-before date of a cosmetic product — it is best used before the date shown.**

⌛

## What it looks like

A small hourglass or egg-timer shape, with a date printed beside it.

## What it means

Required on cosmetics whose minimum durability is thirty months or less, which is why it and the open-jar mark rarely appear together — a product either has a short enough shelf life to need a date or a long enough one to need a period-after-opening figure. The date refers to unopened product stored normally. Past it, the risk is loss of effectiveness, separation or a failing preservative system rather than anything dramatic, but sun creams are the case where the loss of effectiveness matters most.

> Defined by Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products. Where a symbol differs between standards, the difference is described above rather than resolved — both versions are in circulation on real labels.

## Other product care symbols

| Symbol | Means |
| --- | --- |
| Upholstery cleaning code W | Clean with water-based cleaners only. |
| Upholstery cleaning code S | Clean with solvent-based cleaners only — no water. |
| Upholstery cleaning code W-S | Either water-based or solvent-based cleaners may be used. |
| Upholstery cleaning code X | Vacuum or brush only — no liquid cleaner of any kind. |
| Period after opening (open jar with 12M) | How many months the product stays good after you first open it. |
| Footwear: leather | That part of the shoe is leather. |
| Footwear: coated leather | That part is leather with a surface coating no thicker than a third of the total thickness. |
| Footwear: textile | That part of the shoe is a textile, natural or synthetic. |
| Footwear: other materials | That part is made of something that is neither leather nor textile. |

## Common questions

### What does the cosmetics hourglass (minimum durability) symbol mean?

The best-before date of a cosmetic product — it is best used before the date shown.

### What does it look like?

A small hourglass or egg-timer shape, with a date printed beside it.

## Related pages

- [Period after opening (open jar with 12M)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-pao/)
- [Upholstery cleaning code W](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-upholstery-w/)
- [Upholstery cleaning code S](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-upholstery-s/)
- [Upholstery cleaning code W-S](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-upholstery-ws/)
- [Upholstery cleaning code X](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-upholstery-x/)
- [Period after opening (open jar with 12M)](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-pao/)
- [Footwear: leather](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-shoe-leather/)
- [Footwear: coated leather](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-shoe-coated-leather/)
- [Footwear: textile](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-shoe-textile/)
- [Footwear: other materials](https://atoneplace.net/symbol/care-shoe-other/)

## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)