Beauty image and content guide

At Zalando, delivering a top-tier customer experience is one of our core values, and your support is crucial in helping us consistently meet and surpass expectations.

We strongly recommend that you provide a wide range of high-quality images to captivate customers and showcase your articles, stories and experiences effectively.

When submitting your Beauty articles, it’s crucial to comply with both our image requirements and our specific attribute requirements. Following these guidelines not only ensures a successful submission but also includes important information such as product safety details, material/ingredient specifications or article warnings. By following these requirements, you help us maintain quality and compliance in our Beauty assortment.

Definition

Cosmetic product means any substance or mixture intended to be placed in contact with the external parts of the human body (epidermis, hair system, nails, lips and external genital organs) or with the teeth and the mucous membranes of the oral cavity. Exclusively or mainly for cleaning, perfuming, changing appearance, protecting, keeping parts in good condition or correcting body odour.

Mandatory free text attributes

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The following attributes are mandatory for Beauty articles and need to be transmitted as free text.

• Product description:

What is the article, what does it work for?

In simple words and not exceeding 400 characters. Please see also the Special Requirements:  Permanent claims and tone of voice section below for further guidance on the wording.

• How to use: Comprehensive description of how to apply / use the article

• Warnings: Relevant information on restrictions or risks on the use of the article or its handling. 

• Has to be translated for each country channel. 

• If the article has no warnings please include No warnings in the field

• Ingredients:

List of ingredients included in the article using the INCI (=International Nomenclature for Cosmetic Ingredients) format.

• Mandatory for all cosmetic products

• Cannot include ingredients listed in this article:

• Restricted Substance List (RSL) for Beauty Products

Special requirements: Permanent claims and tone of voice

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Below you can find additional guidance regarding the tone of voice and product claims for the ‘product description’ attribute. The following guidelines will help you submit Beauty articles with compliant product descriptions. They indicate what you should avoid and what you should use instead, ensuring that you do not make misleading permanent or medical claims.

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Definition

Permanent claim suggests an article will have long-lasting effects, need to be supported with evidence from clinical trials

Avoid	Use instead
Targets and eliminates wrinkles Stimulates natural cell renewal Boosts skin’s natural structure Promotes skin regeneration Inhibiting hair loss Supports natural immunity Less prone to ageing and imperfections Stimulates the production of Accelerates renewal of Sweeps away free radicals	Skin feels smoother Hair appears lighter Lips look fuller For more radiant-looking skin

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Definition

Medical claim suggest the articles primary function is medical or has a medical benefit

Avoid	Use instead
Cures Rejuvenates Transforms Alleviates	Soothes Moisturises Hydrates Cleanses Repairs

Measurement information: Volume

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The measurement attribute ‘volume’ is mandatory if applicable, meaning when the cosmetic article has a volume indication (ml or grams) it must be submitted.

• Volume indication in ml/grams (if applicable): This data is necessary to indicate the base price, without this information an article cannot go live. 

• The base price will be automatically generated by Zalando as soon as the volume indication has been submitted

Material information: Beauty textile articles

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• Articles made of textile must have a material composition in percentage.

• Example:

  • Make-up removal clothes

Definition

Textile is a product with a weight fraction of textile fibers of at least 80%. This can apply to towels, cleaning cloths and other accessories as well as clothing. Synthetic leather is one of the textiles.

Product safety

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Cosmetics symbols 

• For cosmetic products, different symbols on packaging and articles apply (e.g. date of minimum durability, period after opening, reference to enclosed or attached information.)

CE labeling

• Information needed for all Beauty electronics articles

• The standard CE label requirements outlined in the Electronics image and content guide apply.

• Find more information on CE labeling in the article below:

• CE label guidelines, FAQs and how to fix related rejection codes.

Animal Welfare Policy and prohibited substances

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In this section, you'll find information about our dedication to animal welfare and the restrictions on specific substances in Beauty articles. For a comprehensive list of restricted substances, including those from our Sourcing Policy, please refer to this article:

• Restricted Substance List (RSL) for Beauty Products

The general guidance is that animal-derived materials may only be sourced from domesticated farmed species as a by-product of farming for food production (e.g. snail slime/secretion). Also the sale of articles made from species listed on IUCN and CITES (e.g. certain wood types) is not permitted, as well as materials from wild animals.

To ensure efficient processing of your article images, an understanding of our image terms is essential. An image term describes the type of image that is required for a successful onboarding of your article. Below you’ll find the image terms, the type of assortment that this image is used for and a detailed description of what it means.

Our image requirements vary depending on what they will be used for on our website. Please adhere to them to ensure smooth and efficient processing of your article images and thus the processing of your articles themselves. 

Technical requirements

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This overview is intended to introduce you to the technical requirements your images have to fulfil, in order to be accepted by Zalando.

Background colour range requirements

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Packshot views

For packshot views it's important to remember that primary packshots must have a white background. We do accept packshot view with colours from the background colour range, but these aren't allowed as primary packshots, but as additional view only.

To make sure your model view is suitable as a catalogue view, use our background colour range for a compliant background colour. We accept model views with a white background, but they cannot be used as the front crop.

This guide only covers the image requirements for Beauty articles. You can find more information about what kind of article fits into the Beauty assortment category here.

For full image requirements, please refer to the general Zalando image guidelines.

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  • Article
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  Zalando image guidelines

  Comprehensive guide to Zalando's image requirements, including technical specifications, acceptable image types, and category-specific guidelines. You’ll also find best practice image examples from across assortments.

The table below shows the number of which types of images are needed for onboarding articles in the Beauty assortment. For your information, simply duplicating images to meet the requirements is not allowed and would lead to an article rejection.

Packshot images emphasise the details and texture of Beauty articles, creating a clear and engaging presentation. In addition to the primary packshot required to accept the article, additional packshots show different angles, application methods and textures, enhancing the article story and customer experience.

• For the primary packshot, centre the article vertically and position it in the lower third of the image grid. Please find supporting guidance in this section of the Zalando image guidelines.

The optional packshot view images may include the following:

• Additional article images (e.g. closed article, side view, back, from the top, package of the article)

• Image of ingredients, but it must be in line with the scent of the fragrance (for example, if the perfume's heart note is roses, the optional image should also feature roses.)

• It may be an ambient or mood image

• The image may be a colour or texture swatch

When showcasing Beauty articles on models, the focus should be on highlighting their application, finish, and effect. Neutral settings ensure the article remains the focal point, while thoughtful positioning demonstrates its use and benefits. Models should present the articles in a way that enhances their appeal, showing texture and the coverage.

The model images are optional but recommended and may include the following:

• May be of a celebrity

• A before/after model view may be used, if it adds value to the customer

• It may be an inspirational or mood image

Examples of images that will not be accepted:

• The model is holding the article but is not showing it to the customer

• Make up in an inappropriate way, we rather recommend a natural looking make up

• Unnatural photoshopped background

• Decorative images that do not support the article or ingredients

• Including articles in images that are not included in the delivery, because this might give the customer the wrong impression.

• Text information (boxes, background) within the images/around the article (Please note that Zalando uses the same images for all country channels)

The following image examples illustrate the required visuals across the assortment, highlighting best-practice model poses, acceptable backgrounds, and specific guidelines for single articles, multipacks, and sets. Use these as a clear reference to ensure compliance with Zalando's Beauty article standards.

• One compliant Primary packshot or one compliant front crop image (serves as catalogue view) and Two further compliant images