Class 3: Cosmetic, Beauty & Cleaning Products
Class 3 is where cosmetics, skincare, haircare, fragrance and cleaning products sit. It’s the ninth most used of the 45 classes, with 45,465 UK registrations between September 2021 and September 2026, which is about 45% more registrations than the average class. It’s busy, and it’s also one of the easiest classes to get slightly wrong, because the line between class 3 and its neighbours is drawn around what a product claims to do, not what it looks like.
What class 3 covers
This is the official Nice heading, in full:
Non-medicated cosmetics and toiletry preparations; non-medicated dentifrices; perfumes; bleaching preparations and other substances for laundry use; cleaning, polishing and abrasive preparations.
In plain terms, it’s the things you put on your body to clean, groom or scent it, and the things you use to clean your home. Shampoo and washing-up liquid sit in the same class, which surprises people, but both are preparations rather than devices. The word that matters most in that heading is “non-medicated”.
When you definitely need class 3
- You make or sell cosmetics, skincare, haircare or make-up under your own brand
- You sell perfume, fragrance or essential oils
- You make soap, bath or body products
- You sell household cleaning, laundry or polishing products
- You sell room fragrances, reed diffusers or incense
When you might need class 3 without realising
Class 3 is a class that service businesses often back into, usually a year or two after launch, when they put their own name on a product.
A hairdresser with its own shampoo is the classic. The salon is class 44. The shampoo is class 3. The salon registration doesn’t protect the bottle, and the bottle is what ends up on a shelf in someone else’s shop.
The same thing happens with:
- A gym, spa or hotel with its own shower gel or toiletries
- A cleaning company that starts selling the products it uses
- A candle or homeware brand moving into scented room sprays and diffusers, which are class 3 even though the candles aren’t
- A barber, nail bar or beauty therapist selling anything at the counter under their own name
If your brand is going on something in a bottle, a tube or a jar, it’s worth deciding on class 3 before the packaging is printed.
Still weighing it up? The free class tools below show you what similar products claim, or give us a call and we’ll talk it through.
What businesses actually claim in class 3
These are the terms UK applicants actually use, counted across all 45,465 recent class 3 registrations:
| Term | Marks using it | Share of class 3 | How common |
|---|---|---|---|
| cosmetics | 14,635 | 32.2% | Essential |
| perfumes | 6,767 | 14.9% | Most use this |
| essential oils | 6,453 | 14.2% | Most use this |
| skincare cosmetics | 5,441 | 12.0% | Recommended |
| beauty masks | 5,008 | 11.0% | Recommended |
| perfumery | 5,025 | 11.1% | Recommended |
| soaps | 4,828 | 10.6% | Recommended |
| shampoos | 4,682 | 10.3% | Recommended |
| cosmetic creams | 4,453 | 9.8% | Recommended |
| hair lotions | 4,366 | 9.6% | Recommended |
| make-up | 3,868 | 8.5% | Recommended |
| nail polish | 2,932 | 6.4% | Recommended |
Nearly a third of recent class 3 registrations claim the single word “cosmetics”, 14,635 of them. That tells you two things. It’s accepted wording, so you’re on safe ground using it. It’s also very broad, and very crowded. A mark claiming “cosmetics” and nothing else is sitting alongside thousands of others with exactly the same specification.
That’s why it pays to add the products you’re actually known for: skincare cosmetics, hair lotions, perfumes. It costs nothing extra within the class and makes the shape of your brand much clearer.
What class 3 does not cover
Anything medicated belongs in class 5. That’s why so much class 3 wording is written defensively: 3,150 recent registrations claim non-medicated cosmetics and toiletry preparations. Once a skincare brand adds a medicated cream or an acne treatment, that product is class 5, where medicated skin care preparations appears on 557 registrations.
Brushes, sponges and applicators are class 21. The foundation is class 3; the brush that puts it on isn’t. Make-up brushes are claimed on 3,040 class 21 registrations and cosmetic brushes on 2,830. A beauty label selling its own tools needs both classes.
The treatment is a class 44 service. Class 3 protects the bottle; class 44 protects the chair. Beauty salon services appears on 2,502 class 44 registrations. A salon selling its own products needs both.
Selling other brands is class 35. A beauty website or shop stocking several brands is providing a retail service. Online retail services relating to cosmetics is claimed on 3,125 class 35 registrations. If the shop name is what customers know, class 3 alone won’t protect it.
Where these terms actually live
| Term | Belongs to | Marks using it |
|---|---|---|
| scented candles | Class 4 | 3,854 |
| medicated skin care preparations | Class 5 | 557 |
| cosmetic bags | Class 18 | 3,179 |
| make-up brushes | Class 21 | 3,040 |
| cosmetic brushes | Class 21 | 2,830 |
| online retail services relating to cosmetics | Class 35 | 3,125 |
| beauty salon services | Class 44 | 2,502 |
Each of these is a separate registration. A mark in class 3 does not cover any of them.
The mistake I see most often
The mistake is using the word “wellness” as if it settles the class. It doesn’t. A wellness brand can end up with products in three different places: non-medicated grooming products in class 3, anything that treats a condition in class 5, and the treatment or therapy service in class 44.
The class follows the claim, not the brand story. A calming body oil sold to smell nice and soften skin is class 3. The same oil marketed to relieve joint pain is heading towards class 5. If your packaging, website or social posts make a health claim, that’s what the classification will follow.
The practical fix is to write down what each product actually says it does, then classify from that list. It’s also worth knowing that a UK application can’t have classes added once it’s filed. A missing class means a new application later, with whatever’s been filed in the meantime standing in the way.
Is class 3 the right class for you?
If you make or sell cosmetics, skincare, haircare, fragrance, soap or household cleaning products under your own name, class 3 is almost certainly one of your classes. Whether it’s your only one depends on what else carries your brand: tools, treatments, a shop, or anything with a health claim.
Our free class tools build a specification from real UK filings, using wording the IPO has already accepted, so nothing in it is invented.
Common questions about class 3
Is my skincare cream class 3 or class 5?
If it moisturises, cleanses or improves appearance, it’s class 3. If it treats a condition, or you market it as doing so, it’s class 5. The claim decides the class, not the ingredients, which is why so many class 3 specifications use the word “non-medicated”. If your range includes both kinds of product, you may need both classes.
Are candles and reed diffusers in the same class?
No, and it catches out a lot of home fragrance brands. Candles are class 4, where scented candles appears on 3,854 registrations. Reed diffusers, scented room sprays and incense are class 3, with reed diffusers on 1,493. One twist: a spray sold to deodorise a room rather than scent it is class 5. A brand selling candles and diffusers needs both classes.
I make my own products and run a salon. Is that one class or two?
Two. Class 3 covers the products you make and sell; class 44 covers the treatments you provide. They’re separate rights, and a registration in one doesn’t protect the other. It’s the most common gap I see in the beauty sector by some distance.
Are make-up bags class 3?
No. Empty cosmetic bags and make-up bags are class 18, with the other bags and cases. Cosmetic bags is claimed on 3,179 class 18 registrations. A beauty brand selling a branded bag with its products will usually want class 18 as well.
About these figures. Last researched 23 September 2026, from UK trademarks registered between September 2021 and September 2026 whose entry in this class is still active. That is current drafting practice rather than the historical register. Terms shown are those most frequently used in that period.
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