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Your beauty rights

Boots returns explained: what can you take back?

Jurisdiction: United Kingdom · Policy checked 1 November 2026Last checked

The short answer

35 days for a change of mind, if the item is unopened. Boots's own policy doesn't accept opened or used cosmetics unless they're faulty, and Advantage Card points come off when you return something. Your legal rights are separate, and Boots says they're not affected. Boots returns policy

What Boots's policy says (checked 1 November 2026)

  • Change of mind: 35 days. Keep your proof of purchase for things bought in store. This is Boots's own deadline, not a cut-off for your legal rights.
  • Items must be "unopened, unused and seals and cellophane are intact", in packaging fit to resell at full price.
  • Multipacks go back together, and free items go back too. 3 for 2 items are refunded at the offer price.
  • Advantage Card points earned on the item are taken off.
  • Wrong, missing, faulty or damaged items go to Customer Services, with photo or video evidence.
  • "Unless faulty", Boots doesn't accept "Cosmetic products which have been opened or used". Items with broken seals "can only be returned in accordance with your statutory rights".
  • "This does not affect your statutory rights."

Source: Boots returns and exchanges. Shops change their policies, so check the current version before you buy.

Your legal rights if you bought online or by phone

  • For most online orders you can cancel up to the end of 14 days after the day you receive the goods. You then normally have 14 days after telling the seller to send them back. CCR regs 29–30 Reg 35
  • The hygiene exception: the right to cancel ends for "sealed goods which are not suitable for return due to health protection or hygiene reasons, if they become unsealed after delivery". All three parts have to apply. Opening something doesn't automatically end your right. Reg 28(3)(a)
  • If you handle a product more than you'd need to in a shop to see what it's like, the seller can take off the drop in value. Reg 34(9)–(12)
  • This right doesn't apply to things you bought in a shop.

Your legal rights if it's faulty (online or in a shop)

  • Goods must be of satisfactory quality, which includes being safe and free from minor defects, and must match their description. CRA s.9 CRA s.11
  • If they don't, you normally have 30 days to reject them for a refund. That's a right for faulty goods, not a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. CRA ss.19 and 22
  • A skin reaction on its own doesn't prove a product was faulty.

Frequently asked questions

Can I return opened make-up to Boots?

Not under Boots's change-of-mind policy, unless it's faulty. If it's faulty, or you bought online and the hygiene exception doesn't apply, your legal rights may still help. Boots returns policy CCR reg 28

Do I lose my Advantage Card points?

Yes. Boots's policy says points earned on a returned item are taken off. Boots returns policy

Last checked:

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