Synopsis The ocular irritation potential of 107 cosmetics and toiletries was compared using the rabbit's eye Draize test (IOMA), a cytotoxicity in vitro method (CFIO), and the hen's egg chorioallantoic membrane test (HET-CAM). There was a good correlation between both alternative methods and the Draize test. Non-correlating results were observed in 12 cases with the HET-CAM method (six false positives, two false negatives, four technical failures) and in 14 cases with the CFIO method (ten false positives, four false negatives). However, all clearly irritant products were detected. False negatives were only found in products whose ocular irritation index lay close to the boundary (IOMA = 15) between the slightly and the moderately irritant products. None of the products was falsely found to be negative by both alternative methods. Therefore, the risk of underestimating the ocular irritation potential was avoided. The coupling of these two methods seemed to be of interest as an alternative approach to the assessment of the potential for ocular irritation of cosmetics and toiletries.