If a client asks what makes the fragrance you use different from a regular air freshener, cosmetic-grade is the right word to reach for, but only if you can actually explain what it means in a sentence a non-fragrance person will understand.
The simplest honest version: it is made to the same standard as cologne or perfume, the kind of ingredients meant to be worn close to skin, not just sprayed into a room and forgotten. That single comparison does most of the work, since almost everyone has an intuitive sense that cologne is held to a higher bar than a two-dollar air freshener, even if they could not articulate exactly why.
If they want more, layer in the specifics: no parabens, no phthalates, non-toxic, and compliant with both US and European regulatory standards, which are stricter in several categories than domestic rules alone. You do not need to explain what any single one of those terms technically means. Listing them together signals real formulation discipline, which is the actual point.
If a client is genuinely detail-oriented, mentioning that a Safety Data Sheet is available on request tends to land well, since it signals this is documented and verifiable, not just a word printed on a label with nothing behind it.
You do not need to become a fragrance expert to explain this well. You need one good sentence and, if they ask, a short list of specifics behind it. That is usually more than enough to make the distinction land.
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