I have been to markets where the seller is obviously selling fake OPI's and fake MAC products with badly spelt English - they're not even good fakes - but girls still buy them??!!! WTF???!!!
At the end of the day, I'd much rather pay the full RRP from a reputable retailer rather than the fake thing for much cheaper elsewhere.
People in China even sell fake eggs - WTF??!! Can't trust them!!! PS - Not racist because I am Chinese too but born in Scotland :P
As the unlucky recipient of not one but two fake Benefit products off Ebay, I learned my lesson thankfully and now only buy from official stockists. Fakes are NEVER worth the money spent.
Ok, fakes are a bad thing for both brand and customers. BUT may be if a brand have thought more about officials sellers in different countries there would be less complains and less people buying the wrong staff?
I don't have neither Benefit nor OPI officila store in my country, though I think that demand is great. Neither do I have some many other brnads. I'm travelling often and I make sure to buy at proper stores. But how about people that don't? Even on the web you can't always say if the product is fake or not.
I remember a few years ago when someone showed me some benefit they had bought from China - really bad copies of Dr Feelgood and BadGal which both smelt decidedly odd. I buy in shelf pulls from Macys for the shop so I know where its from and have proper invoices and paperwork. I always say to people that if the price is too good to be true - then it probably is. There are so many fakes on Ebay its unreal - something needs to be done about it and soon.
I just got screwed by fake MAC on Strawberrynet. They are refunding my money by it has made me more careful about the products and where I ger them from. Its a shame that ALOT of major cosmetic companies do not have websites that sent internationally or charge an absolute arm and a leg to do so (I am especially looking at Benefit, which isnt sold in my country). Many brands like Mac, Estee Lauder, Clinique etc have a presence in NZ BUT with the high retail prices and lack of legitimate online availabiliy people will try to get a better deal, or try to get their hands on products any way they can.
My husband, unknowingly, bought me bogus Chanel No 5 once. The bottle was nearly spot on, but the product inside was almost all alcohol and God-awful.
Doubtless the recession, now five years in and no end in sight, isn't helping matters either. I joked to a customer the other day that it was getting to the point where you had to choose between eating or looking good.
Thank you for this post -- count me among those who naively did not realize that there were fake cosmetics out there. I mainly buy from larger retailers, who presumably get their stock directly from the manufacturers, but... I do have a pet brand whose complete line is not sold in my country. If I buy something online, is there any way to tell if it is authentic or not? There are no obvious typo's or such on the packaging.
You can usually spot fakes with typo, but some are horrendously similar. I managed to get my hands on a fake benefit concealer. The minute I looked at it, it was going into the bin.
There's so many mini stores in HK and China that claim to sell brands at cut price.
What a great post, I think everyone needs to be aware of this. I'd much rather buy through an official company and know I'm getting the real deal than order from an unofficial website with the possibility of a fake. It actually upsets me that there are people out there buying these products and basically being ripped off of their hard earned money. It's disgusting! It's nice to here that the official make up companys have strong opinions on the matter but there isn't much they can do xxx
@Lossa, I'm really surprised at Strawberry.net - they should definitely know better. I check all paperwork and codings etc before I even consider buying anything. I went to Wellesbourne Market recently and couldn't believe the amount of fakes there from makeup to shoes - there was even a sign on one stall that said "quick before the police arrive" !!!! yet people still buy it.
This sort of thing totally horrifies me - I understand that make up can be expensive but I wouldn't put my health at risk. My friend rang me really excited to say she was somewhere random and they had loads of MAC for cheap and did I want any...I was like nah, that stuff's definately fake!
I can't comment on fake makeup, but fake skincare I have gotten! It works the exact same way except you hear less about it. All those high end lines being copied, bottle & packaging, and just filled with harmful chemicals or cheap products.
Luckily the same rules apply! If the deal seems too good to be true, it usually is. Only buy quality skincare through trusted online stores or stores where you have a return policy.
Always be on the lookout. I find it sad that people still think they can score a great deal, but at the same time hurt their own health this badly. In the end it costs you more than buying the real deal.
I feel really strongly against fake products, more for the health risk then for the companies losing money. Think about getting mercury in your eye? That's just insanely scary!
I go to school to become a make-up artist, and it horrifies me that allot of the girls there don't care if they buy fakes as long as the products "works" which I'm guessing they look good. These are people that will soon be professionals, and I think it just says to much about them that they would use fakes on customers just to save money!
This is a really interesting and helpfull post. I always buy my make up from department stores such as debenhams and boots to be 100 percent i am not getting fakes, i would much rather pay a couple pound more for the Real Deal without any harmful ingredients that havent had any sort of testing.
It actually drives me mad to see fakes on eBay, like really bad MAC fakes that do not represent any product ever released by MAC being lapped up by people.
Do people really not care what they put on their skin? I'd rather pay a bit more and be safe in the knowledge that what I am usng doesn't contain anything dangerous, and potentially illegal.
That beauty bargain could end up costing a lot more than an extra few pounds if you have a bad reaction to something contained in it.
17 comments:
Thanks for highlighting this problem!
I have been to markets where the seller is obviously selling fake OPI's and fake MAC products with badly spelt English - they're not even good fakes - but girls still buy them??!!! WTF???!!!
At the end of the day, I'd much rather pay the full RRP from a reputable retailer rather than the fake thing for much cheaper elsewhere.
People in China even sell fake eggs - WTF??!! Can't trust them!!! PS - Not racist because I am Chinese too but born in Scotland :P
As the unlucky recipient of not one but two fake Benefit products off Ebay, I learned my lesson thankfully and now only buy from official stockists. Fakes are NEVER worth the money spent.
Meant to say, great and fascinating post, thank you.
Ok, fakes are a bad thing for both brand and customers. BUT may be if a brand have thought more about officials sellers in different countries there would be less complains and less people buying the wrong staff?
I don't have neither Benefit nor OPI officila store in my country, though I think that demand is great. Neither do I have some many other brnads. I'm travelling often and I make sure to buy at proper stores. But how about people that don't? Even on the web you can't always say if the product is fake or not.
I remember a few years ago when someone showed me some benefit they had bought from China - really bad copies of Dr Feelgood and BadGal which both smelt decidedly odd. I buy in shelf pulls from Macys for the shop so I know where its from and have proper invoices and paperwork. I always say to people that if the price is too good to be true - then it probably is. There are so many fakes on Ebay its unreal - something needs to be done about it and soon.
I just got screwed by fake MAC on Strawberrynet. They are refunding my money by it has made me more careful about the products and where I ger them from. Its a shame that ALOT of major cosmetic companies do not have websites that sent internationally or charge an absolute arm and a leg to do so (I am especially looking at Benefit, which isnt sold in my country). Many brands like Mac, Estee Lauder, Clinique etc have a presence in NZ BUT with the high retail prices and lack of legitimate online availabiliy people will try to get a better deal, or try to get their hands on products any way they can.
My husband, unknowingly, bought me bogus Chanel No 5 once. The bottle was nearly spot on, but the product inside was almost all alcohol and God-awful.
Doubtless the recession, now five years in and no end in sight, isn't helping matters either. I joked to a customer the other day that it was getting to the point where you had to choose between eating or looking good.
Thank you for this post -- count me among those who naively did not realize that there were fake cosmetics out there. I mainly buy from larger retailers, who presumably get their stock directly from the manufacturers, but... I do have a pet brand whose complete line is not sold in my country. If I buy something online, is there any way to tell if it is authentic or not? There are no obvious typo's or such on the packaging.
Thank you for a great post, it is an awful thing thats hapening and I have been a victim a few times as well.. Poop on all the fake-makery! O.O xx
You can usually spot fakes with typo, but some are horrendously similar. I managed to get my hands on a fake benefit concealer. The minute I looked at it, it was going into the bin.
There's so many mini stores in HK and China that claim to sell brands at cut price.
What a great post, I think everyone needs to be aware of this.
I'd much rather buy through an official company and know I'm getting the real deal than order from an unofficial website with the possibility of a fake.
It actually upsets me that there are people out there buying these products and basically being ripped off of their hard earned money. It's disgusting!
It's nice to here that the official make up companys have strong opinions on the matter but there isn't much they can do
xxx
@Lossa, I'm really surprised at Strawberry.net - they should definitely know better. I check all paperwork and codings etc before I even consider buying anything. I went to Wellesbourne Market recently and couldn't believe the amount of fakes there from makeup to shoes - there was even a sign on one stall that said "quick before the police arrive" !!!! yet people still buy it.
This sort of thing totally horrifies me - I understand that make up can be expensive but I wouldn't put my health at risk. My friend rang me really excited to say she was somewhere random and they had loads of MAC for cheap and did I want any...I was like nah, that stuff's definately fake!
I can't comment on fake makeup, but fake skincare I have gotten! It works the exact same way except you hear less about it.
All those high end lines being copied, bottle & packaging, and just filled with harmful chemicals or cheap products.
Luckily the same rules apply! If the deal seems too good to be true, it usually is. Only buy quality skincare through trusted online stores or stores where you have a return policy.
Always be on the lookout. I find it sad that people still think they can score a great deal, but at the same time hurt their own health this badly. In the end it costs you more than buying the real deal.
I feel really strongly against fake products, more for the health risk then for the companies losing money. Think about getting mercury in your eye? That's just insanely scary!
I go to school to become a make-up artist, and it horrifies me that allot of the girls there don't care if they buy fakes as long as the products "works" which I'm guessing they look good. These are people that will soon be professionals, and I think it just says to much about them that they would use fakes on customers just to save money!
This is a really interesting and helpfull post. I always buy my make up from department stores such as debenhams and boots to be 100 percent i am not getting fakes, i would much rather pay a couple pound more for the Real Deal without any harmful ingredients that havent had any sort of testing.
It actually drives me mad to see fakes on eBay, like really bad MAC fakes that do not represent any product ever released by MAC being lapped up by people.
Do people really not care what they put on their skin? I'd rather pay a bit more and be safe in the knowledge that what I am usng doesn't contain anything dangerous, and potentially illegal.
That beauty bargain could end up costing a lot more than an extra few pounds if you have a bad reaction to something contained in it.
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