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How to Spot Fake Cosmetics
Since many of you had questions after my
first post about counterfeit cosmetics, I created a guide to spotting the fakes. Although you can find some good deals on eBay, fake goods are extremely prevalent. Watch out for phony MAC, Nars, and Bobbi Brown — although a few other brands pop up as well. Use this guide to protect yourself from bogus beauty, and be prepared to laugh and cringe while you browse through these fakes.
Hogan
Energie
Darphin
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17 Comments Post a Comment
Great tips! I didn't even know that they made fake brushes. Thanks Bella!
1Nice.
"Powde."
2I've never ordered cosmetics on ebay, but that is really good to know... I NEVER would've thought of that!!
3Yeah, most of the brushes on eBay are fakes, sad to say... I wouldn't recommend buying those there. Now, POWDE, on the other hand, have at it!
4These are great tips, thank you!
5Thanks for this! Very informative.
6Wow- this is crazy. You have to have a GOOD eye to spot this stuff! But, I dont think I would ever trust cosmetics from eBay. Who knows who put their paws all over that stuff!
7Almost all expensive cosmetics lines have some sort of fake on ebay. I'd say buy them in person all the time. I also found this article by an ebay seller for spotting fake MAC products to be really helpful: http://reviews.ebay.com/MAC-PIGMENTS-HOW-TO-SPOT-FAKES-by-EXPERIENCED-SE...
8wow... i've actually bought 1 or 2 cosmetic items on ebay... none that you listed here, but still.. now i'm worried i might have gotten fakes! ahhh, i'll be more careful in the future for sure. Thanks for the tips!
9I love this post. So helpful and funny too
10Wow, I had no idea there beauty fakes out there. I've always felt icky about buying makeup from Ebay, and if I do buy online it's only from reputable stores/brands. Thanks for sharing though!
11ok, so now i'm a bit terrified i may have bid (and won) on some bobbi brown brushes that aren't real. I only started buying on ebay because my teacher in makeup school recommended it(i'd rather not say which school, she's the hunt me down and kill me type). I wish ebay would regulate this better.
I wrote the seller a note asking about how she can verify the authenticity but she hasn't responded to me. I thought the brushes looked fine until i saw her MAC brushes
which look like fakes (that notorious roll top case). sigh.... what to do... anybody have any ideas? can i cancel a bid if i'm afraid their counterfeit? i doubt it. Ebay seems to have a
policy listed saying the seller is responsible for verifying authenticity. I've asked her to do so, we'll see what happens. I also don't want to go reporting someone if they are in fact legit
- but i don't think it's out of line to ask them to verify, do you?
12do they make fake mary kay brushes? i got a set off ebay that was suppose to be like the set i got from a real sells lady the colors a little different and it come with a leather case and the original wasn't leather
13Wow, researching a blog post on this topic - what a great guide! Your previous post referenced my "spotters guide" from livejournal a few years back (I had really chipped nail polish in the photos *blush*) but this blows its socks off.
I'm now at s1aphappy.wordpress.com if you want to swap links
14You can check feedback at toolhaus.org and see the negative feedback for sellers. This is a great tool so you don't have to try and pick through all of the pages. If there are several comments of poor quality, fakes, off colors, etc. don't buy from them!! There are a lot of high volume sellers with poor feedback on ebay and they do nothing because they collect the fees! I would be really careful of buying cosmetics on ebay at at. Also, if they deliberately misspell the brand name, watch out! Ebay does block people with complaints or lots of listings of high risk items from listing a lot. So they misspell the brand name and the filter doesn't catch it! One powerseller, Gravitongirl, is selling "MACS" (with an S) cosmetics. That's to override the filter. The feedback looks good, until you run it through toolhaus.org and see the negatives, including complaints that the makeup was fake or in poor condition, smelled bad, etc, a good sign that it's a fake. Just be careful, so many things made in Asia have lead and other weird things in them. It's not worth saving a few bucks, even if it looks fine, if you're putting lead on your face! And if you have doubts, just run them through toolhaus to see the real picture. A seller can be in the US and still have bought fakes to resell. A huge source of these are a website called Tradekey. Take a look, it will open your eyes to all the fakes out there! Look pretty, but be safe!
15Thanks for the info. I was looking to buy Bobbi Brown brushes from e-bay, but thanks to your web-site, I have got them from bobbibrown.co.uk
16Hello
17I recently bought a so call fake lot of Ebay of Hello
Kitty lot.
I have to really say fake or not the Ingredients are the same and the Studio Fix is Fab!!!
Eyeshadow were creamy and blended well and last all day.
So for my Money have to Say these so call fakes are Fab !!!
And I didn't know until I started seeing Blogs.
But how many of you sport a Replica Handbag ???
Don't Be fake you guys
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