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In all of my time authenticating counterfeits, the most horrific fakes are makeup and perfume and there’s a few reasons why. I hope I have your attention on this one because this is a PSA.

It was a spring day similar to this one and I was asked to authenticate items that were seized by police during a criminal seizure. I show up to the massive warehouse and make my way to the gated area that was packed with crates of fakes.

The purses and wallets were no problem because I could tell from a mile away that they were counterfeits. I finally get to a series of boxes and in them were all the top selling makeup products on the market.


I felt crushed because I couldn’t authenticate them. I never really can. Authenticating makeup requires a different level of attention to detail. The fonts are pretty close to real, the packaging is almost identical, and pretty much every other characteristic is there all except for what’s inside the bottles or tubes. The best way to authenticate makeup is by sending them to the lab for testing. The results, when they turn out to be fake, is always alarming.

Fake makeup makes its way into the news more often than fake handbags do and it’s because the effects are so much worse. Yes, they might both be stored in dirty, rat infested warehouses, but because you’re actually applying makeup and perfume on yourself, the effects of the contamination can be fatal.

In April, 2018, LAPD seized $700,000 worth of counterfeit makeup after consumers were calling makeup brands complaining of rashes, and bumps after using their products which led police to investigate and eventually seize the products from the downtown LA Fashion District.

The result: the makeup was contaminated with high levels of bacteria and both human and animal feces. It’s shocking but stories like these are endless and unfortunately common, though. When Kylie Jenner came out with her Lipkits, it didn’t take long for the fakes to appear and it didn’t take long after that for the reports of the fake Lipkits gluing  lips shut, smelling of gasoline or burning consumer’s lips to surface.

I’m not only warning you about makeup. Counterfeit fragrances can be just as bad.

I have spent a great deal of time trying to learn how to authenticate perfume in length and it remains a challenge because counterfeiters have gotten really good at copying the packaging and bottles and continue to make it trickier. Again, the majority of the time, the only way to tell if the fragrance is real is to test it in a lab. The results have come back with confirmed urine and antifreeze, for example.

All of this confirms the fact that counterfeiters really don’t care about the consumer. They’re simply motivated to make money and to do this they need to keep costs down. This has been confirmed during seizures when the production “facilities” are uncovered and are nowhere near the sanitation standards that the real brands are held to. Not to mention the confirmed use of dangerous chemicals that have been found to cause cancer and can even be fatal.

So how do we stop funding these horrible practices? The solution to combat this problem is simple.

The first clue is always the price, meaning how steep of a discount did you get? If you’re buying the real thing, it has to be proportionate to the MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) and where did you get it? Did you get it from an authorized retailer? All this info can be found on the official website of the brand.

With a little research and reflection you can easily avoid buying counterfeit makeup. As a general rule, don’t cut corners. It’s not worth it especially if it means avoiding the ER and permanent damage.

Featured Image: Instagram/@anlabeauty

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Here’s Why Counterfeit Makeup Is a Real Threat to Your Health

Counterfeit makeup. You’ve likely never heard of it and you’re probably wondering why you should care. The answer may not be so obvious. From MAC compacts to Kylie Lip Kits, some of the copies are so darn convincing you wouldn’t even bat a (mascaraed) eye. While the packaging may be pretty, you’d be shocked to learn what’s inside.

The majority of the counterfeit cosmetics are being produced in China, in filthy conditions. “If you took the most disgusting frat house bathroom, it looks like a surgical suite compared to these conditions. It’s filthy, there’s bacteria everywhere,” Gregg Marrazzo, Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel of the Estée Lauder Companies told Refinery29.

According to the DailyMail, bacteria and chemicals like E. coli, mercury and paint stripper have also been found inside many of the products. The FBI has even reported rat droppings and horse urine!

What’s even scarier is that beauty bloggers/vloggers Sarah Tanya, Jordan Byers and Missy Chrissy, who were included in the Refinery29 article, stated they purchased the products online from popular marketplace sites. Thinking they were getting an unbelievable bargain, they ended up instead with horrible reactions like skin rashes, chemical burns and eye infections from the toxic ingredients.

The reach of counterfeit goods is spreading too. Downtown Los Angeles’ infamous Santee Alley shopping district used to be bursting with fake designer bags, but now many of the tables are lined with Kylie Lip Kits, Anastasia Beverly Hills highlighters, and MAC lipsticks.

For the uneducated consumer it’s pretty darn tempting, but for the beauty industry it’s creating an even bigger problem. Flagging the counterfeit goods is one thing, but stopping the supply chain is near impossible.

Watch as Refinery29 goes undercover in this shocking video and reveals the dangers of counterfeit cosmetics. You’re not going to want to put this makeup anywhere near your face!

Featured image: Refinery29

Do you think counterfeit makeup is a problem right now? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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