How to spot fake beauty products online, 2022 edition

Reader QuestionTips and Tricks
Written By Guest Writer

Words by Crissy Martinez

Anyone who loves browsing aisles of beauty products know from experience that it’s fun to discover and test new products. When we could look around physical stores, it was easier to scrutinize whether the products are real or not. Since the start of COVID-19 pandemic, however, our choice of shopping channel quickly and heavily shifted from retail to e-commerce. 

It’s tempting to buy makeup and skincare products on Instagram, Lazada, or Shopee because they provide lower prices than usual retailers. Unfortunately, the uncertainty consumers feel when it comes to the possibility of buying fake beauty products online is high. It has become harder to validate a product’s authenticity since you’re limited to the screen of your gadget and the photos/videos available.

Years before Lazada and Shopee were around, I became a victim of buying counterfeit makeup. This was around 2009, and I wanted to buy the Benefit Coralista on eBay. Benefit wasn’t available in Manila until about a year later. Anyway, I only discovered it was fake when I couldn’t peel off the label underneath the product to check the product information. Since then, I’ve been more cautious whenever I buy beauty products online.

Why are counterfeits bad?

Counterfeit products do not go through the rigorous quality testing and regulatory requirements before they are launched in the market. They may cause irritation, rashes, or infections. The worse thing that could happen is that the products could contain toxic ingredients like lead or even carcinogens. With fake products, you are basically putting your health at risk.

You’re also disrespecting everything and everyone involved in creating the authentic products.

How can we spot counterfeits on Shopee, Lazada, or other resellers?

  • Check if these are official sites or stores. On Lazada and Shopee, check if they’re under LazMall or ShopeeMall. These brands have been accredited and are sold officially by the company or an authorized distributor.

  • Check the name of the store or the username of the seller. Avoid store names that look like computer generated alpha numeric passcodes.

  • The price is a fraction of the retail price. There are many factors in the product price: raw materials, packaging, labor, shipping, supply chain, store commission, marketing, brand equity. If the selling price is too good to be true, then it is likely that the product is fake.

  • Check the sales of the product. It’s riskier to buy if there is no sale. Platforms like Lazada and Shopee indicate how many units have been sold.

  • Check the packaging. The product information, spelling, grammar, color, packaging materials, and quality of add-ons (applicator, mirror, dust covers, etc.). Some products have peel-off sticker labels that reveal additional product information such as ingredient lists that are written in different languages.

  • Check the branding. Brands are very particular with the elements of their logo and designs. Change in color, size, and placement of logo matters.  

  • Check if they use their own photos, not stock photos or stolen photos (with watermarks) from content creators. You may also message the seller and request for actual product photos.

  • Check the manufacturing codes, batch codes, and product barcodes. Usually these codes will help you determine when the product was made. Barcodes also help with supply chain and point of sales. However, note that some counterfeit products contain codes, which are usually less detailed.

  • Check the ratings and reviews. A high average star rating is good. It also helps when there are recent written reviews that include photos and/or videos. If you’re feeling vigilant, you can check if the reviewer is from an actual user and not from a bot.

  • Scan the codes. For K-Beauty products, you may use apps like HiddenTag and BrandSafer. For US-based products, you may try using barcode scanners or apps like Smart Consumer or The Beauty Keeper.

What terms are considered red flags that we should watch out for? Sellers use these phrases to claim that the products are authentic or even close to authentic, but these are made-up terms that do not prove authenticity.

  • Singapore authentic. Singapore is a small country and manufacturing is not their strength due to limited natural and physical resources. There is no such thing as Singapore authentic - products are either made by the brands’ factories or they’re not.

  • Class A/AA/B. This actually means straight up fake and describes the supposed level of fakeness of an item.

  • Factory rejects. When a product does not get past quality control, it means that it’s defective. Manufacturers destroy or trash them. But they don’t sell them.

  • Factory surplus/overrun. This is quite similar to the “factory reject” phrase.

  • Wholesale from factory and/or distributor. Supply chains especially ones by big multinational brands are carefully protected. Factories don’t sell their clients’ products on the side for less money - why would they, when they’re getting paid millions of dollars for their actual value? It’s against their self interest.

To paint a clearer picture, here are some examples of counterfeit beauty products that I found on Lazada and Shopee:

MAC + Hello Kitty brush set. MAC had a Hello Kitty collection back in 2009. Yes, they had a brush set, but it was a 3-piece set that retailed for $49.

The brand name of this “Chanel” set is obviously misspelled.

MAC is known for their signature black bullet-shaped lipstick tubes. The look of this tube doesn’t look like a MAC product, and the price is very low.

The plastic cover of the palette was packaged haphazardly. This will not pass MAC’s standards.

There are grammatical errors in the product name. The item doesn’t seem to be in line with the brand’s image. The price is also too good to be true.

This is supposedly a listing for The Ordinary. The price is unbelievably low, and the branding is blurred.

Cetaphil is a brand with a lot of counterfeits. First, Cetaphil does have a whitening line. They do have a Bright Healthy Radiance line, and the packaging is different. The set of two lotions for Php150 is also unbelievably cheap.

I hope these will help you become more discerning when it comes to your beauty purchase. If you can’t afford a certain expensive product for now, then you may also consider affordable dupes or take the time to save up for it. At the end of the day, it’s better to err on the safe side, especially when it comes to products you apply on your skin. Now, if you really need to purchase online, please make sure to do your research first! After all, you’re spending your own hard-earned money.

 

Guest Writer
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