Are Mall Pull Out Perfumes Authentic?
Today we find ourselves chatting about something that’s been popping up quite a lot again lately - mall pull out perfumes. Sellers claim that these are the perfumes straight from the factory, overstock, or items that have minor defects, hence the considerable markdowns on the prices. But before you snag that deal, let’s have a little heart-to-heart about what you're actually getting into and why it’s a better choice to stick to the official retail stores.
How to spot fake beauty products online, 2022 edition
Anyone who loves browsing aisles of beauty products know from experience that it’s fun to discover and test new products. When we would 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.
NARS vs. Nee Cara vs. O.TWO.O: A comparison of almost identical liquid blushes
I’ve been an avid fan and collector of liquid blushes since NARS released their version in 2017. I’ve tried a bunch of options from Glossier, Inglot, and Peri Pera, but I always come back to NARS for its longevity and luxe feel. Imagine my surprise to find ads of Nee Cara Liquid Blush (P260 for 15g, at Shopee) that look so much like the NARS blushes, down to the shade range. Now imagine the electric charge in the air when my editor proposed to compare the two, plus the liquid blushes from O.TWO.O (P300 for 15g at Shopee), a Chinese company that also sells liquid blushes in the same packaging and shade range! And so I tested the three formulas to investigate how similar they are and why the Nee Cara and O.TWO.O blushes look the same.
The Project Vanity Podcast, Ep 1 Recap: What you need to know about fake makeup
I got excited when I first heard that Project Vanity was going to do its own podcast. Having a podcast would not only helps us connect to a bigger audience, this new platform allows for a continuity of discussion different from the flow of our written stories. Each episode builds upon educated yet candid beauty discussions that feel like a chat between friends. They also allow the community to literally hear from Liz, and from other luminaries in the local beauty scene!
This is how to avoid buying fake K-beauty products
Late last year, I came across the news of a Malaysian woman getting severe allergy from using a fake Nature Republic 92% Aloe Gel. To say that I was scared shitless that my favorite moisturizer was getting counterfeited may sound like an exaggeration but that’s exactly how I feel about Korean cosmetics getting faked. It’s already difficult enough to try not to buy fake US cosmetics; counterfeit Korean cosmetics are much harder to recognize!
How to spot fake cosmetics on eBay
This is an old post from the old Project Vanity blog. Thought to put it here in case you haven't read it yet - I think it's useful!
Good makeup is usually expensive. Of course there are exceptions, but any make-up guru will tell you that it’s often a safe bet to invest your money on high-priced, but quality products out in the market (like MAC, Shiseido, Shu Uemura, and so on). But then, there’s eBay! It’s like you died and went to make-up heaven, with all the cheap but branded stuff they’re selling over there. All you need to do is browse, click, send your payment via your cellphone or computer, and voila! Your order is at your door.
You have to realize, though, that buying online is risky business. For one, you can never really know if the product that looks so pretty on the computer screen is authentic. Buying cosmetics online is not like buying a shirt—if it doesn’t fit, no biggie, no harm done (unless it’s to your pocket). But once you buy bad makeup and use it on your face, terrible things like zits, allergies, skin darkening and peeling may occur.