CLUELESS FILIPINA EP.4: COUNTERFEIT COSMETICS AWARENESS PT.1: GETTING TO KNOW THE CRIME

Ok, so we all heard everybody ranting about how to spot a fake MAC, Bobbi Brown, Benefit, Urban Decay and so on. MUAs and other beauty bloggers are playing a big role in educating women in spotting fake make-up and the health effects this has to your skin.

But, have you ever wondered what the effects are when you buy counterfeit cosmetics? or counterfeit products in general?

(Photo credits to Makeup Savvy for the photo above this is a photo wherein she compares the real benefit and the fake [the one with the red dot] ones.)

($350,000 worth of counterfeit cosmetics in LV seized by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

Here in the Philippines, buying FAKE products is like....something really NORMAL. Like, due to the economy, people would not mind buying fake products especially cosmetics. People here are always trying to haggle and get the cheapest deals. I will just DWELL in more on the top three things I love the most which are counterfeited the most as well, these are PERFUMES, COSMETICS & BAGS.

In the first eight months of 2011, over 3.8 billion pesos ($87.7 million) worth of counterfeit products were picked up, 62 percent up from the same period last year.

1. Perfumes

Counterfeit perfumes has gained so much popularity, and Filipinos are NOT DUMB to know if its fake or not, they know that they are fakes, but to some as long as its affordable, some would surely buy it. Its saddening because they DO NOT KNOW the impact when you buy a fake item, and this is what I will talk about in this blog. The most popular ones are the Victoria's Secret Body Mist that you can sometimes get here at P150, thats about $3.65 for a 250ml of Body Mist. In the Victoria's Secret stores in the U.S. the bottle costs $12.00, or somewhere between P495-P500+ depending on the exchange rate

Here's the picture below comparing the original and the fake ones (photo credits to seethefakes):

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="319"] Photo credits to seethefakes[/caption]

Can you spot the fake one? Check out seethefakes for more info

Here's another picture of a Chanel Perfume that has been counterfeited (Photo credits to chanelperfumebottles:

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="625"] Photo credits to chanelperfumebottles[/caption]

(Original is on the Left and the fake on is on the Right. Are you a Chanel fan? read on chanelperfumebottles for more details on how to spot a fake)

2. Bags

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo credits to chuvaness[/caption]

(Photo credits to chuvaness)

These counterfeiters has gotten so good at it. Again, the popular ones counterfeited are the CHANEL, LOUIS VUITTON, JUICY COUTURE, COACH & GUCCI BAGS that I see almost everywhere here in the Philippines. You can get the regular sized handbags anywhere between P350 ($8.50) -P1000 ($24.40) even higher if the counterfeited item looks so CLOSE to the real ones.

3. Cosmetics

Online stores at social networking sites are SWARMING with FAKE MAC! FAKE MAC LIPSTICKS, FAKE MAC LIPGLOSS, FAKE BENEFIT, FAKE URBAN DECAY and the lists goes on!

EVEN FAKE BOBBI BROWN BRUSHES & MAC BRUSHES! SINCE WHEN DID MAC RELEASED A BRUSH SET? THEY ONLY HAD THE ONES IN HOLIDAY EDITION AND THAT'S IT.

I have a ton of things to say about this matter. But I will leave the rest on spotting fakes to alot of beauty bloggers in the internet, you will learn SO MUCH FROM THEM.

Here are some examples of FAKE COSMETICS:

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="548"] Photo credits to Beautie[/caption]

Like I said, since when did MAC manufactured BRUSH SETS? Photo credits to Beautie read her blog for more fake spotting tips.

According to Beautie:

Another way you can tell if a product is fake just by looking is the colour. The best example of this are Mac brushes. The genuine brushes have a black handle that’s shot through with a very muted glitter, a silver ferule and Mac written on them in sliver, just above the number of the brush. The hairs can be white, black, brown or a combination of white and black. Quite frequently, fakes deviate from this. As illustrated above, they might have matte black handles, black or gold ferules and hairs in a colour that aren’t seen in the authentic collection – there’s an abundance of mistakes that fakers make when it comes down to the exact hue of a product.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="544"] Photo credits to Beautie[/caption]

(Photo credits to Beautie)

Her blog also mentioned this:

You should check the naming or numbering system of a brand you’re buying from. Mac, for instance, give names to all of their colour cosmetics (blush, eye-shadow, lipstick etc.) but counterfeit products often just have numbers. It’s not uncommon for the numbers to be displayed on little stickers or labels that don’t suit the product. The lipsticks in the above photo are all numbered instead of named, as is the collection that they supposedly come from “003″.

Alright, now that you are aware that I DO NOT SUPPORT counterfeit items, and that these items are SWARMING ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, get yourself educated on how to spot fakes. And read on PART 2 of this HEADLINES. In which I will be talking about THE EFFECTS OF BUYING COUNTERFEIT COSMETICS.

Stay tuned ladies.

XOXO