Make a Choice!

Has it happen to you, at some point in your life, that you’ve bought something, thinking it’s a bargain, that wasn’t the real deal? 

We all know and we have extra awareness when it comes to Gucci handbags or Fendi purses or Armani and CK belts !

The business of counterfeit products, is  a big issue in the fashion industry and extends to the rapidly Beauty industry.

 

When it comes to beauty products, it is a real chaos out there!

Original - Imitations - Cheap … Some, even copy / paste, any new product - fragrance, make-up, lipstick – and they re-launch it, with twin packaging, wrongly name spelling (purposely), under a  brand name, usually … local “fruit” and the products get manufactured in  their … backyard labs(?)..

 

Read bellow, the MAJOR DIFFERENCES, between the different label  indicators:

“Dermatologist Tested” and “Dermatologist Approved” …

 

Between the incredible (or cheap and ugly) packaging, debating on whether you want to splurge on a product and hearing hype about every product on the market, figuring out if a product is actually a quality one, can seem impossible. There are a few tricks of the trade, luckily, that can help you discern the difference between a Great Original Product or a Cheap Imitation.

 

Read our beauty tips below for finding the best products possible!

• Packaging:

Let she who doesn’t fall for gorgeous packaging on makeup cast the first stone. We’ve all fallen for a gorgeous box or sleek tube of some product, but often times, great products come in the simplest packaging. If you’re able to test out the products in that sensational packaging before buying, you’ll be saving yourself a lot of regret. Of course, you’re not usually able to test products in such stores before purchasing, (the merely provide mini samples, for you to take home) but be wary of the thin, cheaper plastic packaging on cardboard. If the cardboard and plastic are incredible thin, flimsy and cheap, it’s more likely that the product inside will be similar quality. Cheap in & out!

• Ingredient:

The ingredients you use to cook dinner can make or break the meal, and the same goes for your beauty products. When you’re reading the ingredient label, the ingredients listed first and early on in the list are the heaviest concentrations, while the ingredients at the bottom are the lowest concentration. A product advertised as using “100% natural beeswax” isn’t lying about that, but the product could just be using 0.05% in total of that 100% natural beeswax. Also, if you’re not sure what the long ingredient names mean, then… Google them before you buy it! Natural products are more easily discernible and you can make a better judgement, once you know what all of the ingredients involved are.

• Read Reviews But don’t trust them 100%:

Some, hire people to give positive comments on products online, so take every review with a grain of salt. Usually, a product that’s overwhelmingly great, will have a bevy of good reviews, because when people love a product they want people to know how great it is.

In the same respect, a product that’s absolutely awful will most likely have review upon review of terrible comments, because when people hate a product, they’ll do everything they can to make sure other people aren’t as disappointed as they are. What’s the lesson in all of this? It’s a safe bet to go by the average star rating on a product, not by the one or two extreme reviews you read.

• Talk to Professional Independent Makeup Artists, at different Stores

If you walk up to the lead makeup artist at a makeup counter in a department store asking for their product recommendations, 9 times out of 10 they’ll suggest a product from the brand they represent. Instead, find a makeup artist at a salon or at a professional supply store, where they’re not bound to be loyal to one brand or product, to get their professional opinion. Considering how many different faces and products, makeup artists work with each day, their insane amount of knowledge and interaction with the products should be a guarantee.

• Request / Demand Samples to try at home:

When you’re on doupt about whether or not to buy a product, try calling the brand’s customer service department to request a sample.

Yes, it’s only a sample, but if you’re wondering whether a face cream will be right for your skin or you want to test out an eyeshadow to see if it lasts on your eyelids longer than two hours, a sample will give you a good enough understanding of a product to know whether or not the full size is worth spending any money on.

• Understand Labels:

Here the game goes big! “Dermatologist Tested” and “Dermatologist Approved” do not mean the same thing, yet because they look similar enough and most people don’t think twice about it, they fall for the shady advertising. Similarly, “Organic” or “All-Natural” products don’t mean 100% organic or all-natural. A label with those claims could actually mean that a product is 20% organic, but it’s legal to put the word “organic” on the label because it’s not claiming that it’s 100% organic. Flip a product over and READ THE INGREDIENT LABEL. If the first few ingredients are long, manmade names of chemical laiden ingredients, you’ll know the truth about what you’re using.

• Search Social Media:

Similar to reading reviews, searching social media for hashtags pertaining to the product you’re thinking of buying will pull up honest comments you can use to determine whether or not a product is worth it.

• Your Makeup Shouldn’t Come Off Quickly:

This seems obvious, but when you buy a brightly coloured eyeshadow and it slides off or creases on your eyelid within an hour, it means it’s poor quality, not necessarily that your eyelids are too oily. The same goes for lipsticks drying out your lips, blush sliding off your cheeks or your straightener frying your ends after one session. Don’t believe that it’s you, that’s doing something wrong.

It’s most likely that the product is poor quality. Invest some time in finding a better quality alternative instead of suffering through terrible products until they’re used up.

• Know your skin:

Especially on skin care products, know what comes with certain ingredients. For example, if you’ve got dry skin, you should run away from benzoyl peroxide, which can cause excessive dryness, but works wonders for acne.

• Know your undertones: 

Once you know your skin’s undertones, shopping for color cosmetics is infinitely simpler. If you’ve got warm undertones (yellow, golden or peach), your foundation should be yellow or peach based. If you’ve got cool undertones (blue or red), your foundation should be neutral or pink-based.

• Do not ignore the scales:

Internationally established Cosmetics Brands, apply their products to million-billions of consumers world wide. In order to develop a product, safe and suitable for their clients, they invest multi millions on scientific research, dermatological tests, product quality tests, etc. by employing, “the best of the best” specialists! Think simple! Are the imitators able to do the same?

If they were, as good quality and as safe for your skin and health, why are the so damn cheap?

 

HEALTH ALERT!

 

Imitation or Cheap make-up is dangerous!

 

Fakes, aren’t produced in the same way as the originals, with the correct formulation, fragrances and innovation. Buying counterfeit products some people see it as a bargain, but in fact they are at risk of infections and allergic reactions, to say the least!

 

Quality control and health tests, are ‘luxury”, for those factories that manufacture them.

They know it’s a multi billion industry and they take their chances, like a … “smash and grab” incident. A recent study found one in 10 online shoppers, have received counterfeit products, and more than a third have bought cheap make-up online. You buy a cut-price MAC eyeliner online, and you 90% receive an obviously fake product, that doesn’t  feel the same or have the same pigment as the one you know and love.

L’Oréal, (owns Garnier and Lancôme), had net operating profit of $4.38 billion euros in 2015.

However, the sort of innovation and stringent quality control, that profits ensure and  pay,  for your own heath safety, gets slandered by some ...  “imitators”.

 

Counterfeit beauty products, get produced,

without the ingredients and formulations cosmetic companies,

spend millions, researching, patenting, and testing !!!

 

If someone puts a fake product on their skin, they are not sure what they are using.

 

“We cannot put a price on how counterfeit products affect our business. Our real concern is the consumer’s experience.

When a customer purchases a counterfeit product, it doesn’t come with the expertise and advice of a MAC Artist.

MAC provides the highest quality, on-trend products and we take that commitment seriously.”

Jodie Matthews, MAC Brand General Manager.

 

• “Parallel Products”:

Lets say a few words:

This is the name given to merchandise, not bought directly from the source or authorised distributor. (Usually a middleman).

While it may be real, odds are it’s old stock, past its use-by date or often mixed with counterfeit versions. Parallel products are a few years old. While parallel is not counterfeit, you don’t know the freshness of the product.

Make-up, fragrance and skin care products have "use-by : . . ." dates. Just like food they expire!!!

 

If you’re careful about what you eat, why would you put something on your skin, when you don’t know what it is, whether it’s come through the correct source or whether it’s fresh?

Its not like a fake GUCCI, where a handbag, is a handbag. You’re not putting it on your face!

What can happen with a fake GUCCI hand bag?

The “leather” might crack … Oh well… Same applies for your skin!!!

 

RED BEAUTY ALERT!!! – STAY AWAY WHEN:

 

o The packaging looks shabby. o The branding looks old. o The fragrance fades fast.

o The Make-up doesn’t last. o The price is too cheap. o The product expiry date is invisible.

o The product’s name, font, color and logo are “similar”. (KUROS vs KOUROS – AQUA vs AǪUA) ....

 

 

MORE TO COME SOON ...!!!