Fake Benefit and MAC Products beware

So I thought i'd do a post on it as I love a rummage on ebay and sure many other beauty bloggers do too but what scares me (particularly with MAC) and now with Benefit is their is a hell of a lot of counterfeit goods, and as these are fake they will have passed NO regulations and will most liley be full of chemicals that could be unsafe to use, if you were to for example suffer some nasty swelling on your eyelids or worse who would you sue or who would you complain to?Ermmm ? The counterfeiters DO NOT care they are interested in your money thats all.....I saw one seller who had a feedback score of 99.1% now that is very good......so you might not think to check reviews....but when I did he had 71 negative reviews and 79 neutral stating the goods are fake/don't smell or look right.....but the 2000+ people that didn't know better boosted his feedback so first rule ALWAYS CHECK feedback! Even if its 99.9!

READ ON UNDER HERE FOR MORE DETAILS ON THIS FAKERY.....

Whilst I browsed it really surprised me how many people bid for things that clearly look fake like the tackiest pallettes that look like childrens toy make up and people are bidding for these......even like the 120 pallettes that have just had a shoddy MAC sticker stuck on (they don't make them! u can get an empty 15 or 4 palette & fill it yourself w/ eyeshadows) and the quads they have NEVER come with a SPONGE TIPPED applicator! MAC'S Eyeshadows ALWAYS have names ,the fakes will come with numbers only such as 001,A02. If the eyeshadow contains an APPLICATOR& MIRROR then they're COUNTERFEIT!  AUTHENTIC items don't have these, Also, the lid on many fake MAC shadows has a higher dome and opens at a smaller angle than real MAC shadows.Can you believe people try to pass off the Sleek/Beauty UK look-a-like small 12 pallettes as MAC?

Not to mention lipsticks that are shades ''AE12A'' its like errrm what?! We know MAC loves to name their lipsticks pretty names such as 'angel' 'lovelorn' 'shy girl 'impassioned' although there is one orangey one called CB 96 ' which if you like on MAC's official site is it's actual name,  

Also MAC does NOT sell FULL sized brush sets any more.This is to prevent people splitting the sets up and trying to get a refund/exchange for them individually, 99.9% of MAC brushes on ebay are FAKES. Handles on MAC brushes should be matte black with NO shimmer. Hold your brush up to the natural light & look out for that sneaky shimmer on your handle. I saw these on sale at some backstreet shops in Manchster it was at least a 15 piece set (they even had fake GHD straightners and fake electics have a high risk of electric shock so its not just make up ladies please watch out!) MAC does NOT  wholesale  their COSMETICS If you see anyone selling say 60 or 90 pieces of MAC as wholesale you can be pretty sure that is NOT authentic MAC.

Fake FLUIDLINE Comes in a SQUARE jar sometime with a 'free brush' (MAC never does this either) THE authentic MAC FLUIDLINE is made in a round,glass slightly frosted jar! Again MAC logo has poor printing aligment! Genuine MAC eyeliner ALWAYS have proper names such as *BOOT BLACK* the name of the shade is clearly displayed on the box,the tube of the eyeliner will have sticker too normally in silver with the shade name and batch code.

You have to trust your instincts. If a price sounds good to be true, you should look at the item with a very skeptical eye. It’s extremely difficult to find true bargains on MAC products these days. If it’s just a few pound off retail, it is more likely to be legitimate. If it’s a limited edition pigment from 2006 being sold for £3  new in box, you can rule it out right away.

The first thing was that Benefit do not put obvious large stickers on their products for no purpose. If a product has a large sticker on the packaging, as in product specifics on the bottom or say Coralista blush, sparkly sticker on top. With the boxes it is fake if it does not have anything under the sticker such as product details in another language.

Benefit cosmetic packaging such as the blushes and pallettes have the details within the packaging and in the same colour scheme as the product. The packaging has an obvious sheen to it , not matte and will not come loose if the corners or edges are pulled. There will be no loose packaging or paper coming away at the edges. They do not allow the selling of 'factory seconds', any product with damage to the packaging and not meeting their high standards is destroyed.

Benefit packaging is similar to MAC - it will not mark if you gently score your nail down it. If your Benefit box or pallette leave an imprint from your nail, then it likely is fake. Georgia blush has a distinctive scent of peach to it, fake Georgia brought in from China does not have this. Some Kinda Gorgeous is very cleaverly copied but in many cases a month or so down the line, the make up part will fall out of the compact. The genuine article is very sturdy.

Benefit include how to booklets with may of their products, guides with a distinctive Chinese look to them will be fake. Benefit do not maufacture in China. They also do not wholesale to anyone other than those stores who have paid a great deal for exclusivity such as Boots or Debenhams & do not sell to private sellers, regardless of the size of their business. Even if the seller if from the UK or US they have usually bought these wholesale from a chinese trading website.

I have recentley Hoola Bronzer, Subarbomb and Coralista for like £4 and Benefit Bad Gal eyeliner for £2 with the Mascara for £3 how can this be true....it's not like the saying ''if its too good to be true it usually is'' Aswell as the face products smelling off some have described 'Fake Moon Beam as feeling like cloggy nail varnish' 'Fake Bad Gal smelling off strong chemicals' (and then you're putting that near your eyes...What the hell.) I could be here all day typing but seriously I don't want to bore everyone just look into it more I got most my info off google to help people out there I don't have my own tips as I have never bought a fake product but there is also loads of youtube videos comparing real VS fake to really show you.....Also MAC and Benefit is the major ones but Lancome, NARS, even maybelline can be counterfeit too so please beware.

Here is some images of what fakes you might see online

BE SAFE <3

xoxoxo