You've heard of counterfeit purses, counterfeit sneakers, counterfeit watches but have you heard of counterfeit make-up??
There has been news about counterfeit make-up, specifically counterfeit MAC make-up being sold on Ebay, Amazon and Craigslist.
We all love a good deal however, when it comes to fake make-up, it's better to skip the bargain. Why?
Well, for one, in the United States, the cosmetic industry is regulated by the FDA. Counterfeit products are NOT guaranteed in any way to be safe on any level, by anyone. Hello, like who's regulating them?? You don't know what ingredients are used, where they came from, if the supplier is even reputable, what environment the product or ingredients came from….if there are contaminants in the product…how much...I could go on and on. Secondly, heavy metal concentration is a concern in counterfeit cosmetics. Metals such as lead and mercury are neurotoxic; I am particularly scared of mercury because it can be inhaled after applying it to skin + it can accumulate in the body. Now how scary is that???
I have even seen online sites teaching viewers how to spot the real versus the fake MAC product. As helpful as that may seem, why spend your time and energy trying to differentiate.
While you're trying to save a few bucks on eye shadow or lipstick, think about the money you'll spend if you should react to the product! Not to mention time and suffering…
Last year, after an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, and the Solebury Township Police Department, a New Jersey woman was sentenced to 3 years probation + a $44K fine for trafficking counterfeit MAC products. This all stemmed from a customer's complaint of an immediate skin rash on her eyelid after buying and using a MAC eyeliner sold by the woman.f
Your best bet; if you're a huge fan of MAC make-up, use your bucks to buy from an authorized seller or from the MAC website.
Skip the counterfeit stuff or bargain basement priced MAC!! (I would apply this to any cheaply priced name brand make-up that normally wouldn't be so cheap)
Have you spotted or purchased any hugely discounted MAC make-up? Let me know where!
watching out for the counterfeit stuff,
L