Are these all fakes?

[rockin]

Hi,

I wonder if anyone could help me confirm the authenticity of some eyeshadows I purchased recently, please?

Today I received a package from ebay seller other97, shop name My Glamorous Life, and the very first thing I checked was a silver pigment which I could instantly see was fake because of the 'insignia' on the bottom of the jar, and the slightly frosted label which reads SILVER A75. The space between PAR: and MAKEUP is missing, and the lid is shiny too.

This obviously alerted me to look closer at the eyeshadows I bought from her. They are:

Moonflower A19
Thunder B49 - strong feeling this batch code can't be correct
Stormwatch A47
Goldbit A28
Henna A98 Veluxe Pearl, and marked with correct weight for a VP
Femme Fi AA8 (black box, not sci-fi)
Bang On Blue A38 - dubious about this batch code, too

All appear to have dots instead of little dashes on the M.A.C on the lids, have their labels stuck on the same way round, and have chamfered edges on the little bit that the lid clips down on, instead of straight. All but Stormwatch and Moonflower smell 'sweet'.

The eyeshadows were £9.25 each and the pigment was £12.99, so the prices raised no alarm bells. Her listings say she guarantees her items to be genuine.

I did also get a Superglass in Totally Bang! (A10) from her as well, and as far as I can tell that is alright

 

[angi]

I had a look at the listings because I'm sure I've had a lot of that sellers pigments removed before. I think you are right with your suspicions, pinpointing from batch codes alone - Thunder was released with blue storm mid 2007, I've googled but can't find confirmation it was re-released. It should therefore have a 2007 batch code - the two eyeshadows I have from Blue storm are A47 batch coded (one of these being Stormwatch, which is the same as yours).

Bang on Blue is the same - released with C shock 2007, so should have a 7 batch code.

 

[rockin]

Thank you, angi!

Something else I've just noticed they all have in common - you know the black and white arrows which appear on the boxes and on the labels? On the boxes, Stormwatch has arrows with pointed triangular heads, as opposed to the curvy arrow heads on the others. In every case, though, the arrows on the labels have the pointed triangular heads. As far as I know, real eyeshadows should all have the curvy arrow heads, right?

 

[User38]

<shakes head>

 

[rockin]

I have messaged the seller, and she seems rather offended that I should think her items are counterfeit. She says she imports them from America, and that she would not sell counterfeits as she knows this to be against the law. She tells me that pigments pre 2006 did have shiny lids, and that Pro pigments have the frosty labels underneath. She also told me about the manufacturing codes, so I have written back to enquire as to why then some of the eyeshadows, which were limited edition, have dates on them that are past the date of the collections they came from. Maybe this will persuade her.

To her credit she has offered to refund me if I send them back if I'm not happy, but she feels that "it would be a great pity to miss out on the enjoyment of such beautiful, genuine products"

 

[angi]

Thank you, angi!

Something else I've just noticed they all have in common - you know the black and white arrows which appear on the boxes and on the labels? On the boxes, Stormwatch has arrows with pointed triangular heads, as opposed to the curvy arrow heads on the others. In every case, though, the arrows on the labels have the pointed triangular heads. As far as I know, real eyeshadows should all have the curvy arrow heads, right?

I think I understand what you mean - I'm not with my collection at the moment so I can't check to confirm, but I will have a look later.

The lids on MAC pigments have always been about the same, the matte, black textured lids, even prior to 2006. I have only ever had one genuine pigment with a shiny lid (and we're talking completely different texture too) - that was a matte colour from about 2001 I think. With regards the frosty labels - I can't remember the outcome on the discussion of that one, I think it is possible to get genuine pigments with frosty labels. But you mentioned the clear insignia on the bottom of the jar, which is also partially clear on the listings too and is a clear indication of a counterfeit.

In terms of importing I can't see how importing from the US, even from a CCO and then selling things at those prices, and paying ebay and paypal fees on top could make you a profit. If she is importing from a reputable retailer then she should have the paperwork to support that. If she doesn't then get her to refund the whole lot, including return postage, and make sure that you leave negative feedback for the pigment - the rest we just can't be sure about - it's possible that what she's sent is a mix of fakes and genuine items.

 

[rockin]

She has told me she buys all her MAC and Estee Lauder from allcosmeticswholesale.com and are therefore completely genuine. Obviously they are not completely genuine, since we are in no doubt about the lack of authenticity of the pigment and the limited edition shadows with manufacturing codes later than the date of the collection.

 

[angi]

I don't buy that. It makes no sense. If she was buying the items from ACW online she'd be making an considerable loss, and if by some chance she is buying from ACW wholesale, they're selling her items before retaining them for their own stock inventory (e.g. Stormwatch, Thunder, which they are currently sold out on.)

Like you said, we're clear that at least three of the items are fake, maybe more, so send the lot back. Has she agreed to the return postage? When you send them back make sure you keep some good photos of the detail compared to genuine items. I still have a couple of fake eyeshadows floating around (because I was out of time before I realised) and for comparison purposes they're really useful.

 

[User38]

I would just return the whole lot and ask for my money back.. such aggravation takes away from the pleasure of the product use.

 

[rockin]

Thank you both for your help and advice. You're right, angi - I don't see how she could make a profit buying from them and selling on, especially as she doesn't charge postage herself.

I will indeed return them all, and she has agreed to pay the return postage. I will charge the camera up and take lots of photographs first, though.

Oh, and she says she is also a member of Specktra.

 

[angi]

Glad to hear you got a good result. Hopefully if she's a member here, she'll drop by to give her side.

Not to say that the superglass you received is counterfeit, but I did find a counterfeit one earlier. I don't think I'd paid attention to the superglasses before, but clearly, they've done the packaging!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MAC-Lipgloss-...Up_Cosmetics_Lip_Gloss_PP&hash=item4aa93e31c5

I'm going to report and have it removed in a bit.

 

[rockin]

I had no idea they'd copied the Superglasses already.

Here's the one I bought http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230546616655

 

[angi]

I had no idea they'd copied the Superglasses already.

Here's the one I bought http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230546616655

I have no idea on Superglasses beyond obvious things like the colour not having been made/ batch numbers not being right. I've never seen or owned a superglass to be able to look at the detail. But I was suprised to see they'd copied them as I didn't think they had either. It's only a matter of time until they perfect the new pigment jars too

 

[User38]

oh my.. that octagonal shaped wand is a dead giveaway.. those are usually made in China.

as for copying -- they copy absolutely everything.. last products I saw were Chanel compacts... but they spelled Cameo as Camoe..

 

[rockin]

My Superglass does at least have a colour name that exists (Totally Bang!) and a batch code of A10, which I believe is about right. These counterfeiters can be pretty stupid sometimes, using incorrect colour names. The one in the listing you found looks to have no glitter, either, and all Superglasses have glitter.

 

[angi]

My Superglass does at least have a colour name that exists (Totally Bang!) and a batch code of A10, which I believe is about right. These counterfeiters can be pretty stupid sometimes, using incorrect colour names. The one in the listing you found looks to have no glitter, either, and all Superglasses have glitter.

That is true, and the batch code does sound about right, as the collections tend to be batched about 5-6 months before their release.

 

[rockin]

The Superglass is also fake.

I've found the 2 I bought direct from MAC, and can see the differences now. I will try to take photographs, but in the meantime what I've noticed is:

The fake is slightly shorter than the genuine
The batch code, A10 like the genuine ones I have, is stamped into the label as they are, but barely visible compared to them.
The word SUPERGLASS and the colour name on the label are in a different, larger font on the fake one than on the real ones
The words around the outside of the label are also in a different font, and have a larger gap between the start and end of the text (will be clear when you see pictures)
The fake label is shinier silver, and smoother. The real ones have a textured label.
If you remove the lid and look at the thread on the vial itself, the fake one tapers to a much thinner point than the genuine
The fake one doesn't have the same vanilla scent as the genuine.

On the boxes, the colour name sticker on the fake is blacker and smoother than the real ones, with a different font.
The bar code sticker on the fake is smoother and shinier. It has a different font than the real ones
The batch code printed on the barcode sticker is also in a different font - the 1 has a base on the genuine ones, but not on the fake. It is also printed on the opposite end of the sticker
On the side of the box with the large writing, the accents over the letters A and the first E in A LEVRES are thinner and more elongated than on the original

 

[LMD84]

oh wow i am so sorry that this has happened to you. but yeah she was totally bs'ing when she said pigment lids used to be shiney. i have many from 2004 and all lids are the same as the ones dated 2009 and such. and i can't believe even the superglass was fake!

 

[rockin]

I have taken photographs and uploaded them to Photobucket. I'm not sure how to resize them for this forum, so you'll need to click on the links to see them. Bigger = clearer detail anyway.

Hope this helps someone

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v405/rockinrollingal/Fake%20MAC/P1010395.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v405/rockinrollingal/Fake%20MAC/P1010396.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v405/rockinrollingal/Fake%20MAC/P1010401.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v405/rockinrollingal/Fake%20MAC/P1010402.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v405/rockinrollingal/Fake%20MAC/P1010403.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v405/rockinrollingal/Fake%20MAC/P1010406.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v405/rockinrollingal/Fake%20MAC/P1010413.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v405/rockinrollingal/Fake%20MAC/P1010440.jpg

 

[rockin]

oh wow i am so sorry that this has happened to you. but yeah she was totally bs'ing when she said pigment lids used to be shiney. i have many from 2004 and all lids are the same as the ones dated 2009 and such. and i can't believe even the superglass was fake!

Thanks, Lou. I thought that was the case with the lids, but I didn't personally own any pigments earlier than 2006 to compare it with.