Brushes -- please help

[angel_cloud]

Hi All,

I'm fairly new to MAC and a total noob here at Specktra. I've bought all of my MAC makeup at my nearest counter, but I'll admit that when I saw these brushes on (the dreaded) eBay, I couldn't resist.

I bought them before I joined here, and at the time was naive. Now I've read the posts on the counterfeit brushes, I'm not so sure my "deal" was all that great. I've taken a few pictures, which I'll attach below.

All of the brushes are either imprinted with USA, FRANCE, or JAPAN in bold Ariel font, which I understand is a sign of authenticity, but the "join" in the M looks to be in the wrong place so I'm just not sure. It's in the same place on all of them.

They only arrived in the mail today, so if they are indeed fake, I will be sending them back to the seller tomorrow. I just want to be absolutely sure before I make any accusations.

What do you think?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...A/P1240033.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...A/P1240037.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...A/P1240039.jpg

 

[Xqueeze_me]

Do they come in as a set with a roll-up-and-tie brush holder?

The 187 is definitely a fake.

**EDIT: Do they come in plastic sleeves and with or without barcodes on the sleeves?

 

[angel_cloud]

No, they all came in individual plastic sleeves with barcodes on them.

My gut feeling says they're all fake, but like I said, I didn't want to go and accuse the seller of sending me junk. On the other hand, I paid a hundred bucks for them, which I'm not having if they're counterfeit.

 

[Xqueeze_me]

Have you tried searching for the name of the seller in the eBay sellers/fakers to avoid to see if they sell fake brushes? I'm not too familiar with the brushes BUT I do know the 187 is definitely fake due to the ferrules and the crimping of the metal onto the handle.

 

[angel_cloud]

I did look on there, but didn't see the seller's name.

Ah well, lesson learned I guess. Thanks for your help though! I'm just going to send them back and then suck it up and buy direct from mac.

 

[peek_a_b0o]

Fake fake fake fake fake!! Send it back immediately. What is the sellers name by the way???

Heres bar codes from packages of brushes I bought at a MAC store

187
773602058334

239
773602008803

224
773602008735

Hth

 

[angel_cloud]

The seller was '*********' on eBay.

I do have sleeves with those barcodes on them, but there's nothing to say that s/he didn't just take them from authentic mac brushes bought for him/herself.

Definitely sending them back. I've already informed the seller that I'll be doing so. I'm going to go straight to the post office this morning

Thanks for your help!!

 

[loci]

Do you buy them as a set? Its not easy to tell whether a brush is authentice or not especially when that brush isn't as popular as 187. I have brushes from France ith shiny handles and bold font, from Japan with matte handle with bold font, and from Japan with matte handle with thin font. I've realized to determine whether a brush is real or fake you must do a brush by brush study. There is no general guildines. (like the ferrules curve in is true for 187, but not true for some of the eye brushes)

But, that 187 is a fake. not only the ferrules but also the white part of the bristle is wavy instead of stright.
If 187 is fake, the rest has a really big chance to be fake as well.

 

[angel_cloud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by loci But, that 187 is a fake. not only the ferrules but also the white part of the bristle is wavy instead of stright. If 187 is fake, the rest has a really big chance to be fake as well.

The 187 is what really made me doubt the authenticity of the entire set. There didn't appear to be enough white bristles in it and they all curled over at the ends.

In knowing that the 187 is fake, I'm assuming that the rest are too. I sent the whole lot back yesterday morning. The seller said s/he'd give me a full refund of the purchase price, no questions asked. Another red flag in my mind. Surely if they were authentic, the seller would have wanted to know what the problem was to try and resolve it. Nope.

I made up for it this morning though by ordering 5 eye brushes from maccosmetics.com. I can't wait for them to come! It's so worth it for the peace of mind.

 

[queenofhearts87]

I'm sorry, Ab.. when you showed me your 239 compared to mine, it looked so real! Same finish on the handles, crimping, everything.

One thing I've been thinking [and I'm only saying this here because you're not on MSN and I missed you by 15 mins this morning!] is that maybe some of the brushes in the set were fakes? Like the 187 [should've asked you about the bristles, btw. I know we discussed the short/long part, but I didn't even think to ask if they were straight] is definitely fake, but that 239.. if that one was definitely fake, it's the best fake I've ever seen.

Guess I should delete him off my faves as 'authentic mac brush seller on ebay'! We should report his other auctions stating that they're fake.

Did you end up taking the brushes to the counter?