Fake Pigments? Please help!

[MAC_Mad]

Hi there,

I recently bought some pigments from a giant international outlet store which offers up to 60% off the RRP price. I myself don't actually own any full size pigments but have a sample of Teal from a makeup artist buddy.

The shades I purchased are Blue Storm, Teal, Kitschmas, Tan and Melon at absolutely wonderful prices! However, when I got home I compared the newly bought Teal to my sample and it's definately not the same. It's not as blue as the sample but other than that the texture looks the same. I've sat and compared the two for hours and I think that *maybe* the texture of the sample Teal may be slightly finer than that of the full sized one.

Anyway, I went back to the store and asked them about it and they told me that it could be that the Teal they sold is a much older Teal than that in the sample. They told me that some of the pigments issued say in 97 are different than those issued today because MAC often reissue pigments and shades. (One example that seems to prove this is that of the eyeshadow Moon's Reflection which I purchased last year however when I was at the (real) MAC stand the other day the Moon's Reflection was more matte than the one I own)

The store has only just opened last year and the assistant told me that they get all kinds of top brand makeup in that can consist of long discontinued products and brand new common as muck products. She said that she couldn't tell me why exactly the pigments differ but that may offer one explaination. I've asked a MAC makeup artist friend about this and he says it's possible but then I've seen so many reports of fake pigments on here and that's why I wanted to post this.

I've brought the pigments to my MAC store and asked the MA's what they think, they compared Melon to their own and said it was definately more orangey than their one but other than that they thought it was real, they said this for all the pigments I showed them. The pigments have the shade names on their outer box but on the bottom of the jars there are just a letter and a number like A12 or A02. I watched the MA's look at this but they didn't say anything about that.

I even tried emailing MAC throught their website about my concerns and asked them about their pigment history but unfortunately and rather disappointingly so, I've yet to receive a response

If you want I could provide pictures or swatches of the shades on my hand in good lighting and maybe you could tell me what you think? The reason I'm so worried is that I bought them to sell on Ebay and definately don't want to end up selling fake MAC! but then how could it be fake if it was selling in an internation outlet store?

Oh my goodness I've only just realised how long this post is! I'm really sorry about the length of this but this whole thing gives me a headache and I just want to be 100% before I start selling to people. Any advice or information anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[caffn8me]

There have been a couple of formulations at least of Teal but I'm not sure how the colour was affected, if at all.

The labels on the base should have the product name because people discard the box.

A product code of A12 means first production run (A) of January (1) 2002 (2)

If you actually have a product code of A02 then it's a fake because the months are coded as follows;

Quote:

Originally Posted by insanebeauty27 Since there are 12 months - here are the numbers/letters that correspond: Jan 1 Feb 2 Mar 3 Apr 4 May 5 June 6 July 7 Aug 8 Sept 9 Oct A Nov B Dec C So your vanilla pigment BA5 means Batch B from October 2005.

You really need to show us some photographs which clearly show the writing on the label, the base of the jars and the boxes.

You might be able to get enough information from the thread An excellent guide to spotting fake pigments from Ebay

All the colour names you mention are also being sold on eBay by another vendor - see these look iffy... and I am sure that those are fake.

You describe the outlet store as "International" - was it on the web or did you visit in person? I presume you visited in person because you talk about speaking to the assistant. Where is the store?

To be honest, pigments in current colours at 60% off recommended price available in large quantities are in my opinion unlikely to be genuine.

Good luck!

 

[MAC_Mad]

Hi thanks for your reply!

The internation outlet store I went to is one where you walk in and around, there's only one cosmetics shop in it as it's mainly clothing.

I've just had a call from my friend who is a MAC Pro member and he's gone on to the MACPRO website and entered into a forum discussion with a MAC Pro representative. He has said that pigments with codes such as A02 or A15 are perfectly normal and although you won't get any products with that code now he assured me that they are valid indicators of the batch. Batch numbers differ from country to country and also due to the age of the product. He also said that MAC has taken precautions against brand theft and so this makes it highly unlikely for producers to obtain the exact packaging and paperwork of MAC's products and seeing that now a large majority of MAC's packaging takes place in Canada it limits the chance of counterfeiting. He also confirmed that Teal has been a revised shade and that it used to be a lot lighter than it is now. Also MAC pigments, unlike MAC's emolliant products, have a long shelf life and that a pigment more than five years old, as long as it has not been opened, is still perfectly safe to use. He told me that for proof of this fact you could consult the C.O.S.H.H guide of 2005 published by the H.S.E of the United Kingdom.

I think this has pretty much put my mind at rest!

Anyway here are some pictures:

All of the pigments on my hand:


The bottom of 'Melon':


The back of 'Melon':


Kitschmas:


Tan:


My camera's not the best, it's darkened the pictures a bit and doesn't show as much shimmer but hopefully the pics are good enough!

 

[debsjc]

I have to say those do not look genuine to me, I can't be sure but several things don't look right.

- The print on the side of the jar looks too 'bold' and clumsy
- The stickers on the bottom are usually silver or clear with the name and a batch number, not black (I think glitters have black stickers on)
- The colours on your hand don't look quite right to me, the Melon looks quite orange, and the Tan looks too dark. It could just be the light though.

 

[caffn8me]

Definitely fake. The printing on the label is incorrect. The M·A·C Pro friend's reassurances about how difficult M·A·C products are to counterfeit is sadly way off the mark. I've been speaking to Estee Lauder's global director of security and brand protection (who is responsible for stamping out fakes of M·A·C products) and there is a big problem. There are numerous fake eye shadows, mascaras, blushes, foundations, lipsticks and pigments available around the world.

 

[caffn8me]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAC_Mad He has said that pigments with codes such as A02 or A15 are perfectly normal and although you won't get any products with that code now he assured me that they are valid indicators of the batch. Batch numbers differ from country to country and also due to the age of the product.

I've purchased M·A·C in the USA, Canada and the UK and haven't seen any differences in product batch codes. My oldest M·A·C containers (empty but too useful for B2M) date back to 1995 or 1996 and have no batch code at all on the actual container. More recent ones (1997) have a batch code like 7A017 or 8K19K or 8K021 so nothing like the current codes. I really don't believe that A02 is a valid batch code and the photographs you have posted confirm that your pigments are fake too. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!

 

[sigwing]

I also noticed the font is different, the real MAC jar font is not as rounded, the O's are not perfectly round as on the Melon jar picture, plus the word "eclat" does not have the ` over the e as it does on the MAC jar. Eerily close replicas, tho, and shame on people who do this. Too bad they can't use their talents for legitimate endeavors instead of being thieves.

 

[MAC_Mad]

Hi, thanks so much for your replies! I'm devastated that these are fakes but can't understand how they came about to be sold through the cosmetics shop I was in, they also sold MAC eyeshadows and they were definately real as I'm far more familiar with eyeshadows than pigments.

Even more worrying though is that they are so real looking that even the MAC MA's who I spoke to thought that they were real!

I don't think I could get a refund even if I tried as I suppose the only way to really prove that they're fakes is to send them away for chemical testing! The texture of the pigments are like I said, almost identical to the real MAC pigments and they are still nice shades so I suppose it's not a total loss of money!

Anyway thanks for all your replies!

 

[caffn8me]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAC_Mad I don't think I could get a refund even if I tried as I suppose the only way to really prove that they're fakes is to send them away for chemical testing! The texture of the pigments are like I said, almost identical to the real MAC pigments and they are still nice shades so I suppose it's not a total loss of money!

You have no way of knowing that the ingredients in the fake pigments are safe. They are probably made in China or Thailand. Counterfeiters aren't worried about safety, all they're worried about its making money. I sent you a PM link which has a page you can print out. Print it out and take it with the pigments back to the outlet you got them from. If they refuse to refund you then contact your local better business bureau or trading standards organization.

Bear in mind that M·A·C does not sell through distributors or wholesalers but only through its own standalone stores, counters within major brand department stores, on the web or at CCOs. Any other retail outlet selling M·A·C products is either selling fake or stolen produce.

 

[DaizyDeath]

Quote:

Originally Posted by caffn8me You have no way of knowing that the ingredients in the fake pigments are safe. They are probably made in China or Thailand. Counterfeiters aren't worried about safety, all they're worried about its making money. I sent you a PM link which has a page you can print out. Print it out and take it with the pigments back to the outlet you got them from. If they refuse to refund you then contact your local better business bureau or trading standards organization. Bear in mind that M·A·C does not sell through distributors or wholesalers but only through its own standalone stores, counters within major brand department stores, on the web or at CCOs. Any other retail outlet selling M·A·C products is either selling fake or stolen produce.

i definitly agree with her on the fact of not using the product beacuse you really dont know what in it even if it is a "nice" color who knows what could happen if some got in your eye.

Definitly take it back i guarentee they will give you back your money if you threaten to report them and even if they do take it back without any trouble you should probably still report them beacuse people could get hurt by using these products that havnt been demmed safe by anyone besides the people that make it which are crooks.

 

[lolachick]

Fakety fake fake! Lol. Just wanted to add that a lot of knock-off cosmetics are known to contain lead, so definitely don't use these!

 

[fashioniztah_07]

definetely fake. i have melon pigment and doesnt look like that.