MAC Pigment...fake or not??

[LilSphinx]

Hello, I just joined this site and it looks great. I'm hoping you all can help me out with something, please:
*I'm new to MAC products/pigments, and this is only my second MAC product purchase, so I don't feel qualified to judge it's quality/authenticity on my own. I hope some of you MAC experts/veterans can tell me what's what.

-I recently purchased a MAC pigment Charm off of ebay, "Violet". The quality is great but I'm seeing a big difference in color/hue/shade between what I received and others I have seen pics. of online. The difference between those and mine is that I have a Charm and I'm looking at the full size jars...but, should there be a difference in the shade between a Charm and a Jar?

I realize that I'm taking a big risk in buying MAC off of ebay, but I'm researching the sellers feedback thoroughly before bidding, as well as, comparing product info./images from the 'net, too. I don't have a MAC Pro store near me and my local MAC counter doesn't carry alot of different product colors, and some of the colors I'm looking for are no longer available on the MAC website, so I'm resorting to ebay and other sites.

For images of the product I bought as well as comparison images of jars of the same color, please refer to my original post on LiveJournal: My Makeup Review - Mac "Violet" Pigment

I haven't left feedback for this seller yet, I wanted to make sure that what I bought is genuine MAC before leaving positive feedback.

I also picked up a full jar of Grape, which can be seen here: My Makeup Review - My first MAC pigment buy!! I'm pretty certain that this item is genuine and have already left positive feedback for the seller. It's gorgeous!

So, what do you think?

Thanks!

 

[MACATTAK]

The small vial of Violet pigment is authentic. Sorry, but your Grape pigment is fake

Here's a good thread http://specktra.net/f257/fake-deep-p...nalysis-94038/

 

[LMD84]

i'm pretty damns sure you're violet is the real deal (i don't think they do fakes in the vials yet) and it is pretty light in colour and rubs off easier than the other darker colours such as grape and deepm purple (my full size violet came from a mac store so know it's real)

but like the above poster suggested i'm thinking that the grape is the fake one. something doesn't look right about the box...

 

[fingie]

Just to throw it out there, don't worry about colors based on pictures from Ebay (or anywhere on the web)...pictures come out differently based on lighting, the camera, camera settings, etc. The violet is most likely real, based on the fact its the vial/holiday size. The grape...I honestly can't tell. I want to say its real based on the shimmer I can see in the pic, but you didn't post a pic of the actual swatch, just after you had tried to wipe it away with your fingers. I do think the box looks a bit funny, but it could have just been sitting in a traincase and taken a bit of a beating...

Oh, and IMO, "saving a few bucks" or w/e isn't a good enough reason to order a pigment off ebay-ESPECIALLY if you don't know anything about them to begin with (ie: you didn't know how big the jar was, etc) I'm not trying to be a b*tch, but I would hate for you to lose money on a fake when you can get 100% authentic pigments with free shipping and not have to stress about whether its real or not.

 

[LilSphinx]

Hi Fingie,
You're right, it would be best to buy from MAC directly. I just don't have alot of money right now and was using some Christmas money I had gotten. I was eager to get this color and didn't see it available on the site. That's the problem for me, some of the colors I want are no longer available on the MAC site, so aside from ebay or a site like this, not really sure where else to find them...? But you are right.

Yeah, I should have done a better swatch and I may redo it and post a better pic. But it's a very lovely shimmery purple. It's gorgeous and feels so smooth.

The box does look pretty beat up, not sure why as I don't know how the seller treats her stock/products before mailing them out or in what condition she received it in. I was hoping for a brand new looking box, but oh well.

Thanks!

 

[LilSphinx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LMD84 i'm pretty damns sure you're violet is the real deal (i don't think they do fakes in the vials yet) and it is pretty light in colour and rubs off easier than the other darker colours such as grape and deepm purple (my full size violet came from a mac store so know it's real) but like the above poster suggested i'm thinking that the grape is the fake one. something doesn't look right about the box...

Out of curiousity, what about the box looks wrong?
-I've been looking at other 'authentic' MAC pigment packaging on the internet and watching YouTube videos on spotting fakes, and to me, the box looks good...aside from being banged up.

I'm still learning and so am curious as to what to look for.

Thank you.

-As far as the Violet goes. Mine is pretty light and it's still a gorgeous color, but in comparison to other "Violets" I've seen online from MAC pigments, I thought that mine looked 'even' lighter.

 

[LilSphinx]

Hi MACATTACK,
Thank you for the link, I checked it out and compared my box/bottle to the ones pictured. I'm honestly confused...some things matched up where they shouldn't have and vice-a-versa.

After Christmas I'm going to take my pigment to a MAC counter and have the worker take a look at it. I really hope that we're all wrong and that mine isn't a counterfeit. I already left positive feedback for that seller saying that the item is genuine.:/

Thanks again!

 

[fingie]

The reason you couldn't find Grape on the maccosmetics.com site is because it is a Pro color. It can be found at macpro.com and you can order via a 1-800 # without a pro card.

I can take a pic of a swatch of my Grape pigment in different lighting later if it will help.

Oh, and it IS possible that your vial of Violet may differ from a FS one; after all look at this year's vial of Teal--it is quite a bit different from the FS one.

 

[NatalieMT]

I would agree the Violet is most likely authentic, the vials are faked but a lot less frequently. To me from the photos, which are pretty detailed everything looks fine.

The Grape however, the box does look a bit hit/miss. Sure it's a little banged up but it's the slight scratches on the front that make me question it. If you still have the box maybe try and scratch it a little more, see how easy it it? The jar itself looks okay, the base of the jar isn't too thick like seen on classic fakes and the lid doesn't look overly shiny. It's just the sticker on the bottom, it's not clear, on my Grape honestly you can't even see the edges where the sticker ends. I agree with Fingie, it's a very hard one to call. I'll get my Grape out over the next couple of days and take a few photos for comparison. I know mine is 100% authentic as it was bought from a store.

 

[panda0410]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MACATTAK The small vial of Violet pigment is authentic. Sorry, but your Grape pigment is fake Here's a good thread http://specktra.net/f257/fake-deep-p...nalysis-94038/

hey girl!

you took words right out of my mouth - I agree entirely - the Grape is a fake!!

The Vial is all good though

 

[LilSphinx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fingie The reason you couldn't find Grape on the maccosmetics.com site is because it is a Pro color. It can be found at macpro.com and you can order via a 1-800 # without a pro card. I can take a pic of a swatch of my Grape pigment in different lighting later if it will help. Oh, and it IS possible that your vial of Violet may differ from a FS one; after all look at this year's vial of Teal--it is quite a bit different from the FS one.

Thank you for that site. I didn't realize that there were two MAC sites (newbie here). I just looked over the Pro site and still didn't see Grape available with their pigments.

A swatch would be wonderful!! I'll take one of mine, too and post it for comparison. I really do appreciate the offer. Thank you!

It's nice to know that my Violet may just be a different batch rather than a fake.

Thanks again!

 

[panda0410]

Its not just the swatches sweetie - the jar, base sticker, lid and box tell us its a fake... trust us, we have seen hundreds of them to know

 

[LilSphinx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NatalieMT I would agree the Violet is most likely authentic, the vials are faked but a lot less frequently. To me from the photos, which are pretty detailed everything looks fine. The Grape however, the box does look a bit hit/miss. Sure it's a little banged up but it's the slight scratches on the front that make me question it. If you still have the box maybe try and scratch it a little more, see how easy it it? The jar itself looks okay, the base of the jar isn't too thick like seen on classic fakes and the lid doesn't look overly shiny. It's just the sticker on the bottom, it's not clear, on my Grape honestly you can't even see the edges where the sticker ends. I agree with Fingie, it's a very hard one to call. I'll get my Grape out over the next couple of days and take a few photos for comparison. I know mine is 100% authentic as it was bought from a store.

I just did a scratch test on my box with my thumb nail and it didn't leave a mark. I put down 'some' pressure, enough that on a lesser quality box, a mark should have been left. Odd.

I'm going to take it by my local MAC counter and ask what the MA thinks of it. I really 'hope' she tells me it's authentic. It's such a lovely color to wear.

I compared the text boldness on my bottle and box to those of other authentic items pictured on this site, and it looks the same.

Thanks!

 

[panda0410]

The base of the jar shows this is 100% Fake, sorry.... there is a very clear indicator there of a counterfeit trademark that is NEVER seen in authentic jars.

Whether or not the MAs that inspect it will see is another thing entirely since almost everyone who hasnt seen a lot of fakes overlooks it, and whether or not you keep using it and/or value your eyesight is entirely up to you... but for reference if you want to know how we can all see this is fake please just PM me - there is absolutely no question that its NOT authentic - I am more than happy to share the info.

 

[fingie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by panda0410 The base of the jar shows this is 100% Fake, sorry.... there is a very clear indicator there of a counterfeit trademark that is NEVER seen in authentic jars. Whether or not the MAs that inspect it will see is another thing entirely since almost everyone who hasnt seen a lot of fakes overlooks it, and whether or not you keep using it and/or value your eyesight is entirely up to you... but for reference if you want to know how we can all see this is fake please just PM me - there is absolutely no question that its NOT authentic - I am more than happy to share the info.

I'm curious to know what the indicator is? Just for future reference when it comes to MUA swaps & such.

 

[purrtykitty]

I would agree that your Violet Charm is authentic. My Teal Charm from this year's Little Darlings is lighter than my Teal pigment - different batches, slightly different results.

Your Grape Pigment is fake - I can see the tell-tale marker. The box may very well be real, but the seller just put the fake pigment in an authentic box to throw you off. Panda is excellent at identifying fake pigments, so she can provide you a wealth of information so you don't get duped again. But, IMO, buying pigment off e-bay is just not worth it. Even if the picture the seller shows is authentic doesn't mean that's actually what you're going to get.

 

[panda0410]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fingie I'm curious to know what the indicator is? Just for future reference when it comes to MUA swaps & such.

PM me your email addy and I will actually send you some pics of what I am talking about - then you will see very clearly that this is a fake - you dont even need to look at the box

Thanks PurrtyKitty!!

 

[LilSphinx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by panda0410 Its not just the swatches sweetie - the jar, base sticker, lid and box tell us its a fake... trust us, we have seen hundreds of them to know

As much as I hate it, I'm beginning to agree with you all. I just swatched my Grape pigment (again) and it's really not all that shimmery, afterall...and it looks more like plum purple than a Grape should.

I'm very disappointed now.

I like the color and didn't experience any negative effects from wearing it all day the first time I wore it, so I'm considering keeping it and continuing to wear it. Now I just need to find someone to buy a full size pigment jar of a genuine "Grape" from. Yay.

Thanks.

 

[LilSphinx]

I have just e-mailed the ebay seller that I obtained the "Grape" pigment in question from. I do not believe that this seller is aware of the fact that she sold me a fake MAC product, so I was very polite and friendly in my message to her. I'm hoping that she will be accomodating and either replace it with the same color that she "knows" to be genuine or give me a full refund.

As it's Christmas now, I do not expect a reply from her for a couple of days...then again, she is selling multiple items through her ebay store, so hopefully she's checking her ebay regularly and I'll get a quick reply. We'll see. If I do not get any help from her then I will report her to ebay and then take this up with paypal. I have not told her this, but I'm sure she's aware of the possibility.

Thank you everyone for your help on this matter, I really do appreciate it.

Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[macosophy]

i just found out on macpro.com that grape is not recommended for eyes or lips. so if you decide to purchase authentic grape, keep that in mind.