When it comes to cheap counterfeit cosmetics, there is never any benefit to using them. Consumers are always at risk of serious skin problems and long term health problems arising from the use of counterfeit beauty products.
Duplicate Cosmetics contain harmful metals and even poisonous substances like arsenic, lead, aluminium, mercury, and human carcinogens (cancer-causing substances), along with dangerous levels of bacteria and even urine. Aside from causing severe skin and health problems, such first copy beauty products damage the brand name and their credibility, which causes huge financial losses for these companies. Beauty brands invest millions of dollars in research and development, packaging, and marketing to bring the consumer new and effective products.
According to research, only a small percentage of customers actually admit to knowingly purchasing counterfeit products, while the majority of customers who end up using counterfeit products did not know that they were fake.
Why are fake makeup products dangerous?
Counterfeit products are available for most of the popular beauty segments, like skincare, haircare, makeup, makeup brushes, and other beauty products from popular brands. Counterfeiting is an illegal activity that is banned in most countries, it’s also an unethical business practice that Law enforcement is working hard to eradicate.
Furthermore, these products are being manufactured in the most unhygienic conditions – with low-quality ingredients like carcinogens (cancer-causing substances) that are extremely harmful to the end-users. Various types of bacteria have been discovered in counterfeit cosmetics, causing infections, skin rashes, and allergic reactions. E. coli (Escherichia coli) is the most common type of bacteria found in counterfeit cosmetics, and it can cause severe diarrhoea, kidney failure, and even anaemia.
Why are counterfeit beauty products manufactured?
In a nutshell, the answer is money. The beauty industry is easily worth more than 100 billion dollars, and its success has spawned a parallel industry of duplicate products sold in the same market space.
Consumers must learn to distinguish between counterfeit and genuine copies as counterfeiters are constantly developing new and improved methods of replicating products to look as good as the original.
What can I do to ensure that I don’t buy fake products?
If you are a student or have a limited budget for your beauty needs, the safest option is to use drug store beauty brands that are reasonably priced, as there aren’t many counterfeiters who bother dealing with these brands because they are already retailed at a reasonable price. but recently we are seeing this trend is also changing, in fact, sometime in February 2021, the Mumbai police sized 24 lakhs worth of fake cosmetics. This counterfeit product issue is becoming more prevalent as luxury brands become more popular and fast-selling. High-end cosmetics are sold at a higher price point, which means there is more money to be made, which is why high-end products are frequently targeted and copied.
Keep in mind that high-end beauty products are always expensive due to the use of high-quality ingredients, the cost of product research and development, premium packaging, and so on. High-end brands are even more expensive in India due to our 28%t import duty and 18% GST on beauty products. When shipping and clearing charges are factored in, it can cost us anywhere between 40 to 50% more than it does in the United States or Europe.
Four points to keep in mind when buying high-end beauty brands in India.
- Product Price – you can differentiate counterfeit products by price, so if the price is extremely low, it may indicate that the products are duplicates or first copy as we know them.
- Product Packaging – Contrast the products you received with the product images on the brand’s website.
- Product Barcode – A quick online search will reveal whether the barcode on the product you received matches the one registered by the manufacturer.
- And finally, always shop at reputed online shops or well-known stores.
Never before has there been a pressing need for consumers to be wary of purchasing counterfeit cosmetics. Unfortunately, many of these counterfeit products are still being made in China and a few other Southeast Asian countries.
In conclusion, I would urge you to do your due diligence and research this growing problem, you would be surprised to find thousands of unfortunate customers who are suffering from the side effects of using fake beauty products. Some have even posted photographs and shared their ordeals on social media. You can see images of their faces disfigured with chemical burns, rashes, and other long-term health problems, and there is no one to hold accountable as these counterfeit products are not made by legitimate companies who would proudly print their names on their products.
We take this challenge seriously at LaCarene’s, and our Procurement team only sources products from verified suppliers. In the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe, we either buy directly from the manufacturer or from an authorised distributor. In addition, we make certain that our warehouse team inspects all stock shipments as soon as they arrive. You can shop with confidence at LaCarenes.com because all of our products are 100% authentic and backed by our 100% money-back guarantee.
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Recommended Reading on this Topic
- Tips to identify originals from fake cosmetic products – The Indian Express
- The problem of fake cosmetics – DNA India
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