[Love Souljah]

I am in Asia for six months and I am going to stock up on makeup that I can't get in the States...
Problem is, since it IS Asia, fakes should be everywhere. I can't make it to an authorized selling location like a branded store or kiosk, so I want to brush up on how to spot fakes. I already know how to spot fake MAC and some fake Chanel, but I have not been able to find a place to research fake YSL and Dior.

Does anyone have links to guides or any pointers?

(Also, I believe "advice" such as, "if the deal sounds good to be true, then it probably is" doesn't really help, so please refrain from posting if that's all you have to offer. Sorry if that sounded really arrogant, but it's in the same vein as the people on tech support forums who always tell others to reinstall windows when they want to accomplish something simple.)

[Lucy]

the thing i would do is take pictures with you of genuine products, or make notes on what features the genuine products have. it would be a good idea to have at least images of the logos with you.

for example if you wanted a touche eclat concealer, find one over in your country at the YSL counter and make a note of EVERY feature on that thing, inc the box it comes in.

getting to know what the actual product looks like would really be the only sure fire way i can think of to spotting fakes.

some common fake mistakes though
-logos that read right to left downwards or are mirrored.. this is easy to do with the YSL logo as all the letters are jumbly looking in the original logo anyway- or they may just say YSL and not yves saint laurent...
-incorrect measurements or sizes on the boxes, i.e. should read 20ml for a touche eclat but actually says 10ml
-wrong colours- memorise the shades of the products you're interested in. eg there isn't a touche eclat in "caramel"
-always check the box- the box may appear genuine (and it might be) but whats inside it probably isn't.

as for dior.. i found this guide for you
eBay.co.uk Guides - How to spot Fake Dior Lipstick

hth!!

[Aprill]

There are plenty of guides on ebay to follow as well. And if you have an doubt, you are probably right

[Love Souljah]

Lucy, thanks for the tips and the link!

Aprill, I searched eBay for hours trying to find said guides, but their search function is pretty lame IMO and I couldn't find anything except for fake handbag, fragrance, and jewelry guides outside of CHANEL (found a really good guide but I still need guides for the other ones).

I saw a "YSL" lipstick that was in a metal case, but it was round instead of a rectangular prism, it didn't say YvesSaintLaurent on it anywhere, and the sticker on the end was messily applied. It was also without a box, so I skipped it and a similar Shisedo 92 that I wish had been real, but it looked fake considering the shape of the tube and that it was also boxless. The place I was at, however, had some convincing Clinique lipcolor which I bought and compared to my stepmom's Clinique lipcolor of the same type and it checked out. She tried it and said it was real...so I guess this place has a mix of real and fake. They also have authentic MAC that was bought from a mall in India (something super mall or other)...

[Jessi123]

hmmm, i'd check amazon too

[internetchick]

I don't know about eBay guides. Anyone can make a guide, including sellers who auction off fakes. I agree with Lucy. Go and touch and examine the real thing at the s counter. Learn what the real thing looks, feels, and smells like.

[Beautiijunkii]

If I can't buy it from the actual store or a legitimate CCO/CCS, I just don't even try it.

[Love Souljah]

Well, thing is, I'm already here (in Bangladesh right now), and I'm looking to buy gifts for people, but some of the time I am not sure about the authenticity of a product because I have never tried it before or even seen it in person. I know there are fakes like the L'Oreal Pan-Cake because the packaging looks photoshopped and I'm pretty sure L'Oreal would never use a MF product name.

[pinksugar]

do you have access to the products in department stores? then you could do a direct comparison.

I would have thought that the real product would be a lot cheaper there anyway

[Love Souljah]

Well, thing is, I'm already here (in Bangladesh right now)

There are no department stores or branded cosmetic counters here in Bangladesh. I have no access to anything of the sort, and googling images doesn't show the bottom of the product, so a fake could have everything right except for the bottom and I would get conned because of that.
Unfortunately, I don't know where to find any complete sets of images, and the internet here is too slow for me to manually find them on MUA ):

[pinksugar]

if that's the case then I'd either resign myself to fakes and refuse to pay any higher than 'fake' prices, or alternatively, I'd just not buy any at all - If you can't be sure that they aren't fake, you don't have any real products to compare them with, and they don't come from reputable stores or counters, chances are, you're going to get conned.

i agree if you have any doubt, let it go add an extra few dollars and buy it from the store. nowadays most fake cosmetics are very easy to spot if you know your cosmetics, i learned how to spot fake handbags and scarves in a heartbeat so im sure one can learn to spot fake cosmetics. but some do disguise them very well so i just never buy anything much if its not from the licensed seller(department stores,boutiques,actual store) or the actual companies website.

[pinksugar]

perhaps if you list specific products, someone who owns them could post pictures or describe them? then you can check whether what you're seeing is real.

I have a few chanel things but I'm not sure if I could tell a fake form a real. Most of my other things are MAC or lancome though so I'm not much help

[Love Souljah]

perhaps if you list specific products, someone who owns them could post pictures or describe them? then you can check whether what you're seeing is real.

I have a few chanel things but I'm not sure if I could tell a fake form a real. Most of my other things are MAC or lancome though so I'm not much help

Ooh! I'll do that. Either that or I'll post pictures of the actual product in question...