Counterfeit MAC vs real MAC

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I own the two Lady Gaga lipsticks and the Black Knight one. I bought one of the two Lady Gaga one from my local MAC at Macy's and the other on MAC's website and later the Black Knight one. If you ever decide to do a swap for or buy MAC from outside of MAC Cosmetics site or stores there are tell-tell signs if it's legit or not. The first are the #s on the bottom, real MAC labels their products with the names.





The second is those letters and #s. I didn't think about taking a pic of it with the box but I did with my Jealousy Wakes shadow (bought on MAC's website).



Without the flash it's very hard to see the A51 on the label. Only real MAC will have that # stamped on their labels so it corresponds to the box's UPC label. Even the lipsticks have it stamped but earlier to see. So if you EVER were to trade for MAC or buy MAC from someone always ask for pics of the box UPC label and the bottom label of the product. If there is no stamped "code" on it that corresponds to the label on the box it's a fake.

Also real MAC the inside flap of the box - be it lipstick or eyeshadow (and most likely everything else) the flap has Back 2 MAC on it. I don't think counterfeit MACs have that.




On to some fakes that unfortunately made their way into the hands of several MUT members.

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Off hand I don't recall what the eye shadow above color was suppose to be but the blush is suppose to be the Venomous Villains Evil Queen blush. The reality of that is that MAC made four blushes for the entire series - one blush per character. So the one with the Evil Queen was Bite of an Apple not 04 (in all among the counterfeits there were 8 blushes per character which is not accurate).

The REAL Bite of an Apple looks like this (image from Temptalia). Notice the color difference? Also notice the positioning of the Evil Queen in the fake vs the real one along with her eyes. Do you also notice the collar of the Evil Queen is not in proportion as the real one?



I did find a site that sells the eight counterfeits - labeled as 01, 02, 03, 04, etc. This is the counterfeit #4 blush which is exactly as the counterfeit sent to the MUT member by a scammer. These are all fakes.




These lip items were sent to another member here at MUT. Again all counterfeit.




And from another member. This member told me this is supposed to be a Lady Gaga lipstick. As you can see it's a fake as there have been only two Lady Gaga lipsticks from MAC (see my pics above). The two real Lady Gaga lipsticks have her signature on the lipstick tube itself and is hot pink. The counterfeit looks like a fake Wet 'n' Wild lipstick shoved into a fake MAC lipstick tube.




Unfortunately there is nothing we can do for the members that were burned by the bad trades other than having revoked that member's (the scammer) from having access to the trade section. Our policy at MUT is that if you trade or buy things from other members here you do so at your own risk. My suggestion if it involves high end products or expensive products then you have that person send you pictures of every item at every angle of the box and product itself then do your research on it. MAC has not and will not make palettes, does not include sponge or brushes with their products, does not have compartments for blush brushes, and are not numbers 01, 02, 03, 04, etc. Also watch those fill weights because older counterfeits the fill weight is NOT the same as legitimate MAC.
 
More counterfeits. MAC has NEVER EVER made ANY palettes like the following. Every single one is a fake. These images came from a site that someone had posted in another thread asking about Hello Kitty makeup brushes by MAC (which were fake as well). Literally there are hundreds, if not thousands, of fake MAC palettes out there. If you EVER consider buying MAC from someone online either via a swap forum, EBay or website ask for more pictures of the products - specifically the bottom of the product because 9 out of 10 times the fake WILL not have the correct label on the bottom. When in doubt look it up on MAC Cosmetics or Temptalia's site (she posts the bottoms of the products from time to time but you'll be able to compare what's real and what's not).



More counterfeit Venomous Villains Evil Queen lip glosses.



 
I get so frustrated seeing fakes on eBay.  I'm all for unbranded palettes from China (just bought one for $5) but shelling out comparable money for an authentic item is ridiculous as most people think they're buying legit.  A little knowledge goes a long way... the fakes are obvious to spot when you know just a little about the brand (i.e., no palettes like the ones shown above, no brushes or applicators are included [except for holiday palettes] and packaging that includes poorly spelled words or incorrect grammar) but people are still being duped on a daily basis.

At least when I bought that $5 concealer palette I KNOW the quality is questionable.  If you're buying "MAC", you have expectations as to the quality of the ingredients and the performance of the item.

 
Thanks for posting! I have only bought one cosmetic on Ebay, a Benefit Blush, and I would have never thought about it being fake.

 
Having had the chance to talk to MAC Pro MUA educators we - Annelle & I - were told that one of the key scents in their lip products is vanilla. So if a lip item doesn't smell like vanilla it's most likely a fake.

 

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