Friday, July 30, 2010
Don't Fake It, Honey
Fake things are everywhere these days. People, CD's, handbags, body parts, etc. Most of them, I can live with. In fact, some of these things make life a more pleasurable ordeal (where would humanity be without silicone?).
But with enough experience and what the locals like to call "common sense", there are some fake things that we'd do well to stay away from - like cosmetics and beauty products.
Honestly, it doesn't take a genius to deduce that what you put on your face (whoa, getting a little specific here) shouldnt come from a stranger selling things out of his trenchcoat in a dodgy back-alley with mysterious ingredients like Chemical X. Unless your face is as thick and resilient as the surface of a WWII tank, I'm pretty sure slapping on fake creams and dreams isn't going to help much.
There are plenty of fake beauty products out there and there are fake beauty product buyers because we all want to believe that a jar of La Mer can cost as much as a bowl of cendol. It doesn't and it never will.
Take for instance these beauty masks I've been using for awhile - My Beauty Diary masks. These masks are pretty good and I can tell my skin has improved slightly with regular use. Where do I get my stash of masks from? Guardian pharmacy. Are they expensive? I still can't believe I'm buying them.
These masks cost RM48 for a box of 10. That's RM4.80 per mask if you're not mathematically inclined. It's not too bad depending on how you look at it. I would love it if the masks were cheaper, but what I'm also paying for at RM48 is peace of mind. I can at least sleep soundly at night (after putting the mask on and imagining I'm transforming into a swan) that what I paid for is the original My Beauty Diary mask, and not a fake with unknown ingredients and unpredictable results.
At first, I wanted to get my supply of masks from the place where dreams come true - Lowyat.Net. The My Beauty Diary masks being sold on the forums were insanely cheap and I almost had a nose bleed looking through all the possible options and different sellers. And I mean those babies were cheap! Some threads were selling these masks for as cheap as RM1.80 per mask!
And that I think, is the first thing that should set off alarm bells in your head. Why is the mask so cheap? Ok, it would make sense if these sellers reassured us that they get their stocks directly from the supplier in Taiwan, but I'm pretty much a skeptic because I would say such things if I wanted to hawk fake goods at overly-eager ladies. Some sellers were selling their masks at around RM2.50 which sounds more believable, but who am I to know for sure?
Bought this 7-piece mask set from Guardian.
Save yourself the headache and get things like that from trusted and reliable places like pharmacies and shops like Sasa. Twice the price, but worth the relief.
Now I've been to a few pasar malam's (night markets) and have seen tons of stalls selling what looks like My Beauty Diary masks. Now here's where I judge people on how stupid and gullible they are.
Those My Beauty Diary masks in the pasar malam? They're all going for RM1 EACH. 10 masks for RM10 ok, how do you beat that?? By having more than half a brain.
I am frustrated to admit that I have friends who've told me they've purchased such masks from the pasar malam before, with no adverse reaction to their skin after using it. Maybe they got lucky, I don't know. My skin is not something I would close my eyes and cross my fingers with.
But what makes me turn in my imaginary grave is how such friends react when I tell them that those products they're buying are 101% fake. Reasoning with me that "The pasar malam aunty told me they're original," kinda makes me suspect that my friends might be foreign spies who are obviously not from Malaysia. Please tell me that you can't be that naive. Things like the labelling, small irregularities in the logo and quality of the packaging are helpful to look at.
Nothing sold in the pasar malam is original (referring to famous brands). My goodness I can't believe I have to actually tell people that.
Another popular fake product is M.A.C. cosmetics. Seriously, who are they kidding? I've seen tons of fake M.A.C. products at the pasar malam and I don't even bother giving those a second glance. If I want something as expensive as M.A.C., I'll damn well save up and get the original from a proper M.A.C. outlet! *coughs* Like so *coughs*
Counterfeit M.A.C. products are getting harder and harder to spot, but your best tool would be Google. Honestly, just Google the product and see if it really exists either on the official M.A.C. website, or on blog reviews. Their products are pretty distinctive and with all the packaging being mostly black, it's a pretty easy thing to dupe. Things like serial numbers instead of individual product names and collections, palettes which have too many shades and basically a deal that's too good to be true is a sure-fire way of telling that it's a fake.
M.A.C. for suckers.
This website for example, is selling products that are so obviously fake M.A.C. cosmetics, it's a wonder they had the audacity to even put it up. None of those products exist. A whole palette of eyeshadows for the price of 1 original M.A.C. eyeshadow? Pull the other leg please.
Google M.A.C.'s BB Cream and I assure you, it looks nothing like that.
There are a lot more different beauty products being sold at a fraction of the price with zero quality. Just Google "How to spot fake [insert product name]" and you'll get a lot more help and knowledge on how you can avoid all this.
But if you need to Google how to spot a fake beauty product, it means you were already contemplating buying it from a less than 100% guaranteed source. Stay away from the dark side!!
P.S. Some useful guides on how to spot fake M.A.C. cosmetics here and how to spot fake My Beauty Diary masks here. By the power of Google!!!!
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