How To Spot A Fake Perfume

Fake perfumes are lurking all over the market nowadays, especially through online sellers/shops. My recent online shopping experience proved just this. I purchased bottle of Eau de Parfum from FragranceX.com, a 3.4 fluid oz- Vera Wang to be exact. I don't know why I was that stupid that day to bite into the bait of a $57.61 perfume (and a free international shipping fee), when I should have known that it was too good to be true. You know the story, what I got is a fake. A knock-off. A counterfeit. Bye-bye $57.61 (that's 2,719.85 in Philippine Peso!). So how do you know if a perfume is fake? Harper's Bazaar tackle this on their January issue.


How To Spot A Fake Perfume:
  1. If the liquid looks too pale, it could be an alcohol-laden imitation. If it's too dark, it could consist of impure or fake ingredients. -The fake Vera Wang that I had was a little darker and rosier (and it's not even Vera Wang Truly Pink!) than the original. Plus, it smells too strong and not very Vera Wang.
  2. If the label is smudged, poorly printed, or misspelled, it's not original. If the bar code or an identifying mark looks sketchy, it could be a phony. -I noticed this on the box, the letters (at the back) are blurred, looks like the printer they used is also a fake. lol.
  3. Designer perfumes are sold at department stores, beauty specialty stores such as Sephora, and sometimes high-end boutique pharmacies and apothecaries. Real fragrances are not sold on tables in tourist hot spots or at flea markets, supermarkets, discount stores, or out of the back of a truck.-Don't end up being a "me", purchasing online from a warehouse in Long Island, NY.
  4. The cellophane must be wrapped closely around the box. Most knock-offs don't have the cellophane so tightly wrapped. If the cellophane is messy or moving around the box or is loose, that's a sure sign the perfume's a fake. - I knew it when I saw the plastic wrapper. The box was wrapped like a gift! 
  5. If it looks too good to be true, don't bite it. If an expensive designer fragrance seems too cheap, it's likely a fake. -Very well said!

So, folks, next time you're gonna buy some perfume, make sure it's not fake. And how can you be so sure? Just follow the instructions above and you will never end up like me.






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5 comments:

  1. Thanks for writing this. A lot of perfumes being sold online nowadays. My fave perf, bvlgari omnia amethyst is being sold for only Php1800 for a 65mL bottle...sounds too good to be true....i wouldn't buy it...

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  2. this is nice info..i am from india and we get many fake ones here..it will help spot a few hopefully...

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  3. I too had a bad experience like yours. It really was too good to be true. My logic told me not to buy the php900 100ml Elizabeth Arden Green Tea because it seemed too cheap. Later on, the shopaholic in me won. I told myself that I would buy only one bottle just to test if the product was genuine. Well, I guess the phrase 'Let the buyer beware.' applies here. Logic is correct. The cheap perfume which was represented as authentic and imported from the US (to the Philippines) was indeed fake. However, I have to say this, it was a very good imitation of the real one. The packaging was the same. No excess paste, well wrapped, box looked like the real one, no typos either. The scent was almost the same but not quite. I compared it with the ones sold in Duty Free. The smell was really close to the original but because it just wasn't. Lesson: if we want authentic perfumes, lets buy from reputable stores.

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  4. This is such a big problem so why don't the big companies allow buyers to contact them with details so they can easily report scammers.

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  5. Thanks for looking out for us, but your info isn't entirely accurate. Legitimate perfumes are often decoded for international sales purposes and might have "odd" looking barcodes. Other than that, your article was very well written and very interesting.

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