How to Spot Fake Makeup Palettes...

I've been meaning to do a blog post like this for a long time. Opportunity knocked, in that I almost got scammed recently, so now is the perfect time to discuss the topic. 

I rarely buy makeup from a source other than direct from the makeup company or reputable store such as a department store, Sephora or Ulta. I don't like being ripped off and I want the authentic item. Also, no one knows what crap is in fake makeup and I don't want to find out. The only time I buy makeup from Amazon, ebay or a third party is when something is rare and I can't get my hands on it. I know, I know, those are the perfect items for someone to fake - it's big money and lots of demand. 

By the time I decided to purchase the Too Faced Natural Love palette it was gone from Sephora. With shipping, duties, exchange rate etc. I was going to pay online over $100 Canadian to have Too Faced directly ship it to me. While I hee'd and haw'd about pulling the trigger, I saw a few supposedly "new and authentic still in box" palettes on ebay. It was half the price. I know what the palette is supposed to look like and I own a few of the shades from this palette in other Too Faced palettes. I did my research as much as I could. The pictures of one listing looked authentic and I made the purchase. This person had all positive ratings but hadn't been on ebay as a seller for more than a few months. They were only selling 1 of these palettes, not multiple ones like some fake sellers do. 

My palette arrived and I have to say that the packaging was damn good. Even the name of the palette was in felt letters. In the picture above, the fake palette is on the left and the real palette is on the right. Once I opened it I knew immediately it was a fake and I had been had. The eyeshadows looked powdery and very matte. Not at all like the buttery, shimmery shades that Too Faced is known for. Also, the authentic colours I owned in other Too Faced palettes looked nothing like the supposed same ones in this palette. 

The fake palette is in the above picture at the top and the real palette is on the bottom - both in box. Huge size difference! Also, the real palette comes with a guide. The fake one on the left did not as per the picture below. 

The twist was that it turns out the seller was using pictures of the real palette but sending out a fake one. I contacted the seller immediately and demanded my money back. They offered me half of the money, said they thought it was real and what a shame it was etc. They told me I could keep the palette. I told them I wasn't interested and that I wanted all of my money back. The next thing I knew, I had been refunded my money and my order was cancelled so I couldn't leave negative feedback. Thank goodness for paypal holding seller funds. That was almost 2 weeks ago. I checked ebay the next day and saw that the seller was using the same pictures again and were selling another palette. I could only shake my head. I checked ebay today and I see the seller is no longer selling anything (they had a number of makeup items for sale before) and they got their first negative review saying that they had sold a fake makeup palette. The reviewer suspects that they even stole the pictures of the real palette from someone else. Sheesh! I guess the jig is up for them. 

On the left is the fake palette and on the right is the real one. Can you see the difference? It's obvious to me. The picture below is the fake palette and the one below that is the real one. 

Fake 

Real

After I got my money back I said forget this and ordered the real one from Too Faced. They happen to be having a sale the day I ordered it so I got 20% off. That made me feel better. It arrived today and I very happy. Now I am stuck with a fake palette but at least I got a blog post out of it!

In the picture below I have overlapped the two palettes. Fake on the left and the real one on the right. Just look at Fairy Tale, Satin Sheets, Kittens and Cutie Patootie in the second column. Not even close. 

Fake on left and real palette on right. Even the colours look different on back of the packaging. Far less vibrant on the fake one.

That's all for today. I hope some of you found this interesting and possibly educational. I know I did :)

July 2017 Empties

It's August 16th but better late than never for an empties post! I thought my July empties were going to be epic but I am still at the bottom of so many products that won't die. I shouldn't be upset because I sure am getting my money's worth. I have a funny feeling it'll be September before I have a ton of empties to show off. Let's get to July's empties though!

Estee Lauder Double Wear Light Foundation - Another empty of this. I must got through one of these every 6-8 weeks. Love it, already repurchased x2. I wear Intensity 2.0.

Klorane Floral Water Make-Up Remover - I talk about how much I love this product all of the time. Bioderma is a poor substitute. Nothing compares. I've got 2 more bottles waiting in the wings. (review here)

Gehwol Soft Feet Cream - You have to try this stuff! It works great and the product doesn't transfer to your shoes etc. like some other Gehwol products. This was a small tube but I have already repurchased the regular sized tube. Must post blog review soon! 

Double Wear Stay-in-Place Flawless Wear Concealer - Is it me or does Estee Lauder keep playing with the names of their concealer. I can never find the same one twice. The last time I believe I had 02 Light Medium. This one was 2C Light Medium (Cool). I once had 08 something and it was called Light Medium but it was too dark. This stuff is fantastic and blends in with a variety of foundations and BB products etc. I love it for anywhere on my face except under the eyes. I have already repurchased - oh my it's the same colour as this one. Wow!

Clinique Smart Custom-Repair Serum - I blew through this in 2 months. I tend to buy this when my skin is looking uneven. I am not convinced it moisturizers as well as some other big name serums. I will purchase again but I am going back to Origins Plantscription for now. (review here) 

Origins Eye Doctor - Gone through a million of these. Still looking for something a bit better that addresses the dark circle issue more but otherwise this is the best I have found. Everytime I switch to something else I notice my dark circles looking worse. Have not repurchased yet but I will very soon. It appears I have been using this for over 5 years. (review here)

Urban Decay Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Color in Naked - This particular one was from that Wizard of Oz collection Glinda Palette that Urban Decay did a few years back. This is/was my favourite nude lip colour ever and I usually hate nude lip colours. I rushed and bought 3 of them from the regular line when they were on clearance. I have busted out one of them for my purse. I am hoping Urban Decay still has something similar or will bring it back.