Some counterfeits have been reported to contain horse and human urine, human and rodent waste, arsenic, lead, talc, staph, and other bacteria. They have been reported to cause serious skin issues such as boils, cellulitis, pustules, and more. Sounds really unhealthy right? Well, that's just some of the ingredients they use to make counterfeit makeup. Beauty blogger Tanya Arguelles purchased a popular eyeshadow from a Los Angeles street market and tested the fake and real to see if it was worth the buy. She then woke up with her eyes burning and itchy with uncomfortable pain. Counterfeit cosmetics often contain arsenic, beryllium, and cadmium (all known carcinogens) and with high levels of aluminum and dangerous levels of bacteria. Some of these products have caused acne, psoriasis, rashes and eye infections just like Tanya’s.
Counterfeit Mac lipstick was also tested and it ended up having 15 times the amount of lead than the real version. Lead can cause long-term health problems, as well as miscarriages and stillbirths in pregnant women. Another common ingredient in counterfeit makeup is mercury, mercury can cause health issues like headaches, lack of coordination, vision impairment, mood swings, and insomnia. Some people think counterfeiters list all the ingredients so buyers should be able to know if the ingredients are dangerous or not. However, the packaging is so similar to the real one that it lists the same ingredients and doesn’t tell consumers that there is dangerous things in it.
Most counterfeit makeup is extremely unsanitary too. Factories, where counterfeit makeup is produced, aren't clean or sanitized which could end up causing serious health problems. “If I could paint a picture of what it’s like in one of these (counterfeit factories in China)... If you took the most disgusting frat house bathroom, it looks like a surgical suite compared to these conditions. It’s filthy, there are bacteria everywhere… it’s disgusting.”-Greg Marrazzo, the Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel of Estee Lauder Companies.
Most Buyers don’t know background information about most of these online stores or street markets either which makes it even worse when they buy from the companies. Many think counterfeit makeup is sold on safe and well-known websites. But online businesses such as Amazon, Wish, eBay, and Alibaba, use algorithms that will place products with the most and best reviews at the top of the search. So when searching “pink eyeshadow” on Amazon, the top results will be the highest ranked among customers. So counterfeiters will pay for services that provide fake reviews to higher them to the top spots. Some victims who have bought fake cosmetics online discovered their personal information was used to set up hundreds of illegal websites selling counterfeit products so even if buyers use this site for all of their shopping it can still be dangerous. Fake/phony makeup products are usually at mall kiosks, swap meets, and street vendors. A popular one is LA’s Santee Alley, but more than 80% of the sales are happening in cyberspace.
Do you think counterfeit makeup should be illegal in the U.S. because people don’t know how some of it is made, and the makeup could cause major health issues? Women and girls are pressured to buy high-quality expensive make-up that they can’t afford. They have the right to feel safe when they buy less expensive make-up products. People must ask themselves if using counterfeit makeup is worth the risk to their health.
Do you think counterfeit makeup should be illegal?
How can women safely purchase makeup without the worry of it being counterfeit?
What can we do to help stop the manufacturing of counterfeit makeup?
Replies
I agree a lot of women use makeup to cover their breakouts/acne, but when they purchase cheap harmful makeup, they need to understand that it's only making it worse. And like you said if you don't want to pay for the expensive stuff you have to understand that the cheap stuff could potentially harm you.
I personally believe that conterfeit makeup should be illegal. The companys that are making theses products are making young teens want to wear make up and it is ruining there faces. I have no clue what could help stop the produce of this product.
I agree a lot of younger girls are getting influenced to wear makeup, so when they go to purchase it they automatically go for the cheaper option because most young people don't have loads of money to spend on makeup. So they potentially end up ruining their perfectly good skin because they weren't educated enough on the topic.
I think that counterfeit makeup should be illegal, the products like these are awful and very bad for other people. Women should be able to go out and buy their makeup and not have to worry weather its good for them or bad for them, weather its gonna kill them or if its real. This product needs to be gone
I agree with what you said, women shouldn't have to worry about what they are putting on their face, they should be able to look at the labeling and understand what is put into their makeup, but most labels look like a bunch of gibberish or the companies lie about whats actually in their products, so it's hard for them to know if the product is safe for them or not.
I think that counterfeit makeup should be illegal. I think that products like these are terrible. People just want a good price, they shouldn't have to sacrifice their health for it though. I have no clue what could help stop the manufacturing of this product, but it needs to be stopped.
I agree, and there is not only counterfeit makeup but a lot of other counterfeit products, such as shoes, clothes, etc. If counterfeit items aren't banned for good, they could at least label what is in their products, or people should be educated on the saying "you get what you pay for".
I think that the government should make counterfeit makeup illegal because women should be able to go out and buy makeup without out worrying about putting bad things on their faces. I think it is a very gross thing by putting that stuff on your face, and you wouldn't even know.
I agree, the least they could do is label what is truly in the product, but a lot of the industries lie about it because they don't want to get in trouble for putting harmful chemicals into something that is very popular and is used quite often.
As a male, I don't know much about makeup. But from reading this, I think it sounds pretty disgusting that people are mistakenly rubbing horse and human urine on their face. It should defenitely be illegal from what I have read just because how disgusting this sounds.
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