If you purchased a designer perfume on ebay, flea market or small time vendor, check your bottles against a genuine bottle that you already own or at a dept store or smaller store like Ulta or Sephora.
If you are unfamiliar with the designer perfume you are planning to purchase, go to a department store and examine it first. Check out the shape and color of the product before you order it off the Internet so you can compare it with the product you are thinking about buying.
Check the color of the perfume against a genuine bottle, if the perfume's color is wrong inside your bottle, it is probably a fake. Check to see if there is any floating debris, cloudiness or foreign matter inside the perfume. Also check to see if there is any separation of the contents.
Look at the glass of your bottle, if the glass has streaking, is wavy, has messy corners or any flaws or inconsistencies, it is most likely a fake. Designer perfume bottles are of the highest quality and have to pass quality control inspections at the factory. The bottle should not look cheaply or shoddily made and the glass should not look cloudy or have any air bubbles in any way.
Look at the box itself, watch for excess glue or adhesive tape. If there is a lot of tape or glue inside the perfume box or on the exterior of the packaging, the perfume is probably a fraud. If the perfume's box is made out of very thin material, the product is most likely a fake. Any high-end beauty manufacturer will use high quality paperboard when they're creating a carton for their product. Thin packaging signals a fake.
Carefully examine the cellophane wrap. On a well-made perfume, the cellophane is wrapped closely around the box. If the cellophane is messy or moving around the box, that's a sure sign the perfume's a fake. Most counterfeit products don't have the cellophane so tightly wrapped.
Check the printing on the underside of the box, if it is faded, globbed, or isn't what it should say, it is most likely a fake. If the box looks cheap, or print rubs off easily, made up of low grade flimsy cardboard, lettering too bold or thick, not raised or embossed print or if the words are spelled incorrectly, you probably have a fake. Read the print. Watch for an uneven brand name or any misspelling on the packaging. Check to make sure the font used is correct. Chanel uses a font they call Avant Garde. Also check to see if your bottle has trademarks and serial numbers. The serial number should match the number on the bottle. The serial numbers should be imprinted on the base of the box and not printed with ink.
Look at the box again, in the case of Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle, the box should be a pearly white, not a dead white without any pearly sheen.
Check the threads inside the cap (if any), if they don't screw onto the bottle correctly or don't fit, or is wobbly, it is probably a fake. Also be sure that the spray mechanism works properly.
Look at the small collar label around neck of bottle - is it off center, not fitted correctly?
Cheaply printed: the CC Chanel logo letters look weird, too thick/thin or not overlapping correctly, blurry. Also look for different colored bands than normal: black instead of gold. Check the CC logo, if it isn't sharp and clear, you may have a fake.
Also check the label on the bottle. If the printing isn't clear and perfect or match the font of the genuine bottle, you might have a fake. There should also be no globs of ink or off kilter lettering. Also check to see if the label that is supposed to be paper is printed directly on the bottle, another indication of a fake bottle.
Check the bottom of your bottle, if the description can be scraped off easily with a fingernail, this is a good indication it may be a fake. Look to see if a cheap label is stuck on (some perfumes have these etched) applied crookedly or has any info missing or different.
Examine barcodes. Barcodes should be at the bottom of the perfume box. If you see that they are the side of the box, you should be suspicious.
Check that the name of the perfume is spelled correctly, many fakes have a missing letter or the perfume name is slightly different than what it should be.
Look on the ingredients list to see of any of the ingredients is spelled incorrectly.
When applying the perfume, the fragrance should not alter after application within 20 minutes, it should last as long as you are used to.
If the perfume smells unusual or like a cleaning solvent or rubbing alcohol. If you're not sure, take this quick test: apply the perfume from the identical Chanel fragrance with the identical concentration (eau de cologne, eau de toilette, eau de parfum) department store or other genuine source on one wrist, and the unknown fragrance on the other wrist. Do a smell check to see if they match. If they do match, check again after 10 minutes. A fake won't be able to keep up the olfactory facade and will dissipate quickly. Vintage perfumes usually have their top notes bruised from age, how they were stored, climate in which they were stored and the overall natural shelf life of perfume oils. Take that in consideration if the item is vintage.
Sometimes you might mistake a genuine perfume for a fake one. This confusion can arise if you are nervous or not familiar with the perfume itself. If it's been years since you've last smelled it on your skin, your skin chemistry may have changed which will alter the fragrance. Other factors can be humidity in the air, age of the perfume, and the concentration.
If you've determined that your perfume is a fake, then follow the appropriate measures of filing a claim thru ebay or paypal.
If you are unfamiliar with the designer perfume you are planning to purchase, go to a department store and examine it first. Check out the shape and color of the product before you order it off the Internet so you can compare it with the product you are thinking about buying.
Check the color of the perfume against a genuine bottle, if the perfume's color is wrong inside your bottle, it is probably a fake. Check to see if there is any floating debris, cloudiness or foreign matter inside the perfume. Also check to see if there is any separation of the contents.
Look at the glass of your bottle, if the glass has streaking, is wavy, has messy corners or any flaws or inconsistencies, it is most likely a fake. Designer perfume bottles are of the highest quality and have to pass quality control inspections at the factory. The bottle should not look cheaply or shoddily made and the glass should not look cloudy or have any air bubbles in any way.
Look at the box itself, watch for excess glue or adhesive tape. If there is a lot of tape or glue inside the perfume box or on the exterior of the packaging, the perfume is probably a fraud. If the perfume's box is made out of very thin material, the product is most likely a fake. Any high-end beauty manufacturer will use high quality paperboard when they're creating a carton for their product. Thin packaging signals a fake.
Carefully examine the cellophane wrap. On a well-made perfume, the cellophane is wrapped closely around the box. If the cellophane is messy or moving around the box, that's a sure sign the perfume's a fake. Most counterfeit products don't have the cellophane so tightly wrapped.
Check the printing on the underside of the box, if it is faded, globbed, or isn't what it should say, it is most likely a fake. If the box looks cheap, or print rubs off easily, made up of low grade flimsy cardboard, lettering too bold or thick, not raised or embossed print or if the words are spelled incorrectly, you probably have a fake. Read the print. Watch for an uneven brand name or any misspelling on the packaging. Check to make sure the font used is correct. Chanel uses a font they call Avant Garde. Also check to see if your bottle has trademarks and serial numbers. The serial number should match the number on the bottle. The serial numbers should be imprinted on the base of the box and not printed with ink.
Look at the box again, in the case of Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle, the box should be a pearly white, not a dead white without any pearly sheen.
Check the threads inside the cap (if any), if they don't screw onto the bottle correctly or don't fit, or is wobbly, it is probably a fake. Also be sure that the spray mechanism works properly.
Look at the small collar label around neck of bottle - is it off center, not fitted correctly?
Cheaply printed: the CC Chanel logo letters look weird, too thick/thin or not overlapping correctly, blurry. Also look for different colored bands than normal: black instead of gold. Check the CC logo, if it isn't sharp and clear, you may have a fake.
Also check the label on the bottle. If the printing isn't clear and perfect or match the font of the genuine bottle, you might have a fake. There should also be no globs of ink or off kilter lettering. Also check to see if the label that is supposed to be paper is printed directly on the bottle, another indication of a fake bottle.
Check the bottom of your bottle, if the description can be scraped off easily with a fingernail, this is a good indication it may be a fake. Look to see if a cheap label is stuck on (some perfumes have these etched) applied crookedly or has any info missing or different.
Examine barcodes. Barcodes should be at the bottom of the perfume box. If you see that they are the side of the box, you should be suspicious.
Check that the name of the perfume is spelled correctly, many fakes have a missing letter or the perfume name is slightly different than what it should be.
Look on the ingredients list to see of any of the ingredients is spelled incorrectly.
When applying the perfume, the fragrance should not alter after application within 20 minutes, it should last as long as you are used to.
If the perfume smells unusual or like a cleaning solvent or rubbing alcohol. If you're not sure, take this quick test: apply the perfume from the identical Chanel fragrance with the identical concentration (eau de cologne, eau de toilette, eau de parfum) department store or other genuine source on one wrist, and the unknown fragrance on the other wrist. Do a smell check to see if they match. If they do match, check again after 10 minutes. A fake won't be able to keep up the olfactory facade and will dissipate quickly. Vintage perfumes usually have their top notes bruised from age, how they were stored, climate in which they were stored and the overall natural shelf life of perfume oils. Take that in consideration if the item is vintage.
Sometimes you might mistake a genuine perfume for a fake one. This confusion can arise if you are nervous or not familiar with the perfume itself. If it's been years since you've last smelled it on your skin, your skin chemistry may have changed which will alter the fragrance. Other factors can be humidity in the air, age of the perfume, and the concentration.
If you've determined that your perfume is a fake, then follow the appropriate measures of filing a claim thru ebay or paypal.
Thanks for a good article. I have a small perfume business, and lately have found several pieces that I have bought from France on the Internet or Ebay are fakes. Firstly, if it is a vintage perfume and is pale golden in colour and the bottle is full, it is likely to be a fake. Vintage perfumes almost always evaporate to a certain extent, and even if they have been kept in a cool dark place in their original box, they will change colour to a more tea-like brown, and would never be light gold in colour. The other thing about these fakes is that they cannot be opened. When you attempt to open them, they invariably break at the neck of the bottle. This is probably due to some excessive heating that is employed in creating a new onion skin. After finally breaking into the perfume bottles, and having broken the the neck of the bottle, every time and without fail, these bottles have contained coloured water. I have bought Lancome Tresor, Rigaud Pres de Vous, and Lelong Elle Elle that have all turned out this way, even though they have perfect seals and the string does not appear to have ever been cut.
ReplyDeleteAnother variety of fakes is found with old Chanel bottles. Chanel No. 46 or Cuir de Russie are quite frequently faked. You can tell because the label is very white on an otherwise soiled box, and the label on the bottle is also not commensurate with the age of such a perfume. Beware when buying vintage perfumes, and check the colour of the perfume and the level in the bottle. These should tell you something.
Hi Alexandra,
DeleteThank you for visiting my site. You may have gotten factices instead of outright fakes. That would account for the colored water. Many times they are nearly indistinguishable from regular perfume bottles, complete with baudruchage. There are many fakes of Chanel No. 5 floating around. I have seen one Chanel No. 46 that made me suspicious as it was, as you noted, fitted with a pure white label in n an age darkened box...
It's hard to know the real perfume. Last year I bought a perfume called creed aventus cologne spray. Later I thought it was fake, then after testing it was confirmed that it faked,with this I had to face a bad situation. I remember after reading your article.
ReplyDeleteHow can I determine the age of Cartier must parfum? It’s in a bit of a dented white box, bottom says not for sale, box has a SKU/bar code and other identifying numbers and print
ReplyDelete