We all want to smell nice, and the first step to smelling nice is to buy fragrances. But are we somehow buying poison instead of fragrances?
I’ll talk about the whole issue of fake fragrances here.
Don’t skip any part if you don’t want to get scammed.
How can fake perfumes be harmful?
Firstly, perfumes made by unauthorized production houses are called fake fragrances, and they are easily reachable and have a lesser price than the original.
These fake perfumes can risk your life. Fake fragrances contain dangerous chemicals which can lead to cancer as well.
- DEHP- DEHP is a very toxic chemical. Fake fragrances often contain DEHP. DEHP can lead you to cancer, congenital disabilities, reproductive harm, and many minor problems.
- Urine!!- FBI found out that many fake perfumes contain urine. Can you even imagine? You are paying for a bottle that contains urine! You know what can be the consequences if you apply urine to your body.
- Cancer- Methanol is a common ingredient in perfume. But the methanol used by fake perfumes is not good at all. That methanol is easily converted into formalin, and after applying that, you can be a patient with liver cancer and give you nausea, dizziness, headaches, etc.
- Harsh to the nose- Because of chemicals and cheap ingredients, fakes fragrances are often offensive to the nose, and they can even block your nose and cause breathing problems.
- Skin problems- Several cases have already been found where they became victims of fake fragrances. You can have non-sensitive skin, but the chemical is so harsh that it’ll rapidly damage your skin and cause skin cancer, rashes, etc.
- Choking- Choking is a common problem caused by fake fragrances. The perfume is so unsuitable that you and the people beside you can start to choke.
- Poison- Fake fragrances contain dangerous toxins and stabilizers that sometimes can work as a poison.
These are some common problems caused by fake perfumes. There are so many minor and major problems. FBI continuously warns everyone by their blogs and social media about counterfeit perfumes. Nowadays, counterfeit perfumes are creating a massacre.
Also, check out our separate post on Perfumania- Does Perfumania Sell Real Perfumes?
Do fake perfumes smell the same?
For a short period of time, they smell the same. But there are significant differences between fake and real ones.
Fake fragrances somehow copy the opening of a fragrance, and they use rustic ingredients to make their fragrance. After the opening, fake fragrances behave entirely different.
Many fake perfumes can’t even copy the opening, and they only copy the bottle design and packaging. Aside from smelling, there are many ways to differentiate fake perfumes from the original.
Fake fragrances provide longevity of 30mins to 1 hour. And the projection level is completely different in fake fragrances.
You’ll find yourself sick if you’re using fake fragrances. Fake fragrances often contain hazardous ingredients which can cause dizziness, headache, etc.
Nose-blocking is a common problem caused by fake perfumes. Those unsuitable elements cause significant harm to your nose.
How to spot fake fragrances?
As we spray perfume directly to our skin. So it’s essential to know which fragrance is authentic and which is not.
There are many ways to know which fragrance is fake. And you can check most of them by their outlook only.
Well, here are some ways to know which one is real-
1# Wrapping
Genuine perfumes typically are very tightly wrapped in cellophane; counterfeits often display messy, loosely wrapped.
2# Glue
Excessive usage of glue can also indicate a fake perfume. You can find that excessive glue inside the box.
3# Paperboard vs cardboard
The actual packaging is made with high-quality paperboard and designed to protect the bottle from damage. If a perfume box is made from cardboard, congratulations! You already found a fake.
4# Barcode
Authentic perfumes often print their barcodes on the bottom of the box.
5# Design
You can go through the picture of perfume on the original website of a brand and match the design with the one you got.
6# Serial number
The serial number should be written at the bottom of the bottle and not glued on. The number on the bottle must match the number on the box.
7# Bottle
An authentic perfume will have a high-quality bottle with a smooth and fine surface. But the bottle of a fake one is rough and contoured.
8# Bottle cap
The bottle cap represents whether a perfume is fake or real. The alignment of the real bottle cap is perfect. It completely fits the bottle.
FBI has also warned everyone about these fake perfumes. They prepared a guide for protecting us from counterfeit perfumes. Here’s the link-
Counterfeit Cosmetics, Fragrances Hazardous to Your Health
So, these are some ways you can find a perfume is fake or not. Apply these tricks in your next buying.
Follow our guide to know Are Expensive Fragrances Worth it?
Is selling fake perfumes illegal?
Selling fakes and lookalike perfumes is totally illegal. To get an extra profit, many mischief business people start to sell fake perfumes.
Without taking permission and registration, you started to copy a product. Don’t you think it’s a crime? Moreover, they are defaming the brand’s reputation also.
Suppose, you bought a fake Tom Ford fragrance, and you’re totally unaware of that. It’s evident that the experience of using that fragrance is awful. Will you buy Tom Ford next time? You’re rejecting a brand due to some issues which is not even created by that particular brand.
These fake colognes are really hazardous to people and the environment as well. The FBI is also working to track down fake fragrances.
These are some ways how fake perfume retailers will get caught-
- If the real trademark owner chases you like you’re selling fake Chanel perfumes, you’ll lose your asset and investments if the real Chanel tracks you down and files a lawsuit.
- You can’t go to the open market because, in the open market, counterfeit products are easily trackable.
- Giant e-commerce sites like eBay, and Amazon has anti-counterfeiting rules.
So, yes, it’s illegal to sell fake perfumes, and it’s a punishable offense.
Fake perfumes ingredients
The main motive of fake perfume is to make a profit at a great range. They don’t have any particular brand. That’s why they are not worried about their brand reputation or anything else.
They use many hazardous ingredients to make fake perfumes. Some of these ingredients are a direct death threat.
Here are some ingredients used by fake perfumes-
#1 Urine- Yes! You read it right. FBI has found out that many fake perfumes used urine as an ingredient. They use Urine for balanced pH and color.
Here’s a link to an article about this from Medical Daily-
Fake Perfumes Containing Urine Could Lead To Adverse Health Side Effects
#2 Arsenic- To make their product more vibrant, they use arsenic in their fake perfumes.
#3 DEHP- di(2- Ethylhexyl) phthalate AKA DEHP is a common substitute in fake fragrances. DEHP is a very dangerous chemical. Many states have already banned DEHP.
#4 Aluminium- Fake perfumes often contain this hazardous ingredient in their fragrance.
#5 Bacteria- Fake colognes use cheap ingredients. As a result, bacteria are formed in their bottles.
#6 Formalin- They use cheap and unhealthy methanol to create fake perfumes. After some time, this cheap methanol turns into formalin which is dangerous.
So, these are some ingredients used to make counterfeit perfumes. There are many more toxic ingredients we don’t know. It’s better to be aware and not to wear them.
What is factory reject perfume?
Brands often make complex decisions about their products. A slight change in ingredients, printing error, damaged stocks, and region-based perfumes is the reason behind the factory-reject perfumes.
Let’s clear the points.
Suppose, Dior makes a slight change in their ingredients. They started to use violet instead of lavender. What will they do with the batches which contain lavender? The products of this batch are considered factory-reject perfumes.
Secondly, printing errors. When you’re running a big company, it’s normal to get errors. The percentage can be less but it’s happening. So when the printing machine or the person behind the printing machine did any mistake, they got some product without perfection. These products are also factory-reject.
Thirdly, damaged stocks. When you have a giant inventory, it’s quite natural that some of your products can be damaged because of some issues. They can neither display these products nor sell them. These products are also factory-reject.
Lastly, region-based products. The geography, culture of every country is different. Brands often come with region-based products.
If you’re a reader, you may have seen books are labeled as “This book is only for the Indian subcontinent”. That means these books are specially designed for the Indian subcontinent. Luxury brands often do this stuff, they specially designed an item for a specific subcontinent.
So in this case, for a non-region country, this product is a factory-reject.
Factory-reject doesn’t mean that it’s a fake product. These products are purely developed by the authentic brand. Due to some unavoidable issues, products are labeled as factory-reject.
Maybe you got your answer. These are the reasons behind factory-reject fragrances.
Here’s a complete guide on How To Fix Your Perfume Nozzle?
Conclusion
The rate of fake fragrances is increasing day by day. It has become a real problem now. People often get sick because of these counterfeit products.
The government is trying its best to protect us from these hazardous products. We should be aware of fake products. And before buying any fragrance we should research about it and double-check it while buying.
