Blog 9: Fake Beauty Brands

A clash of the Titans: Developing Nations & Fake Beauty Brands

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I walked into a store with a collapsingmountain of fake makeup brands. The list was endless; from fake Kylie Cosmetics, Huda to MAC, & the greatest giveaway was the price. The Kylie lip kits were selling for a hot $20 per kit.

After bashing through an aisle of products, & trust me I was holding every inch of myself in to get to the end, I stopped in frustration & just watched other customers in the store. I wanted to understand the rave behind owning fake makeup brands because they are not like the endless counterfeit bags sold on the streets. You just can’t tell a woman is wearing a M.A.C or Kylie.

However in small pockets of the world like Eswatini, counterfeit makeup has a lot to do with consumerism & governance of those products.

The list of changes makeup brands are incorporating into products is tremendous. This includes combining natural science into naturalingredients that transform everyday products into hydrating & beautifying skincare. The presence of influencers also hold these brand owners accountable for creating fresh looks not only appealing for the day, but that also protects your skin in the long term. Furthermore marketing agencies such as Adweek are also documenting these trends due to the growing potential the makeup industry is accumulating in recent years. And I would argue fake makeup brands are more harmful to your skin than the industry. It is for those reasons a mere photo shopped selfie is far more important; it’s the difference between skin cancer & a stupendous lip kit.

An article by the Sun South Africa newspaper suggests social media is responsible for consumer’s desperate resorts to #fakebakeup, but I disagree. Authentic makeup influencers always give critical reviews on high-end brands & their followings show. Consumers want to be included & influencers are there to demand on their behalf; however fake makeup has more to do with accessibility in consumerism than desperate consumers. Before I detail how governance & consumerism contributes to fake brands, here’s a list of why we should boycott counterfeit makeup.

Horse urine. Just take that in for a minute because I did for my research. In some extreme cases counterfeit makeup has horse urine as an ingredient. #Fakebakeup also leads to skin mutations, discoloration, skin rash & worse cases cancer. This is because repeated unhealthy skincare routines create cellular mutations on the skin not noticeable till months later. For instance long term use of the #fakebakeup ingredient, paraffin or glue reduces the skin’s ability to repair overtime by transforming those skin cells permanently. And the worst of this habit is not allowing the skin to breath; but how would you know the skin products you’re using are not benefiting you.

#FakeBakeup is always lower than the standard price. Unless it’s Black Friday, summer or new years deals, do not buy a product that is usually R400, but is sold at R20. They just selling you super glue & the worst kind. Fake makeup always flakes. I attended a beauty training event & in a matter of minutes the highlighter & lipstick started flaking off my lips . However the biggest warnings is the smell; counterfeit makeup always has a weird or industrial smell. If your makeup smells like windex, please stop using it.

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