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Newbies need to be aware of fake fragrances.

post #1 of 29
3/17/09 at 1:11pm
Thread Starter 
There was a thread yesterday about a frag that didn't smell right. The post might have been deleted before I got a chance to post something I thought about this morning, and that is that the smell might have been wrong because it was a fake. The frag in question was Le Male, and there are a huge number of fakes on ebay (4.2 oz. size). It looks like they are being sold as "testers" without original caps or containers. I would not buy or swap for one of these, because the person you are dealing with might not even know it's a fake. I have now seen a few fakes, so I know what to look for. Some of them are obviously fakes but others are well done.

Things to look for:

1. Any minor quality control problem (such as spray hole being off center or a cap that doesn't fit perfectly).

2. Seams where the glass is joined are crude.

3. Paint or lettering can be flecked off if you rub hard with your fingernails.

4. Leakage, especially when the bottle is on its side or upside down for a while.

5. Anything that is missing that should be there, such as numbers inscribed into the glass.

Obviously, this is just a general guide. I wouldn't be surprised if some "cheapo" frags had quality control issues. One BNer apparently bought a genuine frag that had a roach floating around in a sealed atomizer, for example. If anyone can think of other signs of a fake, please post here. Thanks.
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post #2 of 29
3/17/09 at 2:29pm
Indeed. Thanks to the "Fake GIT" thread I was immediately able to recognize a bogus GIT bottle I received. It was much easier to send it back as well, since I could show the seller the telltale signs of "fakeness". You guys saved me the embarrassment of obliviously ranting and raving over $120 Cool Water juice.
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post #3 of 29
3/18/09 at 11:03am
a roach floating in a bottle?!?!?
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post #4 of 29
3/18/09 at 12:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by b-nasty View Post

a roach floating in a bottle?!?!?

HAHAHA, I was about to post about the same thing!!
Wow that would be absolutely horrible... but the irony is that the roach would smell good.
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post #5 of 29
3/18/09 at 1:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by b-nasty View Post

a roach floating in a bottle?!?!?

Oh you mean like this?

http://community.basenotes.net/showt...ght=bug+bottle
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post #6 of 29
4/5/09 at 4:02pm
Hi, I'm a newbie and I'm also reading up on how to spot fakes. I found this link with videos that has great information about this subject.. I know I'm late in posting, but I figured I would add it anyway.

The link in the previous post had me laughing and cringing. I can't believe someone found a bug in their perfume.. eeek! I'm wondering though do perfumes that are not fake put questionable stuff in their perfume too?
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post #7 of 29
4/5/09 at 5:34pm
Thanks for the good advice, Bigsly, and thanks Tonya for the link. I wonder if an Ebay seller has 100% feedback, I think they could still be selling fakes, maybe without even knowing it. I'm sure there are good sellers but it still makes me leary to buy from Ebay.

One point they make is to check how long the frangrance lasts. I have a bottle of Angel I know is authentic, but after about an hour, I can't smell it on me anymore.
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post #8 of 29
4/5/09 at 6:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigsly View Post

There was a thread yesterday about a frag that didn't smell right. The post might have been deleted before I got a chance to post something I thought about this morning, and that is that the smell might have been wrong because it was a fake. The frag in question was Le Male, and there are a huge number of fakes on ebay (4.2 oz. size). It looks like they are being sold as "testers" without original caps or containers. I would not buy or swap for one of these, because the person you are dealing with might not even know it's a fake. I have now seen a few fakes, so I know what to look for. Some of them are obviously fakes but others are well done.

Things to look for:

1. Any minor quality control problem (such as spray hole being off center or a cap that doesn't fit perfectly).

2. Seams where the glass is joined are crude.

3. Paint or lettering can be flecked off if you rub hard with your fingernails.

4. Leakage, especially when the bottle is on its side or upside down for a while.

5. Anything that is missing that should be there, such as numbers inscribed into the glass.

Obviously, this is just a general guide. I wouldn't be surprised if some "cheapo" frags had quality control issues. One BNer apparently bought a genuine frag that had a roach floating around in a sealed atomizer, for example. If anyone can think of other signs of a fake, please post here. Thanks.

I'd like to add 1 more: Wrong spelling, and also the letter fonts as well. Therefore when comparing with a real bottle's picture, be very careful.
Besides you can get a great deal from Ebay, you could be buying a fake bottle from a powerseller, it's just really hard to tell. No promise.
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post #9 of 29
4/12/09 at 6:35am
  • MFJ
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i have to agree about ebay, im extremely weary after some horror stories, im sure if one looks hard enough, a great deal can be found on authorised online stores.
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post #10 of 29
4/12/09 at 10:48pm
Only after reading this thread that I highly suspect one in my wardrobe (an eBay purchase) was fake.

Still, for a fake, it's a very good one that the smell could've fooled me (have smelled the recent original several times), and although too bad it's probably a fake, it's not going to stop my enjoyment of how it smells good.
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post #11 of 29
4/13/09 at 11:22am
I bought a bottle of GIT on Ebay, It was a fake.$70 paid. I recently bought another bottle from Beauty Encounter, and it is the real thing. There is a big difference from one scent to the other. The bottles are different as well.
I do believe some if not all bad reviews of GIT are due to these fakes
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post #12 of 29
4/14/09 at 1:39am
Continued from my story above: Today I went to the dept store and checked out the bottle carefully and sprayed the real thing (Chanel's Coco) and yup, I've got the first fake on all my purchases (mostly online, only 2 were in-store). I should've been able to tell from the bottle. However, smell-wise, the only minor difference is in the first 5 minutes but I'm afraid they fooled me because the fake and the real Coco both smell gorgeous once they both hit the middle and basenotes. So whoever faked it - as much as I hate to say it - well done on the technical merits of it. Even lasts just as long!

While I was there I also checked up on the 2 others I bought online which I had suspected might be fake (NR for Her and Prada IdI) - but after a careful sniff test and bottle check, I believe they are genuine.
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post #13 of 29
4/14/09 at 1:55am
  • MFJ
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GourmandHomme View Post

Continued from my story above: Today I went to the dept store and checked out the bottle carefully and sprayed the real thing (Chanel's Coco) and yup, I've got the first fake on all my purchases (mostly online, only 2 were in-store). I should've been able to tell from the bottle. However, smell-wise, the only minor difference is in the first 5 minutes but I'm afraid they fooled me because the fake and the real Coco both smell gorgeous once they both hit the middle and basenotes. So whoever faked it - as much as I hate to say it - well done on the technical merits of it. Even lasts just as long!

While I was there I also checked up on the 2 others I bought online which I had suspected might be fake (NR for Her and Prada IdI) - but after a careful sniff test and bottle check, I believe they are genuine.


Im glad you determined the authenticity of the 2 others but personally, i wouldnt go thru the constant torment of thinking if i got blobbed by some dishonest knob off ebay, even if it were a well done fake, i still wouldnt feel good even if i paid half the price for it. and the thing is no matter how much u are convinced u still really nvr know when its ebay. its personal, i feel strongly about the risks i took and regretted, but i can understand that we all have different circumstances and preferences. sorry to hear abuot the fake u got tho.. cheers
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post #14 of 29
4/14/09 at 2:02am
  • MFJ
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...
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post #15 of 29
4/14/09 at 2:11am
http://community.basenotes.net/showt...ake+real+guide

It's a "guide" I wrote.. might come handy!
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post #16 of 29
4/14/09 at 2:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by matthewfoo View Post

Im glad you determined the authenticity of the 2 others but personally, i wouldnt go thru the constant torment of thinking if i got blobbed by some dishonest knob off ebay, even if it were a well done fake, i still wouldnt feel good even if i paid half the price for it. and the thing is no matter how much u are convinced u still really nvr know when its ebay. its personal, i feel strongly about the risks i took and regretted, but i can understand that we all have different circumstances and preferences. sorry to hear abuot the fake u got tho.. cheers

I wasn't overly ecstatic that I got a fake. However, I still keep it in perspective because I'm a purist when it comes to perfumes - I buy perfumes for the smell and nothing else (not for the box, not for the bottle, not for the brand).

If there's a company out there called Shanel and it makes a perfume called Koko and it so happens that perfume smells and behaves identically like Chanel's Coco and they put that in an ugly plastic bottle - I'd buy it.
=========
As for Creed GIT and Cool Water - have sampled the originals. No love for either. So despite what someone said above, it's not because I got some fake Creed GIT off eBay...
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post #17 of 29
4/14/09 at 2:53am
There's an interesting fake perfume expose by an Australian reality TV program embedded in Youtube here:

http://www.perfume.com.au/shop/fake-perfume-a11.html
============
I have a couple of objections to the method of their perfume authenticity determination (near the end, they showed 2 spectrographs):

1. How do they know the perfume companies themselves haven't reformulated the new batch so that their newer batches which the lab uses as the "original sample"? Some modern perfumes smell like they're a knock-off of the themselves or vintage version.

Think about this after 2010 where the spectros of your favorite perfumes will probably be significantly different from say a 2000 version.

2. Re all those peaks to compare "real" vs "fakes"- anyone who's read enough on the subject of technical perfumery knows that some ingredients are put in as "tracers" that don't affect the smell at all but will affect the spectrograph peaks. Even the presence of a different anti-oxidants will cause different peaks.

I feel the only real way to compare perfumes is the smell and longevity. Put equal amount of both on scent strips/skin/whatever, smell in 5 minutes, then smell an hour later, then 8 hours later. Even as a former science student who has appreciation of the technical side of science (and perfumery), I'll still take the opinion of a well-trained nose over a spectrometer any day.
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post #18 of 29
4/14/09 at 6:19am
  • MFJ
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its great to know not all are blindly into consummerism, i like your perspective and awareness on the issue cheers
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post #19 of 29
4/16/09 at 10:44am
Just an FYI, I exchanged messages with another member on eBay:

My message:
Re: Armani Code - you left feedback on sale
Hi, How did you know that the item was fake? What did the seller say? I see that they have XYZ for sale, so I wonder if it may be fake as well. Thanks!

Response:

I bought this for my daughter who is away at school. She had a bottle that I purchased regular retail and she needed some more. She loves this stuff. I was trying to save money on it and bought it off this seller. She received it last week and called me up and said it wasnt the same. She said is smells nothing like it. She said that it was either watered down or mixed with another perfume. She said the bottle looked tampered with and the wrapping on the box looked liked it had been tampered with as well. Go back into his negatives and there are a couple of others who have stated the same thing. I personally did not see the box and bottle as she is in Oregon and I am in Indiana, but I am taking her word on it. Its really too bad. I would use caution.

~~~~

Beware!
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post #20 of 29
4/16/09 at 11:37am
Thread Starter 
If you know which frags are being faked then you are way ahead of the game, so to speak, because you would then know enough not to buy them from ebay. The difference in price (compared to a site like scentedmonkey) is either negligible or so huge as to be an indication that it's highly likely to be a fake.
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post #21 of 29
4/16/09 at 6:48pm
  • RJR
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New to Basenotes, I quickly headed to ebay for some of the fragrances the reviewers liked, many of which I tested at the brick-and-mortar stores. A bit of testimony: Of 12 ebay purchases, two frags were absolutely horrible! Either extremely spoiled or fake. From now on, I pay a few more dollars to a trusted source for the genuine juice!
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post #22 of 29
4/18/09 at 4:11am
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post #23 of 29
12/15/09 at 4:57am
I've just been informed of my fake bottle of Himalaya. $70 bucks down the drain, dammit !!!
I read the thread too, and this is an excellent fake. I will never buy another Creed from anywhere but a reputable store (or a store on the net) and pay retail. Nothing is worth $$$ down the drain.
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post #24 of 29
12/15/09 at 6:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigsly View Post

One BNer apparently bought a genuine frag that had a roach floating around in a sealed atomizer, for example.

They went a little overboard with 'animalics' haven't they?
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post #25 of 29
12/15/09 at 9:02am
Lately I've actually gone up and asked every seller I was planning to buy from if the item was fake or not. They actually seem to be pretty straight up about it, since they don't want to go through the hassle of selling to a person that knows the difference between fake/real (Refunds/Neg Rating).

What I usually do is ask them if the item 100% authentic/genuine name brand and if it's fake. Then go on to say that if I order it and it is different from the authentic brand in any form or fashion I'll want a full refund (Shipping costs varies) and drop a bad rating.

I can't say it will work for every seller, but it has saved me from a few messy situations.
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post #26 of 29
12/15/09 at 2:08pm
That's a good idea, sometimes I'm wary if the item isn't boxed or sealed. I took a risk recently with a bottle of Douce Amere I bought off ebay. It wasn't boxed and the seller said there were a couple of marks on the label. I unscrewed the cap and sniffed it and was worried at how alcoholy it smelled. When I spritzed it, it smelled identical to my sample so I'm hoping it's genuine.
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post #27 of 29
6/26/11 at 10:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by GourmandHomme View Post

I wasn't overly ecstatic that I got a fake. However, I still keep it in perspective because I'm a purist when it comes to perfumes - I buy perfumes for the smell and nothing else (not for the box, not for the bottle, not for the brand).

If there's a company out there called Shanel and it makes a perfume called Koko and it so happens that perfume smells and behaves identically like Chanel's Coco and they put that in an ugly plastic bottle - I'd buy it.
=========
As for Creed GIT and Cool Water - have sampled the originals. No love for either. So despite what someone said above, it's not because I got some fake Creed GIT off eBay...

I totally agree with what you say, but you don't know what the ingredients of the fake perfum might be, they may not be as per the safety norms and may be harmful to your health. The fragrance smelling similar should not be only criteria or the beautiful bottle this fragrance use, but the juice inside is important. It may be smelling similar and probably be lasting considerable amount of time but it may not be made with high quality ingredients. Thats all i wanted to say.
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post #28 of 29
6/26/11 at 11:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by GourmandHomme View Post

If there's a company out there called Shanel and it makes a perfume called Koko and it so happens that perfume smells and behaves identically like Chanel's Coco and they put that in an ugly plastic bottle - I'd buy it.

Love your devotion!
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post #29 of 29
6/26/11 at 1:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by b-nasty View Post

a roach floating in a bottle?!?!?

There was a band, that as a promotional gimmick, was selling novelty cologne with a dead bug at the bottom. The cologne was called "Barrio Sweat".

Quote:
Each bottle of "Barrio Sweat" comes complete with a larvae of the agave snout weevil imported from Jalisco (known to gringos as "the worm") drowned at the bottom of this mystical potion. "We wanted to honor the manliness of Olde World Mexico that continues to shape the barrios where we live today" muses Mariachi El Bronx's Joby Ford.

http://www.merchlackey.com/bundle_de...355&width=800#
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