J A M I E-L E I G H

The image above is of two lipsticks, one being the fake from Ebay and one being the legit lipstick from the MAC website. Not able to spot the fake? Neither could I to begin with, copies are made so closely to the real thing nowadays that spotting a fake can be quite a hassle. 

The first thing to look out for is the packaging, with MAC lipsticks the container always has little glitter flecks in the plastic as you can see above. Now one thing to always keep in mind is that all mac lipstick packaging is exactly the same, notice how the lipstick on the left has more glitter flecks than the one on the right? Yes, the one on the left is fake. Of course if you already have a MAC lipstick this will be a lot easier for you to tell as you can compare them side by side. This is just one little thing you can check, however there are a lot of more obvious factors that would point out whether or not your lipstick is the real thing or not. 

Now this was the first thing I noticed about the lipsticks that stood out to me. With all my real MAC lipsticks they all have a tiny indent in the bottom where the sticker is. (Notice with the lipstick on the right has a small dent where as the one on the left doesn't?) This was the first thing that rang alarm bells with me as it made me think, if all my MAC lipsticks have indents why does this one not? Anything you may notice on a Ebay lipstick that isn't quite the same as an original MAC usually means that is it fake, so don't think that you're over thinking things because if rings alarm bells you're usually right.

A big give away for fake MAC is the formula. I chose to compare MAC Sin and the fake Diva as they are both matte finishes and are fairly similar colours. Now with all my matte MAC lippies they always need a bit of effort to apply, they do not glide on as they are quite thick and they are always super matte. Now when I swatched 'Diva' it seemed pretty spot on my hand, that was until I applied to my lips. The formula went on so much easier than it should have done, and it finished with more of a satin look than a matte one and it was no where near as pigmented as it should of been. So if you do buy a lipstick off Ebay make sure to research the product first, find out what it looks like on the lips and read reviews so you know exactly what the product should be like. On application if its not what it was described as you know its a fake. 

Now something else you should know about MAC lipsticks, they never have a line going through the lipstick. If you look closely at the lipstick on the left it has a faint vertical line going through it, this is a big giveaway that it is fake as MAC lipsticks never have an ugly looking line through them.

This is another aesthetic flaw in the fakes that can be a give away. Notice on the silver rims that there are little dents that stick out? Now notice how they both look completely different on each lipstick. The one on the bottom is more obvious and has more shape where as the one on top just looks like an ugly dent where its been hit whilst being shipped? Even though they are tiny tiny differences these are the little details you need to look out for because the most minuscule difference usually means its a fake. 

All MAC lipsticks in respect to packaging are the same, whether you're relating it to size, details or shape. Now this may not be something you notice until you compare them side to side but the fake on the right is considerably larger than the real on the left. Not only this but when side by side you can actually see that the writing on lipstick on the right is higher than the real MAC on the left, what conclusion does this bring you too? ITS A FAKE.

Now this is the biggest giveaway for any fake MAC lipstick as it is the one that will point out immediately if your lipstick is legit or not. As I said above all MAC packaging is the same which means all MAC lipsticks have the same lids, if you have twenty legit MAC lipsticks you should be able to swap and change lids and they should all fit each other perfectly. Now notice in the above photo I swapped the lids on the legit and fake MAC lipsticks, neither of them fit the other lipstick. If you find this when you test it out then it means the lipstick is a fake and you need to get your money back.

Now i'm not saying that buying cosmetics off Ebay is a bad thing as we all love a good bargain here and there, but be sure you know what to look out for so that you're not being conned out of money. I hope they tips and tricks will be of help to in the future as nobody wants to be fooled when it comes to MAC lipsticks. Thankyou for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

Jamie.