Customs warn over dangers of fake make-up

SOME fake make-up products have been found to contain dangerous compounds — as Revenue officials revealed they seized a stash of counterfeit beauty goods within the past month.

Phoney products carrying top brand names were discovered at airports, ferry ports and mail centres.

Customs officers said dodgy imported cosmetic products are up 60% on last year. Since October, a total of 4,483 false make-up products were intercepted. The advice to consumers is: “If its cheap, it’s not the real deal”.

In the final quarter of 2009, the overall total of counterfeit beauty products seized was 2,635.

According to Dublin Airport customs manager Shay Doyle, the majority of the goods seized were most likely destined for weekend markets.

But he urged beauty parlours also need to be on the look out for fake cosmetics being sold as the real deal.

“If it’s cheap, chances are it’s not the real product, but there are also people selling false products at genuine prices,” he said.

“These people are absolute criminals — members of the public are being duped into purchasing fake items for the genuine product’s price.”

Overall, the total number of counterfeit make-up items impounded by Revenue this year, so far, is 9,291.

A majority of the cosmetic seizures were of the well-known brand name, MAC, and consisted of products ranging across the board from eye-shadows to foundations and lipsticks.

Large numbers of fake designer handbags and pirated DVDs have also continued to make-up the bulk of seizures this year, with counterfeit Tiffany jewellery making up a substantial amount of the fake jewellery seized so far in 2010.

According to Mr Doyle, the counterfeit products can also become a safety issue if used in the same manner as the genuine product.

“The HSE tested the fake make-up and found additives such as lead in some of the fake MAC lip glosses and cadmium in some other cosmetics.

“In one instance, I saw a fake soccer jersey being set on fire and it went up in flames immediately because they are not being made with the same quality control or standards of the genuine products. Fake electronics can also pose a fire safety hazard.”

Mr Doyle added he would encourage people to support genuine local business when shopping this Christmas.

“Chances are the people selling fake goods are paying little tax and, by buying the fake items, shoppers are pumping money into the black economy.

“This has a huge impact on Irish jobs and smaller businesses. The bottom line is if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is.”