Wednesday 25 July 2012

SCAMMED: Hoola Benefit Bronzer

This time last year I was stupid enough to buy a "100% Authentic Benefit Bronzer" off eBay. I bought Hoola as I'd been using my friend's whilst we were on holiday and I loved it. Being the cheapskate that I am I decided to buy it off eBay, I found one that wasn't too expensive and bought it after looking through the seller's profile and feedback so I was a 100% certain that it would be real and good quality. It took roughly a month to come as it was being shipped from Hong Kong.

L-R: Hoola Benefit Bronzer - £23.50, Fake eBay Hoola Bronzer - £9.
You can tell that the packaging and sizes are completely different from eachother. The benefit logo isn't even on the fake one, it just says "by benefit" written underneath the title of the product. The fake one also looks as if it's been photocopied and the colours are completely wrong.  


When it did come, it looked a bit battered and tatty but I didn't think anything of it, I just thought that it was probably because of the shipping and the parcel had been battered along the way or something along those lines. I used it for a good 9 or 10 months and then I decided I wanted to buy a lighter bronzer for my prom as I wasn't as tanned anymore. 


You can see the colour difference between both of the bronzers here. The real one is lighter, smoother and more pigmented than the fake one. The fake one is very dark and brown in comparison. It also has bits flaking off and chunks missing. The boxes are also completely different shapes and the fake one isn't as sturdy.


When I went into the benefit store, they had all their bronzers and blushes on display - as the always do - and I noticed their Hoola bronzer didn't look the same as mine, I thought they'd just changed the packaging but it was also lighter and more pigmented than the one I had, I bought Hoola from benefit even though it was a bit pricey and went home and compared them. 

The box sizes are completely different and the side picture definitely looks like it's been photocopied. 

The sizes of the brushes are different as well as the feel of the actual bristles. The fake ones are more harsh, rough and spikey compared to the benefit one. 


I realised mine was fake and completely different in every possible way. I was disappointed but then again, the bronzer I bought off eBay wasn't terrible, I can still use it when I have a tan. However, I would advise that you don't buy any sort of makeup, off sites like eBay, that claims to be a well-known makeup label, whether it's MAC, Bobbi Brown, Benefit etc. as there is a high chance it will be fake. 



The back of the fake one also looks photocopied and completely different, when you pull the 'peel here' tab the fake one reveals nothing whereas the real one peels back and you can see the information about the product in Chinese and other languages. 



 I have tried looking for the seller who I bought this bronzer from so I could warn you incase you come across their "100% Authentic" makeup eBay shop but I can't find them. :(

I advise everyone not to fall into this trap, no matter how cheap the products are/how much positive feedback a seller has/how much they claim their products are genuine etc. 



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