Fake or Genuine - How to tell?

[DameMargaretOfChalfont]

My favourite foundation (Max Factor Lasting Performance, 101, Ivory Beige) has been out of the shops for a while now - actually for over 2 years.

It is however available on Ebay and Amazon - how do I tell if these products are real?

Do Max Factor totally stop making a product or is a product in constant production but MF just limit where they sell it??

If the latter is the case then maybe the Ebay seller can access the goods from a source that I can't. Alternatively if the product is no longer produced then there's a good chance the Ebay product is a fake and could contain dangerous ingredients.

Is there a way to tell??

PS - The sellers I'm looking at are UK based.

It's usually genuine old, deadstock that was made before the product was pulled from general sale.

Thanks for the reply - I'll go ahead and order.

I would email them to ask how they source their stock!

I think Max Factor will be ok because it's not a high end brand. But would like to warn anyone against buying MAC or any high end make up brands on eBay.

It may come from the UK but the seller will have imported it counterfeit from China. How do I know? I'm a customs officer and have seen the counterfeit imports myself. The products look like the real thing but have been found to contain arsenic amongst other nasties.

Tryharder - The products look like the real thing but have been found to contain arsenic amongst other nasties

That's why I was concerned about buying the product.

Hopefully, because my product is more "mundane" it won't be counterfeit. I just wonder how the seller has so many items bearing in mind I haven't been able to buy this product in UK stores for over 2 years!!!

DameMargaret If in doubt I would not order if it where me,it just takes one application to cause you untold misery and is not worth it,the fact they have so many items would cause me to be concerned but on the other hand they may be genuine I just wouldn't take the chance personally.