More than 65% of beauty products sold on online marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, TikTok Shop and Vinted are likely to be counterfeit, according to new research by Which?.
The consumer group found 23 of 34 branded items it bought and tested were “likely fakes”, imitating major names such as Charlotte Tilbury, Maybelline, La Roche-Posay, The Ordinary and Mac.
The investigation flagged serious health risks for consumers, warning that counterfeit cosmetics may contain toxic ingredients like lead, mercury or arsenic, and in some cases, even animal waste.
The six products bought from second-hand platform Vinted were all suspected fakes, while five of those tested from TikTok Shop were also likely counterfeit. Eight of 11 eBay items and four from Amazon also raised red flags.
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Which? said although some dupes were obvious — due to spelling errors or strange smells — others were near-identical to the real thing. One example was a fake Charlotte Tilbury setting spray, which was sold on Amazon for more than the product’s official RRP, with only a “cloying floral scent” giving it away.
Another, a Mac lipstick bought on Vinted, arrived in familiar packaging but featured a smudged logo and incorrect branding.
Which? policy and advocacy director Rocio Concha said: “It’s alarming that Which? was able to find such high volumes of what appeared to be potentially dangerous counterfeit cosmetics on popular online marketplaces, where teenagers in particular are likely to be enticed by what seem to be big discounts on popular brands.
“Consumers should be as confident in the products they buy online as the items that they purchase on the high street, but in reality they risk buying untested, unregulated and potentially toxic cosmetics.”
Which? is calling on the government to urgently strengthen consumer protections to crack down on the growing volume of counterfeit goods online.
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