Monday, October 1, 2012

The toxic trade in fake make-up: How counterfeit cosmetics containing dangerous levels of arsenic are being sold online to unsuspecting bargain hunters

The toxic trade in fake make-up: How counterfeit cosmetics containing dangerous levels of arsenic are being sold online to unsuspecting bargain hunters 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2210884/The-toxic-trade-fake-make-How-counterfeit-cosmetics-containing-dangerous-levels-arsenic-sold-online-unsuspecting-bargain-hunters.html

"When Mandy Lanham saw her favourite foundation for sale online at a greatly reduced price she snapped it up — after all, few of us can resist a beauty bargain. The product — called Some Kinda Gorgeous and made by popular cosmetics brand Benefit — was being sold new on eBay by a seemingly reputable seller and duly arrived a few days later.  Having saved £10 on the recommended retail price of £23.50, Mandy, 48, a part-time teacher from East Sussex, was quietly smug.  'I thought it was a very good price but not so cheap that I was suspicious,' she says. 'I'd been looking for presents for my daughters when I spotted it. I checked out the ratings of the seller and all the feedback from customers was positive. The packaging in the picture looked convincing, too.'  Alarm bells only started ringing when the product arrived and Mandy put the make-up on her face.  'It felt sticky and unpleasant on my skin and I noticed the medium shade I'd chosen wasn't the same as the old one that I'd bought from a Benefit counter in a department store. It didn't smell the same either,' she says.  The following morning, Mandy's skin had flared up. Her face felt tender and puffy and it took a few hours for the swelling to go down. Mandy had unwittingly bought a fake — a fact confirmed when she contacted trading standards officers."

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