When trying to find the perfume you like, there is always a risk of buying a fake. In order not to regret the purchase, and not to be disappointed in the fragrance, follow visual tips that will help to distinguish the original from counterfeit.
Packaging
Manufacturers of elite perfumery care not only about the quality of the the bottle's contents, but think carefully about the packaging. The box containing the perfume must be made of dense expensive cardboard, with embossed symbols and pleasant to the touch. The vial and cap should be well fixed inside. This can be checked by shaking the box in the hand – there should not be any vibrations inside the package.
Cellophane wrap
Another important nuance – cellophane packaging, in which a box is wrapped. It should tightly fit the packaging, the seams should be perfectly even and heat-sealed, not taped together. Top or bottom should have a sticker stamp – round or rectangular in shape. Another important point: some manufacturers (for example, Hugo Boss, Davidoff, Clinique) do not pack some of their products in transparent plastic wrap. If possible, check the appearance of the packaging on the manufacturer's website or at trusted retailers.
Country of origin
Authentic perfumes from famous brands will never be produced in China or Thailand. There is no such thing as "licence" or "official factory" when it comes to perfume manufacturing. For example, French perfumes are bottled only in France. Therefore, always look at the bar code of the country of origin indicated on the product:
France – 30-37
Italy – 80-83
Germany – 400-440
Great Britain – 50
Spain – 84
USA and Canada – 00-09
Moreover, the packaging should always state "made in ...", specifying the name of the country.
Batch code
Batch code (English batch code) – this is, by and large, information about the batch, which contains data on the date of release of the perfume. All original cosmetics have batch-codes either on a cardboard package (figures are pressed into the cardboard) or on the product itself (the label with numbers is pasted or the numbers are engraved on the bottle). Find out about the date of production, and make sure the product is authentic by checking the batch-code on special sites like checkfresh.com or checkcosmetic.net.
Bottle and contents
When you get to the bottle, evaluate its quality. It should be made of thick glass and have distinctive design elements. The spray tube should not be standing out, manufacturers try to make it thin and neat. The color of perfume, as a rule, is always light, with a cool shade. It is also believed that it is possible to distinguish the original from counterfeits by bubbles. To do this, shake the bottle and see how quickly the bubbles dissolve. In the original perfume the bubbles will melt in 10 to 15 seconds, in a counterfeit – they disappear almost instantly.
You can buy authentic perfumes across the chain of brand shops in the countries where they are produced or officially imported in. You can also purchase them in duty-free stores at airports around the globe. If the latter option is most preferable, you can browse through duty-free products online and choose perfume for the date of your flight with Mydutyfree right now.