Cooked up in squalid labs, the online fakes are laced with poison
eyesight when she bought cosmetics from an online company she later discovered was based in China.
Within minutes of applying the fake Urban Decay eye shadow, Katie Brown from Cheshire found her eyelids had swollen and her eyesight became so blurry she feared she was going blind.
‘I realised it was fake as soon as I opened it, she said.
‘The package looked slightly different and the mirror was a bit wonky, like you might see in a fairground.’
Customers are buying the fake products because they cost a fraction of the genuine article. But trading standards officers have discovered they contain high levels of lead, arsenic, mercury, copper and cadmium.
The heavy metals have been linked to health problems ranging from allergic reactions and skin sensitivity to nerve disorders and even death.
Excessive levels of lead can cause high blood pressure, fertility problems, memory and concentration problems and increased risk of harm to the foetus during pregnancy.
The fraudsters are also producing sun cream, which looks exactly like the real thing but, shockingly, offers no protection against harmful UV rays.
Detective Superintendent Maria Woodall, of the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit, said: ‘Criminals are exploiting every opportunity to fool customers into buying counterfeits in order for them to make some quick cash – putting people’s health, homes and lives at risk.
‘Beauty products are meant to enhance your features. However, the fakes can in fact do quite the opposite.
‘Not only could these products have serious implications for your health and wellbeing but by simply going online and buying from a rogue site or dealer, your personal and financial information is at risk.’
Made i n China and Eastern Europe, the fake cosmetics are shipped into the UK in plain containers and packaged by illegal immigrants in sweatshops in the North East of England.
They are typically sold online, on market stalls or in temporary high street shops selling household items at knock-down prices.
As well as top cosmetic brands, other popular counterfeit items are Christian Dior face cream, Estee Lauder night cream and Dove soap and shower gel.
Fake versions of cosmetics by MAC and Benefit have been found to contain up to 19 times the legal level of lead.
Pregnant women and t heir unborn babies are particularly vulnerable to some of the dangerous chemicals, which include cancercausing compounds. Dermatolo- gists have reported a rise in the number of women with skin conditions triggered by use of the counterfeit cosmetics.
Police, who have confiscated products worth £3.5million over the past 18 months, advise customers to check the spelling and grammar on websites and to identify where a seller is based.
They said l egitimate l uxury brands are very rarely sold at heavily discounted prices, meaning ‘great deals’ are probably too good to be true.
Officers also highlighted the dangers of buying other counterfeit goods, including electrical items such as hair curlers and straighteners.
The fake cosmetics trade costs manufacturers more than £300million a year.