Last Tuesday, makeup mogul and popular YouTuber Jeffree Star announced $2.5 million worth of makeup products had been stolen from one of his Jeffree Star Cosmetics warehouses some weeks earlier.
Star reported the makeup thieves broke into his shipping facility on March 16, taking various highlighter palettes, lip products and an entire shade of an unreleased concealer product.
In a YouTube video on his channel and in several tweets, Star reported he’s also working closely with the FBI and local authorities to track down the stolen makeup, which is believed to be circulating on the black market and on popular websites like Facebook Marketplace.
The robbery and Star’s vocal opinions about the stolen goods have re-opened an issue that a number of influencers in the beauty community have touched on in the past: “fake makeup” and the dangers that come with it.
We’ve all seen it on street vendor tables and sketchy online profiles. Fake makeup, or makeup that uses the looks and packaging of high-end products, can be sold at a fraction of the price of their real makeup counterparts because of sometimes toxic formulas that are cheaper to use.
I have never bought or tried any of these counterfeit products, but I know consumers routinely choose to purchase this fake makeup because of the savings that result from it. Why buy a real Kylie Cosmetics Lip Kit for $29 when you can get something almost identical for $4?
Well, this is why: counterfeit makeup contains dangerous chemicals and substances like lead, mercury, arsenic and even horse urine that can lead the consumer to develop acne, dangerous skin rashes and eye infections.
The health concerns associated with fake makeup are enough to make me suck it up and buy the goods at Sephora. But if these concerns didn’t exist — if these products were safe-to-consume imitations — would I buy them? Yes, probably.
This theoretical situation facilitates a more ethics-based argument. Is it OK to buy products that rip off the designs and likeness of higher-end goods?
It’s easy to say this is not OK, but in reality, us consumers purchase imitations all the time. This hypothetical makeup scenario is a very real affair in the fashion industry. The example that comes to mind is fast fashion, mega-popular brand Fashion Nova. Their styles routinely take from the trends the Kardashians and Jenners wear, which come from the sketchbooks of high-end designers.
Kim Kardashian has made her opinion about copycat styles especially clear through social media and recorded interviews, as she did in a tweet from February.
It’s devastating to see these fashion companies rip off designs that have taken the blood, sweat and tears of true designers who have put their all into their own original ideas.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) February 19, 2019
I think where you stand on this comes down to privilege. Unlike fake makeup suppliers, Fashion Nova and brands like it are not doing anything illegal, and they’re allowing the typical consumer a taste of what the 1 percent have in their closets.
I understand the ethical argument Kim is making here, and I respect it, but it’s hard to flag this trend as something that’s “wrong” when I don’t indulge in the same tax bracket.
If I had enough money to buy the real deal, I would, but I don’t have that luxury. Yet I think a nice middle ground would include these fast fashion brands owning up to their inspiration and credit the designs to those who created them first.
This is a very interesting story. It is so sad that people feel the need to take away individuals hard work to sell at a cheaper price. I wish we could spread more out to beauty lovers about this topic! -Jacqueline