We hired a lab to test suspicious beauty products — here’s what we found

Neat rows of different makeup products in sets of two (counterfeit and real).

Michael Murtaugh/NYT Wirecutter and Dana Davis/NYT Wirecutter

Of all the skin-care and cosmetics products reporter Rose Maura Lorre recently bought online that turned out to be problematic, the one that still makes her squirm is a curiously distended tube of lip gloss.

The tube — purchased from a third-party seller on Amazon — appeared slightly puffy and inflated next to the one bought directly from the brand’s official site. That bloating? It could suggest microbial growth, a cosmetic chemist told her. It was almost certainly fake … and possibly noxious.

For months, Rose immersed herself in the extremely confusing and shockingly pervasive world of counterfeit beauty products online. And then she sent a dozen suspicious products from third-party sellers to a cosmetic chemist for lab testing.

Spoiler: Every single one had a problem→

We independently review everything we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more ›

More deep dives

A person pictured from the front and the back twice next to each other, shown wearing similar beige sweaters and a sling bag, similar brown-green skirts, with one hand on similar red rolling suitcases.

“My month of living Quince’s low-cost life of luxury”

Our thoughts on what’s actually worth it→

An illustration of a chaotic room with appliances leaking, smoking, and catching on fire.

The real reason your fridge dies young

What’s up with the durability of modern household appliances?→

An individual wearing glasses holds a mug while buried up to their neck in a large pile of colorful clothing against a black background.

We bought a 450-pound pallet packed with returned goods from Amazon and beyond

Here’s what we found inside→

An illustration of hand wiping out a person's face that's showing in a browser window.

“I tried, and failed, to disappear from the internet”

One Wirecutter journalist’s quest to eradicate years’ worth of social media posts, family photos, and more→

Does a $1 can of tinned fish taste better than a $20 can?

Thumbnail for a Wirecutter Taste Test video showing two people in front of large fish illustrations, with a play button in the center.

NYT Wirecutter

On this week’s episode of Wirecutter Taste Test we enlisted the taste buds of two seafood-in-a-can experts. The goal? Determine whether or not you can really tell the difference between a high-end fish and its less expensive counterpart.

All of their top-rated tins→

One last thing: Can you spot the impostors?

A gif showcasing various similar beauty products side by side and highlighting which ones are legitimate and the ones that are fake.

Michael Murtaugh/NYT Wirecutter and Dana Davis/NYT Wirecutter

Thanks for reading.

You can reach the Wirecutter Newsletters team at newsletters@wirecutter.com. We can’t always respond, but we do love to hear from you.

If you received this newsletter from someone else, subscribe here.

Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance.

You received this email because you signed up for The Recommendation from The New York Times.

To stop receiving The Recommendation, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings.

Subscribe to The Times Get The New York Times app

Connect with us on:

Change Your Email Privacy Policy Contact Us California Notices

The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018