SCENTsing this is Too Good To Be True
"Dona & Rabbana"
A friend of mine forwarded a great article to me (thanks @DuxieClothing) about the side effects of fake perfumes. Living in NYC, we see tons of street vendors selling cheap, knockoff perfume. 95% of the time I walk by them because simply put, I just don’t trust it. However, there has been that rare time where I decided to take the plunge and buy a bottle.
One afternoon my colleague and I were walking back from lunch when all of a sudden three guys pop out of a van and start yelling, “Hurry, get your perfume, get your perfume. This sells at Macy’s for more than $80, here…it’s only $5.” I am one that absolutely loves a bargain, so I was like what the heck, I’ll pick up a bottle. Here’s how my transaction went down…
1. All the bottles that the guys were holding out had the correct name of the perfume and looked exactly like the real deal. I pointed to the Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue box and said I will take one of those.
2. Guy #1 turns around and grabs one from the box behind him and passes it to guy #2 to his left.
3. Guy #2 puts it in a black bag
4. Guy #3 takes my money
5. I get the black bag and Guys #1-3 all encourage me to hurry off
As we walk to the door of my building, all of a sudden we hear police sirens. Obviously, something pretty sketchy was going on!
I get upstairs to my desk and open the bag. Instead of seeing a beautiful “Dolce and Gabbana” box like I originally saw outside when the guy was holding it up, I was now holding a fake “Dona & Rabbana” light blue box. I couldn’t help but laugh. They totally pulled a fast one on me and did a complete swap. Very clever I have to say.
I never ended up using any of it because honestly I was nervous I would break out into hives or something. And after reading the article below, I’m glad I did not try it out! Bad reactions from knockoffs range from a runny nose to redness and eczema. Eek. Article from Harpers Bazaar
How about you…ever try a fake perfume? Did it smell like roses or make you break out into a red blob?
