Int'l cosmetics brands fall victim to fake official Chinese websites

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Without making their debut in China though, renowned cosmetics brands like NARS and Serge Lutens have been surprised by news that Chinese customer bought fake products from their “official Chinese websites”.

Ms. Zou had been eyeing a blush from French cosmetics brand NARS. When searching for the official website, she reached a Chinese website claiming to be the brand’s official website, and thus made a purchase.

NARS Cosmetics Photo

When she received the product she'd ordered, Ms. Zou compared the blush against its official pictures and came to the conclusion that the product was a fake.

“The product doesn’t come with a bar code. Moreover, when I checked my payment history, it showed my money had gone into a personal account,” Ms. Zou told Beijing Youth Daily.

At first sight, the alleged official website looked legitimate, showcasing the brand’s top-sellers and latest releases. But on a closer look, the design and layout was not at all similar to NARS’s official website.

Screenshot of the fake NARS official Chinese website.

Ms. Zou tried to contact the website’s customer services for a refund, but the website didn’t offer the option.

When confronted about the authenticity of the products on sale, a staff member from customer services insisted their products are 100 percent real. “People may doubt us just because they know little about NARS, given the brand was newly introduced to the Chinese mainland.”

The brand’s parent company, Shiseido, disagreed.

“NARS hasn’t been set up in China yet,” a staff member from Shiseido Customer Services said. The company added the brand plans to enter the Chinese mainland market later this year, and the alleged official website was confirmed to be fake.

NARS is not the only brand to fall prey to a fake official Chinese website. Earlier this year, French high-end fragrance brand Serge Lutens, also owned by Shiseido, was revealed by netizens to have a fake Chinese official website.

Screenshot of the fake Serge Lutens official Chinese website.

Both the fake official Chinese websites share the same design, and layout; even the domain name and server are owned by a technology company called Meicheng in Shanghai.

“The content was provided by the customer and we helped develop the NARS official website,” a sales staff from Meicheng confirmed. Nonetheless, the staff claimed to know little about their client.

At the time of reporting, both websites are still accessible and in full operation.