Due to sanctions, Russian women are actively buying perfumes and cosmetics through ads

Parallel imports promise to solve the shortage of cosmetics and perfumes, but it is impossible to please everyone. Many Russian women complain that their favorite perfume, powder or lipstick shade is no longer on sale. As an option, you can buy your favorite product from your hands on the ad site. But is there a risk of running into a fake or catching an infection from a previous owner?

After the largest Western cosmetics and perfume manufacturers announced their intention to leave Russia, the number of offers on hand-to-hand sales sites increased. Those who had unnecessary bottles gathering dust in their apartments perceived the new realities as a good reason to earn extra money. Russian women do not hesitate to sell open bottles of perfume – of course, reducing the price.

Is this business in demand? As MK found out, there are enough buyers.

“The main argument for buying used perfumes is the price. Sometimes I was able to buy the desired perfume for 40% cheaper than in the store. Secondly, you can find a discontinued fragrance on hand, which you won’t find in a store during the day with fire, and regardless of today’s sanctions. Thirdly, you can buy the rest in a bottle from your hands if you don’t need a large volume,” explains Daria M., the author of one of the popular blogs dedicated to perfumery.

According to the blogger, this approach is especially relevant when buying niche (rare and expensive) fragrances, whose manufacturers use only 100 ml bottles. Buying one is expensive, and not everyone needs so much powerful flavor. In this case, “carrying” half a bottle for someone is a completely optimal solution.

The blogger gave advice on how to recognize a fake.

“To avoid being held liable, negligent sellers do not write the word “original” in their ads. Sometimes they leave flirtatious postscripts, like “license”, “licensed tester”, “UAE”. All of these are fakes. If an inattentive buyer buys such a bottle, these are his problems. After all, the cunning seller honestly wrote everything, ”the blogger instructs.

Users on thematic forums add: according to them, it is better to give preference to sellers who do not specialize in perfumery, but publish various ads. The most preferable situation is like “Gave it as a gift, don’t like it, sell it”. For example, if a user wants to part with a bottle of perfume, a baby stroller and a set of frying pans at the same time, there is a good chance that you really successfully got into someone else’s decluttering, and do not risk becoming a victim of scammers.

“I buy regularly. Why do I need a whole bottle for the full price, when I need a little and can buy half a bottle for one-fifth of the price? .. I use a month or two – and resell, and in return I buy something new, ”said Anna, a resident of St. Petersburg.

It’s not just about hunting for brands that have left the shelves of our country. Sometimes you can buy cosmetics and perfumes from your hands, which were hard to find even before the sanctions.

– I have been hunting for a collection fragrance for a long time. It has not been officially discontinued, but it is almost no longer on sale anywhere – except, perhaps, a boutique in Paris. Expensive, but I really wanted. As a result, I bought a bottle from my hands, which is slightly, a quarter, started. For 10 thousand rubles. Of course, I wanted a new one, but I’m still happy, – says Christina from Moscow.

Some women of fashion boast that they managed to buy perfumes for 2000 rubles, which were sold in boutiques for 6-7 thousand – simply because the seller set such a price.

The next question is: is it safe to “wear” cosmetics for someone?

“It’s a bad idea to buy products that involve skin contact, like lipstick. The cream, in which a person climbed with his fingers, should also not be passed on “by inheritance”. Dry products – powder, blush or shadows, can be bought without fear. The only thing is that before use, sprinkle the surface of the package with an antiseptic or wipe it with an antibacterial wipe: just in case, ”explained makeup artist Evgenia Stasova in an interview with an MK correspondent.

The specialist added that if you really want to buy lipstick from your hands – that very favorite shade that has disappeared from sale – you need to ruthlessly cut off 2-3 millimeters of the top layer. However, according to the makeup artist, the problem may be different: the lipstick does not have such a long shelf life, and after the former owner threw away the cardboard packaging, it is impossible to establish the date of manufacture – therefore, the risk of buying “rotten stuff” increases.