Profit VS Scamming (Brunei Edition)

Disclaimer: THIS POST IS BY NO MEANS TRYING TO PUT PEOPLE OUT OF BUSINESS, BUT READ IT WITH AN OPEN MIND.

Okay, after I post this, I will move on to happier things, okay?

This is what I experienced and saw today at Airport Mall, Brunei.

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We were on the way back to our car, so we passed through Airport Mall, and there were stalls around. I didn't even look around because it was late.

But then my brother got stopped by one of the stall shopkeepers.

So they started talking, and me and his girlfriend saw some makeup being sold.
I didn't care for it, as I just bought something from Etude House.

Until I saw that my brother's girlfriend gushing about how pretty this palette was....

...can you guess what it was?


It was the sought after Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette.

Urban Decay's Naked 2 Palette (Image from Jess Beez Adventures ) 

Actually, it's the "Naked 2 Palette".

It was the fake one, the Grade A replica ones China makes.

Replicated "Naked 2 Palette" (Image taken from Makeuptalk ) 

You see, I'm familiar with things like these because I myself have contemplated buying them myself, online, through the proper shops. They sell these at USD15-19 per piece, and then shipping. If you buy in bulk however, you'd get it cheaper.

Converted, that should be BND19 right? Roughly. Plus maybe USD2 shipping, which makes it BND21. However, if you bought it in bulk, 12+, you can get one palette at BND13 (plus the shipping, which I guess it around BND40 depending on weight).

After some calculating, one price of the palette would be roughly BND16.

But they were selling it at BND85, because my brother's GF asked how much they were, while admiring it.

Yes, you read that right.

BND85.

So, how much profit are they making?

They are making BND69 out of one palette.


So, what do you think that's considered as?
Is it genuine "profit" or a scam?


Plus, after I outed them by saying "Well, that's fake, I know."

The seller said, "No, they're real, my friend bought it from the US."


Okay, that's one thing to sell it at BND85, but to insist that it's real?
Sorry, I can't tolerate that.


Not only are you making a HUGE profit from it, you're also LYING to potential customers.
Why can't you just say, "Oh, they're Grade A replicas from China."

And sell them maybe at a reasonable BND35 at least?

Might I add that China made the full replica now too, which comes with the lipgloss.

New Packaging of the Replica (Image taken from My Beauty Vanity ) 

You can also view the new fake Naked 2 Palette from this blog: Amna's Post

I also saw some of the replicas actually looking like this, but the palette is boxed like in the photo above.

So yeah, I have to back up Urban Decay telling me this when I asked them about this UD Palette I bought from eBay:

"Thank you for your email. We do not have any authorized resellers on Ebay. The only authorized resellers of Urban Decay are Sephora, Ulta, and Macy's as well as some international websites like beautybay.com. We do not have any individual authorized resellers. It is against our company policy."

Although after much soul searching, my palette (which I will write about in another entry), is possibly real, or a bloody good replica. LOL. Either way, I got it cheaply. And that's with shipping by the way~

Not expensively like BND85!!

So yeah, Brunei, is this even legal in our country?
Imagine all the unsuspecting people buying this palette.

BND85 isn't cheap you know.

Not only that, the ingredients in a fake palette can be full of dangerous ingredients and we wouldn't know!

But I did mention before that I considered buying them. Why would I not mind? Because I do have some palettes made in China.


My brother told me to let it be, it's some people's way of "making money to earn a living"

Yes. That's true.

But two things I can't forgive:

1) Insisting that the product is REAL and AUTHENTIC.
2) The pricing. Heck, even the original one is about BND70-75!

Not only that, they were also selling one of my favourite brands, theBalm. The fake one too of course. For that one, I didn't ask.


I'm just bringing this up.

How much of this is legal?
Can we protect consumers like this?

There's nothing wrong with admitting that they are replicas, and making just a bit of profit from it. Maybe double it. But that's about it.

I know you're a small business.


But I am also not a blind consumer.

Okay?


Sorry if I offended the seller should they be reading.

I am only saying it can be dangerous and very wrong.

Take care!

-Nisah-

PrizeMail, Dinner Out and theBalm Replica/Fake Makeup??

So today I got one of the post office cards to get your packages.
I got excited. I thought my soaps from SoapyLuv arrived.

But it's not it :( I think the soaps will come this week. Hopefully.
Instead, I got my prizes from a recent Youtube giveaway.

So I went to get it with my sister. I actually forgot about how to get the things. I was sick too, still so my stuffy nose makes it difficult for me to speak or hear clearly.

I actually made a video. A rather awkward one because she asked if I would do a prize mail opening video :) and I was fine with it. I just dislike the fact that my voice sounded so nasally.

I'm quite excited about the nail art kit the most.

Here's a pic of the prizes:

Thank you for this, SakuraNailArts!

In other news, I had dinner out at Grazie Mauri the day before yesterday.

Chilled Cranberry Juice

 It's just boxed juice unfortunately, lol. I asked.

Pizza di Salumi?

 My sis ordered this one, she likes it very much I guess.
As for me, I love the one in this pic:

I forgot the name but basically it's blue cheese and some veggies.

 For my main dish, I ordered a beef fillet with mushroom sauce. It comes with veggies and potatoes. I asked for medium.

Looks yummy.

It came medium...or was it rare? LOL Didn't care.

 Unfortunately, the beef wasn't seasoned so it was bland and chewy. It actually hurt my teeth.
I brought it home, salted it, cooked it again with the sauce and BAM, tastes a whole lot better.

They need to somehow cook the sauce with the beef itself :/ so the flavours mix. Well, that's my own view on it anyway.

And then I had dessert.
I think for this dessert, my friends like it.

For me, it was just okay.
I can make something similar to this and it tastes even better.
Seriously.

But I do like the addition of the strawberries and the vanilla ice cream.

It wasn't as delectable as I expected it to be I guess.
High expectations met with mediocre results.

Fantasia di Maria

 But then again, I was sick that day.

Maybe it's my tastebuds BUT I could taste the pizza perfectly.

Anyway, I had my long lost froyo soulmate ( ;w; )
Mochi!!

Butterscotch with strawberry mochi and kitkat bits.

It was nice. The hint of butterscotch flavour and the sourness of the yogurt really comes through.
Unlike Tutti Frutti which really tastes like ice cream.

I should become a food critic.
Like, totally.

I wish I had the gall to actually comment to the chefs.
#NoBravery

I went to Citis Square to visit the art exhibition by UBD students a.k.a some of my friends.
It was the last day.

I was underwhelmed when yeah, some of the works are just form 6 standard.
I guess it's not much of a loss if I don't take art as a major.

MAN, I wanna go abroad D:

Look of the day. Yesterday.

 My sis complains when I braid my hair.
Too childish??

I just used concealer + SPF-ed moisturizer.
No powder.

Today I went out without makeup.
Couldn't care less.

Just packed on sunscreen.

I ordered these but I ended up not eating them.

I've been losing appetite recently.

I guess it's because I'm sick.

I've been sick for a long time.

Longer than usual. It annoys me to no end.

Oh yeah, got this. No, actually, mom got me this.

I thought it was BND$16 something at first...turned out to be BND$23.

I just hate it when they don't label products properly at Guardian. I felt really bad to buy this actually.

Might as well label the price ON the product. Sheesh.

KP, go away!!

Yes, I have KP.

I applied this last night and I think it worked a bit.

Slowly.

I also had my sister paint my nails last night.

Yes, I'm holding a banana.

It looked pretty against my pink nails.

Got banana?

I HATED the nailpolishes.
I don't know why but it dries so slow.

And the white one from Etude House.

I don't recommend it to act as a base.
It's just impossible to work with.

OH YEAH.

I found out that theBalm Cosmetics has been replicated!!

Say what??

This bothers me because I haven't got my replacement from SaSa Malaysia.
And paranoia says DOUBLE CHECK it next time.

Just in case.
>_>; it hasn't arrived so it's not in stock yet.

But I do know that SaSa has been selling replica brushes that look like EcoTools too so...

Well, I doubt they would break the trust of the company (theBalm) by doing so but anything can happen. Thought theBalm never contacted me back when I emailed them. Phooey.

Hm.
In other words, I'm just worried.

But I'm also tempted to check the quality.
Maybe it'll pop out somewhere, someone getting this.

People do say some of the replica makeup are actually quite good.
Plus, if they actually say it's replica, it's up to the buyer to buy it or not, right?

Safer than eBay which sells replica makeup most of the time but people claim it to be real.

As for me, will I ever buy replica makeup?

If it looks cute.
LOL. Cute wins me over.

But in all honestly, theBalm Nude'Tude palette that I have is all buttery soft. And no, I didn't use it because I'm supposed to get a replacement.
I just cleaned the palette before SaSa Malaysia contacted me back.

It was so dirty :/

They also have Shady Lady Vol.3
I wonder if Meet Matt(e) will be next?

Who knows.
Just be careful when you buy theBalm palettes online next time!
Okay?

Okay.

I'm dizzy now.

Take care!!

-Nisah-