Quick answer
Packaging is the cheapest part of a counterfeit to get right. The checks most buyers rely on are the ones counterfeiters solved first.
Want the authentic one? Every product on TheSkinProof is invoice-verified.
Check a product free →The checks that stopped working
1. The hologram
Holographic stickers are manufactured to order in bulk. A convincing one costs a counterfeiter almost nothing.
2. The shrink wrap and seal
Resealing equipment is commodity kit. An intact seal tells you the box was sealed, not who sealed it.
3. The QR code
A QR is only as good as what it points at. Many print a code that resolves to the brand's public homepage — which any sticker can do.
4. Print quality and font
Worth a glance, but the gap has closed. Poor printing catches a lazy fake; it misses a good one.
5. Smell and texture
These are the tells most people mention, and they are the worst ones — because you only reach them after buying and using the product.
What does still work
A batch code that can be matched to an importer's record, and a seller who can produce that record. That is a chain of custody rather than an appearance.
> The general rule: anything printed on the box can be printed on a fake box. Only information held outside the box — an import record — is hard to forge.
Also read
Verifying a batch code · what BSTI clearance means