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" Keeping up with the hottest beauty trends and products can quickly become an expensive habit, especially if you&amp;#039;re a fan of high-end brands. It&amp;#039;s no wonder so many women log online hoping to snag a deal on their favorite get-gorgeous must-haves. But what happens when that amazing bargain isn&amp;#039;t quite what you bargained for? Could the product be fake, expired, or (gasp!) gently used? If you suspect that you&amp;#039;ve been duped, take the following steps.  Carefully inspect a new product before using it. Check for complete and authentic-looking packaging. Many fraudulent items may look good at first glance, but the exterior packaging will seem cheap or contain misspellings. &amp;quot;If it it smells or looks funky, call the brand directly and read the bar code to see when that item was made,&amp;quot; suggests Shannon Nelson, who tests beauty products and blogs on her site agirlsgottaspa.com. Some manufacturer sites even have a spot where you can enter a serial number to find out if the product is legitimate. &amp;quot;That&amp;#039;s the wave of the future, giving consumers a vehicle to verify the product themselves,&amp;quot; says Alina Halloran, vice president of online brand protection for Opsec Security, a Boston-based, anti-counterfeiting firm. If you decide the product seems suspicious, take one or more of the following steps:  Contact the seller to discuss the complaint and arrange a return or exchange. Reputable vendors will want to work with you to rectify the problem. Report the problem to the manufacturer using its customer service line or consumer hotline. Report your suspicions to the Food and Drug Commission, which regulates consumer products including cosmetics. Call 1-800-270-8869 or go to fda.gov and search for &amp;quot;report a problem.&amp;quot; Share your complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Go to bbb.org, find the vendor and click on &amp;quot;file a complaint.&amp;quot; Post your thoughts online to warn other buyers \u2013 either on the vendor&amp;#039;s site, on a beauty discussion board.  Remember, online shoppers depend on each other (more than anything) to keep vendors honest and accountable. So your feedback and diligence may help put unethical sellers out of business and keep other bargain hunters, like yourself, from getting scammed. And, before you scour the web looking for your next beauty buy, learn to spot the difference between a steal and a scam. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/beauty/makeup/tips/a19087/bogus-beauty-products/>