Prolonged exposure to some of the chemicals found in these cosmetics could have a toxic effect on your organs, says Ranella Hirsch, M.D., a Cambridge, Massachusetts, derm.

Unsurprisingly, people have cited rashes, dermatitis, eye infections, and aggravation of conditions such as acne and eczema as being linked to suspected counterfeit products. In unsanitary working conditions, the products can be contaminated with bacteria and waste - even urine and E. 'Counterfeit cosmetics sometimes contain harmful or even carcinogenic ingredients, perhaps not intentionally designed to harm but because the counterfeiters feel no obligation to protect the consumers they are defrauding,' says David Farquhar, supervisory special-agent unit chief at the FBI. It's a public health and safety issue,' says Buglisi Weiler. The company counters: 'This isn't just a MAC issue. Some cynics may wonder if MAC is simply trying to redirect dollars back to their channels. It's easy to understand why they wouldn't want to publicize these counterfeiters or admit that their brand identity has the potential to be (or has been) hijacked. Many companies (including Laura Geller), when approached for this story, declined to comment.

MAC is one of the rare beauty brands bringing awareness to this issue. 'It's horrifying,' says Karen Buglisi Weiler, the global president of MAC Cosmetics (whose team provided the photo here). 'About 90 percent of these counterfeit items come from China, where manufacturing is cheaper and there's a copycat culture,' says Bob Barchiesi, president of the International Anticounterfeiting Coalition, a D.C.-based trade organization. While companies are concerned about knockoffs - it hurts their image and profits - these copies can have much more dire consequences for consumers. The store paid out $1 million and ran corrective advertising. Marrazzo cites a recent case in which a group of bloggers outed an Australian department store for selling faux MAC products. A few of its most hotly counterfeited products are Studio Fix Fluid foundation, Spice Lip Pencil, and Ruby Woo Lipstick (above). He leads the company's Intellectual Property Group, which focuses on anticounterfeiting - a reality for many in-demand brands, including MAC Cosmetics, part of Estée Lauder's portfolio. 'Cosmetics counterfeiting is a global epidemic,' says Gregg Marrazzo, senior vice president and deputy general counsel for Estée Lauder Companies. My doctor felt it was an adverse reaction to a product.' Autumn assumed it was a fake and filed a complaint with eBay. 'My eyes immediately started burning and were irritated for the next five days. 'It felt like sandpaper on my lashes! The brush was so scratchy,' she says. 'I noticed the tube was missing the brand's lips logo, and the brush's bristles looked uneven,' she says.

When Autumn, 21, found her favorite mascara - Laura Geller GlamLash - listed on eBay for half-price, she jumped on it.

Ebay mac studio fix foundation