To help combat counterfeit perfumes, a doctoral student in forensic sciences at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), in collaboration with the chemistry section of the Laboratoire de sciences judiciaire et de médecine légale in Montréal, analyzed and compared more than one hundred samples, genuine and counterfeit. And through analysis, the scientist was able to make the illegal essences reveal some of their secrets, and it doesn’t smell too good.

Perhaps this year, under the tree, you will find a small package containing an elegant bottle with a heady fragrance that you will enjoy spraying yourself with. Perfume remains a classic gift, whether for Christmas or any other occasion, but it comes with a cost that pushes many consumers to look for more attractive prices. However, the deal of the century reeks of fraud.

Since the pandemic, with the help of online commerce, the counterfeit perfume market has been booming and very profitable. According to a 2016 study by economic consultancy Frontier Economics, the global market for counterfeit and pirated goods was already worth nearly $1.13 trillion in 2013. The study estimated it would reach $2.8 trillion in 2022. PhD student Pier-Louis Dumont , who already has a master’s degree in chemistry, suggests that the amount for 2024 is likely to be even higher.

He explains the point by adding that some studies indicate that counterfeiting is as profitable as, if not more than, other illegal activities, such as selling narcotics, for example, and that the money generated from selling counterfeits could be put to good use. to finance other activities.

Like a dog Agatha Christie might have imagined, Dumont looked for clues in the evidence provided to him by the police and which he could obtain himself. This is the whole principle of forensics, namely the search for chemical traces on any medium. Each trace, the PhD student explains, is “a vestige of past activities.” There are many events that will leave their mark on the crime scene. Forensic science interprets how this trace was produced and what it represents.”

Is it worth the smell?

During his analysis, Dumont found that most of the counterfeit perfumes used methanol as a solvent instead of the ethanol found in branded perfumes. The latter is well known to bar folk for its effects on the liver when taken in too much, but is no more toxic than that. The former, on the other hand, is what goes into window cleaners in particular. It is a small molecule that can pass through the pores of the skin and be absorbed by the body. “In the long run, it will end up causing health problems,” says the PhD student. Methanol is known to cause, among other things, vision problems.”

In addition, it was able to identify allergens and toxic substances in counterfeit perfume components. The perfume industry is subject to strict standards that require perfumers to ban certain ingredients and encourage them to avoid others. Standards that illegal producers do not bother to meet. Therefore, applying their products directly to the skin is not without risks.

In the short term, damage is unlikely, says the chemist. But in the long run, complications can occur. “Counterfeit perfume has a much shorter shelf life,” he notes (…) They are highly diluted products, because the criminals want to maximize their profits, which means the consumer will want to reapply them regularly.”

This repetition over time could cause skin irritation, allergic reactions or much more severe complications. However, the various existing studies are not yet able to say precisely what the risks are, because everything depends on the molecule and its concentration, the combination of the two opening up almost infinite possibilities.

Following the tracks

The other important element that emerged from Dumont’s analyzes is the presence of similar traces in counterfeit perfumes from different brands. The chemical detective, like the queen of detective novels, does not believe in coincidences, even if his scientific reserve prevents him from drawing definitive conclusions. Therefore, he deduces that these similarities could indicate that these perfumes are the product of the same source. Either because the traces suggest that the recipe or manufacturing method is partially the same, or because they suggest that the perfumes suffered the same contaminations and were therefore produced or stored in the same place.

The PhD student adds that “it becomes interesting for investigations because if, for example, we arrest two individuals selling counterfeit perfumes and these perfumes come from the same source, the investigations could be directed towards the source of distribution. (…) That means we could catch bigger fish.” For example, discovering the recipe used by the illegal manufacturer would allow us to track them down when they obtain the necessary ingredients.

How can you spot a counterfeit perfume? Dumont places price at the top of the list of clues. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. A luxury perfume sold at 75% off is highly unlikely to be genuine.

Visual cues follow, namely whether the packaging, label, bottle and liquid conform to the brand design. So if you see the famous Camel no. 5 in an octagonal bottle with green content, go ahead. Even more so if the small text on the packaging contains mistakes.

The last hint given by the chemist, which unfortunately does not apply to online sales, is the smell. A counterfeit will quickly dissipate. And if you know the perfume in question well, does it smell the same?

Dumont strongly insists on this point, you have to be careful, because these scams are multiplying, and the phenomenon is becoming more and more worrying.

– This La Presse Canadienne report was translated by CityNews