How to spot a fake perfume

The fastest checks: buy from a retailer you can name, judge the price against the going rate instead of the RRP, verify the batch code, and inspect the packaging before the first spray. No single test proves a perfume is genuine, but together they catch nearly every fake.

Start with the price, read it correctly

A €150 fragrance offered at €40 by an unknown seller is not a bargain. But cheap alone proves nothing: legitimate online perfumeries routinely sell 30 to 50 percent under department-store prices, which is the entire reason price comparison exists. The useful signal is the spread. When twenty shops sell a bottle between €90 and €120 and one stranger offers it for €35, the outlier is the problem, not the discount. Why honest prices vary that much is its own story: why perfume prices differ.

Check the batch code

Genuine bottles carry a small production code on the bottom of the box and on the bottle itself, and the two should match. Missing or mismatched codes are the cleanest red flag there is. What the code can and cannot prove is covered in batch codes.

Inspect before you spray

Counterfeiters cut corners where machines are expensive. Cellophane should be tight with neat folded seams, not loose with glue smears. Fonts should be crisp, centered and identical to the brand's site photos. Glass should be heavy and seamless, the sprayer should give an even mist rather than a squirt, and the juice color should match reference photos. One sloppy detail is suspicion; two are a verdict.

The wear test

Most fakes copy the opening, because that is what you smell at a counter. They then collapse within the hour and never develop. Be careful with the reverse conclusion though: weak longevity alone doesn't prove anything, since plenty of genuine fragrances simply don't last long.

Where fakes actually live

Third-party marketplace sellers, social media ads and street stalls account for nearly all of them. Registered shops with a company address, reviews and a working returns process are a different world. Every store in our comparisons is a registered retailer, which is exactly the point of listing them by name.

FAQ

Are heavily discounted perfumes on comparison sites fake?

No. Wide price gaps between legitimate shops are normal retail competition and parallel import at work. Fakes live with anonymous sellers, not with registered shops competing in the open.

Does a correct batch code prove a perfume is genuine?

No, codes get copied too. A mismatch proves a fake; a match only fails to.

I think I bought a fake. Now what?

Stop wearing it, photograph everything, request a refund citing counterfeit goods, and escalate to a chargeback if the seller stalls. Marketplace buyer protection usually sides with you on counterfeits.