Cosmetics and skincare
Counterfeit skincare sells alongside the genuine article — the same marketplaces, often the same distributors, sometimes the same shelf. The packaging is convincing. The contents are not, and the customer usually finds out only after their skin reacts.
What the platform does here
Verification the buyer can do themselves.
A tap with any phone returns one verdict: authentic, expired, recalled, suspended, out-of-market, or not genuine. No app to install, no account to create.
Grey-market movement becomes visible.
Every tap records where and when. Stock sold into one market and surfacing in another is flagged while it still matters, not after the season has passed.
Recalls take effect immediately.
A recalled batch stops verifying as authentic the moment it is recalled, without waiting for stock to be physically retrieved from shelves.
Why cosmetics specifically
Premium skincare carries high unit values, travels through long distribution chains, and is bought by people with no way to inspect what is inside the box. Grey-market resale and refilled packaging both look identical to authorised stock on a shelf, so the difference has to be carried by the unit itself rather than by the packaging around it.
Counterfeit skincare and grey-market cosmetics: common questions
How can a customer tell if skincare is authentic?
If the product carries a Project Sentinel tag, the customer taps it with an NFC-capable smartphone and a verification page opens in their browser. It returns one verdict for that individual unit: authentic, expired, recalled, suspended, out-of-market, or not genuine. The check confirms the unit’s identity and current status; it does not inspect or assess the contents.
What is grey-market stock, and why does it matter to a beauty brand?
Grey-market stock is genuine product sold outside the channel or market the brand released it into. It is not counterfeit, but it undercuts authorised retailers, carries no accountability for how it was stored, and is indistinguishable from authorised stock at the point of sale. Tapping a unit shows when it has surfaced outside the market it was released into.
What happens when a customer taps a counterfeit pack?
A pack with no tag returns nothing, because there is nothing to tap. A pack carrying a fabricated or unreadable token returns not genuine — the platform fails closed and does not explain why, so a copier learns nothing from the response. A token copied from a real unit still resolves to that one real unit, and the duplicate shows up in the brand’s scan record.
Can expired stock be caught at the point of sale?
Yes. Each unit carries its own expiry date, and a tap after that date returns expired rather than authentic. Because the check runs per unit rather than per batch label, it catches stock that has outlived its date wherever it turns up — on a shelf, in a returned consignment, or in a resale listing.