ELEMIS Hydra-Balance Day Cream Lightweight Moisturiser Normal & Combination Skin Antioxidant Rich 50ml - (Short-Dated) @ Amazon Warehouse

Not everything on Amazon Warehouse is a return - these are graded as short-dated. I have purchased genuine Elemis from Amazon Warehouse reasonably recently. ( edit: see here )

You can use online batch checkers - eg: checkfresh.com/ele…tml
checkcosmetic.net/bra…is/

Hope this helps in some way.

edited to add: Whether there is counterfeit Elemis out in the wild, hard to say, but going by some of the Aliexpress recommendations I get, most likely!

I'd go with your gut and use the same discretion you would looking for fake perfume.

- Carefully scan the packaging for print errors, inconsistencies, poor quality, is certain print embossed on the box? are there spelling errors?
- Check the batch number.
- Find out what the product is supposed to look, smell like, and compare.
- Has there been a reformulation? (this is one aspect that gets unwitting fragrance lovers crying fake). Packaging changes or tweaks?
- If you're a regular purchaser of this cream you will know right away. (edited)

An ELEMIS product has a shelf life of 3 years unopened, and once opened 6 months

Source : Elemis website

I would pay more attention to the grading description, which clearly says it's short-dated. Again - not all Amazon Warehouse items are returns.

I'm an Amazon Warehouse veteran, skincare and beauty obsessive (used to post on a few skincare forums for years - until it got a bit shilly, but that's another story). I know (or have a good idea) how to authenticate products and what to look for and although I don't actually work for Amazon I have some insight how Warehouse works (regularly read the Amazon Buyer / Seller Forums and Reddit subs).

It can also be a damaged box, short-dated, or simply getting rid of inventory (say, a discontinued item). As Amazon explicitly mention the date in the grading description that will be why.

Amazon also mention used, returned, pre-owned or open-box (see the screenshot below) but I feel they tend to be stricter with health and beauty items.

There are no definites with Amazon Warehouse but I would order with confidence - I've never had a fake perfume or beauty item yet (I say yet, because it's quite common for HUKDers and reviewers to shout fake without explaining why or where they bought it from! Some smaller third-party sellers can be like buying privately from ebay).

And Amazon's customer service is, of course, excellent.
(edited)

You mean Amazon Warehouse stickers I hope! Return stickers are hard to tell, really. Someone has a theory that the LPWE LPN LPT ? barcoded stickers are returns but I'm not completely sure. (edited)