Counterfeiting Popular Beauty Product Packaging, Guangzhou Xinrui Fined 600,000 Yuan

Imitating the packaging of well-known beauty products is not a shortcut; it can actually lead to hefty fines. Recently, Guangzhou Xinrui Cosmetics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Guangzhou Xinrui”) was fined by the Haizhu District Market Supervision Administration in Guangzhou for unauthorized use of packaging highly similar to popular products under Yatsen E-commerce’s Perfect Diary and Xiao Aoting brands. The company was ordered to confiscate over 42,000 units of products and pay a fine of 600,000 yuan.

According to the decision document No. 63 [2026] issued by the Haizhu District Market Supervision Administration, Guangzhou Xinrui has been selling “PIPL Small Lambskin Lipstick” on its Tmall “PIPL Cosmetics Flagship Store” since June 2021. Its packaging and design are similar to “Perfect Diary’s Unrestrained Outstanding Velvet Slim Lipstick” (a well-known “Small Heel Lipstick”). Additionally, the “PIPL David Art Contour Palette” and “PIPL Black Vinyl Eyeshadow Palette” are highly similar to “Xiao Aoting Sculptor Highlighter Contour Palette” and “Xiao Aoting Vinyl Record Eyeshadow Palette,” respectively. Due to the packaging design closely resembling well-known products under Yatsen E-commerce, these actions were deemed to constitute confusing behavior and illegal conduct.

As of the case’s discovery, the three suspected plagiarized products had a total sales volume of 1.608 million yuan. The regulatory authorities considered that, since the involved party actively corrected the illegal behavior and cooperated with the investigation, a lighter administrative penalty was applied: confiscation of over 42,000 units of stock and a fine of 600,000 yuan. The involved products have now been removed from the platform, and related product filings have been canceled.

This is not the first clash between Guangzhou Xinrui and Yatsen E-commerce. In 2023, Yatsen E-commerce accused Guangzhou Xinrui of copying the packaging of its “Pink Bear Lip Glaze” and claimed damages of 1 million yuan. However, they lost the case because they failed to prove that the product had “a certain influence” at the time of the alleged infringement.

“Things are quite different this time,” industry insiders point out. “Perfect Diary’s Small Heel Lipstick” and “Xiao Aoting Sculptor Highlighter Contour Palette” are market blockbusters, and their ‘certain influence’ is undeniable. Guangzhou Xinrui’s shift from ‘winner’ to ‘punished’ clearly reflects a change in regulatory logic: with the strict enforcement of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, authorities are increasingly precise in judging ‘confusing behavior.’ It no longer requires 1:1 copying; as long as the overall visual impression ‘looks similar,’ it can be considered illegal.

The issue of imitation and copying in the beauty industry has troubled many leading brands. According to Qichacha, 78.5% of the judicial cases filed by Yatsen E-commerce as plaintiff involve unfair competition disputes. This recent penalty is undoubtedly a strong support for their rights protection.

While successfully defending its rights, Yatsen E-commerce’s transformation progress has also attracted attention. The company’s latest financial report for 2025 shows that Yatsen E-commerce achieved an operating revenue of 4.3 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 26.7%. Among them, skincare revenue grew by 63.5% year-on-year, accounting for 53% of total revenue, surpassing makeup for the first time. According to non-GAAP calculations, the company achieved its first annual profit since listing, with a net profit of 8.4 million yuan.

Fast Reporter: Lu Yansi