Fake Graphic: Claire’s is Not Selling Emo Scars

A photo which has circulated online since 2012 purports to show an advertisement for young women’s accessory retailer Claire’s selling “Emo Scars” which would allow young women to look as if they are cutting themselves via press-on scars. Is this image real or fake?

The graphic is a hoax.

Let’s first take a look at what is being circulated. Below is the fake ad that has been circulating heavily on Twitter and Tumblr for a few years.

The text reads:

Transfers to give you that ‘depressed / cool’ look without the hassle and pain?

simply wet and lay on you arm

hey presto!
You’re emo!

real-looking scars!

no need for the pain!

A close look at the fake advertisement above yields a few clues that the graphic did not come from Claire’s.

Grammar

The text in the fake ad contains basic grammatical errors, such as “simply wet and lay on you arm,” along with sentences lacking capitalization.

Inaccurate Logo

The logo used in the fake ad is an older Claire’s logo, and doesn’t quite match the original. If you look at the comparison of the logo in the ad with the real logo, you’ll find that the circled “a” is considerably different in the fake ad. The circled “a” in the original Claire’s logo is thicker and the top of the letter protrudes upward far more than in the fake.

Let’s take a look at the logo itself, compared to the original Claire’s logo. Notice the particular difference in the letter “a” in each:

Fake Product

A search of the Claire’s website yields no results when searching for emo scars. There is no evidence they sell anything even close to this type of product. A manager of a local Claire’s here in the Las Vegas area confirmed this graphic is a hoax.

Notice that there is a lack of capitalization for many of the sentences in the ad. Obviously a business as prominent as Claire’s would have proper grammar and capitalization in any ad. It’s also safe to say they’d never sell anything like this.

Bottom Line

The graphic advertising “emo scars” for Claire’s is a hoax which has circulated since at least 2012. The ad contains grammatical and graphical inconsistencies. Finally, a representative of Claire’s confirmed no such product has ever existed.

Originally published July 10, 2012.