Labubus have grown massively in popularity in 2025. These boxed gremlins are in hot demand as both sought-after toys and celebrity fashion accessories.
And with the real dolls notoriously hard to lay hands on, there's been a surge in counterfeit copies, also known as Lafufus. But some fakes can come with very real potential dangers, especially to small children.
While most counterfeits look pretty similar to the real deal, those in the know can tell their Lafufus from their Labubus.
To find out how convincing they can be, we bought five Lafufus and one real Labubu. Can you tell them apart?
Can you spot the real Labubu in a row of Lafufus?
To help you spot the difference, we've compiled a list of tips you can use to tell a Labubu apart from their so-creepy-it's-cute counterfeit cousin.
The replicas we purchased very closely resemble the real dolls, so this isn't a foolproof guide, but looking at these key features should help prime you to spot a dupe.
How to tell a Labubu from a Lafufu
Count the teeth
Count the Labubu's teeth. Authentic Labubus are known for their distinct design featuring nine pointy teeth. An incorrect tooth count is a glaring giveaway of a counterfeit.
Check the colour and quality
Check for fur and vinyl that looks just a little too bright, and overly saturated blush cheeks. Widely spaced ears, lower quality fabrics, and loose stitching are also red flags.
While minor paint misprints can occur on genuine dolls due to errors in quality control, the counterfeits we purchased all showed obvious design issues, including patchy or misaligned paintwork, scuff marks, loose stitching and other forms of damage.
Look at the packaging
Another way to tell them apart is to look at the boxes they come in. Fake boxes often feature shiny packaging while genuine Labubu packaging has a matte texture and the boxes are opened using a cardboard pull-tab.
Labubu manufacturer, Pop Mart, also uses anti-counterfeiting measures, such as a holographic QR code sticker on the box that takes you to a verification tool. Genuine Labubus also have a unique character card corresponding with the doll's design inside the box.
The real Labubu.
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Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
