New York, Dec 24 (ANI): Criminals will now face a difficult time targeting women, for ladies these days carry purses armed with cosmetics and accessories that double up as weapons.

Fears of violent crimes against women are leading them to stock up on self-defense gadgets, reports ABC News.

And these masked defence mechanisms include pepper sprays disguised as lipsticks and knives that look like hair combs.

“One of the main things that our customers love is that the products don’t look like weapons,” the New York Daily News quoted Carlos Crespo, owner of Cleveland’s Rose Guardian, a self-defence specialty store, as saying.

“If a woman is approached and the assailant thinks the weapon they’re holding is really a cosmetic of some kind, they are likely to approach you in a different way,” he added.

And the hottest-selling product in the store right now is “the cat defender keychain” - a purple feline head with sharp plastic pointy ears that can be used to scrape an attacker’s face.

“It looks like a kitty cat with eyes, and you put your fingers through the eyes and the tips of the ears are the scrapers. It gives you support in the palm of your hand, unlike holding your keys,” said Crespo. (ANI)