"It Was Such A Let-Down" — 22 Trendy Internet Must-Haves That People Would Never Purchase Again
Recently, I was thinking about last year's popular de-influencing trend, and how much I miss it. We've all fallen victim to buying that one trendy product that really made us feel like it could turn our lives around. "If I just buy this lip stain," I sometimes catch myself thinking, "I will literally look like Margot Robbie." Reader, this is not true. This is the Big Lie pushed upon us by gorgeous influencers.
So, I decided to ask our very own BuzzFeed Community to tell me the trendy internet "must-haves" they've fallen victim to that they would never actually buy again. Here are their answers:
1."I hired a manifestation coach to help me manifest that my health condition goes away ([there's] no cure from medicine) and it was a waste of money. The manifestation community is a scam."
"Ugh, I’m sorry, and I hope your health improves. That's predatory, what these coaches do."
2."Protein water! I wanted to like it so badly. What a great way to get protein into my diet. I figured it was an ingenious creation that I had to take part in by buying multiple bottles of the stuff. It was awful."
"The mouthfeel was just wrong, and I couldn’t get around it: Initially slimy with a slightly abrasive finish. What can be said except that at least I could recycle the glass bottles."
—Anonymous
3."Those black peel-off face masks that were big on Instagram in 2016-'17. It hurt like hell peeling it off, and I never used them again after that one time."
4."Morphe makeup palettes. I have four large ones I don’t wear, in addition to [palettes from] Urban Decay, Too Faced, etc. High-end shit."
"The funny thing is, I have all this makeup and don’t wear it. I teach preschool, have a 45-minute commute to work (there and back), and I’m up at 4:30 a.m. to start work by 7 a.m. I’m old and lazy AF. Too lazy to put it on, but willing to buy it."
—Anonymous
5."My sister and I were just talking about this! She asked for and got a Stanley for Christmas, and she’s now begging my mom for a new water bottle."
"She loved it for a good few months, and said it made her drink more water, but now she says it was dented at the bottom and was too annoying to carry around all the time.
She basically said it was 'a big dumb cup' without saying it. I don’t think she HATES having a Stanley, but I definitely think she regrets asking for one, and she doesn’t want another one."
—Anonymous
6."I will never understand how lip stains look good on everyone else. I have tried so many different ones. My lips are just too wrinkly for them to look good. It just looks patchy, like I just ate a red popsicle or something. I will never buy them ever again."
7."[I tried] Jones Road 'balm' for older women. [It was] $38 and felt like very thick Vaseline."
"[It was] Impossible to apply without really pulling on your skin and felt awful. Into the trash. No way to try it out or return it if it didn’t work for you."
8."One of those weighted hula hoop things that are supposed to be 'exercise.' Bought it, couldn’t work it, donated it."
Paramount Pictures
9."Velcro rollers. I see picture after picture of models backstage with these rollers in their hair, so they MUST make your hair look like 'model' hair, right? Nope. I lose so much hair when I take them out, and my hair looks like a nightmare."
—Anonymous
10."Any branded make-up. That Kylie lipstick works no different from the lipstick you pick up at the dollar store."
11."Overpriced water bottles, especially Stanley cups. Never again. My kids beg me for each new water bottle that is 'popular.'"
"First it was Yetis, then Hydroflasks, and then Stanleys. The Stanley cup was more expensive than the others, so it must be worth the price, right? No. It spills so easily, and of course my kids wanted to get multiple colors.
It’s a fine water bottle, but I just can’t get over the price. Now they’re nagging me for Owalas. There’s no catching a break when you have teenagers!"
—Anonymous
12."I once bought one of those fancy light therapy face masks I've seen so many celebrities use and I have to admit it’s very uncomfortable to use."
"There are pegs on the inside that touch your face, and after a few minutes of having the mask on, it starts to hurt, and you’ll have indentations on your face from these pegs for hours if you even go through a recommended twenty-minute cycle.
I don’t know how some of these masks cost thousands of dollars and are designed to be so uncomfortable! I bought mine on a huge sale and only paid a fraction of the cost, but I would never pay full price for it!"
—Anonymous
13."I didn't buy it, but I picked one up for free at a work convention: those push-up water bottles with a scented pod. I followed the instructions, but every time it just felt like drinking water with a silicone/rubber taste."
"I even tried it with another scented pod. I think it's stupid and whoever said it made you feel like drinking whatever the pod was scented as (cherry, lemon, cola, etc.) are liars.Oh, and WTF was with the other pods like milk (who wants to drink watery milk?), whiskey (very appropriate for children), and the like?!"
14."That Brazilian bum cream and body spray that’s been on every single list for at least a year now."
"Man the butt cream made my butt break out in acne, didn't know you could get acne on your butt."
15."The Essence Lash Princess mascara was so shitty and flaky and barely lasted a few hours."
"Omg yes!!! I was so sick of going to the bathroom and seeing it all smudged underneath my eyes."
16."D23. Finally got to go this year. Dressed up with my sister. HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT."
"The convention center in Anaheim is huge and so much space was wasted when there should have been vendors. The shopping was limited. The main stores like Disney and the pin stores were done with a virtual queue system and spots were gone immediately.
The amount of shopping was the biggest letdown. The vast majority of people do not dress up and most of the panels were subpar. I definitely expected more from a Disney event. Not worth the money. Go to an actual con like ComicCon or WonderCon or ComicCon LA."
17."I bought the Etsy eucalyptus that you hang in your shower so it releases its scent as you bathe and makes everything smell good. I paid like $30 for what ended up being two barely-there twigs of eucalyptus that smelled like dirt, if even that."
"Insult was added to injury as it turns out Trader Joe’s sells MUCH larger quantities of robust eucalyptus for under $10, and the Etsy seller was extremely rude to me when I voiced dissatisfaction about the quality for the price point.
I eventually got a refund and they blocked me, but did I learn my lesson about plants and the internet."
—Anonymous
18."The Il Makiage makeup BS that supposedly is a perfect match to your skin. Reeked of chemicals, did not blend at all, and dried out my skin horribly after one use. It basically went directly from the package to the trash. Awful."
19."Snail stuff is a serious waste for me."
COSRX/Amazon / Via amazon.com, Bon Appetít
"I actually love the snail stuff, but I know it doesn’t work for everyone!"
20."I bought a Shark FlexStyle styling tool that's supposed to be a dupe for the Dyson. It was alright, but I couldn't justify the cost for something just okay. "
"My hair didn't want to grab onto the curling wand attachment, and trying to do a blowout just made my hair look frizzy and like it had been styled a few days prior. I honestly think my hair is just way too thick, because I had similar issues with the Drybar blowout brush as well."
21."I have the Dyson Airwrap which I bought despite my hairdresser warning me that my dry hair would not like it. It is quick and very convenient, and I still use it. But now that I've compared it to others, I do think my hairstylist was right."
"It's still good, but I'm more careful about using it."
22.And finally: "FROWNIES!!! I had such hope and it was such a let-down. My husband was confused, calling me superwoman every night in bed and I realized they weren't going to work when he finally asked (after two months) if I was going to have to do it every night forever!"
—Anonymous
So, what do you think? Are these products overrated, or are they actually worth the hype? Let me know down below! Or, feel free to dish about your own less-than-steller product experiences.
