Viral products: are they worth it?

Products
Written By Merritt Goldman

With the use of TikTok and other social media platforms, it’s easy to get caught up in the hype of certain products, especially expensive ones. From influencer marketing to commonly seen online reviews, people are often falling for products when there are better alternatives out there. Here, I’ve picked 3 of the most popular items of the 2023 year and we’ll see if they’re worth the hype or not. 

Rhode Peptide Lip Treatment: This lip treatment partially became popular due to the founder of Rhode Beauty, Hailey Bieber, being a popular celebrity. People wanted to test her brand and compare it to Rare Beauty, Selena Gomez’s brand. There are four colors and four scents (one being unscented). According to the official website, "It's the perfect combination of hydrating, dewy and glossy but not too heavy nor sticky at all... even once the gloss wears off, your lips are truly pillowy soft." No one wants a sticky lip balm for chapped lips, but does it do all it says? From the outspoken people on TikTok and other platforms, it’s worth the cost of $16.00. While Hailey Bieber is at the center of controversy often, people everywhere agree that the gloss left their lips hydrated and glowing while also providing a gorgeous tint or scent (their most popular being the salted caramel). My first time trying this exact scent, I wasn’t exactly phased by it. The product most similar is Summer Friday’s vanilla lip treatment, but the prices differ from $24.00 to $16.00. In using the product more frequently, I found that it stays long-lasting on the lips, and my lips stay hydrated and glossy long after I apply it. The scent is amazing, and the pigmentation from her color launch has been impressive as well. Light enough for a no makeup day, but noticeable. Overall I would give the product a 4.5/5

Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Sunshine Drops: The craze over this product, and Drunk Elephant in general, has been dramatic. The product itself is a good idea: a skincare makeup hybrid that gives your skin a natural glow. According to the website, “D-Bronzi is made with vitamins, antioxidants, peptides, and barrier-supportive fatty acids that defend skin from environmental free radicals.” This may attract people living in city areas who notice the toll environmental struggles may take on their skin, such as dehydration, skin cancer, premature aging, etc. However, the main idea is to tan your face, while not being an official self-tan. Is it worth the $38.00 and trips to Sephora because it’s constantly sold out? Debatable. The product itself lasts for a long time, as I’ve had mine for over a year and have yet to reach the bottom, but I don’t use it every day. You need to use a moisturizer or some base with it, or else it becomes patchy. I don’t notice much of a difference, and if I do it’s because I look orange. Overall I would give it a 3/5

Gisou Honey Infused Hair Perfume: The aesthetic of the Gisou brand has made people fall into a frenzy over this product. The full size (3.4 oz) costs $83.00 and the smaller size (1.7 oz) costs $44.00. The website claims, “Our Honey Infused Hair Perfume is formulated to refresh and scent hair with Gisou’s signature fragrance”, with no specific description. It also claims to last all day, but in my experience, it generally wears off, at most, in an hour. The only real benefit to this is the smell, but it’s not a honey smell. If anything, it smells more like alcohol and your grandmother's old perfume. There isn’t much about this product worth the excessive amount of money. There are great alternatives to making your hair smell good, but most of the time a good-smelling shampoo and conditioner will take care of it. Overall, I’d give it a 2/5

Merritt Goldman
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