I Tested Random Products TikTok Makes People Buy

The commercial allure of TikTok is clear: Besides casting spotlights on aspiring pop stars and long forgotten bops, the virality machine is also kindling fiery demand for quirky products you never knew you needed—a post-sex sponge that’s basically a tampon, but for soaking up sperm? You’ve probably never heard of it, but now you can’t stop thinking about it. 

These products are recommended by TikTokers who are, supposedly, just like you and me. That’s part of the appeal—they understand the struggle of finding that perfect pair of jeans and now that they’ve found The One, they want to let you in on their secret (they’re apparently Stradivarius’ slim mom jeans). It certainly helps that most of these recommendations are affordable too, like the drugstore makeup that could make you look like a million bucks. 

I decided to check out some of the most viral products that are winning the hearts of TikTokers, to see if they’re actually worth the hype. Here’s how they fared. 

This mascara is one of the most raved-about drugstore products on TikTok, with people’s dramatic before-and-after shots showing how the viral beauty product lengthens their lashes all the way to cloud nine.

As much as I wanted this cult beauty product to work wonders on my eyes, I was sorely let down. While the application was easy enough and it did seem to lengthen my lashes, it didn’t add much volume at all. 

Could it be because I got my mascara in the shade “Brownish Black” instead of “Very Black” or “Blackest Black,” when I already have dark lashes? Maybe I’ve just been spoiled by my pet mascara? (Also Maybelline, might I add, and it comes through on its promise to deliver “colossal volume.”) Or perhaps I just value volume over length when it comes to my lashes? 

In any case, I’ll still be swiping my lashes with Sky High, since I’ve bought it and it works decently, though for the most important date nights, you can bet that I’ll be sticking to my trusty old mascara. I’ll be looking forward to the day I finish this tube. 

Snag or Drag? Drag. In fact, I will be actively directing people away from Sky High and into the voluminous embrace of Maybelline’s The Colossal mascara. 

Instead of your good ol’ foam soap dispenser, here’s one that pumps the same foam, but shaped like a flower, on your palm. I know, I know, so extra. But of course, I had to have it on my sink, pronto.

After getting a bottle, I worked myself into a vigorous pumping sesh. To my dismay, my first pump got me four and a half petals instead of the advertised five. When I tried again, I got a cloud-shaped clot. A few more presses and I ended up with sad foam turds.

The perfect five-petaled foam flower, I discovered, seemed to only materialize with certain conditions: My hand had to be dry and there can’t be soap foam clogging up the openings of the dispenser.

For those like me who are used to wetting their hands before soaping up, I’m sorry but you’re probably not going to get that perfect five-petaled cuteness. On the bright side, this little bottle is compelling my stubborn ass to wash my hands obsessively in pursuit of the perfect foam flower, so that’s a plus. 

Snag or Drag? Snag. Sure, the amputated petals and foam turds frustrate me to no end, but I’m washing my hands more than ever.

These instant hotpots were, literally, the hottest food trend in China a couple of years back. Hotpot lovers were obviously charmed by the convenience of enjoying the meal without serious prep work or even a stove.

And when TikTok recently caught on to the trend, I knew it was my turn to sip on some instant hotpot soup. My hotpot (tomato flavored beef soup) came with a dazzling assortment of ingredients: Vegetables like lotus root, bamboo shoots, and seaweed; chunks of pre-cooked beef; and dried vermicelli.

Perhaps the most important component of the hotpot is a white heat pack placed below the plastic bowl of ingredients. Upon contact with water, it’s supposed to generate intense heat in seconds that would be used to warm up the hotpot. An angry jet of hot air will begin to puff out of a small hole on the hotpot lid, and after about 15 minutes of waiting, the hotpot will be ready.

I was impressed. The hotpot tasted pretty legit, with the variety of ingredients keeping my tastebuds busy and satisfied. This does seem way too elaborate for a one-person instant affair, however.

Snag or Drag? Neither, both, you decide. Having grown up with home-cooked hotpot feasts, I’ve come to associate them with communal dining and social festivities. Enjoying an instant hotpot just isn’t something that I really crave without my friends and family to share the soupy joy. If you’re a solo fan, however, please go ahead and slurp your way into a hearty hotpot food coma.

This viral sunset projection lamp is probably responsible for some of the most-liked photos on our Instagram feeds. It’s easy to see why. The trippy spotlight cast by these lamps makes for intimately vibey shots in the comfort of our own bedrooms.

My sunset lamp came with four different types of light colors, adjustable by switching around tinted sheets in front of the light bulb. Each glow instantly transforms the darkness into a different mood. My favorite ones? The iridescent gradient and warm orange hue.

In swoon-worthy photos, the ambient lighting concealed the reality that I was unkempt in my pajamas. Even my awkward poses were forgiven in the dimness.

Snag or Drag? Snag. I’ve really taken a liking to chilling on my bed at night and listening to music, and I’d like to credit my new hobby to the lamp that made me see my room, well, in a different light.

Being able to use your phone in the shower—by encasing it in a wall-mounted phone holder—sounds like a multitasker’s wet dream. I decided to dip my toes in these uncharted shower waters.

But it turned out that my iPhone 11 doesn’t actually fit into the case, which were all the same size when I found them online. Unable to snap the case shut, I worried that it wouldn’t protect my phone from shower blasts, so I chickened out of waterboarding the phone holder. 

After affixing the phone holder to my bathroom wall, I also realized that this wasn’t something I could really see myself using. Resorting to phone entertainment even when showering felt like a sad escape from our profound fear of boredom. Showering for me is usually a time for meditative reflection and inane rumination, even if that means having to endure the boredom of a relentless shampooing routine. I’d like to keep it that way—just me, myself, and my shower thoughts.

Plus, I couldn’t get over the idea that my phone camera might be turned on—not quite a far-fetched fear in the age of clock-shaped spy cams and phones eavesdropping for targeted ads. Having a phone camera pointed squarely at my buck naked body just doesn’t seem to be the best idea to me.

So I got my sister to try it instead.

Unlike my phone, her iPhone XR managed to fit into the case. She quickly took to the new installation and happily adapted to the expanded shower entertainment, even if that meant an awkward shuttle between lathering up and looking at the phone screen. Facial cleansing also became a hectic affair as she competed for pockets of time to open her eyes for the screen. Ultimately, she admitted that it made her shower sesh unnecessarily stressful. 

Snag or Drag? I’m dragging this to dystopian hell for the boredom-fearing invention it is.

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