Got dooped?
Y’all.
Let’s be honest—we’ve all fallen for influencer “must-haves” at least once. Maybe more than once if we’re being really honest. Sometimes those products change the game in the best way possible. Like those XL air fryer liners that fit perfectly in a Ninja Foodi? Life. Changing. No scrubbing baked-on messes after cooking? Yes, please.
Or a quick dinner recipe that actually saves time, tastes good, and doesn’t use 27 ingredients you don’t have. That kind of online find is gold.
But then… there are the flops.
I recently got duped by a trendy cleaner—specifically a stain remover. It’s got over 30,000 glowing reviews. That many people couldn’t be wrong, right? I figured maybe I’d finally found something prettier *and* more powerful than the boring bottle that’s always worked. The packaging was adorable, modern, and practically Instagram-worthy. The bottle? Sleek and expensive-looking. Even the refills came in eco-conscious packaging that made you feel like a better person just for ordering them. It’s the kind of product you leave out in the laundry room because it’s cute enough to be seen.
But here’s the kicker: it didn’t work. At all.
Maybe it was user error? Maybe I expected too much?
But I gave it three chances on the exact same stain. Nothing. Nada. I even started questioning whether the stain was secretly supernatural.
So I did what we sometimes hate to do: I went back to the plain old $4 bottle of Spray & Wash. No frills. Nothing fancy. Definitely not eco-chic. But it worked. The first time.
According to consumer research, nearly 70% of shoppers have purchased a product based on social media recommendations, especially from influencers. But 42% admit to being disappointed with at least one of those purchases. And when it comes to cleaning products specifically, performance still matters most—84% of consumers say effectiveness is their top priority when buying a household cleaner, regardless of brand or price.
I’m not against paying for quality. In fact, I prefer it when quality justifies the cost. But sometimes, all the aesthetics in the world can’t beat a simple product that just does what it says it’s going to do.
So here’s to the underdog.
The un-cute, un-trendy cleaner that doesn’t need an influencer to speak for it.
It just works. Every single time.
Rachel Redlin is a columnist, author, journalist, and award-winning radio host. She lives in Northwest Kansas with her husband and five children, where she writes about faith, food, and the simple everyday life. Want to read more or contact us? You can subscribe to the FREE newsletter at www.simplybloominggrace.com
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