26 Weird But Useful Amazon Purchases I Don't Regret Buying
My husband riffs through Reddit daily and I, on the other hand, like to scan Amazon (almost) daily. When I’m not reading news bits or stumbling across random internet things, I do have an affinity for discovering (and shopping!) lesser-known beauty products, and I think we can all agree that’s equally as important as finding a great meme. Now I’ve sacrificed many, many hours doing vigorous work to find the very best items on Amazon not just for me, but for you, too. So you can only imagine that along the way I’ve uncovered some good, bad, and downright weird things (hello, foot mask) that I 100% recommend. Without further ado, here are 26 weird, but useful, beauty products on Amazon.
I’ve had keratosis pilaris for years, and I’m always looking for products and/or tools that can help with it because there isn’t a cure. Basically it’s on me to be diligent about exfoliating regularly, and this handy little brush makes it extremely easy to do just that. I use it with an exfoliating cleanser, and I'm happy with the results!
I feel like people (including myself!) don’t take enough care of their feet. I mean, why would anyone want to? Feet freak me out, especially when they’re not given any TLC, which is exactly why in the last year I’ve made it a goal to take better care of mine. Hence buying these exfoliating masks. They’re like little booties you slip your feet into, and I always put a pair of socks over them to make sure the mask is really doing its job. You basically just keep them on for an hour and a half and do whatever it is you’re doing around the house, then rinse your feet off and that’s it. Your feet will be supersoft afterward, but it’ll take a few days for your dead skin to actually start peeling. Spoiler alert: It’s gross and alarming.
Whether you need to remove stray hairs along your brow bone (or anywhere else on your face), get rid of some peach fuzz, exfoliate your skin, or all of the above, these touch-up tools are for you. I swear they keep me looking well-groomed between appointments.
See, I wasn’t joking when I said I’m trying to take better care of my feet! I work out pretty much every single day and use to be a runner, so my feet have seen it all, including calluses. I've always been too embarrassed to have someone at my nail salon handle them, so I took the matter into my own hands and got this little thing. It looks like a cheese grater honestly, and you basically rub it on the bottom of your feet and it removes all sorts of gross dead skin. But it really makes a huge difference!
I’ve written about this little facial massager before (and since the one I bought is currently unavailable, I've added an identical one), but I’m so obsessed with it. After a long day of work and cleansing my skin, I use this, and I think the shape and way it vibrates just makes my complexion look so much more vibrant and awake.
As I mentioned earlier, I work out almost every day, and I get sore. I can only ask my husband for so many massages, so I decided to get this weird-looking roller to help. Not only does it relieve muscle tension, but the knobs also work to break up tight fascia tissue (aka cellulite!) which makes your skin smoother looking. It’s a win-win!
Full disclosure: I don’t believe in anti-cellulite oils, creams, or anything. But when I bought the massage roller above, Amazon suggested I get this with it so, yeah, I did. My skin does look and feel tighter and firmer when I use it, and it definitely is nicer to use the massage roller with this slathered on, but it’s not a life-changing oil by any means. Just something that pleasantly surprised me.
I love a good exfoliating brush, but let’s be real: It’s hard to get your back! That’s the exact reason I bought this cloth on a whim, and it has totally upped my shower game.
Another thing I’ve written about before is this blackhead remover vacuum. When I first got it, I totally bruised my skin—like really badly—so you have to get used to the different suctions and levels before actually using it on your face, as I did. (I suggest practicing on your hand.) But I promise once you get the hang of it, it’s easy to use. It doesn’t pull a lot of gunk out for me, but it exfoliates my skin nicely and I like to think that it's pulling out all the gross shit stuck in my pores.
By now you probably think I just have a foot fetish, but I swear I’ve just been on a quest to get super-smooth feet! This cream has gotten me that much closer to achieving my goal. I use it after showering, and it has made a huge difference.
Every time I travel, I get some sort of kink in my neck or back, so I always have this with me whenever I’m heading out of town. It seriously gets all those hard-to-reach places and makes the biggest difference. Just be sure to roll on it slowly because some places are more sensitive than others, and you definitely don’t want to cause yourself more pain.
Excuse me as I wax poetic about my gua sha board yet again. But I mean it when I say this is the weirdest and probably the best purchase I’ve ever made. It increases blood circulation, which increases elastin and collagen in my skin, and it also helps with lymphatic drainage. My face looks so much more lifted after using it for five to 10 minutes. It actually works: Watch this video to see for yourself.
I never knew I needed a scalp massager until my husband bought one and I tried it. Wow, not only does it feel so good, but it’s like you’re actually exfoliating and cleansing your scalp (and hair). It also helps strengthen the hair root, so in theory, it can help grow your hair.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t swayed to buy this based on it having 24k gold in its name. I honestly wasn’t expecting much, but this is one of my favorite sheet masks now. Pumpkin is a superfood after all and soothes dry skin, beta-carotene adds a nice dewy glow, and vitamin A supports skin elasticity. Oh, not to mention that 24-karat gold brightens your entire complexion. Like, actually.
I have Raynaud's phenomenon, which basically is a circulation problem where my hands, feet, and legs turn blue or purple when exposed to changes in temperature. I’ve noticed that it also makes the skin on my upper legs look bruised and almost bumpy—similar to the look of cellulite—and I felt that I needed something to help smooth out the area. I feel like it does actually make a little bit of a difference just by using it a few times a week. Maybe I’m trying to convince myself that it helps because I so desperately want something to. If anything, it’s a nice way to give myself a deep-tissue massage at the end of the day.
Sometimes I’m just not down to wear lipstick. I prefer a just-bitten look and never found a product that gave me one until I stumbled upon these K-beauty lip lacquers. I’ve gotten a few different colors and all of them create the perfect velvety finish. After applying, it dries almost instantly but doesn’t feel weird, sticky, or dry at all. It’s basically weightless and actually lasts all day.
If you want seriously soft, moisturized skin, use this. That’s all that needs to be said.
Years ago, I suffered from chronic migraines and bought this to help soothe the pain. Not only did I find that it really helps soothe head discomfort, but the coldness is also great for perking up your skin, especially the under-eye area! Admittedly I’ve never heated this up in the microwave, which is another way to use the mask, but I imagine it’d be super relaxing to do, too.
Stop everything: If you have long hair, or hair that tangles really easily, you need this in your life. I don’t know the engineering specifics or any other explanation for why this brush works so damn well, but it does, and it saves me so much time brushing my tangly wet hair. I don’t think I could ever live without this.
Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I’ve never had a cavity, and I just turned 30. I’m sure part of it is good genes, but I’m also super diligent about taking care of my teeth, and I like to think that this little scraper has helped keep my teeth as healthy as they are.
I tried these when I went to Japan and as soon as I ran out of the ones I brought home, I had to reorder them because they’re so damn good. What’s weird is that the sheet masks aren’t individually wrapped—there are just 10 of them loose in the package. At first, I was skeptical that there wouldn't be enough formula soaked into each individual sheet. But they do! Almost a little too much, honestly. Sometimes the serum drips down my neck which is annoying, but aside from that, these are just solid sheet masks that hydrate and brighten your skin. Love them!
My teeth are very sensitive, and I’m always worried about getting them professionally whitened, so instead, I buy random things like charcoal toothpaste. I got this before my wedding and was surprised by the results. Activated charcoal helps polish, clean, whiten, and remove stains from your teeth. Honestly, the only reason I stopped using it was that it was really messy and always turned my sink black. I’m lazy and just didn’t want to clean my sink twice a day.
This feels more like a balm than a tint (tomato extracts are super hydrating!), but it does give your pout a super nice, rosy glow. I just love how it feels on my lips. That’s all.
I feel the same way about hands as I do about feet: People don’t take enough care of them! So I’m telling you that you need these collagen- and argan-infused gloves. You put them on for like 20 minutes, and afterward your hands will feel so smooth and look so youthful. I’ll always have good things to say about these.
It’s a dryer! It’s a hot brush! It’s a straightener! It’s actually all three and it’s life changing. I was totally skeptical at first, but damn, it gives your hair a salon-like blowout and takes less than 20 minutes. (At least it does for me on an entire head of wet hair.) I still am shocked at the results whenever I use it, and a lot of my co-workers feel the same way.
I've heard so many things about this K-beauty brand and couldn't resist trying out the mask. I actually think it rivals GlamGlow's Supermud which I'm a huge fan of, but it's way less expensive, which makes me so happy. A little of this stuff goes a long way, too. It's super thick and ashy-looking, but it seriously makes my face feel so clean and refreshed after using it. It tightens pores, removes sebum, and exfoliates. You honestly can't go wrong with it.
Next up, I'm 30 and found these 25 beauty products make me look younger.
Caitie Schlisserman is an L.A.-based executive director with over a decade of branded content and editorial experience. She joined Who What Wear in 2014 as the first branded content editor and has worked her way up to overseeing a team of talented branded content editors and the beauty department of the media revenue team. Before Who What Wear, Caitie helped launch FabFitFun's first subscription box and worked at a beauty startup where she assisted in successfully launching the editorial department.
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