"Social Media/The Internet Made Me Do/Buy It!" (Buying, Trying, Visiting, and Doing Things You've Seen Online.)

It really gets tough to know who to buy from and what to buy.

As an avid fan of beauty products, I've listened to too many YouTubers who got bad reactions/didn't feel comfortable with the Temu cosmetics and skin products they ordered, so I'm going to have to pass on that, AS TEMPTING AS THOSE PRICES ARE!

I have a Christian friend who used to work for Nature Made and felt their products were high quality, so I've been trying to buy my supplements from them.

But there are stumbling blocks at every turn... I love a good shimmer in cosmetic products, but have learned that a lot of what is used (mica) is obtained through child labor (in small spaces only children can fit into,) thereby exposing kids to inhaling a lot of harmful particles, as well as endangering them during mining.

I try my best to make ethical purchases, but I'm sure even things like our utility companies have some kind of shady dealings along the way.

The best peace God ever gave me is when I believe He told me to just take my concerns to Him and to try to follow where He was leading. I believe He understands there are things we need to buy, and in some cases, even if the company is doing wrong, He can use this (the fact that His people are paying them their hard-earned money) to confront them and hold them accountable for what they're doing.

Blessings to you, Tabin!

I always enjoy hearing your point of view -- and thank you for all the time you spend greeting the new people here.

Snail mucin. I can't remember where I seen it online, but I wanted to try it. Supposedly, women in the ancient past went to spas (or whatever they called them in the distant past) to let snails scoot around on their face. This was supposed to beautify the skin.

Well, I ordered a glass bottle of snail mucin from Amazon. You know, it's easier than making some snails crawl around on my skin! I've ordered more since. I'm on my second bottle and I have 2 more on standby. Anyway, I don't know if anyone noticed in my Vegemite video, but my hands were flaky. My usual moisturizers weren't working. I actually bought the snail mucin for my neck. I'm at that time of life where I want to get ahead of aging skin. After I do my face exercises and gua sha, I put snail mucin on my neck. Then I rub any that's left in my palm all over my hands. This has solved my flaky hand problem! I didn't even get it for that lol.

My son and I were looking for a place to hike for his HS graduation present. We found a 35-mile hike in Iceland, which we completed in 3 days... carrying 40lb. packs and sleeping in a tent each night. Here is my picture from the top of the ridge on day 2.

Your world travels sound amazing!!!

These pictures are stunning -- thank you so much for sharing them with us.

It's funny how many skincare remedies have been discovered by "accident".

I've read about several companies who, for example, have their origins in things like workers who tanned leather -- and noticed that their hands looked years younger than their faces.

I can't remember which particular company it was, but the tanning solutions were eventually developed into ones for the face, and voila, yet another expensive skincare brand was launched!

I'm glad to hear the snail mucin is working for you! I tried one iteration and it didn't seem to do much (bee essence was next, but that didn't seem to do much either.)

However, I'm not one to give up the quest for bottled youth so easily, and have at least 2 more snail products on the list to try this year!

So.
Many.
Questions.

Will mucus from other species do the trick?
How can you be sure it is from snails instead of from some other species?
Why does regular old skin moisturizer not work?
Does Mucinex know about this?

I have other questions, but that will do for now.

I don't have the answers to all your questions, but as a bit of a self-professed skincare junkie, I shall try.

1. The reason snail mucus is used is because it's seen as having healing and rejuvenating properties. Scientists believe snail mucin plays a big part in how snails are able to heal and recover from all the sharp things they slide across (after all, even grains of sand are pretty abrasive to a poor little snail.)

If there is anything in nature that's seen as healing or rejuvenating, you'd better believe companies will bottle it and try to sell it as the latest aging-backwards miracle. I also used a serum with bee venom, as it's believed to have similar properties, as well as stimulate collagen and elastin (key ingredients in keeping skin young.)

2. You asked a really good question -- it's hard to know if you're getting an authentic product. There's numerous stories of fake and counterfeit products being sold. People will often buy authentic product bottles, dilute the original or fill them with something else, then sell them on ebay.

As with most things, the best thing you can do is buy from a reputable seller or company site directly, which is more likely to be selling the real thing.

3. Different people's skin and various skin conditions respond differently to different ingredients and formulations. What works for one person might not for another, and people might also need to change products in different climates or seasons.

Moisturizer alone is usually not enough for my skin. Years ago, right here on CC, a very kind professional esthetician suggested I start adding a moisturizing toner to my routine, and it made a world of difference. It adds in another layer of liquid moisture that my skin seems to absorb. Regular moisturizer mostly just sits on top and doesn't really change my overall skin's condition. Now all I have to do is keep finding products that work for me and aren't always being discontinued -- the bane of my existence.

4. To my knowledge, Mucinex is not made with mucin, snail or otherwise. I also don't know of any lawsuits going regarding the similarities of the names (Mucinex vs. mucin.)

Yes, I know it's a joke, but it was fun playing along!

It also helps me justify the vast amount of time and resources I've invested into skincare!

I was thinking more like, this looks like a job for Mucinex! Seems like it would be right up their alley, combating mucin.

I think it's this guy...

Some years back, I went into a GNC to see what they had any seaweed. I mean, how is the most abundant plant on earth not available in any stores near me? The clerk led me to a bottle of Miracle 2000 and I was impressed enough with my first trial that I looked it up to find out more about it and found the Century Systems website that offered an extensive write up about their product. I've looked for that particle article since, but I can't find it anymore (I don't know if that's due to the search engine being overwhelmed with potential relevance or that it no longer exists). Anyway, the article told of the characteristic of seaweed absorbing every color of the rainbow because it is near black and about Ponce de Leon looking for the fountain of youth and coming upon a people that looked unnaturally young that lived in the vicinity of a pool of water which had seaweed growing in it... and also some mention of the Japanese I think...
So, to make a long story short, it wasn't so much the advertisement that compelled me to buy the product as much as that it was believable because I actually tried it first. I still make sure I have a bottle of it in stock, for comfort's sake as well in case of a necessity for that certain 'quick up.' It contains other ingredients along with Spirulina algae (even though I'm not sure if that variety was what I had actually been initially searching out).

What about that Shamwow guy?

Billy Mays is mentioned after the 2 minute mark (2:09) in this one:

Here's one from Verona, Italy

All I know is , if I've had a glass of wine I do not under any circumstances take my bank card out of my purse 😬 .