Hello Chiquit@s!
Today I have some juicy before-and-after photos that genuinely shocked me when I put them side by side. Especially because a lot of these products have videos online that feel scammy, salesy, just freaking suspicious.
Some of them, on the other hand, were completely unassuming, had very little marketing behind them, and still gave me RESULTS.
For some products, the difference was instant. Others took weeks of testing. So make sure to LIKE this post so I can keep investigating these products and putting them to the test.
And girl, I will definitely leave you all the product info so you can be fab too.
I wore fake eyelashes for YEARS, and eventually I got so annoyed with the whole process of putting them on that I gave up. Which left me with my sad little natural lashes.
Then, of course, Instagram started targeting me with ads for this lash serum. The before-and-afters looked almost TOO good, so naturally I thought: scam.
I didn’t buy it.
But then something weird kept happening. I would randomly meet women with ridiculously good natural lashes, ask them what they were doing, and over and over again the answer was: lash serum.
So I finally tried it and... girl.
IT WORKED.
The photos don’t lie.
But there is a caveat, and I think you should know about it before deciding whether this type of product is for you.
The one I’ve been using, Babe Original, contains isopropyl cloprostenate, which is a synthetic prostaglandin analog. That’s the ingredient associated with the really dramatic lash-growing effect.
This is also NOT an overnight product. Babe says some people may start noticing a difference around four weeks, but they recommend judging the full results after about 12 weeks of consistent use. You apply it at night, and once your lashes reach a length you’re happy with, the brand says you can drop down to 2–3 nights a week for maintenance. If you stop completely, your lashes will gradually return to their natural appearance.
Now for the part those crazy before-and-after ads don’t always scream about.
Prostaglandin analogs can potentially cause side effects around the eyes, including:
irritation, redness or dryness
darkening of the skin around the lash line
unwanted hair growth if the serum repeatedly gets onto other areas
a more hollow appearance around the eyes from periorbital fat/volume loss
Prostaglandin analogs used as prescription eye medications have also been associated with permanent iris darkening. Babe uses a different prostaglandin analog, and this specific effect has not been well established with cosmetic lash serums like Babe, so I don't want to imply that it definitely happens with this product.
The fat-loss part sounds particularly terrifying, so I went digging. There are published reports involving cosmetic lash serums containing prostaglandin analogs, including isopropyl cloprostenate, showing changes consistent with loss of volume around the eyes. In one published case involving isopropyl cloprostenate, the hollowing reversed about six months after the person stopped using it. Another report found discoloration associated with isopropyl cloprostenate gradually improved after discontinuation. So some of these changes can be reversible, but I would not tell you that every possible side effect is guaranteed to reverse.
I felt like I needed to tell you ALL of that because the point of these reviews is for you to have the information and make your own decision.
For me, I decided the potential benefit was worth the risk. I’ve been using it for about three months, I haven’t noticed ANY of those side effects, and the difference in my lashes has literally changed the way my whole face looks.
The before-and-after is kind of insane.
Now, if the prostaglandin thing makes you say ABSOLUTELY NOT, Babe also makes the Renewing Lash Serum, which is prostaglandin-free and instead uses peptides. The brand says it can produce visible fuller and longer-looking lashes in about six weeks with consistent use. I haven’t personally tested that one, though, so I can’t tell you that the results will be as dramatic as mine.
Boob tape is one of those products that always looked way too complicated to me. I saw it on the Kardashians many times and never made a move. I mean, they have a whole team helping them… bla bla bla.
But out of necessity, I finally ended up buying it and BOOM. Now I’m wondering why the hell I didn’t say yes to this 24-hour boob job sooner.
Here is my before and after: left boob, nothing. Right boob, CAKES Tape. The difference is kind of wild.
This one is different from traditional rolls of boob tape. It comes in pre-cut silicone strips in three different lengths, and you can reposition them while you’re applying them until you get the shape and lift you want. They’re also reusable up to three times.
But GIRL, there is a trick:
DO NOT PUT CREAM, BODY LOTION OR OIL ON YOUR BOOBS BEFORE USING IT.
Your skin needs to be completely clean and dry or the tape is not going to grip properly. This is actually part of CAKES’ instructions, and I think it makes a HUGE difference.
And please follow the tutorial the first time. Don’t just slap the tape on and hope for the best 😂. The placement is what creates the lift. You basically anchor the tape, lift your boob into the position you want, press it down, and then layer more pieces if you need extra support.
I personally like using 2 or sometimes 3 strips on each boob because of my boob size and shape. I like a LOT of support and I want them UP.
But if you have a naturally perkier shape than me, I honestly think one strip might be enough, depending on the top you’re wearing and how much lift you want.
Girl. The boobs are BOOBING.
When Rhode launched, I was skeptical. Another celebrity skincare brand with gorgeous packaging promising glazed, juicy skin? Mhhhh. We have been here before.
But I got a PR package directly from the brand. I don’t have a contract with them, but I figured I may as well test it. Look at the photo. Left side before. Right side after. No makeup, no highlighter. My skin just looks noticeably more hydrated, smoother and JUICIER.
This is one of those products where the glow isn’t something I have to convince myself I’m seeing.
And there is actually a reason for it.
Glazing Milk is basically a very lightweight milky essence packed with hydrating and barrier-supporting ingredients. It has glycerin and several forms of hyaluronic acid for hydration, but the part that really got my attention is the barrier formula: ceramides NP, AP and EOP + cholesterol + fatty acids including linoleic, linolenic and oleic acid. Basically, the ingredients your skin barrier naturally uses to keep moisture IN.
The biggest thing is that when I got the package, I was testing a retinal for the vlog. I was SO excited to give you a good before and after, but unfortunately, I had a bad reaction to it and my skin looked ugly and irritated. TRASH!
I don’t want to say Glazing Milk is a miracle, but IT DID help my skin recover. For about two weeks, I used only the milk and THIS moisturizer, and my skin slowly started looking like itself again.
So yeah, it helped my skin as an actual skincare product, but it is also AMAZING for PRE-MAKEUP. It gives you that glow-from-within look and also helps the makeup blend better.
Honestly, Hailey Bieber killed it. I’m HOOKED on the Glazing Milk, the bronzer and the blush.
This before and after is not my leg, and I’m going to keep the person anonymous. But when I first saw this leg, I almost had a heart attack because I’m CRAZY about body creams and I had genuinely never seen skin this dry.
So first I recommended my usual trick: leave the skin a little damp, apply lotion on top (generous), and let everything dry together to help trap that moisture in.
The person was using another cream and we definitely saw improvement… but not CRAZY improvement.
Then about a week later, I got a restock of my Koala moisturizer and, honestly, out of pure proximity, I tried it on this person. We could NOT believe the difference the next day. I literally gave them the entire cream because, girl, they clearly needed it more than I did.
But HOLY SH*T. When I saw the leg again about two weeks later, it didn’t even look like the same person anymore.
The dryness, the texture, everything looked SO much better.
P.S. This brand also makes the best hand soap in history.
I got this before and after from my Facebook memories. Those memories can go dark REAL fast lol.
But in this case, I was actually happy to see it because… look at the difference in my hair.
It immediately made me think: okay, what actually made the BIGGEST difference?
A few things definitely helped:
Not bleaching my hair to death anymore.
Cutting off all the really damaged parts.
Using THIS mask consistently.
Using THIS hair cream.
And honestly, stopping myself from burning my hair with crappy tools and switching to THIS and THIS instead.
But if I had to pick ONE thing to start with, it would be the mask.
The brand recommends using it for the first 4–6 washes, then as needed. For maintenance, I use it about once a week.
And PLEASE use it correctly because this is one of those products where the instructions MATTER: shampoo, don’t condition first, towel-dry your hair, apply the mask, and wait 4 FULL MINUTES. Do not rinse it out.
If your hair is really dry, after those four minutes you can add conditioner or whatever other products you normally use.
Really, after the four minutes, do whatever you want.
But GIRL…
WAIT. THE. FOUR. MINUTES.
Okay, I wish I could tell you more, but these tests take TIME. So if you’re new here and want to stay informed, make sure to subscribe and LIKE!
Do you have a product that gave you a CRAZY before and after? Let me know in the comments. I would love to test it.
Alright!
With love,
Bonnie 🖤
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