51 Products Reviewers Thought Wouldn't Work...Until They Did

1.A fast-acting carpet-spot-removing spray that'll remove those stains you thought would never ever come out.

Reviewer image of a stain before using the spray

2.Some dishwasher-cleaning tablets reviewers doubted after all of their home remedies failed to do the job — that is, until they saw the results. If your dishes are still dirty when they come out of the dishwasher, you might wanna give these a try before you give up and replace your machine altogether.

reviewer's before pic of inside of dishwasher with residue on it

3.Some earwax removal drops that'll actually remove the wax instead of just shoving it deeper into your ear (I'm lookin' at you, cotton swabs).

A tissue with clumps of earwax next to a dime for size as well as the container of drops

4.Some Crest 3D White Professional Effects Whitestrips to remove years of stains in under a month using the same enamel-safe whitening ingredient that dentists use. You'll see a difference in days, which, I get it, sounds too good to be true. But don't just take my word for it! These have over 19,000 5-star reviews for a reason.

Before and after image of teeth to show how well the strips work

5.And a painless mint-flavored Venus teeth-whitening pen — it'll give you quick results with just 30 seconds (!) of daily use. Even *years* of stains from things like coffee, tea, wine, smoking, soda, and more are no match for this thing.

before and after of reviewer's yellow teeth, then cleaner whiter teeth after use

6.A rechargeable hand warmer with three temperature levels to choose from for anyone whose hands are always cold. Plus, you can even use it to charge your phone!

A model with a pink warmer in their hand

7.A jar of the Pink Stuff paste, which has reached cult-favorite status for being great at removing stains, rust, discoloration, and other stubborn marks from metal, ceramic tiles, saucepans, barbecues, and much more without leaving behind any scratches!

Before and after photos of a discolored wall cleaned by The Pink Stuff

8.A pet hair remover to help anyone who can never seem to get all of their pet's fur off of their clothes and furniture. This thing has over 77,000 5-star reviews for a reason! Just roll it over your fuzz-covered item of choice and watch it lift the fur RIGHT OFF.

comforter full of pet hair

9.L’Oréal’s 8 Second Wonder Water — it'll give your hair the moisture, shine, and silkiness it's missing, with instant results visible after the first use. Use it on wet hair after shampoo for healthier-looking locks and a weightless feel that takes a mere *eight seconds* to achieve!

The bottle and a picture of a review with 3c type hair

10.A wine purifier that can help alleviate hangovers so you can enjoy your fave beverage without the headache. All you've gotta do is swirl it around in your glass before drinking to help remove histamines and sulfites (aka ~headache ingredients~), and it'll do its thing without changing the taste or color of your vino!

People mixing the wine purifying sticks into three different types of wine

11.A set of packing cubes that'll help you fit a LOT more stuff in your suitcase than you thought was possible.

The packing cubes in a suitcase

12.Some washing machine–cleaning tablets here to remove all the gross stuff making your clothes smell funky even after they come out of the wash. Just lazily run these tablets through a cycle and, believe it or not, your work is done.

person putting a cleaning tablet into a front loading clothes washing machine

13.Some streak-free anti-fog spray — it'll help keep your eyeglasses, sunglasses, face shields, car windows, and more from constantly fogging up.

reviewer holding up glasses next to bottle of fog gone

14.A Furemover squeegee broom reviewers thought couldn't be that much better than other brooms. Turns out, this thing attracts hair like a magnet will remove way more from deep carpets and surfaces than you thought possible. While pet hair is the focus, it'll do a great job cleaning up water, dirt, and dust too.

A photo of the Furemover squeegee broom being held over a blue and pink-printed rug. The broom has a yellow stick and the squeegee part is black. There's a clump of hair that's been presumably corralled by the squeegee.

15.A garbage disposal cleaner that requires basically zero work on your part, and even puts on a bubbly little show while getting rid of that vom-inducing smell you thought would never leave your sink.

youtube.com

Here's what you do: Run some hot water, pop one of the packets in your disposer, let it foam, then wait for the foam to fully disappear. Garbage disposer = clean and ickiness free.

Promising review: "Works like a charm! These are pretty cool! I was a little skeptical but I followed the easy-to-use directions and it worked just like the product said it would. Foamed up and cleaned the drain!! Smell removed!!" —Jennifer K

Get two packs of four from Amazon for $9.50.

16.The Cat Dancer — it's designed to drive even the most unexcitable cats wild. Can a super-simple, ~$2 toy really be that entertaining? The answer is a resounding YES.

Reviewer image of a cat playing with the toy

17.A Revlon hot-air brush to help turn wet, frizzy, tangled hair into a salonworthy blowout in just minutes. It has special vents that allow air to flow so hair dries faster, and is much quicker than using a dryer, flat iron, or curling iron. So set your skepticism aside and watch your morning routine get a whole lot easier!

Reviewer photo of messy hair before using the brush

18.A tiny outlet shelf perfect for storing an electric toothbrush, your glasses, or any other odds and ends that need a home. It installs just like a regular outlet cover, and you just might find yourself wanting one in every room.

reviewer pic of outlet shelf with two electric toothbrushes stored on the shelf

19.A pet hair remover that'll easily pull way more pet fur off your carpets, comforters, couches, and clothing than you expect.

hand holds packaging with gray brick inside that says it's not pretty but it works

20.An essential-oil migraine stick to actually help relieve the pain from migraines and headaches. It's perfect for those moments when you'd rather not rely on prescription meds, but still need something to take the edge off.

Reviewer holding the stick

21.Some Wet & Forget shower cleaner — it makes it easy to keep your tub and shower nice and shiny. All you have to do is spray, let it sit, and rinse — and it'll clean and prevent scummy buildup all on its own. No scrubbing or wiping required — hooray!

reviewer's shower tile with huge white stain

22.Some Avarelle tea tree and calendula oil–infused pimple patches that actually help reduce acne overnight by drawing out pus trapped under the skin. You can even see all of the gunk these patches pull out, so you know they're working.

Reviewer photo of square acne patch that is filled with pimple discharge

23.A tube of Essence's Lash Princess mascara reviewers say defines and separates lashes to give you the bold look you usually need ~falsies~ for. Plus, it'll last all day — even in hot weather — without clumping, flaking, fading, or wearing.

buzzfeed editor's eyes before and after using the mascara with the done lashes looking darker and longer

24.An Always Pan designed to replace eight pieces of cookware. Really, eight? Seems a little excessive and unrealistic, right? Wrong! This baby lives up to the hype, and has the reviews to prove it.

Our Place

Our Place is a WOC-founded brand bringing inventive cookware and kitchen products. You can braise, sear, steam, strain, sauté, fry, boil, and more with this pan. It does the same job as a fry pan, sauté pan, steamer, skillet, saucier, saucepan, nonstick pan, spatula, and spoon rest. The spatula is designed to fit neatly on the pan's handle. The pan is dishwasher safe and only weighs 3 pounds.

Long, but worthwhile, promising review: "I bought this pan not sure it was going to live up to the hype. Yeah, it was cute (I got the green color to match my kitchen color palette) but I've bought plenty of cute, millennial-branded products that turned out to be all style and no substance. How good could it be? It's phenomenal. I got it three weeks ago and since then the only time I've used a different pan was when the Always Pan was already in use for one dish and I needed to cook something else. The nonstick coating is great. Eggs don't stick! Dried-on sauce doesn't stick! Yesterday's oatmeal doesn't stick! It all just wipes off with almost no scrubbing, which is great, because I have no desire to put this pan in the dishwasher, because what if I need to cook something?! The pan surface heats up really quickly! I cooked on my normal boring stove, and I was shocked how much faster my pasta water came to a boil. The pan surface also heats really evenly, and is amazing at searing. I cooked steak in it last night, hoping I wasn't making a mistake by using nonstick instead of cast iron, but it gave the steaks a flawless sear, way more even than my cast-iron pan. I was super impressed. I love the built-in spatula rest. So much. My only comment on the pan is that the hole in the spatula could be just a hair larger so that it doesn't require any leveraging to remove from the rest, but very minor complaint. Love the steamer/strainer basket. Haven't used it for steaming yet, but love it for pasta. It's so much easier to just lift all the pasta out and leave the pasta water behind than carry the whole pan of boiling water over to the sink to pour out, all the while terrified that one of my cats will come in and get boiling water splashed on them or something. I love the lid, especially the steam vent feature. It's really great for cooking grains. Basically, this pan is totally worth what you spend on it. I'm moving in six months and I'm planning to donate most of my cookware when I do. Very confident that I won't miss any of it thanks to this pan." —Abigail R.

Get it from Our Place for $145 (available in six colors).

25.A "wrinkle release" spray if taking the time to warm up an iron in the morning is simply impossible. It's also great for those days when you don't notice the wrinkles until the last minute.

A reviewer's tee, extremely wrinkled

26.A set of Schick dermaplaning razors so you don't have to pay to remove peach fuzz. Plus, it works painlessly and precisely, leaving your face oh so smooth without the irritation marks that most threading or razors leave behind.

peach fuzz and dead skin a reviewer removed with the tool

27.A hydrating intense-therapy lip balm reviewers say is faster *and* more effective than other brands. Not only will it help quickly repair your chapped lips, but it'll also help protect them from the sun, wind, and extreme temps so you can kiss bleeding and cracks goodbye!

before and after image of chapped lips and hydrated lips

28.A powerful but gentle silicone paw cleaner here to make cleaning your pet's cute lil' feets a lot less of a hassle. Just add water, insert filthy paws, give 'em a little twist, and dab till dry! No scrubbing, no pain, and no more dirt, mud, sand, ice melt, and other grime getting tracked around your otherwise spotless home. Sounds like a win-win!

A muddy dog paw

29.A firming eye cream that uses vitamins and organic botanicals to rejuvenate the delicate area around your eyes — banishing dark circles, puffiness, loss of firmness, sagging skin, wrinkles, crow’s feet, and dryness, leaving you with brighter, firmer, hydrated skin *without* irritation!

Reviewer before and after showing the cream tightened and brightened their under-eye area

30.Some Miracle-Gro indoor plant food spikes to ~miraculously~ nourish and save even the plants you thought were goners for sure.

A review image of a wilted plant on the left, and the same plant but perky and full on the right

31.A foot file and callus remover designed to make your feet feel like they were completely reborn.

before, a reviewer's heel with deep dry cracks, and after the heal pink and smooth, next to the black and silver file

32.A bottle of natural nail and cuticle repair oil that helps soften cuticles and strengthen nails when used daily.

A before image of a reviewer's brittle nails and an after image of them much heaithier

33.A set of bedsheet suspenders so when you wake up, your fitted sheets are still in place and looking neat and tidy, instead of slipping off the corners and getting all tangled up with your blankets.

A reviewer image of a bed with messy sheets

34.A tin of high-end salon-approved, unscented Cirepil blue wax beads you can use on all parts of your body to remove short, shaved, long, soft or coarse hair in just minutes *without* the hefty price tag of getting professionally waxed. Plus, it's easy and quick to use, so you can save both time *and* money.

A before image of a reviewer's underarm hair, then a picture of the blue wax with hair of it, and an after image of the reviewer's hairless underarms

35.A jar of Aztec Secret healing clay masks ideal for anyone who's getting tired of their face breaking out after sweating in a mask every dang day — aka "maskne." Whether your acne is mask induced or not, this stuff'll give your pores a deep cleanse, sucking out all the pimple-causing gunk, and leaving your skin feeling better than ever. And it's not just for your face! Use it anywhere on your body, bathe in it, use it to help treat bug bites — you'll get a lotta use out of it no matter what.

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36.A wine-stain-removing spray for those moments when putting your glass in a precarious position turns out to be a ~pour~ decision — especially when expensive furniture is involved.

Reviewer's before picture with wine-stained white blanket

37.An amazing Cerama Bryte cooktop-cleaning kit to make scraping the crust and grime off of your glass, glass-ceramic or ceramic stove top *much* less frustrating — especially if you're trying to remove gunk that's been stuck on there since before you even moved in.

A before photo of a reviewer's smooth-top range with lots of stains

38. A pet urine stain–removing spray perfect for pet owners who are desperate to remove spots and smells both old and new.

www.amazon.com

Rocco & Roxie Supply Company is a family-owned small business established in 2013 that specializes in pet odor eliminators, pet toys, pet snacks, and pet accessories.

Promising review: "I don’t know how I ever survived without this. There’s tons of 'pet stain/odor remover' products out there, but this by far is the absolute best. I cringed paying the $20 for it when others are between $5–$10, but I have NO ISSUES paying now. I foster dogs, some puppies, some older, some not housebroken, and every room in my house is carpeted except the kitchen, which means I have lots of accidents. I spray enough to saturate if it’s a lot of urine, let it soak for 10 minutes, then wipe it up with a hand towel. Then I put a larger towel on top of it if it’s in a high-traffic area until it’s completely dry. It’s taken out every stain and, more importantly, the odor is gone! I will never stop buying this product. I recommend it to everyone who has dogs!" —Shelley

Get it from Amazon for $19.94.

39.A tube of Elizabeth Mott Thank Me Later Eye Shadow Base because you didn't spend time putting on eye makeup in the morning only for it to be all smudged, faded, and creased by the time the afternoon rolls around. This stuff'll help enhance and lock in your eyeshadow, keeping it vibrant and in place all day long!

A customer review photo of their eye makeup done at 8:30 a.m.

40.A leather cleaner designed to quickly and gently remove dirt, oil, tough stains, and other grime from leather *and* faux-leather goods, so you can get your furniture, handbags, shoes, jackets, and more back to looking nice and spiffy!

A customer review photo of their leather sofa, half cleaned with the cleaner and half not

41.A gentle but powerful anti-dandruff shampoo that targets dandruff-causing fungus to help reduce scalp flaking and itching so you can finally start wearing black without worrying about looking like you just trudged through a snowstorm.

A reviewer split image showing a scalp with dandruff flakes on the left, and the same scalp free of flakes on the right

42.A double-sided hairbrush-cleaning brush because your head's not the only thing that needs excess hair, dust, and buildup brushed out! This easy-to-use tool has strong bristles that'll get your favorite hairbrush looking like it's never been used before. And once you see how dirty it was, you'll be glad you cleaned it before putting it *anywhere* near your head.

A customer review photo of a square brush with lots of hair in it

43.A deep-conditioning hair mask so you can stop despairing and start repairing your dry and damaged locks! It'll boost the strength, shine, and silkiness of your hair while decreasing breakage and restoring the essential hydration thanks to its powerful, antioxidant-rich formula.

white jar of the hair mask

44.A Drill Brush kit you'll probably think can't possibly replace all of the miserable scrubbing it usually takes to even make a dent in cleaning the tub. Prepare to be pleasantly surprised! Just attach the brush head to your drill, turn it on, and watch all of that grime disappear way faster and easier than before.

Reviewer photo of a dirty tub before using the kit

45.An oven cleaner for easily removing the gunk that's been building up for longer than you wanna admit.

Reviewer's before and after photos of a dirty and clean oven

46.A grout cleaner with an included brush to make quick and easy work of getting your bathroom tiles looking brand spanking new!

a before showing dark grout on white tile and an after of the grout restored to white

47.A lifesaving sunburn soother you'll be glad you brought on vacation after spending a little too long soaking up the sun. The hydrating combo of aloe and coconut oil will quickly absorb into your skin and instantly get to work, providing you some much needed, gentle relief. A lot of reviewers even say it helps prevent peeling and itching!

A reviewer image of a burnt back and an "after" image of their back without any redness

48.A bottle of Fanola purple shampoo designed to neutralize yellow tones so you can achieve the vibrant platinum hair you've been dreaming of — all without an expensive salon visit! Tired of gray or light streaks? This'll help make 'em less noticeable so you can finally have consistent, evenly colored locks to flaunt.

A reviewer with yellow-tone blonde hair

49.A rain showerhead so every shower feels like a trip to a 5-star resort.

The shower head with rain-like water pouring out of it

50.A clip-on silicone colander that'll take the ~strain~ out of straining noodles. It's flexible, cleans up easy, and can be attached to cookware of almost any size!

Model using the colander to strain noodles

51.And finally, a Squatty Potty you might not think will actually help you poop better until you've actually taken it for a spin. And if your feet are currently resting on one while you're reading this, you already know what I'm talkin' about!

Model sitting on toilet using the squatty pott

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Some reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.

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