Dame Margaret is flying solo this week, thanks to a less-than-ideally-careful New Jersey driver making Dame Sophie’s life a bit more complicated this week.
It wasn’t exactly like this, but it wasn’t NOT like this— with Dame Sophie in the role of planter (she is completely well, do not fret).
As such, this is going to be a discussion thread post. Given that Twitter is collapsing in slow motion, I have been spending less of my time there, and Twitter’s loss has been Instagram’s gain— to the detriment of my bank account balance. Speaking as someone who must sometimes make Reels for work, I can confidently say that Instagram is bad at many things. But it is almost unnervingly good at convincing me I need to buy nonsense no human being could EVER need— some of which I really end up liking.
Lime Ricki Swimwear: I am— thanks to catching a sample sale at exactly the right moment— a proud owner of three bikinis and one one-piece swimsuit from this brand and they’re real dang cute. They are well-made enough to justify their high price but, given how infrequently I actually need a swimsuit, I would only ever buy this brand on sale. Are the swimsuits unusually modest because the brand was founded by Mormon women for Mormon women? Yes, but they’re cute enough to justify you spending your heathen dollars on them. Can I excuse my weakness for them given that, unbeknownst to me when I made my first purchase, their many adorable floral prints are the handiwork of Michelle Parascandolo, a long-time favorite pattern designer of mine? I like to think so.
Swipies: Can one need little pieces of reusable note paper made from wet-erase plastic? No, one absolutely cannot. Was the $36 + super reasonable shipping fee price tag on Swipies’s starter kit just low enough to be irresistible to me at 1:37 in the morning when I ought to have been asleep? Yes, absolutely it was, I am so sorry to inform you. Since acquiring said starter kit, I have developed a nifty little habit with my to-do list where I transfer undone items from one Swipie to another, and then spray down and wipe away the first, and it feels productive. But I suspect it’s just my brain responding to the novelty of the whole endealment— only time will tell.
Now, Dames Nationals, it’s your turn: What has Instagram tricked you into buying lately? What lures are you manfully resisting? Which purchases would you recommend and which should we know to avoid? Please comment below and give us all a terrible case of the shoppies.
XOXO/ Dame Margaret
p.s. Don’t forget— it’s still 20% off to get a full year of Two Bossy Dames.
THIS IS MY PROBLEM. Well, part of it, anyway. You can sell me shoe brands I’ve never heard of, and are apparently designed for feet that were bound at some point, lip gloss and ‘90s lip liner (read: brown), gizmos that rip all the pet hair from your rug, along with most of the warp? Woof? I’ve also bought suitcases so intelligently designed that they are smarter than I am and LOADS of creams that are either anti-aging, intelligent-aging, molecular aging or include their own Instagram filter. At any moment of the day, I’m glowing, sparkling, shining, or possibly just depositing radiation in a five-mile radius. I am so excited to check out your list because it probably contains things I was heretofore unaware I needed!!
I got influenced into the candle warmer lamp that Young House Love is obsessed with. I’ve only owned it for a day, so grain of salt and all that, but I very much love it.
Instagram got me with Mooncat nail polish, which is an indie brand, so I feel somewhat okay about it? They make amazing glitters, holographics, and multichromes. Mostly I get ads for bras that I never buy.
You know how the more you click on Reels on Instagram/FB the more they send you like that? My Reels are all coffee drink 'hacks' I'll never order, soothing cake decorating I'll never do... and lipstick swatch videos. I am obsessed with an apparently discontinued Revlon Glass Shine lipstick that was on its way out before the Tik Tok girlies discovered it, so hopefully it will come back. Rumor had it Walgreen's had them marked down, but no dice in my area at least. So I bought an ELF stain/gloss instead.
I also tried the mascara in your lipgloss trend (go to dollar store, buy a mascara and clear lip gloss in a tube, put mascara wand in lip gloss tube, swish around. Only use this mascara in this lipgloss to avoid contamination, which is why you go to the dollar store) but it didn't do anything for me.
I now one three pairs of shoes from Inkkas-a pair of booties, a pair of joggers, and a pair of camping boots, and I love them all. I'm such a sucker for floral prints.
I just got back from "Allure: Orchids After Dark" at the NE Botanical Gardens, which I heard about through an instagram ad! Most of the stuff I end up impulse buying, though, is spooky art or Etsy shops because like, 75% of the people I follow on Instagram are spooky artists, so those are my most frequent targeted ads, haha. The thing that I'm going to fall to any moment now is the Little Rooms jewelry ads, which I get like, fifteen times a day and are so up my alley...
Hmmm.....I don't think I've ever bought anything influenced on Instagram, but I am daily thankful that a long-ago Dames newsletter influenced me into buying a ginormous bag of silk scrunchies, giving me a signature hair style I'd never had before. Not quite sure where to wear the neon green scrunchie, but they are fabulously comfortable.
During peak pandemic Instagram convinced me to buy Mochidoki (fancy mochi ice cream treats). They are ridiculously expensive but come in lovely packaging and fancy flavors and are, I regret to say, so much better than grocery store mochi ice cream. I think pandemic Instagram also got me into mail order Jeni’s ice cream which is still a go-to gift for special occasions.
I had to institute a rule that, when lured by Instagram ads late at night, I can browse all I want and then leave it open in a browser tab and wait to make the purchasing decision in the harsh light of day. Because the last thing I bought was a pair of those loose fit cotton overalls that took six weeks to arrive so I still haven't tried them on.
Every cool woman I follow on instagram seems to have a block shop robe and I’m trying my best not to decide that I need one too since I already have a robe and I wear it for maybe 5 minutes every morning, but they’re just so pretty! And I’m convinced that my life and mornings would be more enjoyable with one. I’m particularly fond of the parasol print. https://www.blockshoptextiles.com/products/parasol-robe-sunset
Strangely, I think TikTok and instagram might have mainly influenced me to buy cleaning products though. Dropps laundry pods and power washing spray found me somehow and they’re pretty great! And now I don’t have to buy laundry soap or dish soap for a really long time!
I am pregnant (yay!) and get so many ads for baby stuff. Adorable outfits for home from the hospital for mom and baby, so many monograms, and kizik shoes. I have resisted everything except Primary since that is more my actual style.
I was recently in the market for a classic gold watch to celebrate a milestone, but the idea of doing any research/extensive online shopping was exhausting to me. Sometimes, if used very sparingly/carefully, I like to use Instagram's algorithm to my advantage. On my phone's web browser, I made a few searches for classic gold watches, and then let Instagram get to work. My feed was flooded with watch brands within the hour.
THIS IS MY PROBLEM. Well, part of it, anyway. You can sell me shoe brands I’ve never heard of, and are apparently designed for feet that were bound at some point, lip gloss and ‘90s lip liner (read: brown), gizmos that rip all the pet hair from your rug, along with most of the warp? Woof? I’ve also bought suitcases so intelligently designed that they are smarter than I am and LOADS of creams that are either anti-aging, intelligent-aging, molecular aging or include their own Instagram filter. At any moment of the day, I’m glowing, sparkling, shining, or possibly just depositing radiation in a five-mile radius. I am so excited to check out your list because it probably contains things I was heretofore unaware I needed!!
I got influenced into the candle warmer lamp that Young House Love is obsessed with. I’ve only owned it for a day, so grain of salt and all that, but I very much love it.
Instagram got me with Mooncat nail polish, which is an indie brand, so I feel somewhat okay about it? They make amazing glitters, holographics, and multichromes. Mostly I get ads for bras that I never buy.
You know how the more you click on Reels on Instagram/FB the more they send you like that? My Reels are all coffee drink 'hacks' I'll never order, soothing cake decorating I'll never do... and lipstick swatch videos. I am obsessed with an apparently discontinued Revlon Glass Shine lipstick that was on its way out before the Tik Tok girlies discovered it, so hopefully it will come back. Rumor had it Walgreen's had them marked down, but no dice in my area at least. So I bought an ELF stain/gloss instead.
I also tried the mascara in your lipgloss trend (go to dollar store, buy a mascara and clear lip gloss in a tube, put mascara wand in lip gloss tube, swish around. Only use this mascara in this lipgloss to avoid contamination, which is why you go to the dollar store) but it didn't do anything for me.
I now one three pairs of shoes from Inkkas-a pair of booties, a pair of joggers, and a pair of camping boots, and I love them all. I'm such a sucker for floral prints.
I just got back from "Allure: Orchids After Dark" at the NE Botanical Gardens, which I heard about through an instagram ad! Most of the stuff I end up impulse buying, though, is spooky art or Etsy shops because like, 75% of the people I follow on Instagram are spooky artists, so those are my most frequent targeted ads, haha. The thing that I'm going to fall to any moment now is the Little Rooms jewelry ads, which I get like, fifteen times a day and are so up my alley...
Hmmm.....I don't think I've ever bought anything influenced on Instagram, but I am daily thankful that a long-ago Dames newsletter influenced me into buying a ginormous bag of silk scrunchies, giving me a signature hair style I'd never had before. Not quite sure where to wear the neon green scrunchie, but they are fabulously comfortable.
During peak pandemic Instagram convinced me to buy Mochidoki (fancy mochi ice cream treats). They are ridiculously expensive but come in lovely packaging and fancy flavors and are, I regret to say, so much better than grocery store mochi ice cream. I think pandemic Instagram also got me into mail order Jeni’s ice cream which is still a go-to gift for special occasions.
I had to institute a rule that, when lured by Instagram ads late at night, I can browse all I want and then leave it open in a browser tab and wait to make the purchasing decision in the harsh light of day. Because the last thing I bought was a pair of those loose fit cotton overalls that took six weeks to arrive so I still haven't tried them on.
Every cool woman I follow on instagram seems to have a block shop robe and I’m trying my best not to decide that I need one too since I already have a robe and I wear it for maybe 5 minutes every morning, but they’re just so pretty! And I’m convinced that my life and mornings would be more enjoyable with one. I’m particularly fond of the parasol print. https://www.blockshoptextiles.com/products/parasol-robe-sunset
Strangely, I think TikTok and instagram might have mainly influenced me to buy cleaning products though. Dropps laundry pods and power washing spray found me somehow and they’re pretty great! And now I don’t have to buy laundry soap or dish soap for a really long time!
I am pregnant (yay!) and get so many ads for baby stuff. Adorable outfits for home from the hospital for mom and baby, so many monograms, and kizik shoes. I have resisted everything except Primary since that is more my actual style.
But kizik shoes - worth it?
I was recently in the market for a classic gold watch to celebrate a milestone, but the idea of doing any research/extensive online shopping was exhausting to me. Sometimes, if used very sparingly/carefully, I like to use Instagram's algorithm to my advantage. On my phone's web browser, I made a few searches for classic gold watches, and then let Instagram get to work. My feed was flooded with watch brands within the hour.
I ended up getting a watch from a company called Breda which had been approved by a fanatic watch collectors subreddit, so I could be sure the quality was good. Here's mine, but I also have my eye on the Jane: https://www.breda.com/collections/best-selling/products/breda-esther-1735b-gold-metal-bracelet-watch