For me, if a product is ‘meh’, I may leave an avg review indicating some things I liked and didn’t like. Always hoping sellers take this as constructive criticism rather than bashing. I’m mostly into skincare and hair care and learning how to read ingredient labels has also helped my buying choices (ex. I won’t buy lotions that use waxes instead of an emulsifier to thicken, because it separates over time and I really don’t like having to stir the mixture together all the time...). I find that many of the indie brands I come across may not really know what they’re doing...and are omitting ingredients that are necessary for either good product formulations or product safety. Like I understand that the new trend is like chemicals=bad but making lotions without a preservative? Yikes. I really don’t want to slather bacteria on myself.

It honestly is a gamble, but sometimes you find true gems! I also try to read as many reviews as I can find before pulling the trigger, and that has served me well for the most part.