Are These Popular ‘Shelfie’ Faves Worth the Hype? (Gisou, La Mer, Diptyque)

As you’re scrolling through Pinterest and Instagram, do you ever feel like you’re seeing some of the same products over and over again? Sure they have beautiful packaging and look amazing in their ‘shelfies,’ but do these products actually deliver? Are they worth the hype (and often expensive price tags)? Is everyone just buying them to look sophisticated/stylish/’in the know’ or are they actually worth the investment?

It is in that spirit that I’d like to introduce a new feature to the blog: reviewing buzzy Pinterest/Instagram-famous products. Below, I’ll explore 3 of the most popular items that I’ve been curious about myself at one point or another and give you my honest take on whether these products are worth the extra $$$ and popular status they enjoy. The items I’ll be covering today are:

Gisou Hair Products

Netherlands-based Gisou is on a mission to care for and protect bees while producing some of the world’s finest hair care products. Gisou founder and beekeeper Negin Mirsalehi comes from background rich in beekeeping, going back 6 generations deep. His mother was a hairdresser who used the fresh honey from their family’s own bee garden in hair care and eventually developed the formula that would become the company’s signature product.

The beauty company is undoubtedly best-known for their honey-infused hair oil, but to be honest, I wasn’t sure if it was a product I would ever really use. So I opted to try out their hair wash and conditioner instead. I am already pretty happy with my current hair washing routine but you never know if something better is out there unless you give it a whirl!

• Scent: The shampoo has an aromatic, almost medicinal, herbal scent with a light touch of honey. It reminds me a bit of a honey-flavored cough drop. The conditioner has a slightly sweeter scent but neither of them smell like the sweet, pure honey I was expecting them to. That said, they certainly don’t smell bad and they left my hair smelling clean and lightly of honey.
• Application/Use – Hair Wash: I have pretty long hair so I need a good 4 or so pumps of the shampoo. It lathers up nicely and rinses away leaving my hair feeling soft and almost like it’s already been lightly conditioned.
• Application/Use – Conditioner: I have wavy hair that wants to frizz out in the worst way. I have searched long and hard for the perfect conditioner over the years and already have one that I adore so this conditioner had pretty large shoes to fill! I need a pretty good-sized blob of it to cover my hair. My showering routine is to apply my conditioner and give it a few minutes to do its thing while I’m soaping up with my shower gel. I am pleased with how this conditioner performs. It’s a bit lighter-weight than my usual one and does a good job of detangling my frizzy mop.
• Freebies/Swag Sent With Order: I was sent 4 packets of bee-friendly wildflower seeds that I can’t wait to plant in my garden. Every purchase also comes with a choice of a sample of either their famous hair oil or hair perfume. I chose the hair perfume. It’s a generous 4 ml sized vial that smells absolutely heavenly. I have a feeling I will be going back and treating myself to a larger bottle of this at some point!
• Overall Thoughts/Quality/Worth It?: These are high quality products that work very well. I can see why people love them and I do think they’ve earned their rightful place on the shelfie. The hair wash left my hair feeling a bit softer than my usual shampoo but it costs 4 times as much and to be honest, doesn’t smell quite as good. As with the hair wash, the conditioner likewise costs 4 times as much as my regular conditioner. So though I do like it as a lighter option, for that price point it probably doesn’t make sense for me to fix what isn’t really broken in my routine. I want more of that hair perfume, though! 😁

Find it here:

Honey-Infused Hair Wash (at Gisou’s Amazon store)

Honey-Infused Conditioner (at Gisou’s Amazon store)

If you’re thinking of trying both, I recommend the ‘Wash & Go Combo’ which includes both products and will save you $9 (at Gisou)

Hair Perfume – 50ml, 100ml (at Gisou’s Amazon store)

Their famous Honey-Infused Hair Oil – 50ml, 100ml (at Gisou’s Amazon store)

La Mer Crème de La Mer Moisturizing Cream

This was a product that was right up there with Golden Goose in being something I used to say ‘Holy crap, I’d NEVER pay THAT much for such-n-such!” Which just goes to show how continually powerless I seem to be in the face of pretty things repeatedly marketed to me. 🤦‍♀️

La Mer is most famous for their Crème de la Mer moisturizer, which contains their trademarked ‘Miracle Broth.’ Miracle Broth is formulated with sea kelp, one of the fastest growing plants in the world. Crème de la Mer literally translates to ‘cream of the sea.’ The broth goes through a fermentation process that takes 3 to 4 months and each batch is infused with a few drops from the batch before it, hence creating an unbroken chain that hearkens all the way back to the original batch. The company is also committed to utilizing sustainable practices and conservation efforts. All of this is supposed to contribute to producing a superior product that literally heals and restores dry skin.

La Mer has many products available for different needs and skin types but I went ahead and chose this original best-selling moisturizer for myself. As you may recall from my hand cream post, I have very dry skin so the original Crème de la Mer, which is touted as being ideal for drier skin, sounded like a perfect match for me.

• Scent: It smells lovely, clean, and lightly of roses. Nothing beachy or kelpy about it whatsoever.
• Application/Use: To use, scoop out a small amount with the little spatula provided onto your finger. Rub into another finger or your palm until the cream becomes translucent and then pat into your face and/or neck. There is a short instructional video from La Mer here, if you’re like me and enjoy a full visual. My day-to-day driest area is my forehead so I apply it liberally there and sometimes also on my cheeks, around my nose, and chin. It feels slightly tacky to the touch after first applied but will melt nicely into your skin, leaving it feeling soft and slightly dewy. The moisturizing effects last into the next day.
• Freebies/Swag Sent With Order: I actually ordered mine from Nordstrom this time because the price seemed somewhat less painful using my Nordy’s card, lol But if you order directly from La Mer, you will get free shipping and samples with every order.
• Overall Thoughts/Quality/Worth It?: Well, it definitely works well (see pic of my forehead below). Does Nivea Creme work, too? Probably. I, myself, haven’t tried Nivea but many folks claim it is about as close to La Mer as you can get while still being budget-conscious. I personally usually use Aēsop’s Primrose Facial Hydrating Cream (I will feature it and other Aēsop products in an upcoming post!) and while it’s not exactly inexpensive either, it is about one-seventh the cost of La Mer and delivers similar dewy, hydrated skin. La Mer is a very high quality product and I wouldn’t say it is a bad value for what you are getting but I do understand that for most folks, the price is just going to be a bit out of reach for an everyday moisturizer.

I feel I should also mention in here somewhere how lovely the jar is that this product comes in. In online pics, it looks like your average, everyday plastic jar of facial cream. But it is actually made of hefty opal glass. It truly is a beautiful, high quality jar that once the moisturizer is used up, should be repurposed as a container for other items.

Find it here:

Crème de la Mer moisturizer (at La Mer)

Crème de la Mer moisturizer (at Nordstrom)

Diptyque Baies Candle

Ahhhh… Diptyque, how I truly love thee! Ok, full disclosure: I love everything by Diptyque and have been an avid collector of their candles and perfumes for years. I first spotted a Diptyque candle about 25 years ago, in the house of a well-to-do family that a friend of mine was nannying for. I was immediately drawn in by the candle’s chic and artistic packaging and then further wowed by the unbelievable fragrance. It was love at first sniff, though it would be a good few more years before I could justify purchasing one of my own.

Diptyque is a French fragrance Maison renowned for their artistry in both packaging and their incredibly lush fragrances. Formed by three artistic friends in 1961, the luxe brand has thrived and grown over the years, creating some of the most beautiful, unique, and unforgettable fragrances in the world. Their Vanille candle is my favorite fragrance in the entire world and what I like to imagine Heaven is going to smell like!

But today we’re here to talk about what is probably their most iconic candle fragrance: Baies. In 2001, the Baies candle was featured in an episode of Sex & the City and a candle star was born. The candle suddenly became the hottest thing since the discovery of fire itself and quickly sold out everywhere.

• Scent: This is a heavenly blend of blackcurrant berries and rose. ‘Baies’ translates to berries in French and refers to the blackcurrant berries used in the fragrance.
• Application/Use: 90% of the time I don’t even bother lighting my Diptyque candles. Their fragrance is quite potent even unlit and I get a lovely whiff of mine whenever I am near one of them. They can be placed in a linen closet to give everything a lovely scent, though Diptyque does have a product specifically created for that very purpose (I own one of them in the Fig Tree scent and love it; it works wonderfully).
• Freebies/Swag Sent With Order: Complimentary shipping and luxury samples with every order. I usually get 2 perfume samples and they offer a few different scents that you can choose from.
• Overall Thoughts/Quality/Worth It?: Hands down, these candles are worth it. They are long-lasting (standard 190g size has a burn time of 60 hours) and beautiful as a decorative piece in your home. They make a classy gift for family and friends. The scents are beautiful, unique, and timeless. I truly do not feel that you can go wrong with a Diptyque product. Worth the splurge. And many of their candles also come in a more budget-friendly 70g size as well.

Find it here:

Baies candle – standard 190g size (at Diptyque)

Baies – entire product line (at Diptyque)

So, that’s part one of this on-going series. I’ve got some products planned already for the next post but please let me know in the comments if there’s anything you’d like me to test out and give the real scoop on and I’ll do my best to accommodate. Have you tried any of these luxurious products explored here today? What did you think??

On a parting note, I thought you guys might like to see what my medicine cabinet looks like ‘in real life.’ Because after all, no matter how lovely and impressive your Byredo lotion collection is, it ain’t going to fix a headache or an upset tummy! And why yes, those ARE Hello Kitty Band-Aids! 😸

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